Afghanistan- Connections

The hardship that is mentioned in the book and the handouts we received doesn’t even begin to cover how much pain and suffering Afghan people went through. Everything that the Taliban put them through just to gain control over Afghanistan was completely pointless. They didn’t need to destroy people’s homes or take children away from their parents; it just isn’t right. And because of all the bad publicity of the Taliban, Afghanistan natives have been labeled as a threat as well. As the one handout stated, “When you think Taliban, think Nazis.” And that is exactly how I see the Taliban, like how the Nazis invaded and took over Germany. Also, how one or two people can have the entire Afghanistan population labeled as terrorists because of 9/11 is ridiculous! Even the people of Afghanistan were horrified and shocked at what their own people had done and then it was taken out on the innocent ones. It is completely unnecessary. It’s not their fault that Bin Laden had some influence on others, they can’t control what other people do.
Also how the women were treated disgusted me! They didn’t have “the right to vote, talk without being spoken to, or even be seen or heard in public.” If a male could hear a woman’s footsteps, then she would be whipped or stoned in public! Now is that humane? I think not! They are basically the slaves and they have to stay inside the house most of the time. If they are seen in public, they can’t show any kind of skin. So they wear these long dress type things called burqas, like the woman was wearing when Amir was back in Afghanistan at the man’s house. They were treated so disrespectfully that it really makes me think how far women and women’s rights have come since then.
If I had never read this book, I wouldn’t have known the consequences of what the Taliban did to the poor people of Afghanistan. I also wouldn’t even have any clue to the pain and suffering that the people of Afghanistan face just because they have the same heritage as someone like Bin Laden or Saddam Hussein. It amazes me how much a country and its people have suffered from a group of crazy lunatics trying to gain control.