Fieldnotes on Humanity

Not long ago, I walked here with a young novelist who I befriended recently. Since then, I have been coming every once in a while, especially when I need to get out of my daily routine and alleviate stress, which has become a regular occurrence these days. Every time I visit this spot, I see people standing, taking photos in groups, chitter-chattering, some with their arms stretched out holding cell phones, their eyes staring at the camera, trying hard to smile while tilting their heads right and left as if trying to find enough space to capture the ocean in the background. This particular spot is called “Inspiration Point.” It is a famous site in the seaside neighborhood of Corona Del Mar. A couple of weeks ago, this area was closed to visitors due to an oil spill. Not many people knew why it was closed though. I saw them being frustrated. Not only this spot, but the entire coast of southern California was shut down; dead animals washed up the beaches, some were injured and stranded, ...

In 2013, when Margaret Thatcher died, some people celebrated her death--due to her destructive economic policies during her terms--not only in the UK  but also in other places, like  Chile . Rejoicing over her death was not only considered something unethical but a source of joy and happiness.   Today I heard that Mujib Rahman Ansari, a senior Sunni extremist  cleric and pro-Taliban, was killed in a blast . On social media platforms, many Afghanistanis expressed their happiness over his death. The first question that might come to our mind is, is this morally a good thing? This is not the right question. A more correct and accurate question to ask is whether the absence of someone who promoted and caused hatred, disgust, misery, and suffering brings us peace?  I asked a friend of mine this question. He told me that "rejoicing over the death of an evil person should not only be considered normal but also morally justifiable. We humans naturally rejoice ...

Some terrible news come from Afghanistan. In the past two days, the Taliban militants waged an attack on Balkhab, a Hazara district in northern Sar-e Pol province. They have been killing innocent people. Images appeared on social media show men and women are indiscriminately being shot, some are beheaded. Here is a  VOA piece about extrajudicial killings in the Hazara districts of Balkhab. The title of the news wrongly says "Afghan district," it's a Hazara district.

It's sad, extremely sad to see what is happening to women in Afghanistan. Nothing has changed in the Taliban's strategies and views on women. They remain the same people as they were 20 or 30 years ago. Today I stumbled upon state.gov archive and found quotes by women and about women 20 years ago. These quotes took me to 1990s, the decade that resembled like today, nothing has changed in the Taliban's outlook. For the original, please visit here .  Report on the Taliban's War Against Women BUREAU OF DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND LABOR November 17, 2001 Report They made me invisible, shrouded and non-being A shadow, no existence, made silent and unseeing Denied of freedom, confined to my cage Tell me how to handle my anger and my rage? -- Zieba Shorish-Shamley, from  "Look into my World"  published on the 50 th  anniversary of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Taliban in Their Own Words "It's like having a flower, or a rose. Yo...

Personally, I am less worried about the recent Taliban's restrictions on women appearing on TV or in public in that matter. What makes me more worried is the rampant violence across Afghanistan, specifically the genocide of the Hazara people which has been going on for years now and recently intensified. Attacks on Hazaras have become a daily occurrence now. No one takes responsibility anymore, even daily attacks don't make headlines, only attacks on a large scale become newsworthy.  Since the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, a wave of violence swept the entire country, but violence against Hazaras is different, they are being systematically targeted at schools, mosques, hospitals, public squares, on the streets, and even in their homes. Simultaneously, something worse is happening these days. Pashtun Kuchis (nomads) have invaded Hazarajat, a region where the Hazaras live. They move with their livestock from village to village, grazing Hazara pastures, wheat farms, veget...

I am personally against the transfer of the former Afghanistan's government reserves ($7 billion) to the Taliban, for two reasons: 1) The Taliban as de factor rulers of Afghanistan are incapable of using the assets and even if they are, they will not use the funds among the population fairly. For the past 8 months, UN humanitarian aid has reached different cities across Afghanistan but most of the Hazara areas have not received them even once. For example, Pashtun families in southern and eastern Afghanistan, such as Jalalabad and Helmand, received 38 to 42 times while in central and northern Afghanistan, people have not receive a single grain of rice.  2) This fund does not belong to the Taliban and to be honest, most of it comes from foreign donations and it belongs to the former government that supposed to represent all the people of Afghanistan. The Taliban is a terror group, representing the Pashtun tribe mostly, they do not represent all the people of Afghanistan. They do no...

In early September of 2021, AP reported that there were potentially young girls among evacuees who were forced to marry older men to escape the brutality of the Taliban regime. Well, there is a strange case that I am following closely. In one case, a man brought two women, one registered as a wife and the other as a sister. His wife has one child, the older six children. The young wife, who is registered as a sister, is pregnant now. This is happening in a refugee camp. The neighbors told me they began noticing the man's sister's belly gradually expanding. They didn't know she was the man's wife. They were confused and wondered whether the man had impregnated his sister. They are currently kept in one of those lily pads overseas and have been there since six months ago or more. The officials at the camp are also aware of it but do not know how to deal with it.  See  this report : An internal document described to the Associated Press by officials familiar with it says t...