Afghanistan’s Taliban rode to power promising an inclusive political dispensation and followed up their takeover of Kabul by announcing a general amnesty for all Afghans, but it is increasingly clear their actions do not match their words.
“The general amnesty announcement was just to make a good picture for the international community, especially the media”, says Afghan activist Nilofar Ayoubi, who evacuated to Poland along with her family including small children.
“People like the media and yourself believe that they have announced general amnesty and they are sticking by their words but they don’t”, she told The Truth International (TTI) from Poland over telephone.
“There have been so many executions and there is no news channel to cover it because every news channel is being controlled by the Taliban.”
Reports from Afghanistan have indeed been rife with accounts of violence including executions and beatings.
A Reuters report last week said two Afghan journalists had been beaten in police custody this week after covering a protest by women in Kabul where they were detained by the Taliban.
“Zaki Daryabi, founder and editor-in-chief of the Etilaat Roz newspaper, shared images on social media of two male reporters, one with large, red welts across his lower back and legs and the other with similar marks on his shoulder and arm”, the report said.
According to a report carried by The Friday Times last week, Taliban’s announcement of general amnesty seems not to apply to Hazaras.
At the receiving end of the Taliban’s raw deal are marginalised groups like Hazaras, women, activists, artists, and intellectuals.
Nilofar Ayoubi is one of the thousands of women who have built thriving, prosperous lives for themselves in Afghanistan over the past two decades. However, after the fall of Kabul, Ayoubi feels her success and her independent personality has become a millstone around her neck.
In the beginning, the Afghan activist was reluctant to leave her country and abandon everything it has given her – property, wealth, business. In the final reckoning, however, the safety of her three small children trumped every other consideration.
During an interview Ayoubi explained the terrifying circumstances surrounding her escape from Afghanistan.
“After multiple attempts, I succeeded to cross the sewage gate where the suicide bombing happened two or three days ago so the day I was able to cross the gate I had to wait in the sewage for five hours for the [Polish] troops to rescue me.”
The journey to the gate was excruciating as Nilofar was accompanied by her family including small children.
“Taliban broke my nose trying to keep me from passing the gate. My husband was hit several times by the Taliban and my kids were hurt. The crowd was enormous. On occasions, we were on the verge of being trampled by the crowd and the other time the Taliban would come and hit us to try to stop us from reaching the gate. And I only left for the airport after getting confirmation of being added to the list of the Polish government and they called us to come to this gate and they gave us some signals and signs so the Polish troops would recognize us.”
While waiting for the Polish troops to arrive, Ayoubi had a feeling she was in the middle of a zombie apocalypse where everyone is running for their lives and being trampled by everyone else in the process. She explained that there were thousands of people behind the gate which made it close to impossible to even get near it.
“And as I said, after three days of multiple failed attempts, being hit to having my nose broken by the Taliban and then waiting for five hours inside the sewage holding up the sign for the Polish troops to recognize me and take us in and we finally succeeded.” Ayoubi said.
Poland had about a 100 people on an evacuation list. The country had pledged to offer places on its planes to other people trying to leave Afghanistan from Kabul airport, where chaotic scenes have caused problems for some evacuation efforts. “About 50 people were evacuated from Afghanistan, they are now safe in the care of the Polish consulate in Uzbekistan,” Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz told reporters.
To the terrified Afghan refugees who had just left their entire lives back in Afghani- stan for fear of the Taliban, the Polish troops felt like angels. Explaining the relief she felt as the Polish troops arrived, Ayoubi said: “To be honest as soon as the Polish troops pulled our hands we immediately felt safe again, there was still a fear and I wasn’t going to get excited until I was in the plane and outside of Afghanistan.
“In Afghanistan since the collapse of Kabul into the hands of Taliban and the collapse of Afghanistan, everything was changing by the second so you could not predict your next minute or second, you could not guarantee anything.”
“And then again when we were boarded in an army flight, we landed in Uzbekistan and then boarded in a chartered flight and from the beginning the staff was very nice, just trying to comfort us and give snacks, food, anything needed for the kids and that was a very nice welcome.”
After the evacuation of Ayoubi and her fellow refugees, they were sheltered in a safe space and provided basic necessities. Ayoubi showed her gratitude towards the Polish troops and explained how Afghans finding refuge in other countries were not as fortunate as her.
She stated: “The Polish troops and the Polish people are very, very nice and generous, and have been generous to us and everyone. Right now we are living in the middle of the forest in a camp which is a quite beautiful place and everyone has their own small cottages and privacy and every three and a half hours they check on us, they ask if we need anything, anything means absolutely anything.
“They provided clothes, food, diapers for the kids, shampoo, anything you would need in a house. So three times food, they are trying their best to find our taste and make food that matches our taste. They are doing all they can and they are being very, very nice.
“And seriously I could not imagine such a warm and nice welcome. Because I hear from my other friends, activists in the media who are in other countries’ camps. They don’t have such a nice welcome or such nice behaviour.”
“Right now we have been refugees all over the world, I mean my friends, the bright people of Afghanistan, the elite, the entrepreneurs, the activists, the media. So we are all over the world and we get to talk to each other.
“And I think in most of the places refugees are not being treated well they are not…..How do I say this? Either the camps are not sanitary…. They have issues. Maybe I was lucky to reach Poland and have such a nice welcome and also get to stay in such a good place and have privacy and everything.
“But it has turned out like that, especially the refugees who fled to neighbouring countries, their situations are way worse. Unfortunately, this is a situation which was forced on us and now we have to go through all these bad behaviours or aggressive behaviours which are seriously not appreciated in such a hard time for us.”
Leaving behind the lives that these Afghans had built for them has not been an easy task. Ayoubi still hopes for a miracle to free Afghanistan from the clutches of the Taliban so she can start over in her homeland.
She says: “I love my property, businesses, my wealth, my home, my everything. I seriously don’t want to talk about this. Anyways let’s just follow our destiny I guess. For now I am just trying to raise my voice for the people who are left behind and for my country.
“All my focus is on how to raise my voice and at least try to make the country and the international community so they don’t recognize the Taliban as a government. That’s what we all are going to do, we activists and we the new generation of Afghanistan who have fled the country, we are doing our best to protest and fight so at least the Taliban are not recognized as a government. No matter which country we are in we will do our part and fight for it.”
The Afghans who have escaped are doing their best to let the world know the current situation of Afghanistan and still hope to one day return to their country without having to look behind their shoulder every step of the way.
