Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1405706
13 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 29 AUGUST 2021 OPINION We cannot abandon the people of Afghanistan THE past couple of weeks have seen all major international news outlets reporting the spec- tacular collapse of the Afghan Government, at the hands of the Taliban insurgents, who claimed victory at the end of the United States' 20-year occupation of the country. Culminating with the swift march and takeover of Ka- bul on August 15th, the regime which the US sought to topple back in 2001, is now back in power, to the unfortunate detri- ment of women, LGBTIQ indi- viduals, and various minorities who make up Afghanistan's 32 million-strong population. As President Ashraf Ghani fled Kabul, so did the hopes and aspirations of millions of Afghans, as the progress made in the country over the past 20 years have seemingly with- ered away due to the de facto rule of the Taliban extremists. Children born after the start of the occupation, particularly women, had managed to attend school, get an education, grad- uate from university, and start a meaningful career – howev- er, now their future seems in- creasingly murky. That's why the ensuing images that came out of Hamid Karzai airport, shocking as they were, were of no complete surprise. You could see the desperation on people's faces as they fran- tically tried to get on any plane out of Kabul, whatever the cost, as a last ditch attempt to not let go of their hopes and dreams, and all the accomplishments made over the past years. Despite being on the other side of the world, we cannot abandon or ignore the situ- ation in Afghanistan. The Western world has failed those Afghan people who invested in themselves over the past 20 years. Those young women and men who went through the ed- ucational system and graduat- ed out of the American Univer- sity in Kabul to build a future of their own, only to find that all their hopes and aspirations crumbling down at the bat of an eyelid. The urgent meeting of the Po- litical and Security Committee in the Council of the European Union, the meeting between Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the extraordinary meeting of the Foreign Affairs Commit- tee of the European Union are welcome. However, we must move away from talk to con- crete action. There must be a joint agree- ment on the way forward that brings together the EU, US, UK, Australia and all those who value human rights to plan the way forward based on what the Afghan people want. We cannot let these people's civil liberties and human rights be compromised as a result of the Taliban's regime. We can- not go back to an Afghanistan where minorities are perse- cuted, and where women and young girls are treated as sec- ond rate citizens, who are not even allowed to receive a basic education. As a Member of the Euro- pean Parliament working on human rights, during the past couple of weeks, I have been witnessing this degradation of Afghan citizens' human rights at first hand. Numerous LGBTIQ individ- uals from Afghanistan have reached out to us, terrified for their lives, and recounting hor- rible stories where they have witnessed some of their LGB- TIQ friends being subject to undignified treatment by Tal- iban soldiers – some of which were killed in cold blood, there and then. In the LIBE Committee issues pertaining to the Taliban take- over and the situation on the ground in Afghanistan are sure to take centre stage once we are back in Brussels next week. From a human rights perspec- tive, we need to ensure the se- curity and peace of mind of all minorities in Afghanistan, be they ethnic, sexual or religious minorities. All Afghans have a right to lead their lives as they wish without fear of persecu- tion, and all Afghans must have a right to an education. We are also anticipating an outflow of migrants from Af- ghanistan who will be seeking refugee status; as already wit- nessed at Kabul airport last week. We must be prepared for this, as we cannot have a repeat of the 2015 Syrian refugee crisis, which brought countries at the EU's external borders to their knees. We must come, debate and agree on the way forward for the sake of the people of Afghanistan, and we must be ready for all eventualities. I have been vocal on minority rights and human rights in the European Parliament, whatev- er their cause. The people of Afghanistan are no exception. As an activ- ist who is in politics, I will do whatever it takes, within the meeting chambers of the Eu- ropean Parliament and beyond, to ensure that Afghans' hopes and dreams, as well as their fundamental human rights, are not tarnished by any political force in their country, be it the Taliban or not. We have disap- pointed them enough. Let's not abandon them now. Cyrus Engerer Cyrus Engerer is a Labour MEP (S&D)