When Elephants Fight (9 page)

Suddenly the quiet was broken. There was a loud sound—like an engine—and Farooq looked up. Just over their heads streaked a silver shape, a rocket! There was a loud
shooosh
ing sound as it passed over, and then a tremendous explosion!

Farooq jumped to his feet and started to run before he heard the screaming. He stopped and turned back around. His cousin was cut, blood pouring from his face, and his sister was lying in the dirt, facedown, blood coming from her back!

His mother and father ran over, screaming, and scooped the children up and carried all three down to the basement. Quickly his parents looked at the injuries. Both children had been hit by debris thrown up in the air when the rocket had landed— maybe it was bits of rock or concrete. There was blood—coming from the nose of his cousin, and from a small wound on his sister's back—but the injuries were minor. It took longer to calm down his sister than it did to clean out the wound. She'd be fine. They'd all be fine...for now.

Farooq, his mother, father and sister left their home. They walked for two days in the cold and rain, narrowly avoiding death, with only the possessions they could carry, to travel out of Kabul and to the home of a relative. Over 25,000 people, mainly civilians, were killed, and one-third of the city was completely destroyed.

Subsequently the family immigrated to India in 1996, and then to Canada in 1998, where his youngest sister, Rabia, was born. Farooq has recently graduated from high school and is taking further courses to prepare him to pursue a career in either business or law enforcement. He is proud of both his Afghani heritage and his Canadian future.

Afghanistan has been home to human settlement for over 50,000 years and was one of the first documented places where farming took place. It is at the crossroads of Asia and has been referred to as the gateway between Asia and Europe. It has been continually exposed to travelers, traders, invaders and conquerors. It was conquered by Darius of Babylon in 500 BC, Alexander the Great in 329 BC, Islamic conquerors in the 7th century, Muhmujd of Ghazni in the 11th century, Genghis Khan in the 13th century, various Arab and Persian dynasties (including Tamerlane from Persia), the British Empire in the 1800s and the Soviet Union from 1979–1989. Throughout these recurrent invasions, the Afghan people have repeatedly demonstrated a fierce sense of independence, which has made it almost impossible to effectively control and govern them. In all cases they have eventually expelled all invaders and conquerors.

This same quality of independence has made it very difficult for Afghans to govern themselves. The country we now recognize as Afghanistan has only existed in its present boundaries for the last part of its lengthy history. When not under the domination of outside powers, it has mostly existed as a number of independent or semi-independent countries, states, kingdoms, tribes or clan groups, which have either peacefully coexisted or actively battled each other.

In 1746 the Pashtun tribes were united into one group. They ultimately conquered and created a greater Afghanistan that was composed of all of the present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, two provinces in Iran and parts of India. This greater Afghanistan came into conflict with the British Empire, the greatest power of its day and the largest empire ever amassed.

There were repeated conflicts between the two groups (1838–42, 1878–80, 1919–21). The British found that, while they could have initial success in these wars, the Afghans were not easily subdued or defeated. Great battles with heavy losses, retreats and re-entrenchments taking place—with the Afghans regaining
lost territory—was the pattern. Ceasefires, treaties and accords were ultimately created that gave Britain some marginal control over Afghanistan's foreign policy but no real control over the majority of the people or the country.

In 1921 Afghanistan was granted independence from Britain. Emir Amanullah founded a monarchy in 1926. This kingdom remained in some degree of control throughout the country for almost fifty years, although there were continual internal power struggles, and many areas of the country operated as almost independent states.

In 1973 the king was deposed, and the monarchy was replaced by a republic. This set off another period of turmoil as different groups attempted to gain power. In 1978 the republic was overthrown, and a Marxist government with close ties to the Soviet Union was formed.

There was a great deal of internal resistance to this government and its official secular policy, as almost all Afghans are Muslim. This resistance became so strong that it appeared that the government would fall.

There is debate as to whether the government of Afghanistan invited the Soviet Union to send troops to support it or the Soviets simply invaded. In September, 1979, its forces crossed their shared border and launched a massive invasion of Afghanistan. The existing leader of the country was killed, and another leader was installed by the Soviets as the president of Afghanistan.

The local groups who had fought against the previous Afghan government became even stronger in their opposition to the Soviet invaders. The resistance fighters, the muja-hideen, pledged a jihad, or holy war, to expel the invaders.

The Soviet forces numbered in the hundreds of thousands and were supported by tanks, the most sophisticated weaponry available at the time, attack helicopters, planes and missiles. The Afghan resistance was in scattered pockets, under different leaders who did not necessarily cooperate and were, in fact, at times hostile to each other. These groups were lightly armed, some with outdated guns from World War II, and operated on foot or on horseback. Regardless of the differences between the weaponry, the resistance demonstrated that same level of fierce independence and willingness to fight that has been the mark of Afghans throughout history. And while many resistance fighters were killed, they continued to inflict heavy losses on
the Soviets. The Soviets discovered what all other previous invaders had learned: that while this country is possible to invade, it is incredibly difficult to subdue or control.

This invasion was during a time of great conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States of America; so, the Soviets's incursion was protested by the western world and clearly identified as an invasion and not a request by the existing government for their involvement. This country, previously ignored by the western world, became the focus of the Cold War conflict.

Through Western covert—secret— programs the resistance fighters were provided with sophisticated arms, training and intelligence that allowed them to continually evolve into a more effective, cohesive and dangerous foe. Attempts to expand Soviet and government control into areas outside of the capital, Kabul, were met with time-limited success and came at the cost of many deaths and casualties.

Along with Afghan fighters, there were calls for Muslims to come from other countries to continue the jihad against the Soviets. Among these outsiders was a Saudi man named Osama Bin Laden. It is alleged that he received training and funding from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States.

Equipped with increasingly sophisticated weapons, including portable missiles that could destroy helicopters, the resistance movement became more deadly as well as much more coordinated in its efforts. The war became increasingly violent as the Soviet army attempted to put down the uprising, and there were enormous casualties on both sides.

Those most affected though were the ordinary citizens. The ongoing war played havoc with the economy, destroyed infrastructure and made daily living, and even survival, impossible for millions of people. They fled their homes. It is estimated that close to five million Afghans fled their homes, either taking refuge in other parts of Afghanistan or leaving the country. Over a million refugees flooded into Pakistan and Iran, and hundreds of thousands settled in countries around the world.

As the war continued, it began to take a toll on the Soviet Union. The war was costing billions of dollars to pursue, including the cost of propping up the Afghan government. There was also an increasing loss of life. External world opinion, internal political pressure within the Soviet government as well as public disapproval continued to mount. The war was being fought at a terrible cost of money and men and, just as important, was beginning to appear to be hopeless.

In 1989 an agreement was reached whereby the Soviet Union would withdraw its forces and the Western powers would stop providing support for the resistance fighters.

By the time the Soviets retreated from Afghanistan, they had suffered the loss of over fifteen thousand lives and many more times that number of wounded.

With the withdrawal of the Soviet forces, the Afghan government was in a very weak state. The various resistance groups which had already established control over large swaths of the country set up provisional governments in many rural areas. These groups had continued to fight the Afghan government, but some also started to negotiate and cooperate, and even battle other groups to position themselves to take control of the entire country. As the mujahideen continued to gain power throughout the country there became a feeling that the government would ultimately be defeated, and members of the armed forces began to plan how to cooperate with those who would eventually take power. In April of 1992, the government and the capital, Kabul, fell.

While there were various factions battling for control of the country, one group, the Taliban, slowly established a place of dominance. This group was defined by a very strict understanding of the practice of the Muslim faith. It imposed harsh fundamentalist laws, including stoning for adultery and severing hands for theft. There were public executions and beatings. Women were prohibited from work and school and had to cover themselves head to foot to go in public, and they couldn't go out without a male relative. Music and Internet were banned. Men were required to wear beards, and no public events, like soccer or kite-flying, were allowed. By 1998 they had effectively gained control of over 90 percent of the country.

The northern sections of the country remained in conflict with the Taliban. The Northern Alliance, as they came to be known, tended to be Shi'a Muslim while the Taliban were primarily Sunni. As well, the Taliban were mostly ethnic Pashtun, and the Northern Alliance belonged to other tribal groups.

The infrastructure of the country continued to be destroyed and the economy was weak. Infant mortality rates rose, life expectancy fell and people were not able to obtain the
basics of life, including food, water or shelter. Millions of people, some who had returned home, once again fled either internally within the country or over to other countries.

An Afghan boy stands outside his tent in Kabul. Many families have been forced to relocate after fighting increased against the Taliban
.

During this period, the western world paid little attention to the internal battles within Afghanistan. There was no military involvement and very little foreign aid given to the country. While many countries were appalled by the strict interpretation of the Qur'an and the harshness of punishment and position of women, there were some things that were applauded. Afghanistan had always been a major world source of illegal drugs—opium and heroin—and this practice was almost completely eliminated under the Taliban. Regardless, this country was now not seen to have any significant military value, and no countries intervened.

Outside mujahideen had battled alongside Afghans to overthrow the Soviets and the communist government they had left behind. Once the Taliban established a government, these fighters were allowed to remain in the country. One of these groups, al-Qaeda, under the direction of Osama Bin Laden, saw little difference between the Soviet Union and the western world. In both cases they
were seen as enemies of the Muslim faith. Al-Qaeda had the objectives of eliminating foreign influences on Muslim countries and eradicating infidels. The United States was seen as the primary enemy and attacks were planned. In 1993 a truck bomb exploded in the parking garage under the World Trade Center in New York City. In 1998 the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed. In 2000 the destroyer USS
Cole
was attacked. As al-Qaeda became linked to this attack, the United States and the international community demanded the Taliban turn over the terrorists to international authorities. The Taliban government, which had been recognized by only a few countries in the world as the legitimate government, chose to ignore these demands. This was in part based on its lack of connection or willingness to be connected to the outside world, its belief that the international community would not act and finally, a strongly held Afghan obligation that these people were guests and that guests needed to be protected.