KABUL: War-weary Afghans are calling for peace in the conflict in Ukraine involving former invaders Russia and the West.
All Afghans Bernama spoke to were concerned about innocent civilians getting caught in the crossfire. Afghanistan had been under the rule of both the Soviet Union from 1979 until 1989 and then the United States-North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) alliance from 2001 till August last year.
(Three Malaysian journalists, including one from Bernama, are currently in Afghanistan, following Malaysian non-governmental organisation Global Peace Mission Malaysia on a week-long situation-on-the-ground reporting on Afghanistan beginning Feb 23.)
Wafa Hamid, an interpreter with a local NGO, said he had no love for either Russia or US-NATO.
“I’m glad they are occupied with each other because that means they will not interfere with us,” he said, adding that he was reserving all his sympathy for the Ukrainian people instead.
Possibly tempered by decades of separation between the Russian invasion of Afghanistan versus the US-NATO invasion, a few felt more inclined to sympathise with Russia.
A salesman at Finest Superstore in Kabul Zaibiullah Atal, 23, told Bernama through an interpreter that although he did not support any war, he did not hold a grudge against Russia.
“If you ask my father and my grandfather, they will say the Russians were better for Afghanistan because they built roads, schools and bridges for us, things we still use today. With the US, they put corrupt people in power and when they left, everything went back to zero,” he said, adding the war was far away.
However, there are a few who worry the Russia-Ukraine conflict may have far-reaching consequences for them.
Nidol, an Afghani who used to work at a US-NATO military base, wondered what the war meant for him and his family. They have been waiting to be evacuated for months.
“It’s a catastrophe at the end of the day because innocent people will die. But I am worried that this means Europe and the US will forget me and others in Afghanistan,” he told Bernama.
He added there were thousands more like him waiting to be evacuated, who are currently living in fear of retaliation for working with the previous government.
The Taliban took over last year after the hasty withdrawal of US and NATO forces and the collapse of the Ashraf Ghani government. Funds pledged for rebuilding were halted and the country has been suffering from an economic and banking crisis. The US recently announced they were funneling US$3.5 billion of Afghan Central Bank assets to a Sept 11 fund for victims, fuelling local resentment against the superpower.
Officially, the Taliban-led government has come out against the war, calling on both sides of the conflict to resolve the crisis through dialogue and peaceful means.
“We never support war. We always support peace,” Noorudin Azizi, Afghan Industry and Commerce Minister told Bernama through an interpreter.
Russia invaded its neighbour two days ago under the pretext of stopping the genocide of Russian speakers in Ukraine, of which Russian President Vladimir Putin offered little evidence. NATO and Western countries have responded by implementing crippling sanctions on Russia. -Bernama
