– It means a lot to me to finally get to see more of this country, says Pamir Ehsas. The Ehsas family fled the Taliban regime in 1998, when he was just four years old. This summer, Pamir Ehsas has returned to Afghanistan. And once again the Taliban is in power. In this article you can read about: Pamir Ehsas says that it has been touching to be reunited with his family in Afghanistan. – When we met, it was as if we had always lived side by side with each other, he says to news. Photo: SEHA Reunited with family Ehsas says that it has been touching to be reunited with the family in Afghanistan. – It was very strong, because this is my family. An uncle I’ve never met before. Cousins, cousins and aunts, I have never seen. But when we met, it was as if we had always lived side by side. He also says that the trip leaves him with a sense of responsibility to do something. – You see how much pain they are in, and you get a desire to help them. Afghanistan is becoming more and more isolated. This means that the responsibility, especially among the diaspora communities, also increases. Pamir Ehsas has visited several schools in the country this summer. He says that he is devastated that girls are denied education by the Taliban. Photo: SEHA In addition to her work as a lawyer, Ehsas leads the aid organization Brighter Tomorrow, which works to improve conditions for school children in Afghanistan. He is particularly concerned about the future of Afghan girls. – If we don’t help them, no one else will. “Sakina”: – I have lost all hope When the Taliban took over power in Afghanistan for the second time in 2021, they said that Afghan girls would be allowed to go to school and work. Seven months later, the counter notification came. Since then, schools for female students from the 6th grade and up have been closed. According to the BBC, which refers to figures from Unicef, the school ban has meant that 1.4 million girls are refused to go to school. One of them is 18-year-old “Sakina”. 18-year-old “Sakina” is one of 1.4 million women who are denied higher education by the Taliban. – I wanted to become a politician, she says to news. Photo: PRIVATE news knows her identity, but for her safety has kept her anonymous in this article. – I wanted to become a politician, says “Sakina” from Kabul to news. She says that she used to always say goodbye to her mother in case she lost her life in one of the many attacks on schools that shook the country in the period before the Taliban took over. – I used to tell my mother not to come to school, in case there was a follow-up attack, says “Sakina”. – The Taliban have taken away my right to be a human being, says 18-year-old “Sakina” to news. Photo: PRIVATE – What is it like to be deprived of the opportunity to go to school? – I feel like I’m trapped in a cage. I have lost all hope. “Sakina” says she feels stuck in the time she was in the tenth grade, when the Taliban took over the country three years ago. – The Taliban have deprived me of the right to be a human being. “Sakina” is one of many young people in the country who say they want to leave the country in the hope of a brighter future. – There is no future for me in this country. Or for women in general. The situation for women and girls in the country has drastically worsened, according to Amnesty International, which believes the Taliban regime practices so-called “gender apartheid”. An advertising poster for a private university in the capital, Kabul. The women on the poster have been painted over after the Taliban took over power in the country. According to Amnesty, they practice so-called “gender apartheid”, where women’s access to the public space has been drastically restricted. Photo: WAKIL KOHSAR / AFP The Hazara 18-year-old “Sakina” belongs to the Hazara minority in Afghanistan. It is believed that almost ten percent of Afghanistan’s population belongs to the Hazara minority. The Hazaras have historically been oppressed by the various majority groups in the country, partly because of their religious affiliation. While other groups in Afghanistan are Sunni, most Hazara Afghans are Shia. Several centuries of oppression mean that some Hazaras believe they are being subjected to a genocide. Students in Ohio, USA, light candles after an attack against the Hazara minority in 2022. Photo: Joe Imel / AP It has put them in opposition to both the Taliban and the terrorist organization ISKP. The latter has also in recent years carried out a number of terrorist attacks against places of residence for Hazaras. A young Hazara woman mourns the loss of classmates after a suicide attack on a school for Hazara women. More than 35 people were killed in the attack. Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi / AP According to Human Rights Watch, at least 700 people have been killed in ISKP attacks since the Taliban took over the country. They also believe that, like the previous Afghan government, the Taliban authorities have not done enough to protect the Hazara minority in the country. The battle for water Large parts of Afghanistan consist of desert and mountain scenery. In addition, the average temperature in Afghanistan has risen by almost two degrees Celsius in the last 70 years, according to the Washington Post. That is double the global average. Bad harvests and war have made the country dependent on food imports from other countries. In early 2022, the Taliban began the development of the Qosh Tepa canal, in northern Afghanistan, to end this dependence. A Taliban member guards the newly built bridge over the Qosh Tepa canal in northern Afghanistan. Analysts fear that the countries of Central Asia could be thrown into a war because of the development of the canal. Photo: ATIF ARYAN / AFP If the canal is completed, it will be 285 km long according to the plan, and will convert more than 500 thousand hectares of desert into agricultural land. If so, it will increase Afghanistan’s arable land by a third and with it make the country self-sufficient in food for the first time since the 1980s, according to Afghan officials. But the project has been criticized by several. The channel is one of several prestigious projects the Taliban are behind. But the project has been criticized by neighboring countries who fear an agricultural crisis. Photo: ATIF ARYAN / AFP Especially by the neighboring countries who fear an agricultural crisis as a result of water being diverted from the Amu Darya river. Now it is feared that the countries in Central Asia may be thrown into a war over water. The Amu Darya River forms the border between Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. International recognition Since taking power, the Taliban regime has worked hard for international recognition of its regime. In May, Russia did just that. – We have to take Afghanistan’s point of view into account and establish relations with the country, said President Vladimir Putin when he announced the decision. Since the Taliban took power, Chinese investors have looked more towards neighboring Afghanistan. The most lucrative deal is a 25-year oil extraction contract worth $540 million over the next three years. Photo: WAKIL KOHSAR / AFP Where other countries have chosen to isolate the Taliban regime in Kabul, due to their lack of respect for human rights, Chinese companies have entered the country with billions of investments. During the American occupation of Afghanistan, the Americans discovered huge amounts of gold, copper and lithium in Afghanistan. During the American occupation of Afghanistan, the Americans discovered huge amounts of gold, copper and lithium in Afghanistan. Photo: WAKIL KOHSAR / AFP Opening up the country to tourists But it is not only Chinese investors who travel to the war-torn country. Afghanistan has suddenly become a popular holiday destination for so-called “extreme tourists”. Many defy international sanctions and several have visited the country recently. Taliban soldiers take selfies at the tomb of Afghanistan’s former king, Nadir Shah, in Kabul. Photo: Siddiqullah Alizai / AP In 2021, 691 foreign tourists visited the country. The following year this had risen to 2,300. Last year, 7,000 foreign tourists visited the country, and it is expected that there will be even more this year. A group of tourists from Thailand visit the Kart-e-Sakhi square in Kabul, March 2024. Photo: WAKIL KOHSAR / AFP Roadtrip Afghanistan One of its own has made the trip to the country is Pamir Ehsas, who has traveled on a roadtrip through Afghanistan. – It has always been a dream to be able to travel around. On one and the same trip, you could see desert, snow-covered mountain peaks and green valleys similar to what we have in Western Norway, he says, laughing. – The nature was unbelievably beautiful. Although he is concerned about the situation in the country, Ehsas says he has hope for Afghanistan’s future. – I am an idealist and have a genuine belief that the country will experience better times. This belief is rooted in the strength of the Afghan people. As long as the hope for a better future lives with them, I will believe the same. He says he has faith that schools for women will reopen. – There have already been minor reforms that have eased women’s restrictions on work and education. But to ensure full reopening, we must ally with Afghan women and negotiate with the Taliban. – There is no other way out.
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On a road trip through Afghanistan – What does the country look like three years after the Taliban took over? – Buskerud
