On August 16, hundreds of Afghanistan citizens who are desperate to leave the country gather near a US Air Force C-17 transport plane at the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP)
On August 15, the Taliban took over Afghanistan right after the withdrawal of the US troops overthrowing the former government. The aftermath of the coup has led to a rapid increase in the number of Afghanistan refugees. On August 27, more than 100 citizens and US Service Members were killed at the Kabul (Hamid Karzai) International Airport. Those who only had the choice to stay on Afghanistan’s borders face the danger of getting assassinated either by the Taliban or US strikes. To make matters worse, the Taliban uses violence against the citizens, especially women and children. Although this incident has created a chaotic global situation, it has brought up the opportunity to look back on global security.
The major causes of the Afghanistan crisis vary depending on its focusing perspectives. From a political and military viewpoint, the withdrawal of US troops was one of the triggers of the coup as it provided the excuse for the Taliban to take hold of the country. Another cause from the economic perspective is the corruption of former governments, which displays the lack of moral citizenship. Afghanistan has had various issues regarding financial corruption, including bribing and illegal land transferring. According to the Corruption Perception Index of 2020, Afghanistan had a rate of 19 on a scale between 0(highly corrupt) to 100(clean). It proves that Afghanistan’s corruption stands as another cause, and it presents the corruption level of former governments through statistical data.
On August 30, a mass funeral was held due to a US drone airstrike in the residential neighborhood of Kabul. According to the US Central Command, the strike was intended to target a suspected ISIS-K suicide bomber, but it resulted in the death of many innocent citizens. By: Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
Moreover, Afghanistan society has experienced numerous impacts due to the aftermath of the coup. In particular, women have the most notifiable damage since they tend to be more vulnerable to armed interventions. Women in Afghanistan are restricted in many ways, and this instance has emerged as a severe human rights abuse. Besides, countless citizens have been severely attacked and suffered damages due to the Taliban’s indiscriminate attacks and the strikes from the US army. The number of asylum seekers and refugees has been considerably increasing; hence, the global society is under pressure to accept them. Even more, the Taliban claimed that the country is an “Islamic Emirate,” meaning Afghanistan will be governed through extreme Islamism when they had declared the beginning of a new government. This condition accounts for oppression against other religions, such as Christians, since it would not be tolerated. Thus, the Taliban has forced infusion of their religious ideology, confiscating the freedom of religion for Afghans.
We could learn two things from this incident: the importance of establishing solid law and policy systems and the value of citizen awareness. Without laws or systems that control the nation, people will get injured, just like the case of Afghanistan. Moreover, these impacts expand worldwide, causing more significant issues such as refugees, threatening global security. As a result, creating a safe environment within the country by implementing firm policies should be a priority to maintain national and international security. Furthermore, citizenship based on integrity needs to be developed to create a more transparent society and solve corruption issues. These two elements should go hand in hand to mitigate the situations of Afghanistan as well as the whole world.
The causes and effects of the military coup conducted by the Taliban have created complex issues both in and out of the country. This situation clearly implies that Afghans’ security was not maintained. From this, we need to learn some lessons for not repeating such crises in the world. Global society has to be aware of establishing solid law and policy systems and building strong citizenship. Due to past corrupt governments, concrete laws protecting their people could not be settled into the nation. Also, international humanitarian law needs to be obliged by the countries. However, it is more crucial that the citizens of the country should adhere to developing citizenship with proper consciousness. Without establishing firm systems and citizens’ cooperation, it would not function adequately for international society to relieve and support Afghanistan.
Written by Soram Hong, staff writer
Revised by Yu Bin Kwon | Managing Editor
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