Savages in Afghanistan at the beginning of the 21st century

By SSG Whitney Houston

When reflecting on September 11th, 2001, most every American could tell you exactly where he or she was, and exactly what they were doing. It was a day when our people and our culture came under attack. Approximately 3,000 Americans were murdered and some of the nation’s most iconic buildings were turned into flames, rubble and dust.

In response to blood spilled on U.S. soil, we occupied Afghanistan with determination to snuff the enemy out of their strongholds and bring justice to their doorstep.

The people of the United States were infused with a nationalism and resolution to bring those responsible to a swift judgement. U.S. citizens are known around the world to show strong patriotism when the right circumstance calls for it. But I believe it’s a fragile quality, that we could easily lose if we don’t remember and reflect upon the cost of our victories. The freedoms we enjoy have demanded the blood of tens of thousands of our own as we've stood up to tyrants and have fought for peace over the centuries. It would be a shameful thing if we as a nation forgot that.

Our national pride forms an adhesive that binds the country together, and gives us determination to see difficult times through to their end. It transcends gender or race, and invites people from all over their country to hold onto an ideal that we are all Americans.

Cultural prejudices and inequality is cancerous, and can destroy any hope of any united ideal.

Afghanistan has struggled to live under the same flag for centuries because of inequality amongst its many tribes. The country can be described as a complex weave of culture, race and religion. The country's range of diversity of people and landscapes is what makes Afghanistan so beautiful. Many things that could have served to unite them have been taken away from them because of bigotry, ignorance and various forms of extremism. 

Afghans deeply identify with their history and land in which they live. Before the events of September 11th, 2001, Afghans experienced a similar attack to their heritage and people. A national treasure that represented peace and diversity was taken from them very suddenly.

(taken from Wikipedia)

In January of 2001, under the order of Mullah Omar, the Taliban took 170 Hazara men from their homes in the Yakawlang village in the Bamiyan valley and massacred them simply because of their heritage and religion. Then in March, the same Mullah Omar ordered that the great Buddhas of the Bamiyan valley be destroyed, in the name of a holy war against idolatry.

“In a strange twist, the Hazaras—descendants of the conquering Mongol hordes who stormed Bamiyan in the thirteenth century—had come to venerate the giant Buddhas that once dominated their valley as symbols of their very different religious identity.” (From The Buddhas of Bamiyan by Llewelyn Morgan) The Hazara people practice a form of Shia Islam that is widely scrutinized in Afghanistan.

On a grander scale, “the two colossal figures of the Buddha overlooked the fertile Bamiyan Valley on the Silk Road in Afghanistan. Witness to a melting pot of passing monks, merchants, and armies, the Buddhas embodied the intersection of East and West… The Buddhas represented a confluence of religious and artistic traditions from India, China, Central Asia, and Iran, and even an echo of Greek influence brought by Alexander the Great’s armies.” (From The Buddhas of Bamiyan by Llewelyn Morgan)

The assault on the Hazara and the Bamiyan valley’s relics was an affront to any tolerance to diversity, and was an attack on Afghanistan as a whole. It was a testament etched in history of Taliban brutality and how the people of Afghanistan would fare if they adopted their extreme norms.

Up to that point in history, the Hazara were no strangers to persecution from both the Taliban and Al Qaeda and other groups across Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. In 1997, 3,000 Taliban were executed by an Uzbek politician in Mazar-i-Sharif named Abdul Malik Pahlawan. In response to the execution, over 8,000 Hazara men, women and children were slaughtered by the Taliban in the same city. In recent years Al Qaeda in Quetta, Pakistan has claimed responsibility for the deaths of over 13,000 Hazara, and wounding 15,000 more. 

(Afghanistan on my mind Facebook)

(The massacre of the Buddhas and Hazara of the Bamiyan has brought to light many things about  Taliban stewardship.  It demonstrates their savagery and intolerance; it gives awareness of a race in Afghanistan that has been extremely scrutinized, persecuted and senselessly murdered; and the scarred cliffs of Bamiyan serve as a reminder for future generations what is at stake if intolerance is embraced.           

During my time here in Afghanistan, my heart has grown akin to the Hazara people. I have met and served with many of them who are interpreters for the U.S. They have put their lives on hold and their families at risk for more than a decade in hopes to help make Afghanistan a better place for their future.

The Hazara are more and more recognized and represented in Afghan government today, but they still face a long road of prejudice. It is my hope that Afghanistan’s melting-pot heritage does not die with the standing Buddhas of Bamiyan, but that the country will embrace and find identity through it’s diversity.

It's important to note that Afghans are currently fighting for their heritage. In ancient Buddhist texts, a third Buddha that dwarfs the other two giants is said to be sleeping in the Bamiyan valley. To learn more, watch the National Geographic documentary Lost Treasures of Afghanistan.