Haunting Hindukush: War & Peace by Satis Shroff

HAUNTING HINDUKUSH: War & Pace (Satis Shroff) The King Who Was Expelled (Satis Shroff) King Amanullah returned Ecstatic, From a tour to Europe And the Near East. He ordered the modernization Of Afghanistan, Along the lines Of Kemal in Turkey. His Majesty said: 'I want monogamy, European clothing, Abolition of women's veils.' The people rejoiced In the streets of Kabul. The Mullahs revolted. The king was expelled. That was 1928. * * * They Shot the King (Satis Shroff) General Nadir Shah Became the King of Afghanistan, With a little help, From his British friends. He brought reforms. They shot him in 1933. * * * Pakhtunistan Dreams (Satis Shroff) Mohammed Zahir became The next king of Afghanistan. 'I have a dream Of a Pakhtunistan, A bigger country which can rule The Pathans in Western Pakistan. To the west of the river Indus.' The Pakistanis weren't amused, And politely refused it. * * * THE HINDUKUSH (Satis Shroff) It's Volkstrauertag Death through war, Gewaltherrschaft, Go through your mind. It's 2009, Peace at last? The victims of war, Memorials with mourning choirs, Weeping war widows, orphans, Wreaths and flowers for the dead. The fire brigade stands at attention. Germans in uniforms, Stiff humans With blue eyes moving, To take in the mourning. In Freiburg-Kappel we sing A Russian song, To remember The sons and husbands of Freiburg-Kappel Who didn't return From the last War. A hundred years ago, The Constitution of Weimar. Germany's Fundamental Laws Were proclaimed. The ugly Berlin wall finally fell The Second World War, Is over long ago. Alas, young Teutonic widows Still cry today In Germany; For young husbands Who died And still die, In the killing fields Of the Hindukush. A war in far off Afghanistan. The grandfather died For a totalitarian regime. The grandson died For a democratic idea. We, Germans, trained the police In the Hindukush. What happens when the army and police Run over to the Talibans? Islam binds the people In the Hindukush. What have we to offer? Is war capitulation, Against the forces of evil? People who are beaten, tortured When their ethnicity And genes differ, When people with illness or disability, Are meted injustice, Stamped as 'unworthy of life.' There are those who faced A firing squad, When they defied The rule of power, Clutched to their beliefs, Their pure conscience. You can't change the past. What has happened, Has happened. Don't close your eyes To the hoary past, Lest you be blind To the present, And the future. It's not the Third World, Where ideologies, Fundamentalists, Terror Find their breeding grounds. Rightist ideology Is still mushrooming, In the streets of Berlin, Vienna and Bern. The 'others' are still Being terrorized, Beaten, stabbed and kicked On broad daylight. Freedom and forgiveness, Within and without, Where art thou? He who searches Finds hope, Tolerance, Empathy And dignity, For there are enough Righteous, honest, Spiritual people with integrity Who care about others. * * * OBAMA DAYS (Satis Shroff) The Talibans have persuaded The Pathans, Pashtoons, And other warring tribes, To ignore their differences, And unite to fight the infidels From the West. US citizens say: 'America can't afford Obama's Afghan war. Hey Big Spender, Obama, Thirty-five billion dollars To blow up. Don't Americans Need the money Back home? * * * I'll Bring You Back (Satis Shroff) The faces of the rookie cadets At Westpoint Looked tired. '30 000 only' said Obama, 'Till May 2010, And I'll bring you back.' The question was: In a coffin Or as a hero? *** Understanding Afghanistan (Satis Shroff) What would have happened If Obama, Merkel And the Nato left Kabul one day? It wasn't America's war anyway. Was it the Nato's future krieg? Bin Laden was at large in those days. The enemy was invisible, Said the Soviets too. Airstrikes killed Only women and children, Even then, As drones do today. Do we really understand Afghanistan? Or is it only Our thought Of what Afghanistan Ought to be. * * * Under the Shadow of the Hindukush (Satis Shroff) John Mc Cain wished To break the will Of the Talibans. That's how wars are won, From the Westpoint view. If you announce When the troops will leave, The Talis will just wait And drink black tea Under the shadow Of the Hindukush. * * * No Soldiers, Please (Satis Shroff) Once upon a time Germany's Guido Westerwelle, Praised the decision to withdraw From the Hindukush. 'Police officers for Afghans Is okay,' Says Birgit Homburger FDP, 'But no soldiers, please.' * * * Party Crashing In the White House (Satis Shroff) You mean you could Party crash Right up to the President In the White House? It was Obama then. Mark Sullivan and his men Were blended By a charming blonde Socialite. To me It was like in Bonn, Where an elderly German lady, Dressed up like a Baroness, Cut an excellent figure. Till the chief of the Bonner police Confided to me, She was a commoner, A pensioned lady, Out for a tete´-a-tete´ With King Birendra Of Nepal. Where there's a will There seems to be A way. * * * 5,5 million Afghans are still trying to escape the Talibans inside the country where 40 million Afghans live, according to the UNO. The German Bundeswehr evacuated 5350 people from Kabul, among them 500 Germans and 4000 Afghans and 45 other nationalities. Chancellor Merkel wants to ‘possibly evacuated 10,000 persons.’ The fear of Taliban reprisals hangs in the air. The Black Hawks and Humbees and other military kit are now in the hands of the Talibans and they’re wearing the US battle uniforms and have the weapons and, as of today, they are in full control of Kabul and the whole country, as shown by the celebratory gunfire and the quote: ‘No more US boots on Afghan soil.’ The British and the Americans didn’t overstay the deadline even by an hour. The Afghan branch of ISIS calls itself ‘Khorasan: the Land of the Sun,’ which was originally northern Iran, southern Turkmenistan and a big part of Afghanistan. They use the name ‘Khorasan’ because they refuse the legitimacy of the modern national states, and prefer to use the historical terms used in the times of the great Islamic Caliphates. PM Boris Johnson called it ‘ opportunistic terrorism’ and said ‘the equivalent of a UK town has been evacuated by the UK and suggested ‘to get on with the second phase with G7, Nato to bring up a new government in Kabul.’ President Biden has recently said ‘Forever Wars’ is imbecilic as he pulled his troops out. The final C-17 aircraft left Kabul today. He said that the war on terrorism has been won and uprooted. But the recent case of a massive explosion at the Kabul airport, which took many lives, both Afghan and US, goes to show that terror is still at large in the Hindukush, this time in the form of ISIS-K. Mitch Mc Connel, the conservative in the Senate was quoted saying: ‘The terrorists will not stop fighting against the USA, just because our politicians have no desire to fight against them. America, it might be noted, has been fighting the Talibans since two decades. Josh Hawley, a senator from Missouri, even went further to say that it is ‘painfully clear that President Biden has neither the will nor the ability to lead the nation. Hawley is, of course, following Trump’s footsteps with his populistic rhetoric, despite the fact that he went to an elite university and studied law. In Germany too there are a lot of conservatives from the right corner who are academicians. President Biden promised to bring his boys home and he did it. The mothers and wives are glad in this respect. How he did it and why he waited so long will be discussed long after. Meanwhile, the German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas is negotiating with the Taliban and neighbouring countries on how to bring over the people from Kabul airport and other area per civil aviation because the Bundeswehr also pulled out. More than 40,000 Afghans, among them those who helped the Bundeswehr, various ngos etc. will be airlifted in the next days and weeks. Europe’s developing countries from the West Balkan such as Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia have agreed to take in Afghan refugees, especially those who worked with the American institutions and have to be checked and cleared before they are allowed to travel to the USA. Commentators in the UK are advising the people not to be too optimistic about the developents. The gains in terms of women’s education and women’s rights in Afghanistan are a thing of the past because you see more and more women wearing the burka. A commentator also mentioned that the Al Quaida and Taliban are intermarried and share common goals, which is a bit far fetched. Time will tell us whether this is true or not. Taliban is not a unified force but a coalition itself. From Britain comes the news that the RAF to launch fresh airstrikes and are ready to join other nations. Another Hindukush adventure, despite the huge strategic reversal and the misjudgements in the era of Blair and Bush? Strategic mistakes have been made by the US. 2,400 Americans have died and tens of thousands of Afghans lost their lives in the 20 year war. The USA has entered a new chapter in its relationship with Afghanistan after its chaotic withdrawal. President Biden and Dominique Raab are both under pressure. The USA chose to walk away and ended up running is the tenor in Britain. Britain backs the Northern Alliance. Panjshir, which means five lions, is the valley of resistance. The UK and Nato have to recognize the new reality and focus on seeing and going forwards with negotiations and peace talks, now that the war has come to an abrupt end. Although a litany of errors have occurred, Britain has not learned from the lessons and mistakes of the past since the times of Queen Victoria. More airstrikes or more negotiations with the Taliban? The Taliban have come to stay in the Hindukush because almost 80% of the Afghans are for the Shariah, and they want to stay in the country and not flee somewhere else. The clan structure of 14 ethnicities makes it typically impossible to bring all negotiators to a round table. Moreover, the ISIS has found a new breeding ground in Afghanistan and terrorism can be exported by the ISIS to neighbouring countries. The talk is at the moment about the 2000 hard core ISIS fighters who remain in Afghanistan according to the spokesman of the US Central Command. What we need now is a message of hope for those within Afghanistan and those who have made it to the west. A lot of British citizens who were scattered in the country have been left behind and how to find a route to the UK has become a big challenge for those who want to come home, according to Foreign Secretary Dominique Raab. It seems that it’s high time for resources to be made free for the newcomers from the Hindukush who have been given hotel accommodations in the UK. China is becoming increasingly confident. * * * AFGHAN BLUES: EMOTIONAL WOUNDS (Satis Shroff) Taliban angst caused Afghans To storm the airport in Kabul, And climb up moving aircraft, In vain attempts to escape The impending danger. Talibans, known for their brutality, Towards those who didn’t obey The dictates of the Sharia, Were coming closer and closer. Every human reacts differently To stress situations, But the fear of the Talibans, Hangs like the Sword of Damocles In the minds of the Afghans, Who made friends with the infidels, In a twenty year old war. The post-traumatic syndrome Takes a long time to heal, For the Talibans haunt you …