Camp Istiklal (Afghanistan). Thousands of people were left with no option but to leave their homes due to the increasing Taliban activities in northern Afghanistan. 11-year-old Sakina is one of thousands who fled with her family after the Taliban captured their village and burned down a local school.
About 50 such helpless families are living in a makeshift camp built on a rock at Mazar-i-Sharif in the northern part of the country. They live in plastic tents in the scorching heat, where the temperature reaches 44 °C in the afternoon. There is not a single tree for shade and there is only one toilet for the whole camp. It’s just a dirty little tent built on a pit, which smells awful.
According to the government’s Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation, more than 56,000 families, mostly from the northern part of the country, have been forced to leave their homes in the past 15 days due to increased Taliban activities.
Fawad Aman, a former Tolo News journalist who worked in the Ministry of Defense, posted a picture on Twitter saying, “Taliban terrorists blew up a hospital in Helmand province.” They looted medicines and equipment earlier and now the hospital is being destroyed.
Taliban #Terrorist Blown up a hospital in Helmand province!
First, they #robber Equipment and medicines, and then they destroyed the hospital.Taliban are enemies of Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/BVIEs3iOdc
— Fawad Aman (@FawadAman2) 12 July 2021
At Camp Istiklal, families talked about the heavy-handed tactics Taliban commanders used to capture towns and villages. Most of these people belong to the ‘Hazara’ community (an ethnic minority). The actions of the Taliban have raised many questions. He had promised not to repeat his harsh rule of the past.
Sakina, who lives in the camp, said it was around midnight when her family picked up their belongings and fled to Abdulgan village in Balkh province, but the Taliban had set a local school on fire before she could leave. Sakina said that she does not understand why her school was burnt down.
She said that there is no electricity in Camp Istiklal and that sometimes she hears voices at night. “I feel like the Taliban may have come here. I’m very scared.” Sakina dreams to become an engineer someday.
Yakub Maradi, who fled from Sang Shanda village, said that the Taliban threatened the people of his village. Maradi’s brother and several family members have also been arrested. “They have been taken hostage so that they can’t leave.” “He may be released today, but he will not be allowed to go,” Maradi said.
The February 2020 agreement between the US and the Taliban prevents insurgents from capturing provincial capitals, but they still have a stronghold on Kandahar (south) and Badagi (north).
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