For veterans and activists who have been calling on the Australian government to accelerate the extraction of vulnerable allies in Afghanistan for months, though, the gesture is too little too late.“We’ve been calling on them to take action since May this year, and the reality is had the government engaged with us several months ago, we would have been able to reach I think 100 percent of the people that have assisted us,” Jason Scanes, an Australian army veteran who served in Afghanistan between 2012 and 2013, told VICE World News. “Because of the slow-moving government, and politicians that don’t want to lead and make decisive decisions, we’re probably going to reach 40 or 50 percent of those people that assisted us – so we’re really half doing the job.”“We never ever thought that the Afghan government would collapse that fast.”
An Australian C130 takes off carrying the bodies of two Australian soldiers who were killed by an improvised explosive device in southern Afghanistan in 2010. Veterans are now questioning whether the West's 20-year campaign in Afghanistan was worth it. Photo by Jim St. Pierre, via Associated Press
Now, he said, he and other Australian veterans are having to “bear the burden” of what will happen to those who have been left behind, as the Taliban set about undoing the work of Western forces.“There will be no mercy shown by the Taliban for these individuals; to think that they’re just going to be able to integrate back in and live under the Taliban regime I think is very far-fetched. The interpreters will not be let go, and if they are found to have been working with us they will be killed.”Aaron remembers what life was like under Taliban rule. As a 9-year-old attending primary school in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan he remembers being forced to sit on the bare ground, with no shade, donning a black turban in 45-degree heat. Naked sun so hot it gave him nose bleeds. Chemistry, Maths, Physics and Geometry had all been removed from his school curriculum and were replaced by Arabic books that “made no sense to us.” People were banned from shaving their beards; everyone, children included, was forced to pray and go to mosques five times a day. If they didn’t they would be punished. “I was hardly learning anything from school because of the stress and anxiety I had,” he says. “Now imagine living in that situation permanently.”“There’s a lot of mixed emotions about, you know, ‘was it all worth it?’ ‘What did we achieve?’”
“People are very worried and shocked about the news we received on Sunday,” he says. “I want to stay positive, because I am a positive person. I’m very grateful for being here in Australia, because I’m safe here, and although physically I cannot do anything for my people, I can have my voice. I feel empowered because we can still fight for justice. However, I am very worried for my extended family and for my people. Especially for Afghan women. I believe they will be deprived of their human rights.”He’s been watching social media closely in order to stay updated on the situation there. And despite his resilient attempts to stay positive, he admits that “it’s hurting.”“All these achievements in the past 25 years, including Australia’s involvement in Afghanistan – about 32 lives lost for nothing, and billions of billions of dollars invested in different infrastructure for Afghanistan to become independent. The work that was involved, promoting the human rights and equality of men and women. It’s all just for nothing now. “When you think about that, it really hurts.”Follow Gavin on Twitter.“I feel helpless because I am unable to do anything for my family. But this is the situation that most Afghans are in.”
