Portraits of Afghanistan Before the Fall

Overheard at National Geographic

National Geographic

Science, Society & Culture

4.5 • 10.1K Ratings

🗓️ 30 August 2021

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Twenty years since the 9/11 attacks and the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, the Taliban have once again seized power of the country. In the months leading up to the fall of the nation’s capital, National Geographic photographer Kiana Hayeri and writer Jason Motlagh heard the stories of young Afghans struggling for a better future. In the time since this reporting, some of the people featured have died or have become unreachable. For more information on this episode, visit nationalgeographic.com/overheard. Want more? Read Jason and Kiana’s full article about the people of Afghanistan, just a few months before the Taliban takeover. After her evacuation from Kabul, Kiana sat down with us for an extended interview. Learn more about the life of Sharbat Gula, the famed “Afghan girl,” whose portrait became National Geographic’s most famous cover photo ever. In Afghanistan, girls are sometimes dressed as boys to avoid the stigma and restrictions of being a girl. But for many of these bacha posh, going back to life as a female is difficult. If you like what you hear and want to support more content like this, please consider a National Geographic subscription. Go to natgeo.com/exploremore to subscribe today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This podcast is brought to you in part by Geico, proud sponsor of National Geographic.
0:05.1	Geico, 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance.
0:10.0	Twenty years ago, the United States went into Afghanistan to pursue Osama bin Laden.
0:17.6	Now, US forces are withdrawing, and the hardline Islamist Taliban regime has once again seized control of the country.
0:25.4	Several months ago, National Geographic sent a team to report on life in Afghanistan, a country that's experienced two decades of war,
0:32.8	an extensive multinational efforts to build a western-style democracy.
0:37.4	But now, the elected Afghan president has fled the country and the Taliban are back in charge.
0:43.4	To help us tell this story, we're joined by senior executive editor Indira Lachmanon, who first reported from Afghanistan in 2001,
0:52.0	and who edited our special package for the September issue of National Geographic.
0:56.4	Welcome, Indira.
0:57.6	Thanks, Peter.
1:02.0	I'm Indira Lachmanon, and this is overheard at National Geographic.
1:06.6	Two trillion dollars of US taxpayer money and 170,000 mostly Afghan lives have gone to fighting the longest war in modern US history.
1:18.0	The original goal was to hunt down the terrorists behind the 9-11 attacks.
1:22.6	In time, the aim evolved into helping Afghans build a more modern, inclusive, and democratic society.
1:30.0	Now, 20 years later, the Taliban have seized power again with lightning speed as the US pulled its last troops out.
1:38.6	Left behind are 38 million Afghans.
1:42.2	Western-trained police, soldiers, aid workers, community organizers, female business owners and politicians, girls and boys attending public schools, young people who never lived under the Taliban's oppressive rules.
1:57.2	I'd like to tell you their stories. More after this.
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