WEBVTT 00:00:02.025 --> 00:00:04.050 align:middle line:84% The war in Afghanistan was never meant 00:00:04.050 --> 00:00:07.060 align:middle line:84% to be a multi-generational undertaking. 00:00:07.060 --> 00:00:08.650 align:middle line:90% We were attacked. 00:00:08.650 --> 00:00:11.440 align:middle line:90% We went to war with clear goals. 00:00:11.440 --> 00:00:13.210 align:middle line:90% We achieved those objectives. 00:00:13.210 --> 00:00:15.120 align:middle line:90% Bin Laden is dead. 00:00:15.120 --> 00:00:18.222 align:middle line:84% And al-Qaeda is degraded in Afghanistan. 00:00:18.222 --> 00:00:22.610 align:middle line:84% And it's time to end the forever war. 00:00:22.610 --> 00:00:24.980 align:middle line:90% When I'm sleeping, I see war. 00:00:24.980 --> 00:00:27.965 align:middle line:84% You're expecting to be killed any time. 00:00:27.965 --> 00:00:29.540 align:middle line:90% We have to be strong. 00:00:29.540 --> 00:00:30.905 align:middle line:90% We only have each other. 00:01:15.160 --> 00:01:19.060 align:middle line:84% Thanks to our military, and our allies, 00:01:19.060 --> 00:01:22.530 align:middle line:84% and the brave fighters of Afghanistan, 00:01:22.530 --> 00:01:25.740 align:middle line:84% the Taliban regime is coming to an end. 00:01:29.845 --> 00:01:31.390 align:middle line:90% I saw everyone was smiling. 00:01:31.390 --> 00:01:33.940 align:middle line:84% And I saw the people with the shaved beards. 00:01:33.940 --> 00:01:36.910 align:middle line:84% I was surprised that, what the hell is going on? 00:01:36.910 --> 00:01:39.610 align:middle line:84% When I came home and I asked my father and my uncles. 00:01:39.610 --> 00:01:42.100 align:middle line:84% So that's because they're showing their happiness. 00:01:42.100 --> 00:01:44.710 align:middle line:84% And then they're showing also their disgust 00:01:44.710 --> 00:01:48.490 align:middle line:84% for the Taliban that they were making people to grow beards. 00:02:03.330 --> 00:02:08.982 align:middle line:84% The Americans lost 2,500 regular troops and another 3,500 00:02:08.982 --> 00:02:10.440 align:middle line:84% what they call private contractors. 00:02:10.440 --> 00:02:14.320 align:middle line:84% But essentially they're there doing military type stuff. 00:02:14.320 --> 00:02:16.950 align:middle line:84% And then the Nato allies who went in with the United 00:02:16.950 --> 00:02:20.968 align:middle line:84% States lost well over 1,000 troops with 450 British troops 00:02:20.968 --> 00:02:21.510 align:middle line:90% amongst them. 00:02:24.080 --> 00:02:26.930 align:middle line:84% Perhaps inevitably, the main casualties 00:02:26.930 --> 00:02:29.030 align:middle line:84% were taken by Afghans themselves, 00:02:29.030 --> 00:02:32.420 align:middle line:84% something like 66,000 Afghan troops 00:02:32.420 --> 00:02:36.200 align:middle line:84% killed, over 40,000 Afghan civilian dead. 00:02:36.200 --> 00:02:38.630 align:middle line:84% And indeed, there are now so many different attacks. 00:02:38.630 --> 00:02:41.960 align:middle line:84% There's a constant drumbeat of small atrocities 00:02:41.960 --> 00:02:44.320 align:middle line:84% I'm afraid now happening in Afghanistan. 00:02:44.320 --> 00:02:46.790 align:middle line:90% Well, my name is Abdull Wahab. 00:02:46.790 --> 00:02:48.360 align:middle line:90% I'm 20 years old. 00:02:48.360 --> 00:02:50.540 align:middle line:90% I was born in 2001. 00:02:50.540 --> 00:02:53.810 align:middle line:84% My mother's name is Qadria Yasini. 00:02:53.810 --> 00:02:58.880 align:middle line:84% She was murdered by a terrorist group. 00:03:05.560 --> 00:03:09.030 align:middle line:84% So this is the portrait drawn by my brother 00:03:09.030 --> 00:03:12.600 align:middle line:84% so that we can remember her by this picture. 00:03:12.600 --> 00:03:19.350 align:middle line:84% And this is the handbag she was carrying during that attack. 00:03:19.350 --> 00:03:23.670 align:middle line:84% There are some bullet holes in these parts. 00:03:23.670 --> 00:03:30.540 align:middle line:84% There are some bullet holes in this particular letter too. 00:03:30.540 --> 00:03:33.990 align:middle line:84% And we wrote this on the Mother's Day to her. 00:03:33.990 --> 00:03:37.920 align:middle line:84% To our surprise, she kept it for, I 00:03:37.920 --> 00:03:42.090 align:middle line:84% think two years, which shows how much she cared about us 00:03:42.090 --> 00:03:43.590 align:middle line:90% and how much she was kind. 00:03:47.545 --> 00:03:50.200 align:middle line:84% Once you get into the whole business of nation building, 00:03:50.200 --> 00:03:52.280 align:middle line:90% it becomes potentially endless. 00:03:52.280 --> 00:03:54.280 align:middle line:84% It's not just securing the cities 00:03:54.280 --> 00:03:56.560 align:middle line:84% but also trying to reconstruct the army, 00:03:56.560 --> 00:03:58.270 align:middle line:84% trying to reconstruct the economy, 00:03:58.270 --> 00:04:00.460 align:middle line:84% eradicating the drug trade, trying 00:04:00.460 --> 00:04:02.750 align:middle line:90% to improve rights for women. 00:04:02.750 --> 00:04:05.170 align:middle line:84% So you do get this incredible mission creep. 00:04:05.170 --> 00:04:06.970 align:middle line:84% But ultimately the reason they stayed 00:04:06.970 --> 00:04:10.240 align:middle line:84% 20 years was that they never really felt 00:04:10.240 --> 00:04:12.910 align:middle line:84% that they had completely suppressed the Taliban, 00:04:12.910 --> 00:04:15.972 align:middle line:84% and therefore, the risk of Islamist terrorism coming back. 00:04:15.972 --> 00:04:16.930 align:middle line:90% And they still haven't. 00:04:20.850 --> 00:04:23.640 align:middle line:84% I must say that I'm super impressed and proud 00:04:23.640 --> 00:04:26.340 align:middle line:84% of my people with the transformation 00:04:26.340 --> 00:04:29.820 align:middle line:84% that we have made in the just two decades as a society 00:04:29.820 --> 00:04:31.200 align:middle line:90% and as citizens. 00:04:31.200 --> 00:04:34.410 align:middle line:84% We liberated the Afghan people especially the Afghan women. 00:04:34.410 --> 00:04:37.020 align:middle line:84% You see thousands and millions of girls 00:04:37.020 --> 00:04:40.440 align:middle line:84% going to school despite the security threats that we have. 00:04:40.440 --> 00:04:42.960 align:middle line:84% You see many women that they have started business. 00:04:42.960 --> 00:04:43.950 align:middle line:90% They are activists. 00:04:43.950 --> 00:04:45.450 align:middle line:90% They are working in media. 00:04:45.450 --> 00:04:48.690 align:middle line:84% And all of us are trying to rebuild our country. 00:04:48.690 --> 00:04:51.480 align:middle line:84% We demonstrated to the Afghan citizen 00:04:51.480 --> 00:04:54.165 align:middle line:84% that they can also have a better life. 00:04:54.165 --> 00:04:55.590 align:middle line:90% My name is Meena Karimi. 00:04:55.590 --> 00:04:57.100 align:middle line:90% I'm 16 years old. 00:04:57.100 --> 00:04:58.710 align:middle line:90% And I'm a musician. 00:04:58.710 --> 00:05:01.170 align:middle line:90% Cello have really deep sound. 00:05:01.170 --> 00:05:05.400 align:middle line:84% And I think with cello I can express things 00:05:05.400 --> 00:05:08.310 align:middle line:90% that I couldn't with words. 00:05:08.310 --> 00:05:13.710 align:middle line:84% With the music, we can show our pain, our happiness, our joy, 00:05:13.710 --> 00:05:14.430 align:middle line:90% everything. 00:05:26.990 --> 00:05:30.080 align:middle line:84% My mother always supports me, but my father 00:05:30.080 --> 00:05:32.010 align:middle line:90% was a little bit worried. 00:05:32.010 --> 00:05:35.180 align:middle line:84% My father was at first like, she's just a girl. 00:05:35.180 --> 00:05:36.860 align:middle line:90% She can go just for one year. 00:05:36.860 --> 00:05:39.170 align:middle line:90% Then she would be old then. 00:05:39.170 --> 00:05:40.310 align:middle line:90% And she wouldn't go. 00:05:40.310 --> 00:05:45.200 align:middle line:84% My relatives saw me in the shows, some concerts, 00:05:45.200 --> 00:05:49.340 align:middle line:84% and then they start telling my parents that your daughter is 00:05:49.340 --> 00:05:50.420 align:middle line:90% into music. 00:05:50.420 --> 00:05:52.280 align:middle line:90% They start disturbing my family. 00:05:52.280 --> 00:05:54.500 align:middle line:84% And my whole family would always say, no. 00:05:54.500 --> 00:05:55.640 align:middle line:90% That's not my daughter. 00:05:55.640 --> 00:05:58.910 align:middle line:84% So because they were really against music. 00:05:58.910 --> 00:06:02.750 align:middle line:84% So that's why my family would tell them that to protect me. 00:06:02.750 --> 00:06:04.570 align:middle line:84% And my neighbours was really against it. 00:06:04.570 --> 00:06:08.780 align:middle line:84% So my family decided to send me to my mum's friend's house. 00:06:08.780 --> 00:06:11.000 align:middle line:84% And I lived with her for three years. 00:06:14.330 --> 00:06:16.410 align:middle line:84% As an Afghan woman, when you decide 00:06:16.410 --> 00:06:21.750 align:middle line:84% to be active outside the family, or even inside the family, 00:06:21.750 --> 00:06:25.440 align:middle line:84% if you want to be part of decision making, it's not easy. 00:06:25.440 --> 00:06:27.690 align:middle line:84% Because simply the perception that people 00:06:27.690 --> 00:06:29.730 align:middle line:84% are having is that you are a woman. 00:06:29.730 --> 00:06:32.280 align:middle line:84% And as long as you are supported and you're 00:06:32.280 --> 00:06:34.950 align:middle line:84% provided with the basic needs of life, 00:06:34.950 --> 00:06:38.250 align:middle line:84% why you have to bother about other issues? 00:06:38.250 --> 00:06:40.660 align:middle line:84% I'll give you one simple example. 00:06:40.660 --> 00:06:44.610 align:middle line:84% Whenever we are invited to a meeting by the authorities 00:06:44.610 --> 00:06:46.890 align:middle line:84% or by the international community 00:06:46.890 --> 00:06:50.790 align:middle line:84% they prefer to talk to us about women's issues about women's 00:06:50.790 --> 00:06:52.560 align:middle line:84% rights and about women engagement 00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:54.810 align:middle line:84% in different processes in the country. 00:06:54.810 --> 00:06:56.880 align:middle line:84% They never talk to us about issues 00:06:56.880 --> 00:06:58.830 align:middle line:84% such as the peace process itself, 00:06:58.830 --> 00:07:02.110 align:middle line:84% the political situation, the rampant corruption. 00:07:02.110 --> 00:07:04.560 align:middle line:84% What could be the solution for the current conflict 00:07:04.560 --> 00:07:06.120 align:middle line:90% that we have in Afghanistan? 00:07:06.120 --> 00:07:08.730 align:middle line:84% Somehow, they think that those issues 00:07:08.730 --> 00:07:10.860 align:middle line:84% are big and serious issues that they 00:07:10.860 --> 00:07:12.545 align:middle line:90% need to discuss with the men. 00:07:12.545 --> 00:07:14.100 align:middle line:90% And this is my first camera. 00:07:14.100 --> 00:07:20.490 align:middle line:84% And I worked nine months in a tailor shop to buy this. 00:07:20.490 --> 00:07:22.440 align:middle line:90% My name is Massoud Hossaini. 00:07:22.440 --> 00:07:24.240 align:middle line:90% I grew up in Iran. 00:07:24.240 --> 00:07:27.780 align:middle line:84% But I was born in Afghanistan in Kabul. 00:07:27.780 --> 00:07:31.500 align:middle line:90% I'm a photojournalist. 00:07:31.500 --> 00:07:34.720 align:middle line:84% Even in the war zone the life is going on. 00:07:34.720 --> 00:07:38.910 align:middle line:84% It was important for me to show happiness, sadness, 00:07:38.910 --> 00:07:41.670 align:middle line:90% and everything all together. 00:07:41.670 --> 00:07:43.890 align:middle line:90% So it was 2007. 00:07:43.890 --> 00:07:46.150 align:middle line:90% It was Eid in Afghanistan. 00:07:46.150 --> 00:07:49.050 align:middle line:84% And it was hopeful years for Afghanistan. 00:07:49.050 --> 00:07:52.080 align:middle line:84% And we really thought that we are 00:07:52.080 --> 00:07:56.740 align:middle line:84% going to be a normal country in the world. 00:07:56.740 --> 00:07:59.910 align:middle line:84% Well, actually I saw this girl really happy 00:07:59.910 --> 00:08:02.070 align:middle line:90% and with great dresses. 00:08:02.070 --> 00:08:07.770 align:middle line:84% Those years girls and women were coming out of the houses, 00:08:07.770 --> 00:08:09.270 align:middle line:90% I mean slowly. 00:08:09.270 --> 00:08:11.190 align:middle line:90% So I took that picture. 00:08:11.190 --> 00:08:16.890 align:middle line:84% And it was a symbol of hope, symbol of freedom, 00:08:16.890 --> 00:08:22.305 align:middle line:84% symbol of the young generation in Afghanistan for me. 00:08:22.305 --> 00:08:23.610 align:middle line:90% My name is Nesar Ahmad. 00:08:23.610 --> 00:08:26.730 align:middle line:84% I have done too many jobs in Afghanistan, 00:08:26.730 --> 00:08:31.230 align:middle line:84% especially working with the NATO forces, as an interpreter, 00:08:31.230 --> 00:08:34.470 align:middle line:84% then I came and joined Afghan commandos. 00:08:37.890 --> 00:08:40.110 align:middle line:84% People around me, they were saying his son 00:08:40.110 --> 00:08:41.280 align:middle line:90% is going to university. 00:08:41.280 --> 00:08:42.789 align:middle line:90% So he's enjoying his life. 00:08:42.789 --> 00:08:44.940 align:middle line:84% He doesn't give a fuck about his family. 00:08:44.940 --> 00:08:46.050 align:middle line:90% Sorry for using bad words. 00:08:48.900 --> 00:08:51.460 align:middle line:90% That made me a bit crazy. 00:08:51.460 --> 00:08:55.110 align:middle line:84% And I thought I'm supposed to help my family 00:08:55.110 --> 00:08:56.320 align:middle line:90% to make some money. 00:08:56.320 --> 00:08:59.400 align:middle line:84% And also that's a good help for the Afghan army. 00:08:59.400 --> 00:09:03.810 align:middle line:84% From the cultural side, they can show the foreigners 00:09:03.810 --> 00:09:05.400 align:middle line:84% that they came from another culture 00:09:05.400 --> 00:09:08.010 align:middle line:84% and they don't know the Afghan one. 00:09:08.010 --> 00:09:10.410 align:middle line:84% I heard from other people that being an interpreter, 00:09:10.410 --> 00:09:12.600 align:middle line:84% especially in Helmand province, it's 00:09:12.600 --> 00:09:17.520 align:middle line:84% a bit weird because that's a dangerous place. 00:09:17.520 --> 00:09:20.645 align:middle line:84% And especially when the Taliban catch an interpreter, 00:09:20.645 --> 00:09:23.035 align:middle line:84% they will slay you or they will cut the head off. 00:09:23.035 --> 00:09:25.140 align:middle line:84% It was a bit hard for me thinking about that. 00:09:34.160 --> 00:09:36.750 align:middle line:84% I click, and then explosion happened. 00:09:36.750 --> 00:09:40.460 align:middle line:84% And when the smoke come down I saw 00:09:40.460 --> 00:09:43.550 align:middle line:84% that I'm standing in this big circle 00:09:43.550 --> 00:09:46.310 align:middle line:84% of all dead and destroyed bodies. 00:09:46.310 --> 00:09:50.060 align:middle line:84% So I start taking picture when I was crying. 00:09:50.060 --> 00:09:52.130 align:middle line:90% It was a big shock. 00:09:52.130 --> 00:09:56.820 align:middle line:84% My heart was beating even more than 200. 00:09:56.820 --> 00:09:59.480 align:middle line:84% I knew that it might be another attack 00:09:59.480 --> 00:10:02.180 align:middle line:84% or it might be another danger because I was 00:10:02.180 --> 00:10:04.560 align:middle line:90% trained as a war photographer. 00:10:04.560 --> 00:10:07.940 align:middle line:84% But I decided to stay and cover because I 00:10:07.940 --> 00:10:10.010 align:middle line:90% was the only one there. 00:10:10.010 --> 00:10:12.590 align:middle line:84% And when I get in front of her, I 00:10:12.590 --> 00:10:15.800 align:middle line:84% saw that she's trying to tell me something. 00:10:15.800 --> 00:10:19.550 align:middle line:84% But my ear couldn't hear anything 00:10:19.550 --> 00:10:21.320 align:middle line:90% because of the explosion. 00:10:21.320 --> 00:10:24.080 align:middle line:84% And I put my camera down for a second. 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:27.950 align:middle line:84% And I told another person that she's saying something. 00:10:27.950 --> 00:10:29.360 align:middle line:90% She's telling something. 00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:35.200 align:middle line:84% She was pointing to another boy in front of her legs. 00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:42.730 align:middle line:84% So the man lift the boy and the boy's back side of the head 00:10:42.730 --> 00:10:44.840 align:middle line:90% was completely destroyed. 00:10:44.840 --> 00:10:48.110 align:middle line:84% And he told me that this boy is dead. 00:10:48.110 --> 00:10:51.850 align:middle line:84% She start screaming, a lot of screaming. 00:10:54.550 --> 00:10:58.180 align:middle line:84% After two three days, when I was checking my photos, 00:10:58.180 --> 00:11:02.260 align:middle line:84% I saw that I was standing exactly at the place 00:11:02.260 --> 00:11:05.290 align:middle line:84% that the suicide attacker sat on the ground 00:11:05.290 --> 00:11:06.200 align:middle line:90% and exploded himself. 00:11:08.710 --> 00:11:10.390 align:middle line:84% These photos are reminding me when 00:11:10.390 --> 00:11:15.980 align:middle line:84% I was fighting in the front line always expecting a bullet. 00:11:15.980 --> 00:11:20.530 align:middle line:84% Memories from the friends that I was with. 00:11:20.530 --> 00:11:24.787 align:middle line:84% And now they're no more existing in this world... 00:11:24.787 --> 00:11:26.620 align:middle line:84% They're martyred, they're killed by Taliban. 00:11:26.620 --> 00:11:29.980 align:middle line:84% After a bit of time, I heard the Taliban sound on the radio. 00:11:29.980 --> 00:11:31.870 align:middle line:90% And they were cursing us. 00:11:31.870 --> 00:11:35.200 align:middle line:84% You son of Bush, or son of Obama. 00:11:35.200 --> 00:11:37.270 align:middle line:84% If you are a good man, if you're a brave man, 00:11:37.270 --> 00:11:38.740 align:middle line:90% so come and face me. 00:11:38.740 --> 00:11:39.790 align:middle line:90% So I had no ammunition. 00:11:39.790 --> 00:11:43.060 align:middle line:84% I started crying there because of the personnel that 00:11:43.060 --> 00:11:45.940 align:middle line:84% got killed there, because of the army. 00:11:45.940 --> 00:11:51.650 align:middle line:84% I started crying because of the weakness that we had there. 00:11:51.650 --> 00:11:53.820 align:middle line:90% I said, OK. 00:11:53.820 --> 00:11:58.220 align:middle line:84% If it's going like this, I don't want to kill my personnel. 00:11:58.220 --> 00:12:01.220 align:middle line:84% I don't want to hand over the tanks and the weapons 00:12:01.220 --> 00:12:01.910 align:middle line:90% to Taliban. 00:12:01.910 --> 00:12:06.200 align:middle line:84% If you have no ammunition against your enemy, 00:12:06.200 --> 00:12:07.440 align:middle line:90% you're nothing. 00:12:07.440 --> 00:12:09.340 align:middle line:90% That's why I left. 00:12:09.340 --> 00:12:10.610 align:middle line:90% I ran away. 00:12:10.610 --> 00:12:11.300 align:middle line:90% I do not... 00:12:11.300 --> 00:12:13.700 align:middle line:84% I did not ask them that I'm leaving my job. 00:12:13.700 --> 00:12:15.830 align:middle line:90% I ran away. 00:12:15.830 --> 00:12:21.140 align:middle line:84% My mother was one of the few women that were a judge. 00:12:21.140 --> 00:12:23.900 align:middle line:84% My mum believed that women are not just 00:12:23.900 --> 00:12:28.790 align:middle line:84% created to work in home, but they have a destiny 00:12:28.790 --> 00:12:30.770 align:middle line:90% to change the world too. 00:12:30.770 --> 00:12:35.480 align:middle line:84% I for sure know that she was the best example for me, 00:12:35.480 --> 00:12:37.430 align:middle line:90% for my brother, for my family. 00:12:37.430 --> 00:12:40.850 align:middle line:84% And we will always follow her footsteps. 00:12:44.130 --> 00:12:50.340 align:middle line:84% Well, I was eating my breakfast when my neighbour called me. 00:12:50.340 --> 00:12:53.220 align:middle line:84% He wanted to ask for my mother's number. 00:12:53.220 --> 00:12:57.180 align:middle line:84% It's kind of weird to ask for someone's mother's number. 00:12:57.180 --> 00:13:00.180 align:middle line:84% We were kind of terrified and asked the reason. 00:13:00.180 --> 00:13:02.790 align:middle line:84% They just didn't want to tell us. 00:13:02.790 --> 00:13:07.110 align:middle line:84% And in an hour or so, my uncle called me 00:13:07.110 --> 00:13:10.460 align:middle line:84% and said that in her way to work they 00:13:10.460 --> 00:13:15.240 align:middle line:90% attacked her car with guns. 00:13:15.240 --> 00:13:17.560 align:middle line:90% I was in kind of shock. 00:13:17.560 --> 00:13:20.630 align:middle line:90% I said, my uncle to shut up. 00:13:20.630 --> 00:13:21.540 align:middle line:90% It's a lie. 00:13:21.540 --> 00:13:24.030 align:middle line:90% I even screamed at him. 00:13:24.030 --> 00:13:27.660 align:middle line:84% But he said it's something that's happened. 00:13:27.660 --> 00:13:30.810 align:middle line:90% There is no changing that. 00:13:30.810 --> 00:13:36.630 align:middle line:84% The Supreme Court proposed for her to get a gun for her 00:13:36.630 --> 00:13:37.260 align:middle line:90% defence. 00:13:37.260 --> 00:13:38.970 align:middle line:90% But she rejected. 00:13:38.970 --> 00:13:41.370 align:middle line:84% We didn't believe that there will 00:13:41.370 --> 00:13:46.350 align:middle line:84% be any threat to her because she was not hurting anyone. 00:13:46.350 --> 00:13:51.000 align:middle line:84% She was not taking any side in the political climate. 00:13:51.000 --> 00:13:54.840 align:middle line:84% And we didn't know that such a thing would happen. 00:13:54.840 --> 00:13:56.610 align:middle line:90% But I guess we were wrong. 00:14:02.820 --> 00:14:05.100 align:middle line:84% If an attack that's happening in Afghanistan 00:14:05.100 --> 00:14:08.100 align:middle line:84% would happen to any other country but Afghanistan, 00:14:08.100 --> 00:14:11.130 align:middle line:84% you would see that people would talk about it for days. 00:14:11.130 --> 00:14:12.810 align:middle line:84% You would see that the countries are 00:14:12.810 --> 00:14:17.100 align:middle line:84% going to lower their flag half to just share the pain 00:14:17.100 --> 00:14:19.280 align:middle line:90% and suffering of that nation. 00:14:19.280 --> 00:14:22.650 align:middle line:84% There is going to be emergency meeting in the United Nations. 00:14:22.650 --> 00:14:25.830 align:middle line:84% But the violence and the killing has become so normal 00:14:25.830 --> 00:14:28.042 align:middle line:84% in Afghanistan nobody's even bothering 00:14:28.042 --> 00:14:30.000 align:middle line:84% to talk about it because they think that that's 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:31.300 align:middle line:90% very normal in Afghanistan. 00:14:31.300 --> 00:14:33.330 align:middle line:90% It's happening on daily basis. 00:14:33.330 --> 00:14:35.520 align:middle line:84% This whole question of winning the war 00:14:35.520 --> 00:14:37.140 align:middle line:90% brought back echoes of Vietnam. 00:14:37.140 --> 00:14:40.470 align:middle line:84% Initially, there was this hope that you would totally 00:14:40.470 --> 00:14:43.020 align:middle line:84% dismantle the Taliban and al-Qaeda. 00:14:43.020 --> 00:14:46.020 align:middle line:84% And then it gets to sort of suppress them. 00:14:46.020 --> 00:14:48.660 align:middle line:84% And then it sort of gets into, well, 00:14:48.660 --> 00:14:52.500 align:middle line:84% let's try to sort of create a functioning Afghan society. 00:14:52.500 --> 00:14:54.840 align:middle line:84% And now, again, in another echo of Vietnam, 00:14:54.840 --> 00:14:59.220 align:middle line:84% there's this horrible fear that the US and its allies 00:14:59.220 --> 00:15:00.390 align:middle line:90% will pull out. 00:15:00.390 --> 00:15:02.820 align:middle line:84% And perhaps at some point the Taliban 00:15:02.820 --> 00:15:06.450 align:middle line:84% will return not just to large swathes of the countryside, 00:15:06.450 --> 00:15:09.150 align:middle line:84% but even to Kabul itself in an echo 00:15:09.150 --> 00:15:11.640 align:middle line:90% of the fall of Saigon in 1975. 00:15:11.640 --> 00:15:14.070 align:middle line:84% When I was in my car, so they were just 00:15:14.070 --> 00:15:15.420 align:middle line:90% shooting from both sides. 00:15:15.420 --> 00:15:20.400 align:middle line:84% The bullets were going from here both this way to that way. 00:15:20.400 --> 00:15:21.540 align:middle line:90% You can see some... 00:15:21.540 --> 00:15:29.670 align:middle line:84% I thought that the war would be finished in 2010 or 2011. 00:15:29.670 --> 00:15:33.450 align:middle line:84% And then the rest I will record peace. 00:15:33.450 --> 00:15:36.540 align:middle line:84% I will record the smile of children, women. 00:15:36.540 --> 00:15:39.120 align:middle line:90% Everything would be great. 00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:42.420 align:middle line:90% But it didn't happen. 00:15:42.420 --> 00:15:48.420 align:middle line:84% I spent the best years of the life taking the war pictures, 00:15:48.420 --> 00:15:54.240 align:middle line:84% taking violence, trying to show that war is bad. 00:15:54.240 --> 00:15:57.270 align:middle line:90% But nothing has changed. 00:15:57.270 --> 00:15:59.220 align:middle line:90% I am also disappointed. 00:15:59.220 --> 00:16:02.630 align:middle line:90% I was wounded 11 times. 00:16:02.630 --> 00:16:07.220 align:middle line:90% And I escaped alive 11 times. 00:16:07.220 --> 00:16:10.250 align:middle line:84% Only for my country, for my people, 00:16:10.250 --> 00:16:13.070 align:middle line:90% destroying my own mentality. 00:16:13.070 --> 00:16:15.980 align:middle line:90% When I'm sleeping, I see war. 00:16:15.980 --> 00:16:18.410 align:middle line:90% When I'm out, I see war. 00:16:18.410 --> 00:16:20.780 align:middle line:84% When I'm here, I see dead bodies. 00:16:20.780 --> 00:16:23.225 align:middle line:90% And I always suffer. 00:16:23.225 --> 00:16:25.370 align:middle line:84% So many, many times I receive the threats 00:16:25.370 --> 00:16:28.190 align:middle line:84% that they tell me that your name is in the list. 00:16:28.190 --> 00:16:29.375 align:middle line:90% You are in the hit list. 00:16:29.375 --> 00:16:30.180 align:middle line:90% They use kafir. 00:16:30.180 --> 00:16:31.100 align:middle line:90% Kafir means infidel. 00:16:31.100 --> 00:16:33.320 align:middle line:84% It means the one with no religion. 00:16:33.320 --> 00:16:37.070 align:middle line:84% It says, your son has worked with kafir, if we catch him, 00:16:37.070 --> 00:16:38.630 align:middle line:90% we're going to kill him. 00:16:38.630 --> 00:16:40.760 align:middle line:90% Your car is this model. 00:16:40.760 --> 00:16:42.770 align:middle line:90% The number is this model. 00:16:42.770 --> 00:16:45.170 align:middle line:90% You go and meet these friends. 00:16:45.170 --> 00:16:49.430 align:middle line:84% And because you are against Islamic Emirates 00:16:49.430 --> 00:16:53.570 align:middle line:84% of Afghanistan, and you're trying to bring the ideas 00:16:53.570 --> 00:16:57.170 align:middle line:84% and culture of the west into Afghanistan, 00:16:57.170 --> 00:17:02.530 align:middle line:84% our court kind of finalised to kill you. 00:17:02.530 --> 00:17:04.360 align:middle line:90% To execute you. 00:17:04.360 --> 00:17:07.510 align:middle line:84% There are times that I work from home for weeks 00:17:07.510 --> 00:17:09.624 align:middle line:90% because of those threats. 00:17:09.624 --> 00:17:15.599 align:middle line:84% Right now, probably it's three month that I don't go much out. 00:17:15.599 --> 00:17:19.020 align:middle line:84% And if I go, I do not take my car. 00:17:19.020 --> 00:17:23.325 align:middle line:90% I try to bike when it's dark. 00:17:23.325 --> 00:17:25.089 align:middle line:90% I decided to leave the country. 00:17:25.089 --> 00:17:27.750 align:middle line:84% I thought it might be the safest place, 00:17:27.750 --> 00:17:29.720 align:middle line:90% to live outside of Afghanistan. 00:17:32.235 --> 00:17:34.590 align:middle line:84% Those who helped us are not going to be left behind. 00:17:41.800 --> 00:17:47.620 align:middle line:84% ...means for each person his own homeland is a paradise for him. 00:17:47.620 --> 00:17:55.750 align:middle line:84% I ended up to here from a shitty place named Camp Moria. 00:17:55.750 --> 00:17:57.220 align:middle line:90% So I'm quite happy here. 00:18:00.380 --> 00:18:02.390 align:middle line:84% I believe the American people understand 00:18:02.390 --> 00:18:05.240 align:middle line:84% that we've got a mighty struggle on our hands, 00:18:05.240 --> 00:18:07.392 align:middle line:84% and that there will be sacrifice. 00:18:07.392 --> 00:18:12.215 align:middle line:84% America's war in Afghanistan will come to a responsible end. 00:18:12.215 --> 00:18:13.020 align:middle line:90% We're coming back. 00:18:13.020 --> 00:18:14.240 align:middle line:90% We're almost finished. 00:18:14.240 --> 00:18:17.300 align:middle line:84% We're pulling finally these endless wars. 00:18:17.300 --> 00:18:21.540 align:middle line:84% I've concluded that it's time to end America's longest war. 00:18:21.540 --> 00:18:24.050 align:middle line:84% It's time for American troops to come home. 00:18:24.050 --> 00:18:27.590 align:middle line:84% I think he feels very personally that you 00:18:27.590 --> 00:18:29.240 align:middle line:84% can't take the lives and the service 00:18:29.240 --> 00:18:31.077 align:middle line:84% of these American soldiers for granted. 00:18:31.077 --> 00:18:32.660 align:middle line:84% But there's also a geopolitical thing. 00:18:32.660 --> 00:18:34.850 align:middle line:84% The United States over the last decade 00:18:34.850 --> 00:18:37.070 align:middle line:84% has become increasingly preoccupied 00:18:37.070 --> 00:18:38.630 align:middle line:90% by the rise of China. 00:18:38.630 --> 00:18:40.575 align:middle line:84% Biden and even actually before him, 00:18:40.575 --> 00:18:42.200 align:middle line:84% the people in the Trump administration, 00:18:42.200 --> 00:18:45.170 align:middle line:84% see this as the defining challenge for the United 00:18:45.170 --> 00:18:45.830 align:middle line:90% States. 00:18:45.830 --> 00:18:48.290 align:middle line:84% And increasingly, they see conflicts 00:18:48.290 --> 00:18:52.850 align:middle line:84% like the one in Afghanistan, or even Syria, as a distraction, 00:18:52.850 --> 00:18:56.900 align:middle line:84% as something where they will waste resources, 00:18:56.900 --> 00:19:00.410 align:middle line:84% not just financial but even if you like mental, 00:19:00.410 --> 00:19:02.750 align:middle line:84% the amount of time they spend thinking about this thing. 00:19:02.750 --> 00:19:07.070 align:middle line:84% The risk is increase in violence, Taliban 00:19:07.070 --> 00:19:09.050 align:middle line:90% becoming more aggressive. 00:19:09.050 --> 00:19:11.420 align:middle line:84% The states that they are sponsoring Taliban 00:19:11.420 --> 00:19:15.170 align:middle line:84% might provide more resources to the Taliban 00:19:15.170 --> 00:19:17.480 align:middle line:90% for intensifying their fight. 00:19:17.480 --> 00:19:19.940 align:middle line:84% On top of that we see limitations 00:19:19.940 --> 00:19:24.120 align:middle line:84% on the side of Afghan national security forces. 00:19:24.120 --> 00:19:28.940 align:middle line:84% We also see the organisations of the different militias 00:19:28.940 --> 00:19:32.450 align:middle line:84% in different parts of Afghanistan that actually will 00:19:32.450 --> 00:19:36.830 align:middle line:84% begin to join the fight against the Taliban for protecting 00:19:36.830 --> 00:19:38.250 align:middle line:90% their community. 00:19:38.250 --> 00:19:40.370 align:middle line:84% So as a result, slowly and gradually, 00:19:40.370 --> 00:19:42.560 align:middle line:84% we will be moving towards civil war, which is 00:19:42.560 --> 00:19:44.780 align:middle line:90% going to be absolutely bloody. 00:20:22.235 --> 00:20:25.370 align:middle line:84% You will see that with determination, with unity, 00:20:25.370 --> 00:20:28.520 align:middle line:84% and with the partnership, we will overcome all odds. 00:20:28.520 --> 00:20:29.690 align:middle line:90% Thank you, Mr President. 00:20:29.690 --> 00:20:30.215 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 00:20:30.215 --> 00:20:33.980 align:middle line:90% I thought that they betrayed us. 00:20:33.980 --> 00:20:36.530 align:middle line:84% If they didn't come here and they just 00:20:36.530 --> 00:20:41.180 align:middle line:84% bombed and go and take and arrest Osama bin Laden, 00:20:41.180 --> 00:20:44.540 align:middle line:84% and wouldn't touch my life, or other people's life, 00:20:44.540 --> 00:20:48.260 align:middle line:84% come to Afghanistan, build a lot of things, 00:20:48.260 --> 00:20:51.620 align:middle line:84% change a lot of people's dream, and make 00:20:51.620 --> 00:20:54.470 align:middle line:84% a lot of other new dreams for the young people, 00:20:54.470 --> 00:20:55.925 align:middle line:90% that was much, much better. 00:21:01.830 --> 00:21:03.720 align:middle line:84% I was two years when the conflict 00:21:03.720 --> 00:21:05.160 align:middle line:90% started in Afghanistan. 00:21:05.160 --> 00:21:07.170 align:middle line:84% And we're still in that conflict. 00:21:07.170 --> 00:21:14.250 align:middle line:84% All we see is intimidation, violence, and injustice, 00:21:14.250 --> 00:21:15.670 align:middle line:90% and impunity. 00:21:15.670 --> 00:21:20.730 align:middle line:84% So for us the model where you see that the communities are 00:21:20.730 --> 00:21:23.080 align:middle line:84% living in harmony with each other, 00:21:23.080 --> 00:21:26.100 align:middle line:84% they are trying to resolve their disputes peacefully 00:21:26.100 --> 00:21:29.550 align:middle line:84% with each other, is a model that we have not 00:21:29.550 --> 00:21:31.755 align:middle line:90% experienced in Afghanistan. 00:21:31.755 --> 00:21:33.810 align:middle line:84% They spent a lot of money for weapons, 00:21:33.810 --> 00:21:35.340 align:middle line:90% for a lot of other things. 00:21:35.340 --> 00:21:39.450 align:middle line:84% But they never tried to change the culture. 00:21:39.450 --> 00:21:45.090 align:middle line:84% They never tried to create the idea of peace. 00:21:45.090 --> 00:21:49.110 align:middle line:84% So it means that they didn't want peace happening here. 00:21:49.110 --> 00:21:52.530 align:middle line:84% We have dog fightings, we have cock fightings, 00:21:52.530 --> 00:21:57.440 align:middle line:84% we have bird fightings, we have everything fighting here. 00:21:57.440 --> 00:22:00.210 align:middle line:84% For sure that we should change this culture. 00:22:00.210 --> 00:22:01.910 align:middle line:90% This is not a good culture. 00:22:01.910 --> 00:22:02.720 align:middle line:90% Right? 00:22:02.720 --> 00:22:06.000 align:middle line:84% People are using a lot of violence against each other. 00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:07.880 align:middle line:90% We needed to change that. 00:22:07.880 --> 00:22:12.800 align:middle line:84% We needed to bring the youth and make them busy with arts. 00:22:23.015 --> 00:22:26.120 align:middle line:84% So I composed a piece named 'Dawn'. 00:22:26.120 --> 00:22:30.590 align:middle line:84% And it's about the struggles of women and the problems 00:22:30.590 --> 00:22:33.950 align:middle line:84% that they faced in past and the problems 00:22:33.950 --> 00:22:35.630 align:middle line:90% that they are facing right now. 00:22:35.630 --> 00:22:39.680 align:middle line:84% The name is 'Dawn' because now it's like a dawn 00:22:39.680 --> 00:22:43.130 align:middle line:84% and all the women are standing for their rights 00:22:43.130 --> 00:22:46.010 align:middle line:84% and fighting for their rights to achieve it. 00:22:51.210 --> 00:22:54.690 align:middle line:84% Yeah, it's not finished because we are still fighting 00:22:54.690 --> 00:22:58.560 align:middle line:90% for our rights in Afghanistan. 00:22:58.560 --> 00:23:02.670 align:middle line:84% When we achieve all of our rights in Afghanistan 00:23:02.670 --> 00:23:06.890 align:middle line:84% I'll definitely finish it, like in the really happy ending. 00:23:19.210 --> 00:23:23.270 align:middle line:84% It's about four decades of war in Afghanistan. 00:23:23.270 --> 00:23:26.000 align:middle line:84% Even if you ask a kid, what do you need in your country, 00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:28.495 align:middle line:90% they will ask for peace. 00:23:28.495 --> 00:23:32.960 align:middle line:84% Well, the situations these days are really, really bad. 00:23:32.960 --> 00:23:38.030 align:middle line:84% But we have to be strong in all these times 00:23:38.030 --> 00:23:40.250 align:middle line:90% because we only have each other. 00:23:40.250 --> 00:23:42.635 align:middle line:84% It's like, we Afghans have each other. 00:23:42.635 --> 00:23:45.260 align:middle line:84% The change always starts from small things 00:23:45.260 --> 00:23:47.690 align:middle line:90% but grow to bigger things. 00:23:47.690 --> 00:23:51.380 align:middle line:84% I still think that there is going to be hope. 00:23:51.380 --> 00:23:53.460 align:middle line:90% There is going to be a change. 00:23:53.460 --> 00:23:57.230 align:middle line:84% And I think Afghanistan will get better. 00:23:57.230 --> 00:24:00.950 align:middle line:84% And one day we will experience the freedom 00:24:00.950 --> 00:24:03.290 align:middle line:90% that every other country has. 00:24:03.290 --> 00:24:07.070 align:middle line:84% And I really hope for that day to arrive. 00:24:07.070 --> 00:24:10.720 align:middle line:90% That will be a dream come true.