Afghanistan - Heartbreaking

Ages ago I wrote a paper on the Afghanistan woman. It came to my attention because I was at a talk where Afghanistan women were speaking about what was going on in that country. One woman who had spoken in the States would not speak at the University because her life had been threatened. She would be killed by the Taliban if she spoke. At the time, I wondered why she thought that could happen here in Toronto, some terrorist group killing her if she talked about what was going on. Years later women of Afghanistan are speaking out and I am pleased that they feel more comfortable doing so. Years of living in a democratic country has provided them with a sense of security. My heart weighs heavily as I watch the news and wonder if we could terminate the Taliban as we can cockroaches without hurting the innocent. I see young boys riding tanks, like chariots and realize that it would still be time to show them another way of life and not chosen for them by radical hateful men. I then ponder if we could help all the women leave Afghanistan and so these poor excuse for men would no longer be able to breed and therefore die out, and so the Afghanistan people could return home. My professor would not be happy hearing me think this way. My paper got an A because I provided an educational solution. I could not say that I think the military should go there and terminate them, because they are beyond transitioning to human beings. Am I angry? Yes. But anger is hurt expressed outwardly. I felt sadness as I watched the Afghanistan people falling from planes hoping to escape. I felt the pain as the Afghanistan men asked for help because they were the interpreters and others who helped the American/Canadian soldiers while there. Are we abandoning them? If so, what a disgrace! I think back to my own time serving and think of our interpreters. Yes we were in peace time. Being an interpreter was more than a job, it was a vocation. One was Guenter. I used to love teasing him with a Hitler salute, because it used to drive him crazy (I obviously know better now). He would jump up and down with his arms all over the place. He would also look around to ensure that no one was looking because he knew the trouble I would get into. Of course I thought Hitler was the worse dictator ever, because he was successful in killing so many - because of hate. Guenter used to talk to me about his experiences in the war serving as an interpreter. He was so proud of his work with the Canadians and wanted nothing more than to come to Canada. As I sit here thinking of Guenter, I hope that if he had come, he would not have been disappointed. He loved us and I loved him because he had such an open fatherly heart. He never did get to see Canada and it was a heavy heart when his wife wrote me and told me he had died. When I hear soldiers trying to do their outmost to help their interpreters come here with their families, I hear them. This morning I was watching the news. Our Prime Minister is calling for an election during the pandemic. He won with a minority government and wants a majority. I listened to the NDP and Conservatives for a while. The Conservative leader was the only one who spoke about bringing the interpreters here from Afghanistan as soon as possible. He spoke of one soldier who was trying to help his interpreter which the hopeful candidate had provided the name to the Minister of National Defence (who was a reservist at one time). Nothing happened. I am in awe of the veterans and soldiers both American and Canadian who are trying to help the Afghanistan people. Now it is up to the politics. Since Trudeau wants an election, I shall be watching. There are those who talk and those who do the walk. It would be nice that when someone lies they are forced to step down. Wouldn’t that be nice? I didn’t hear anything about the environment and that concerns me as well. The NDP was talking about how they would get the super rich to pay their dues. You would think that would be a no brainer, but it is not. I turned off the news and thought it would be best to wait until they compete for the stage, on a stage. In the interim, I wonder why an election is more important or self serving during an election when there is a pandemic. That should get a demerit point on itself. It makes me think of a lawyer program that I like to watch which is full of satire, “The Good life”, a spin off from “The Good Wife.” They now depict a mock court with a self assigned judge who gives demerit points or good points to make a final court case decision. It is absolutely ridiculous, to demonstrate trying to find an alternate solution to an impossible system. That is what I am thinking now regarding the politics going on. I would like to see some serious work and thoughtful changes and I would like to see us helping the Afghanistan people now. We are taking 20,000 and we will need to offer them the support they need. All countries should chip in and I think they shall. All those years and then just abandoning them is cruel. Yes, lives of our soldiers have been lost. What would they say now? What do you think?