The situation in Afghanistan is terrible.
So many lives lost. Twenty years to find a way out.
Then, the way out turns out worse, than the worst case scenario imagined.
Ending a war has never been easy. Even when guns are lowered, fear rules in peoples hearts. The trauma that is seen from loved ones lost, homes lost, lasts generations.
I know getting out of Afghanistan is a national interest. American lives were lost and severely impacted during the 20 years the USA was there. But this abrupt and disorganized Taliban takeover has dismantled years of blood, sweat and tears. American soldiers are expressing their frustrations with leaving behind Afghanis that aided them during the war.
I saw September 11 live on my television. I went to school that day. I saw a TV cart be rolled into my first period English class to watch the coverage. I remember Mr. O getting a phone call from the office and having to turn it off. I have lived with anniversaries of September 11. For years it was hard to watch the coverage, the documentaries. The images of people falling from the cargo plane leaving the Kabul airport, juxtaposed with people falling from buildings on September 11.
I too wanted American's out of Afghanistan. And now they are called back, in more dire circumstances. There should have been better plans, perhaps a more gradual pullback, but there is no time for that.
When corruption and money are more important that life and country. When women and children are not valued, we see scenes of chaos and loss. Parents hoisting a baby up to a Marine to give them a better life, perhaps to never be seen again (thankfully they were reunited). Unimaginable heartache. I pray people stand up for themselves and their their values. That they use the power in their voices to find a way out of this awful situation.
Thank you for reading, I was thinking about all of this and find it therapeutic to write.
Have a blessed day,
Kathy