Afghanistan, hospitals without medicines
Nov 21 2021 The Guardian
The Taliban is in power in Afghanistan and international donors have pulled out. Hospital staff are not getting paid, and hospitals are running out of medicines and equipment.
And as usual, the ones who suffer the most, are the ordinary Afghans. There is a quote in the piece, by one senior Taliban official in Kabul, which says it all:
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking that I will suffer from sanctions,”… “I will always get my salary, my meals, and money to keep my office warm.”
On Helmand’s bleak wards, dying children pay the price as western aid to Afghanistan is switched off
Winter is approaching, and the situation will only get worse. The question is, should we help the population regardless of the Taliban government, or should we let people die because we do not agree with the Taliban?
If we look at this purely from the outside, I am sure I can intellectually rationalise both options. But from the point of view of the Afghan population, this is only about survival.
The problem with not giving help is that once people die, they will stay dead, you can not resurrect them later when the political situation is more agreeable. Then again I understand the point of not legitimizing the Taliban government.
On the other hand, giving help now, may give the international community some leverage with the Taliban, and will surely be appreciated by the population. And it will also keep more people alive.
Another advantage would be that by giving help, the international community would get better access to the country, and so would be better positioned to see potential issues and plan for the future.
I do not agree with the Taliban, but I do believe in keeping communication channels open and in engaging with adversaries, then you at least know who you are dealing with and you understand them better.
Remember, understanding why someone does what they do, does not mean that you agree with them, but it is necessary to understand them on some level when you eventually enter into negotiations with them.
