#5SmartReads - July 29, 2021

‘We walked 18 hours, no food’: Taliban advance triggers exodus of Afghans (The Guardian)

In my heart of hearts, I know that the continued deployment of American troops in Afghanistan would be a zero-sum game.

But it doesn’t make reading this any easier.

As the Taliban seizes control of the provincial capitals, citizens are fleeing for their safety. And they’re resorting to smugglers to help them leave the country - an incredibly risky and dangerous endeavor.

““I had no job in Takhar and there was so much fighting … there were suicide attacks, the security situation in Afghanistan is bad,” says Hafizullah, who did not give his second name. “We walked for 18 hours with no food at one point to make it to Iran. The children were crying, my wife and I were both terrified we’d be shot by police.”

In Tehran, Hafizullah says he worked illegally as an assistant in a shop for 200 Afghanis (£1.83) a day, until he believes he was reported to the authorities.”