Since the Taliban seized control in Afghanistan, signs of exhaustion and despair in all aspects of citizens’ lives in this country are more evident than ever before. Everyone is weary and despondent, and the situation is progressing to the point where it feels like everything in your life has reached a dead end and there is no more hope. In the presence of a terrorist group that has infiltrated every aspect of life and seeks to deprive people even of the smallest freedoms, on the other hand, the world practically forgets a country called Afghanistan and wants to engage with the Taliban through informal means, speaking of hope if not foolish, overly optimistic and unrealistic. But this dismal and discouraging situation is unique to us, not to the terrorists and their supporters. They are full of hope and have the right to be optimistic. The current situation in Afghanistan is proceeding according to their wishes, and everything has been organized to the benefit of the Taliban and their allies. In such a situation, it seems natural for terrorists to be optimistic and happy. In other words, in the current disastrous era, only terrorists are not weary and despondent, and they think they are experiencing freshness and cheerfulness more than ever before; the rest of the people, whose share of life under the tyranny of Taliban brutality is only disaster, bitterness, poverty, defeat, and despair.
The fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban didn’t occur abruptly; it began during a period of apparent excellence and extreme optimism. However, the arrow of deliverance on August 15, 2021, pierced the facade of the fictitious Karzai-Ghani republic, revealing the harsh truth. Until August 15, we only glimpsed a portion of the ugly reality and hadn’t fully relinquished our illusions. We were aware of the rampant corruption and incompetence plaguing the government backed by the West; yet, no one anticipated its collapse with the suddenness witnessed on August 15. We were also familiar with the corruption within non-governmental institutions; however, there lingered the illusion that they might not be as corrupt and deceitful, a notion shattered in the months following the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul. Even intelligent individuals, especially in times of crisis, are susceptible to the guile of professional fraudsters and deceivers—individuals who, for twenty years, purportedly championed human rights, democracy, and free speech, while exploiting every opportunity, including after Kabul’s fall, for personal gain and that of their families. It is in crises that realities fully and definitively manifest themselves.
In the days of crisis and tragedy following the fall of Kabul, we became acquainted with faces of corruption, deceit, and betrayal that had previously unmasked their humanity, camaraderie, philanthropy, justice, and incorruptibility, deceiving some to the extent that even after August fifteenth, they thought their account was separate from others. But what we faced after the fall of Kabul was painful, somewhat surprising, and despair-inducing. In the two and a half years since the Taliban came to power, everything has revealed its true nature and conscience; from corrupt politicians and officials to deceitful and manipulative activists and journalists. One advantage of the fall of Kabul to the Taliban was that all illusions collapsed, and the false display of honesty and sincerity was largely replaced by the display of harsh reality. Even those who thought the Taliban group was not the same as before, have now felt with their flesh and blood that this group is not flexible.
So, the advantage of the Taliban coming to power is that fewer people are deluded by the fantasy of companionship and human conscience. This is not an advantage; it’s the pinnacle of a crisis of trust, a crisis that doesn’t seem to be easily overcome. A thoroughly corrupt and fabricated system, in which the West had a significant role, led to the spread and institutionalization of corruption in all spheres of life, creating a society where lying and hypocrisy constituted its fundamental pillars. Powerful individuals and officials lied and corrupted without paying the slightest cost. Now that the Taliban have taken over, there has been no change in the overall situation, and only the corrupt and deceitful rulers have been replaced. The old thieves have gone, and new thieves have come; albeit with the difference that in that corrupt and crisis-ridden republic, there were at least few avenues for breathing and protesting against the current situation, which in the Taliban emirate even those avenues have been denied to the people. But this situation is not sustainable in the long run. Bad conditions and disaster-stricken situations are more vulnerable than any other situation and are not meant to last forever.
Currently, terrorists benefit from the crisis of mistrust, despondency, and defeat among the people of Afghanistan and will continue to exploit the existing crisis as long as they can. But when the Taliban grow weary or are forced to accept weariness and despondency, the situation will change. Instead of succumbing to isolation and giving in to weariness and defeat, people must do something to transfer this negative sentiment to the opposing front rather than succumb themselves. Despondency and silence in the face of the increasing crimes of the Taliban not only do not help but also encourage and embolden the terrorists even more. We must raise the cost of Afghanistan’s “victory” to terrorism. The way to achieve this goal is to resist the Taliban in every possible way.