Unfortunately, Afghans have experienced failure. Enough is enough. We can't take it anymore. We must change the system and we must do it now.
For 20 years, international organisations were in my country, investing millions and millions of dollars to, apparently, improve the lives of my countrymen and women. Yet in 2020, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics reported that 57% of Afghans were illiterate, and the real figure is likely to be higher still. The punishment for this enormous ineptitude and poor transfer of resources has fallen on Afghan civil society, a punishment that is contrary to human rights and human decency.
Please, let us talk about this decision. Let us, the Afghan people, talk to the governments around the world that are making decisions on our behalf without consulting civil society, as has been the case with the US government dividing our funds. But also, we must talk to all individual people who believe in social justice. We must unite by leaving out the Taliban. They cannot be the only interlocutor when it comes to the Afghan people. This is unbelievably unfair.
I am not only sad; I am hungry and angry. So are the rest of my people. I am hungry for justice and, if you believe in human rights, you should be too. Please help me to multiply the voice of my people in the face of this recent decision by the US government. This money does not belong to the Taliban. It is not your money, either. It must be put in the hands of civil society, especially Afghan women, youth and children.
I was unable to read and write until I was 16 years old, but you, reading this, have an opportunity to make a difference by amplifying the voices of innocent Afghans who are suffering right now. Raise your voice on our behalf, and make it clear to your government that these funds must be put directly into the hands of the Afghan people who are the most vulnerable.
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