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Afghanistan has been plagued by decades of war. The country’s very infrastructure has been crippled in the face of armed conflict, poverty and economic recessions. Whilst the country itself wears the scars of its fraught history, the true victims are the innocent citizens of Afghanistan – the children denied an education due to inaccessibility of schools, the families who have lost loved ones on the battlefields, and the vast majority of individuals denied access to basic rights such as healthcare and liberty.

 

A land-locked country in a crucial location in Asia, Afghanistan has a rich and deep history. Yet its location has also rendered it the focal point for foreign intervention and centuries of instability. In the 19th century, Afghanistan became centre stage for what has come to be known as ‘The Great Game’ – the power struggle between British and Russian forces. In the 20th century, the Cold War rivalry between the USSR and USA was played out on the streets of Afghanistan. The withdrawal of Soviet forces in the 1980s left behind a bitter internal power struggle as divisive factions sought control of the administrative powerhouse of Afghanistan – the capital city, Kabul. The 1990s in Afghanistan can be summarised in two words: the Taliban. With support from foreign forces, the Taliban launched a staunch military campaign with a view to imposing their strict interpretations of Islamic Shari’a law. What followed was several years of violence, poverty and human rights violations. As civil unrest and bloodshed continued in Afghanistan, the repercussions of the 11 September 2001 attacks in the US thrust Afghanistan back into the spotlight. The US government’s global war on terrorism and resulting “Operation Enduring Freedom” led by the US and British in October 2001 saw the Taliban overthrown in Kabul and a new government established. To this day, fighting and conflict nevertheless remain rife in Afghanistan. 

 

“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men”

— Frederick Douglass

 

In its long and troubled history, the British, US and Russian governments alike (to name a few) have all, at one point in time, sought to intervene in Afghanistan. Setting aside the motivations, good or otherwise, of such intervention, it is undeniable that this combined with internal friction has left Afghanistan unstable. This instability has produced a lost generation – a generation of children who have been denied a childhood because they have been thrust into a situation that no adult should ever have to face; a generation of children who know nothing but war and poverty, who have to work to survive and thus lose an opportunity to go to school and get an education, and who quickly become the providers of their households as they watch their fathers and older siblings lose their lives to conflict.

 

It is all too easy to adopt a bleak view of the future of Afghanistan, to wave a white flag and accept that the ‘lost generation’ are just that: lost. But, this does not need to be the case. There is indeed much that can be done to improve the lives of the citizens of Afghanistan. A mere £50 a month, for example, can do wonders – a mother can feed her children, a child can attain basic stationary and books to obtain an education and a family can survive the treacherous winter months where electricity is scarce and homes are not insulated. It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. For those in the Western world, it is often very easy to turn a blind eye and to not recognise one’s privilege; access to basic rights such as healthcare and education are readily taken for granted. But ignoring the plight of those most in need is to be devoid of humanity and compassion. Innocent citizens in Afghanistan are denied inalienable human rights on a daily basis through no fault of their own. It may not be possible to help all those who suffer in the world, but helping even one person is a start: a start to letting children have a childhood, to letting families stay together and to discard the white flag of surrender and to have hope that Afghanistan can and will see a more prosperous future.

 

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