|
Afghans: "Bring back the Taliban!"
Afghans look back to Taliban as crime wave breeds nostalgia
By N.C. Aizenman
March 21, 2005
Kandahar - "We are savage, cruel people," the kidnappers said in a note sent to
Abdul Qader, demanding $15,000 to spare the life of his 11-year-old son,
Mohammed. The construction contractor borrowed the money and left it at the
agreed spot. The next morning, a shopkeeper found the boy's bruised corpse in a
muddy street.
A wave of crime in this southern Afghan city -- including Mohammed's slaying
two months ago and a bombing Thursday that killed at least five people -- has
evoked a growing local nostalgia for the Taliban era of 1996 to 2001, when the
Islamic militia imposed law by Draconian means.
Residents reached their boiling point about a week ago, after a second
kidnapped boy was killed. Hundreds poured into the streets, demanding that
President Hamid Karzai dismiss the provincial governor and the police chief.
Witnesses recalled some chanting, "Bring back the Taliban!"
Both provincial officials are former militia leaders whose fighters were
perceived as having preyed on residents before they were driven out by the
Taliban. They regained power, like a number of other current officials, by
joining the US-led military forces that defeated the Taliban in late 2001.
In response to the protest, Karzai dispatched a security aide to Kandahar, and
promises were made to bolster the police with reinforcements from the capital
But residents are demanding more action by Karzai, who won election in October
after making campaign pledges to sideline the militia leaders.
"We don't want any more promises on paper," said a landowner and tribal leader
who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation by the government.
"We want Mr. Karzai to keep his word."
The Kandaharis' complaints echo those of other Afghans. On Monday,
demonstrators in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif called for the resignation
of General Attah Mohammad, the militia leader who governs their province,
complaining that he had stolen people's land.
Human Rights Watch, a US-based group, has said that numerous former militia
leaders, who hold many provincial governorships and police commands, "have been
implicated in widespread rape of women and children, murder, illegal detention,
forced displacement, human trafficking and forced marriage."
The discontent in Kandahar could prove problematic for Karzai, who was born in
the region and has drawn much support from fellow Pashtuns. Many Kandaharis,
once alienated by Taliban rule, say their support for Karzai is giving way to a
grudging nostalgia for the Taliban era.
At that time, many said, a person could walk around the city carrying
quantities of cash without fear, and drive long after dark. Today holdups are
common, few people venture out after sunset, and many are haunted by a sense of
vulnerability.
Nazar Khan, who sells television sets, said that as a teenager, he hated the
Taliban regime for banning music and forcing him to listen in secret to his
favorite singers. "But at least under the Taliban we had security," Khan said.
Because of the kidnappings, Khan now drives his four older children to school,
and takes them to his stall afterward to keep watch on them. The 2-year-old
stays with him all day.
There is much about Kandahar that underscores how far it has progressed since
the Taliban's removal. Bazaars are filled with merchandise, from photos to
VCRs, that would have been unthinkable during the Taliban era.
Above the streets, satellite dishes peek out from rooftops. At the soccer
stadium where the Taliban once staged public stonings of alleged adulterers,
painters prepare grounds for a tournament.
Still, residents say, the outward trappings mask entrenched problems, from lack
of jobs to street crime. Many know someone whose vehicles or other property was
stolen, often at gunpoint.
Zahir Jan, 35, a stadium painter, said he would be satisfied with the
government if it weren't for the kidnappings. "Imagine how things are, that we
are wishing for the Taliban again," he muttered.
Comment on this story,
click here.
Copyright 1999-2004, AsianSexGazette.com. All rights reserved. No
content may be reproduced in whole or part without written permission.
Please contact us via the link below for re-print and syndication policies.
|
|
Forced
marriage still rife in Afghanistan
3-15-2005
|
