It is hard to express what it means to lose your country. In the hands of the Taliban, Afghanistan is lost to us – stolen by the terrorist Taliban. They hold the country without legitimacy, having not been chosen by the people in a democratic election, and they hold it in an iron grip, persecuting women and minorities, denying girls their education, cutting off the independent media and ignoring human rights. They have separated our families and denied us the chance to live together in peace, and we mourn what has been taken.
In Scotland, we are New Scots and we are building new lives and embracing our dual identities as both Afghan and Scottish. Our community is diverse and we know that, with refugee status, we can learn, work, worship, travel and pursue the interests that make our lives meaningful. We are thankful for this chance and we are bringing our skills and expertise in medicine, law, engineering, teaching and many other areas that can be useful to Scottish society. But we are doing so in the knowledge that our loved ones in Afghanistan have seen their chances and choices taken away from them by men who care about holding power above all else. The Taliban’s values are not the values of the people of Afghanistan and never will be.
When Kabul fell, decades of progress was lost overnight. Our community, with members drawn from all regions and tribes, gathered in George Square in the middle of Glasgow to oppose the Taliban and stand up for the Afghan people. Today is a difficult day for us as yet another year passes with this regime in charge. We fear for our loved ones and the future of the people – when child and forced marriage has returned; when people are being ‘disappeared’; when there is Hazara genocide and displacement of people in regions like Andarab and Panjshir; when the economy has collapsed; when hunger and malnutrition is rife; when freedom of speech is gone, then there is much to worry about.
We will continue to raise our voice for the people of Afghanistan. We will continue to urge the UK Government and the international community not to legitimise this brutal terrorist regime. And we will invite others who respect human rights and human life to join us in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan.
What is lost can be regained. We live for the day that democracy and freedom return to Afghanistan.