Afghanistan: 'Tea is sometimes all I have to give my hungry baby' (www.bbc.co.uk)
from mwguy@infosec.pub to world@lemmy.world on 18 Dec 2023 05:03
https://infosec.pub/post/6175998

#world

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autotldr@lemmings.world on 18 Dec 2023 05:05 next collapse

This is the best summary I could come up with:


Or I soak bread in tea and then feed it to her," Sohaila Niyazi says, sitting on the floor of her mud brick home up a hill in eastern Kabul.

The tea that Sohaila refers to is what’s traditionally drunk in Afghanistan, made with green leaves and hot water, without any milk or sugar.

Doctors have told us that while it’s less harmful than the tranquilisers and anti-depressants we have found being given by some Afghan parents to their hungry children, in higher doses the medicine can cause respiratory distress.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was paying the salaries of health workers, and funding medicines and food at more than 30 hospitals - an emergency stopgap measure implemented following the regime change in 2021.

They have all had their pay cut by half," Dr Mohammad Iqbal Sadiq, the Taliban-appointed medical director of the hospital, tells us.

Did he recognise that Taliban policies were a part of the problem too; that donors didn’t want to give money to a country where the government had imposed stringent restrictions on women?


The original article contains 1,300 words, the summary contains 181 words. Saved 86%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

PugJesus@kbin.social on 18 Dec 2023 06:01 next collapse

"I asked one Taliban brother, what do I feed my children if I don't earn? He said give them poison but don't come outside your home," she says. "Two times the Taliban government gave me some money, but it is nowhere close to enough."

suction@lemmy.world on 20 Dec 2023 14:51 next collapse

You can accuse the Taliban of a lot of things, but not that they aren’t thinking practically.

mwguy@infosec.pub on 21 Dec 2023 07:20 collapse

That part stuck with me. The Taliban would rather children die en-mass then women sell knickknacks on a street corner.

suction@lemmy.world on 18 Dec 2023 06:45 next collapse

And for all the northern Brits in here: By „tea“ she doesn’t mean „dinner“.

Mr_Blott@lemmy.world on 18 Dec 2023 08:37 collapse

Alright hen, come in. Ye’ll have had yer tea?

DarkGamer@kbin.social on 18 Dec 2023 07:10 next collapse

The Taliban are the worst, It was a real shame that afghanis caved so quickly to them.

NateNate60@lemmy.world on 18 Dec 2023 08:05 next collapse

People get blinded by religious extremism. Those that don’t generally just want to live in peace and don’t want to fight wars to maintain a fragile government that wasn’t even that great to begin with.

We all like to think of ourselves as brave souls who would put down our lives for our ideals but at the end of the day most of us will not actually stand up when the time comes to it.

TserriednichThe4th@lemmy.world on 18 Dec 2023 15:20 collapse

Same shit in Palestine. Brain washed population

MaxVoltage@lemmy.world on 18 Dec 2023 21:31 collapse

Absolutely comrade muslim lunatics

PugJesus@kbin.social on 18 Dec 2023 08:29 next collapse

Afghanistan simply did not have the national consciousness necessary for Afghans to come together in opposition to the Taliban, which was united on ideological/religious grounds.

DarkGamer@kbin.social on 18 Dec 2023 14:01 collapse

Which is a shame because they seemed like they were on a trajectory to become a modern country in the 70's. Today, they are positively mediaeval. It seems like religion has ruined the region.

PugJesus@kbin.social on 18 Dec 2023 20:27 collapse

Sadly, much more complex than religion. But yes, it's terrible how much potential has been wasted and how many lives ruined.

Linkerbaan@lemmy.world on 18 Dec 2023 10:40 next collapse

It was the Taliban or pedo rapist warlords instated by the US

youtu.be/Ja5Q75hf6QI?t=51m9s

The longer you watch the worse it gets.

“Try finding me a police commander that doesn’t rape little boys” is an actual quote from the American installed military police.

deft@ttrpg.network on 18 Dec 2023 16:13 collapse

the Taliban are pedo rapist warlords bro

Linkerbaan@lemmy.world on 18 Dec 2023 18:53 collapse

No they fought the pedo rapist American warlords. Just watch the video I’ve linked and tell me your BS again.

PugJesus@kbin.social on 18 Dec 2023 20:24 next collapse

The heroic Taliban, fighting the pedo rapists, lmao

Linkerbaan@lemmy.world on 18 Dec 2023 21:17 collapse

It’d be so funny if it wasn’t true. But keep deferring watching the video.

deft@ttrpg.network on 18 Dec 2023 20:44 collapse

how about you google bachi bazi and then get back to me, let’s see if you hold that same thought.

Linkerbaan@lemmy.world on 18 Dec 2023 21:17 next collapse

Yes my man that’s literally the term used by American backed pedo rapist warlords. You are proving my point.

deft@ttrpg.network on 18 Dec 2023 23:10 collapse

How? I’m genuinely curious how you understand an Arabic word being the US term for this well documented historic cultural fact that predates the creation of the United States

Linkerbaan@lemmy.world on 18 Dec 2023 23:41 collapse

The Taliban actually outlawed that shit. The Americans promoted it.

But keep not watching the video that adresses your very point.

deft@ttrpg.network on 18 Dec 2023 23:46 collapse

They do not enforce the outlaw at all.

Also saying the US promoted it is absolutely bullshit we know of the war crimes committed by the US. That’s not one.

Specifically the opposite

slate.com/…/american-military-told-troops-to-igno…

www.theodysseyonline.com/what-is-bacha-bazi

nytimes.com/…/us-soldiers-told-to-ignore-afghan-a…

huffpost.com/…/the-dancing-boys-of-afghanistan_b_…

npr.org/…/how-the-u-s-military-ignored-child-sexu…

NOT_RICK@lemmy.world on 18 Dec 2023 21:21 collapse

They’re not wrong that bachi bazi is outlawed by the Taliban, but characterizing it as a policy endorsed by the US is ridiculous. I also question how effective the Taliban ban on the practice is, just like I question the Taliban’s purported ban on opium cultivation. Generally when there is money to be made even the morality police turn a blind eye.

deft@ttrpg.network on 18 Dec 2023 23:08 collapse

washingtonexaminer.com/…/photos-video-and-testimo…

They made it illegal but allegedly it still happens and they don’t enforce it as much as you’d like to believe they do. Likely they ban it for international appearance

Ullallulloo@civilloquy.com on 18 Dec 2023 19:48 collapse

Sadly, the Taliban isn’t even the worst. They’re now fighting insurgents from ISIS-K, which is an even more violent and oppressive terrorist group.

PugJesus@kbin.social on 18 Dec 2023 20:25 next collapse

Funny how it can always get worse. Not ha-ha funny, though.

MaxVoltage@lemmy.world on 18 Dec 2023 21:31 collapse

i am always extremely sus of any Afghan person i meet. No offense but i know what they had to do to survive

feminalpanda@lemmings.world on 19 Dec 2023 01:16 collapse

Would you say the same about poor people living in the hood?

Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee on 18 Dec 2023 10:07 next collapse

Watching the Taliban try and be a functioning government, and getting chewed out by both their own people and the international community, has been fascinating to watch.

MaxVoltage@lemmy.world on 18 Dec 2023 21:30 collapse

its working as intended. Warlords rich now

Linkerbaan@lemmy.world on 18 Dec 2023 10:37 next collapse

www.voanews.com/a/…/6427771.html

America fucks up the entire country

Installs pedo warlord government

Makes it dependant on drug farming

Still gets owned

Steals 7 billon dollars from the government when they leave

Sanctions the economy and prevents international trade

Prevents humanitarian aid from entering for a while

Wowe le non democracy country is poor. so inferior 😎

30 years ago Socialists were to blame for these kinds of American created problems in south America. Now they dunk on Afghanistan and proceed to blame the Taliban for it.

PugJesus@kbin.social on 18 Dec 2023 10:58 next collapse

lmao

Imagine simping for the Taliban because international politics is a religion to you, and America is the Great Satan.

Linkerbaan@lemmy.world on 18 Dec 2023 11:50 collapse

Yeah America (specifically America) colonizing the country for 20 years and running it into the ground is definitely irrelevant here.

Imagine dunking on them when 90% of the shit in this article is problems America created themselves.

I don’t agree with them closing school for women and many other things, but the economic situation and starvation is 100% a result of American imperialism.

PugJesus@kbin.social on 18 Dec 2023 11:57 next collapse

Yes, I am definitely sure it was all Amerikkka's fault, Afghanistan definitely hasn't always been a dirt poor country for the past 200 years and also definitely didn't spent most of the 70s and all of the 80s and 90s locked in brutal civil wars, and definitely has a united national culture that made running a functional national government easy.

Also I love the part where we were colonizing Afghanistan and dictating their internal policies. God, it's so great that we thought Islam was so amazing that we made it a crime to apostatize from it. Wait, or are we supposed to be the Christian Crusaders imposing our faith on Muslim countries? I can never keep all the things we're accused of doing straight.

If you think the economic situation in Afghanistan is due to the US... well, that's about the understanding of Afghanistan's historical and present circumstances I expect from someone who treats international politics like a religion and says "Well, I don't agree with the Taliban closing schools for women and 'other things', BUT... have you considered, America bad?"

Linkerbaan@lemmy.world on 18 Dec 2023 12:55 collapse

You can keep turning in circles and do adhoms but the fact remains that America ruined Afghanistan the last 20 years. Before that it was the Russians.

The current Afghanistan has been independent for a very little time and has inherited tonnes of problems from America ruining the country. The sanctions and aid restrictions also don’t help this.

I’m not sure why you’d even begin to disagree with these facts but seeing as your entire comment doesn’t address then I can only guess.

MrEff@lemmy.world on 18 Dec 2023 15:33 next collapse

In 2000 the Afghani was worth 75,000 to 1 USD. During ISAF occupation it was fixed at 50 to 1. It is now at 70 to 1 and dropping. Let’s stick to one argument at a time rather than playing the whataboutism game. You said the USA destroyed their economy, yet the evidence strongly says otherwise. Before 2001, Afghanistan was the second poorest country in the world. When ISAF pulled out it was ranked at about 40 (I say ‘about’ because it was still growing and changing faster and the rankings were uptated). In the short time of Taliban rule they have dropped back down to sub 33 with exact number still to be determined. (The sub 33 ranking is important because there are only 33 countries on the UN “least developed countries” list).

I would spend time debating topics like this with educated people and those that are open minded, but you do not seem like you fit either group. Do not expect a reply.

Linkerbaan@lemmy.world on 18 Dec 2023 15:48 collapse

Links random numbers

Ignores the Americans fucking over the local population

Ignores the Americans making the economy dependant on opium farming

Ignores America still sanctioning the place

Please don’t reply anymore.

I_Has_A_Hat@startrek.website on 18 Dec 2023 18:30 collapse

Sounds like his points are making you uncomfortable. It also sounds like you’d rather just eject from the conversation and pretend it never happened than accept that the world is a big, messy, complicated place and your hot takes are actually cold shit.

Linkerbaan@lemmy.world on 18 Dec 2023 18:51 collapse

His point is that America boosted the economy by turning the place into a giant Opium farm and now a huge part of the Afghan population are crackheads.

Now the Taliban has outlawed the American drug cartels they don’t make money from it indeed. Not that they’re very profitable anymore since Chinese synthetic fentanyl has taken over the drug market.

assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world on 18 Dec 2023 19:35 collapse

the fact remains that America ruined Afghanistan the last 20 years. Before that it was the Russians.

There’s an inconsistency here. You cannot ruin what it already ruined. If the USSR ruined them, then the US kept it in that state, but did not cause the ruination itself. The only other possibility is that the USSR ruined them, then they recovered, then the US ruined them again.

Things were already bad before the US got involved. Infant mortality was extremely high. That rate actually went down during the US occupation. The world isn’t so simple that the US is to blame for every issue. I wish it were, because that would create a simple solution to every problem.

The sad fact is that some places are fucked up by no real fault of any nation, but by regional warlords and religious extremism. And it behooves us to look critically at these things so we can identify possible solutions.

Linkerbaan@lemmy.world on 18 Dec 2023 20:30 collapse

The place was ruined up after the first war with Russia, then America turned the place into a giant opium farm which does generate revenue but also a whole lot of cartel problems. People here don’t seem to want to admit it but basically the entire Afghan economy under America ran on drugs usip.org/…/talibans-successful-opium-ban-bad-afgh…

America also prevented the nation from developing by instating boy raping pedo warlords as police and giving them guns to terrorize the citizens with.

There was some aid from Unicef and stuff which isn’t bad, but all in all the reason the economy is in shambles now since America added almost nothing of real value to the country and prevented it from developing itself.

assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world on 19 Dec 2023 02:09 collapse

Fair enough then, but I think your viewpoint might be better described as “America kept them in ruin” instead of “America ruined them”. Semantics though, I’ll admit.

GenEcon@lemm.ee on 18 Dec 2023 11:58 next collapse

You use the words ‘colonialism’ and ‘imperialism’ but don’t seem to know what they mean.

Linkerbaan@lemmy.world on 18 Dec 2023 12:49 collapse

Colonialism is just the step beyond imperialism. America does imperialism all over the world but doesn’t colonize everything.

America setting up tonnes of military bases, killing the government and then replacing and dictating the entire governance with their own peons means that it colonized Afghanistan, it didn’t just influence it.

PugJesus@kbin.social on 18 Dec 2023 20:24 collapse

America setting up tonnes of military bases, killing the government and then replacing and dictating the entire governance with their own peons means that it colonized Afghanistan, it didn’t just influence it.

lmao

NOT_RICK@lemmy.world on 18 Dec 2023 13:48 collapse

Seems to me that with western money drying up due to not wanting to give cash to the Taliban, things are going back to what they were before the US invasion.

Linkerbaan@lemmy.world on 18 Dec 2023 13:58 collapse

Stealing 7 billion in assets isn’t “not wanting to give cash”. That’s their money.

Before the last war the Russians screwed up the country and they were dealing with the after effects of that war. Now the Americans are leaving the country in the same war torn state and somehow blame it all on the Taliban. What are you trying to say exactly?

NOT_RICK@lemmy.world on 18 Dec 2023 15:03 collapse

The US is under no obligation to give an enemy money held by the Federal Reserve. Also, the Taliban shares no blame for that war torn state? They weren’t exactly paragons of good governance last time either. Maybe if they spent more time working on economic development instead of executing thieves and beating women for going to school I’d be marginally less critical of their regime.

I’m saying that the US naively tried and failed to nation build in Afghanistan. Trillions were spent on infrastructure and schools which was in hindsight a failure. Afghanistan was war torn before, during, and now after US occupation.

teichflamme@lemm.ee on 18 Dec 2023 21:53 collapse

Imagine being so dense that you’d simp for the fucking Taliban. At least they had something like a secular state and law in place during their occupation. Making it possible for women to attend universities or minorities to simply exist.

The fact that the occupiers didn’t manage to solve every single problem in this war torn and split up country with no common ground doesn’t mean it wasn’t a net positive. Which it 100% was for everyone but the Taliban.

Linkerbaan@lemmy.world on 18 Dec 2023 23:35 collapse

Uhuh. I guess the current American economy is also 100% Biden’s fault and has nothing do with Trumps policies before it. Because Biden is in charge now babehhh. Forget the past it never happened not relevant!

teichflamme@lemm.ee on 19 Dec 2023 05:13 collapse

If that is the best argument you can come up with you should probably take a look at your stance

afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world on 19 Dec 2023 04:25 next collapse

Mothers don’t raise your son’s to follow Allah.

mwguy@infosec.pub on 21 Dec 2023 07:18 collapse

Unfortunately Islam has impoverished the Arabic, Northern African and Central Asian nations for 1000 years, and the way it’s going it’s gonna impoverish them for the next 1000 years too.

naturalgasbad@lemmy.ca on 19 Dec 2023 12:57 collapse

Afghanistan has always been one of the poorest countries on the planet. The Taliban-mandated stop in opium production collapsed their economy further. This is the aftermath of ceasing opium production more than anything else.