Early last winter, I enrolled in an English language course in Kabul. I decided to prepare for a master’s exam at a foreign university by learning English. I was very enthusiastic about going to class and I was one of the students who got great grades in the exams. I did my homework properly. I enjoyed attending classes and interacting with all my classmates and new friends. With the fall of the regime and the arrival of the Taliban in Kabul, however, our course closed forever and I could no longer continue learning English.
At the same time as I was learning English, I was trying to start a new job so that I could support my family and have a good life. About a month before the fall of the regime, I went through a breathtaking recruitment process at an international institution. They had to pay me a good salary and I was going to start working soon. When the Taliban took control of Kabul, I was not introduced to this position, and the institutional activities in which I was to be employed were suspended.
Even more bitter is my sister’s story. She managed to get into Kabul University’s Faculty of International Relations after passing the entrance exam last year. She wanted to become a diplomat in the future. She studied hard and took a foreign language course. My sister was a role model for those around her and those who knew her. Our family members, friends, and relatives wholeheartedly praised her. She studies day and night, and even on Fridays and holidays. My sister was less likely to attend weddings and parties with relatives and friends and preferred to attend classes instead.
Kabul University is still closed and my sister cannot attend her classes. These days, when I come home, I see her weaving, not reading, unlike in the past. I ask her why she does not study her lessons as before and why I do not see her chapters and books. She replies she has no interest in studying and no longer has the motivation to continue her studies.
The August 15 turmoil has affected the lives of all of us to a great extent. When you go to the city, you clearly see people depressed and upset. Everyone is worried about the future and the cost of living. Everywhere people talk about their misery, unemployment, poverty, and a bleak future.
[box type=”info” align=”alignleft” class=”” width=””]Abdul Bashir Azimi’s Story, Hasht-e Subh Persian[/box]
