The American war in Afghanistan lasted for two decades and a substantial number of books were written by western military men, diplomats, politicians, and journalists. They provide an outside perspective, and no Afghan has written about the experience of their nation. Twenty Years by Sune Engel Rasmussen is unique as it gives experience of several ordinary Afghans. It provides a window to the lives of Afghans over the twenty years highlighting the complexities of human relationships.
Rasmussen avoids the binary vision of dividing Afghans into good guys and bad guys but gives the perspective as viewed by Afghans working with the foreign supported Afghan government and others fighting against it. It follows the lives of several Afghans including a young Afghan woman Zahra from her return from exile in Iran to an abusive relationship with her husband and a new life in Kabul as a single mother.
On the other end of the spectrum, it also follows the life of a teenage Omari who joined the Taliban to be trained as a suicide bomber and his complex relationship with his father who had fought against the Soviets. It also narrates stories of young Afghans from poor backgrounds who became millionaires riding the wave of war economy working as fixers and contractors. The story of many brave young Afghan men and women who left their comfortable lives in western countries to shape a new future for their nation but paid with their lives has yet to be written.
Afghanistan has been in conflict for over half a century where several generations have suffered through violence in the country and a hazardous journey in exile. However, neither natives nor foreigners have written about this tragic story. Afghanistan is a classic case of the war economy of a country where two superpowers spent huge sums of money on a poor country that fractured local structures. It triggered a chain reaction resulting in civil war and involvement of neighboring countries in cycles of violence and displacement.
Rasmussen narrates heart wrenching stories of children and young men who lost limbs in Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) blasts and young Afghans like Narges Rokhshani daughter of day laborer. She dreamed big and became a member of the provincial council in the conservative heartland of Helmand, working tirelessly under constant threats from Taliban militants, surviving assassination attempts to die during childbirth in the impoverished hospital of provincial capital Lashkargah.
Children growing up in a war economy face unique challenges that affect their emotional well-being, and social development. The cycle is repeated in successive generations as this is the fourth generation of Afghans facing enormous odds in a prolonged conflict. Children repeat the experience of their parents as the conflict continues.
Rasmussen takes the reader through this complex journey. He elaborates on human relationships, family dynamics, love, and loss through the stories of his Afghan subjects. He provides readers with a heartfelt narrative of the lives of Afghans through the sample cases.
The Afghan conflict has now moved across the border into Pushtun areas of Pakistan. The younger generation of Afghanistan and Pakistan that is linked globally is going through soul searching. One group is drifting towards militancy while others are struggling to dream of an inclusive and peaceful future. A new genre of Pashto poetry about peace by young poets of Afghanistan and Pakistan is being recited at gatherings of ordinary folks in villages and towns of both countries.
This is the ray of hope for the region to break free from the cycle of violence and return to the path of normalcy. It is ironic that in this conflict there are many women who are widowed twice. This pain is expressed by a young Pushtun poet Munir Buneri in the following verses:
ده پورا صدې جنګ اوشو
دا تباې جنګ اوشو
يو وييل ما او ګټل، بل وييل ما او ګټل
چا وييل انګريز او ګټل، چا وييل ملا او ګټل
يو ليونے ناست دے او دا خبرے واورې
اوذان سرا داسے واي
ډوې ماغذه خراب دې
جنګ چا ګټلے ندے
جنګ کے ګټا نېېشتا
جنګ خو سرا سر تاوان دے
کا يقين مو نا رازئ، نو دا کنډے رنډے شمآر کئ
او دا يتېمان اوشمارې
دا اړنګ کورونه شمآر کئ
او دا برباد زړونا شمآر کې
کا دا ګټا وی نو تاسو ګټا اوکړه
دېشتې خو سر اوخړو
يو نوې جنګ شروع کړې، چے نورا ګټا اوکړي
ذهر با اوخرم ذان با مړکم، نور سې کوییشم، سی با اوکړم
يو هندوستانے ميړه با اوکم
پا پختانهه خآورا دوا ذلا کنډه شوامه
almost a century of war
and what terrible destruction
one says, he won; the other says he won.
some say the foreigner won; some say the mullah won.
a lunatic sitting alone is hearing this conversation.
talking to himself; he whispers, they have all gone mad.
Nobody can win the war.
There is no victory in the war.
It is only a loss.
if you do not believe
then count the widows; count the orphans.
count not only the destroyed dwellings.
but also, the shattered hearts
If this is victory, then you are surely victorious.
The past is gone.
start a new war; so that you gain another victory!
I will drink the poison; I will kill myself.
What else can I do?
Or I can marry someone from India.
For on the Pushtun, I have become widow twice
(Pashto verses by Munir Buneri; English translation by Hamid Hussain)
Sune Engel Rasmussen. Twenty Years: Hope, war, and the betrayal of an Afghan generation (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux), 2024
