“Part of my future dies every day.” Reportage from Afghanistan
It allows you to photograph – once, twice, third. Her smile is natural, but at some point she becomes tiring for her.
– You're so beautiful! – says a young man and wants to take a picture with her. It has been like that for two weeks. Louisa Roper comes from Berlin. A tall, blonde with blue eyes looks like an exotic person in Afghanistan.
He has a colorful scarf covering his shoulders, a long sleeve dress and an ankle skirt. Her clothing is the same as with the locals, but she stands out everywhere. When she wanted to take a bus from the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul, to Bamyan, She had to buy two tickets because as a woman she can't sit next to a man. She travels alone.
-I think that it is important to see other countries, not just Spain or Denmark, and to widen the horizons a bit-says the 20-year-old who immediately after graduating from high school went on an annual journey around the world. – And this also means visiting countries that are not the most beautiful in the world.
This time it fell on Afghanistan – a country that has been an Islamic Emirate since the Taliban took over the Taliban in the summer of 2021. The German government does not recognize the Afghan government as a legal representation of the country.
Louisa Roper wants to form her own opinion and for now it is positive. – People are so cordial. When I came from Uzbekistan, a family invited me to a wedding. Others just want to drink tea with me and invite me to their homes – he says.
Europeans from the West as rare
This is the situation of many people who come from the West to a country located in Hindu Kush – for the local people they are unique newcomers. According to the Afghan Ministry of Information, 8,000 tourists came to Afghanistan last year, which is an increase of 2000 compared to the previous year. Also this year the country records the “record number” of tourists – mainly thanks to guests from China and Turkey.
There are currently more and more residents of Western Europe. These include, for example, Fabian and Ulrich from the Austrian Innsbruck, who prefer not to disclose names. They want to spend three weeks in Afghanistan. Travel costs are affordable – it comes out after 2.5 thousand. euro (PLN 10.7 thousand), including a flight. Average accommodation costs from $ 10 to $ 15. (from 38.9 to 55.3 PLN) per day, and a warm meal no more than $ 4. (PLN 14.8).
Fabian (on the left) and Ulrich (on the right) from InnsbruckSteffen Schwarzkopf / Die Welt
They both borrowed motorcycles, a starter in Fabian's motorcycle crackle and clicks before the engine starts. – On damaged roads, which are partly only sandy paths, you can't drive even a car quickly. In this situation it is a good choice-says the 28-year-old.
Both submitted applications for an online visa and received them at the Taliban embassy in Dubai. It didn't even take half an hour. “I was positively surprised by the safety situation,” says Ulrich. – We thought that the Taliban would threaten us a bit, but it is not. We can move completely freely, there are almost no restrictions – he adds.
This does not mean, however, that tourists in Afghanistan are not observed. – As soon as they arrive in our country, information about them is passed on to all security services – says a spokesman for the Ministry of Information in Khubib, Gufran in an interview with Die Welt. – Special services know, the Ministry of Defense is notified, of course the police, thanks to which we always know where tourists are and where they want to go – he adds.
He claims that this is also to provide protection for visitors. The Taliban does not want them to hurt them because they want to avoid negative headers in the international press.
Harsh governments
Under the Taliban rule, the level of crime in the country fell. Immediately after their took power in September 2021, fundamentalists set an example – kidnappers, thieves and other criminals were publicly lost, and their bodies lay on the streets for a few days. It was supposed to be a clear message.
Currently, there are control points throughout the country, especially in larger cities and around them. Passenger documents, car trunk, cars – everything are checked there. This brings results – even at night you can travel around Afghanistan without fear of life.
Talib on dutySteffen Schwarzkopf / Die Welt
This security, however, has a huge price – the secret GDI services have eyes everywhere and watch over the enforcement of dozens of decrees issued over the past year. One of them prohibits, for example, severely public criticism of the Taliban government. According to other girls, they can only go to school until sixth grade, women cannot study at universities or work in offices. Without a male family member, they are not allowed to travel outside the city. Khubibib Gufran, spokesman for the Ministry of Information, emphasizes that these are temporary funds and that work is underway to change them.
People who touch these restrictions do not believe it anymore. It is very difficult to meet them for an interview. At the beginning of the journey of “Die Welt” reporters to Afghanistan The Taliban informed them that the filming of women is prohibited. Conducting interviews with them the same. The meetings take place behind closed doors, but at first no one wants to participate in it.
Second -class citizens
The 32-year-old who played in the Afghan football team before taking power by the Taliban, she hides with relatives with her husband and son. The Taliban consider her an opponent of the regime, although she never got involved in any political activities. She is desperate, wants to leave the country – but where?
Iran and Pakistan will not accept her, and west cannot escape. For understandable reasons, he does not want to give his name. He is afraid of life.
Continued article under video material
Other women who secretly met “Die Welt” journalists also do not want to speak publicly. Finally, Amira agrees to the interview – this is the name made for security reasons. The 26-year-old from Kabul is completely covered, asks to change her voice during the broadcast of conversation on television. – In 2021 I studied at the University of Energy at the University. After the Taliban took power, however, everything ended. Finding a job when you are a woman is practically impossible – he says
– Part of my future, my dreams, dies every day – he adds with resignation. Louisa Roper immediately understood that women were treated as a second -class citizens. “Men perceive us here as sexual objects,” he says. He does not feel threatened, but often feels discomfort.
Most Afghans, at least at first glance, reconciled with the Taliban rule, despite the fact that the economic situation in the country, especially outside cities, has deteriorated again in the last four years. This is also due to the fact that the West has almost completely withdrawn from the country. Support for non -governmental organizations has also been drastically limited.
Taliban spokesman Abdul Mutalib HaqaniSteffen Schwarzkopf / Die Welt
John Aylieff, director of the UN food program in Afghanistan, warns. – Winter is coming faster than it seems. If there is no more international help, the mortality here will increase significantly. We had to reduce the reasons for flour, sugar, oil and millet for the population by half – he says.
The UN actually provides help from almost 10 million people in Afghanistan. Currently, the funds are enough to support only a million inhabitants. Also for this reason, the Taliban are trying to establish diplomatic relations with Europe, especially with Germany. “We would like to conduct direct conversations with the federal government to explain misunderstandings,” says government spokesman Abdul Mutalib Haqani.
He declares that the Taliban are also ready to take a large number of Afghan criminals back to the country – under two conditions. – Our compatriots cannot be forced to do so, it must be voluntary. Germany must provide them [pozostałym] Financial support so that they can stay in the country and build a new life – he says.
If the German government provides the relevant documents, repatriated Afghans will be brought to court and convicted in accordance with Afghan law. Now – as Haqani claims – the German government is. He adds that the Taliban are ready to talk.
