Society & Culture
Today we are speaking with an Afghan journalist facing threats under a Taliban regime that is becoming more hostile towards the press every day. To protect him, we have concealed all aspects of his identity, including altering his voice, to prevent any person from seeking to harm him. Therefore, we will also call him Follad Ahangar, not his real name. Our goal through this episode is to give you a more holistic view of what's happening on the ground. We want to reiterate here that while we are concerned about the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, given their record of human rights violations such as summary justice, strict rules, especially against women, and curbing free press, we also recognize that the chain of violence in Afghanistan, which has continued for the last forty years, has to end. So we should be asking ourselves what does an ordinary Afghan wants? How do we hold the Taliban accountable without penalizing the Afghan population crippled with food insecurity, human rights violations, climate change, and more? And finally, What does the path forward look like? This concludes Season 12. Season 13, all about LOVE, will launch on January 18th, 2022. From the Immigrantly team, Have a happy New Year!