charrob
12-09-2015, 08:21 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK_aBuMdMTE
Voices from a refugee camp. Selections from conversation. Part 1-of-2:
AMY GOODMAN: And why did you leave?
MAJD: I escaped from the war. I don’t want to be—to die. This war is not my war. Yes, everyone is fighting in my country, yes. So, I escaped from the war. I don’t want to be dead for nothing.
AMY GOODMAN: Do you think the Russian, Syrian, French, British bombing of Syria will save it?
MAJD: No, no, no, it’s not a solution. You can’t protect someone by killing someone else. You know? They can’t stop the bombs here when they bomb in Syria. Yes, it’s not a solution.
AMY GOODMAN: What is the solution?
MAJD: The solution is not giving the weapons to everyone. They’re giving the weapons to the Free Army, to the Assad regime, to ISIS. They just give weapons and money, and just they let them fight in my country. Just stop the weapons.
AMY GOODMAN: And talk about what—when you were in Syria, where you lived with your family, what you did, what your parents do.
MAJD: We have a building, whole building. My family was in the upstairs, and they have a factory. Yes, a paint factory.
AMY GOODMAN: Uh-huh, a paint factory, yes.
MAJD: Paint factory, yes. It was bombed from five years ago. Yeah, I was living a good life—cars and houses and the parties and everything. Yeah, we lost everything right now.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re just back from Majd’s tent, where he lives with two other men. And we’re now on the street of, well, makeshift restaurants. There’s a barbershop. This is the Kabul Café. And right here, as we’re going in, is a map of the whole camp. Let’s go inside.
We’ve come to the back of the Kabul Café—it’s very warm here in this back room—to speak with the owner. Can you tell us your name?
SIKANDAR: Yeah. My name is Sikandar.
AMY GOODMAN: And why did you leave Afghanistan?
SIKANDAR: Because of war. Because of Americans’ politics. Because of the England politics. Because they come to my country, use the bombs, the weapons. In my country, we don’t have any weapons. So these weapons is using in Afghanistan, if the terrorists using, if the Americans using, if anyone using, just use it in my country. So, there is war in my country, and I am here.
AMY GOODMAN: Why are you willing to risk all of this?
SIKANDAR: Because if the people like me, they have problems in their countries, like me. If I have a problem in my country, I have to go forward, you know? I don’t have to go back. If I go back, I’m—100 percent, I die. But for this, I can risk. I say, OK, maybe 50 percent, I go. So some people—I think people are thinking like this: If I go back, I will die, and I have a very bad life. It’s better to try, 50 percent—maybe I will go there and I will arrive there, and I will have a normal life.
AMY GOODMAN: President Obama said the war is ending in Afghanistan. Do you see it ending?
SIKANDAR: Until Americans in Afghanistan, it will be not ending. Never.
AMY GOODMAN: The map of this camp, it’s like a map of the world, or a part of the world.
SIKANDAR: Yeah.
AMY GOODMAN: It’s a map of where refugees are from. Most of these countries have been bombed by the United States.
SIKANDAR: It’s true. I didn’t think about it, but, yeah, it’s true.
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: My name is Sidiq Husain Khil, and I am from Afghanistan.
AMY GOODMAN: And why did you come here?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: I want to go to U.K., because in Afghanistan, you better know, the situation are very bad. And America comes there. They want to finish al-Qaeda and terrorism, but they are unsuccessful in that. Instead of that, to finish the terrorism, they increased the war in Afghanistan. And the people are in a very bad situation. It’s all because of America.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S43sGtDWwe8
Voices from a refugee camp. Selections from conversation. Part 2-of-2:
AMY GOODMAN: Where do you come from in Afghanistan?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: I come from Kunar.
AMY GOODMAN: What is it like? Was it destroyed? Was it bombed?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: Yeah, Kunar was totally destroyed. And a big group of Americans were there. There was a big base. And still, Kunar is under bombing, from—even from Pakistani side. All areas of Kunar is. Each day and every day, the Pakistan is bombing on Kunar. And at that time, was also American were bombing there, because from the past the people of Kunar are all like—you know, they are religious people, all of them, like that are the—this is the main center of Taliban.
AMY GOODMAN: Why do you think they’re bombing?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: Because they say these people are Taliban, they are terrorists, Americans are bombing there. And Pakistan is also bombing there.
AMY GOODMAN: Were there drone strikes in Kunar?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: Yes, there were drone attacks.
AMY GOODMAN: And what effect do they have? Did you know people killed?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: They’re always killing innocent people. They’re bombing on the civilians, on the villages. In fact, they were not Taliban. Many times they kill civilians there.
AMY GOODMAN: And how does that make people feel?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: They make people unhappy, disappointed, from both sides—from government and from the—from the whole world, from America, from all the people.
AMY GOODMAN: Al-Qaeda, Daesh, do you think it increased since 2001?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: Since 2001, yeah, because, you know, if they are bombing on civilians—America or the NATO or all these groups—if they are bombing on civilians, civilians become very angry, and they join the group of Taliban. That’s why if they are killing one person or 10 person, 100 of them are joining the group of Taliban. They don’t support the government, because government cannot help them.
AMY GOODMAN: So are you saying the bombing increased terrorism?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: Yes. The war is not the solution for finishing terrorism. They have to talk face by face. What is their demand, you know? Look to the Syria. The whole world is bombing Daesh, but they are increasing. They can’t do anything.
AMY GOODMAN: When did you actually leave Afghanistan?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: I left Afghanistan in—I think in August. I don’t know. Five, six months ago.
AMY GOODMAN: And how did you make your way out?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: It’s a big story. It’s very difficult. You know, everyone knows. I come to Iran. Then, after that, I come to Turkey. After that, I come to Bulgaria.
AMY GOODMAN: Do you drive? Do you walk? Do you—
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: We—sometimes we were in buses, sometimes we were walking, in the mountains when we were crossing the borders.
AMY GOODMAN: So, from Bulgaria to where?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: to Serbistan, to Serbia, to Hungary, to Austria, to Italia, France. And now I’m here.
AMY GOODMAN: It’s a very, very long trip.
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: It’s a—yeah, of course, it’s a very long trip. It’s not that easy just to buy the ticket of airplane and go to the airport, sit in the plane and come directly here. We were just illegally crossing the borders, and that is very difficult, a very difficult task. We lost many of our friends. They lost their—they passed away, they lost their lives. And some of the people, they’re not with us now.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: And your family? Is your family with you here?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: No, my family is not here.
AMY GOODMAN: Where is your family?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: They’re in Afghanistan. Yes.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: So, what do you think the U.S. should be doing now?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: I told you, you know, U.S. is just increasing the war. Actually, U.S. don’t want to finish the war. It’s their game. It’s the game of George W. Bush, Obama and all the European Union. They don’t want to finish that.
AMY GOODMAN: Why?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: Because it’s on the—behind, there are their profits, their benefits. They are selling their weapons and using in the Islamic countries. This is the big point. How much they spend there? If they spend $100, they’re getting from there $1,000. They don’t care about the people who are dying there.
AMY GOODMAN: President Obama said they’re wrapping up the war in Afghanistan. Do you feel like the U.S. is ending the war in Afghanistan?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: What do you mean, sorry, by "wrapping"?
AMY GOODMAN: Ending the war.
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: Ending. No, never he will end the war. Never he will end the war.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you be safe in Afghanistan?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: I don’t think so. If I was safe there, I don’t like to live here in these tents. And I don’t like these, the high buildings, the beautiful countries. My country is my country. But, you know, I was not safe there.
Voices from a refugee camp. Selections from conversation. Part 1-of-2:
AMY GOODMAN: And why did you leave?
MAJD: I escaped from the war. I don’t want to be—to die. This war is not my war. Yes, everyone is fighting in my country, yes. So, I escaped from the war. I don’t want to be dead for nothing.
AMY GOODMAN: Do you think the Russian, Syrian, French, British bombing of Syria will save it?
MAJD: No, no, no, it’s not a solution. You can’t protect someone by killing someone else. You know? They can’t stop the bombs here when they bomb in Syria. Yes, it’s not a solution.
AMY GOODMAN: What is the solution?
MAJD: The solution is not giving the weapons to everyone. They’re giving the weapons to the Free Army, to the Assad regime, to ISIS. They just give weapons and money, and just they let them fight in my country. Just stop the weapons.
AMY GOODMAN: And talk about what—when you were in Syria, where you lived with your family, what you did, what your parents do.
MAJD: We have a building, whole building. My family was in the upstairs, and they have a factory. Yes, a paint factory.
AMY GOODMAN: Uh-huh, a paint factory, yes.
MAJD: Paint factory, yes. It was bombed from five years ago. Yeah, I was living a good life—cars and houses and the parties and everything. Yeah, we lost everything right now.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re just back from Majd’s tent, where he lives with two other men. And we’re now on the street of, well, makeshift restaurants. There’s a barbershop. This is the Kabul Café. And right here, as we’re going in, is a map of the whole camp. Let’s go inside.
We’ve come to the back of the Kabul Café—it’s very warm here in this back room—to speak with the owner. Can you tell us your name?
SIKANDAR: Yeah. My name is Sikandar.
AMY GOODMAN: And why did you leave Afghanistan?
SIKANDAR: Because of war. Because of Americans’ politics. Because of the England politics. Because they come to my country, use the bombs, the weapons. In my country, we don’t have any weapons. So these weapons is using in Afghanistan, if the terrorists using, if the Americans using, if anyone using, just use it in my country. So, there is war in my country, and I am here.
AMY GOODMAN: Why are you willing to risk all of this?
SIKANDAR: Because if the people like me, they have problems in their countries, like me. If I have a problem in my country, I have to go forward, you know? I don’t have to go back. If I go back, I’m—100 percent, I die. But for this, I can risk. I say, OK, maybe 50 percent, I go. So some people—I think people are thinking like this: If I go back, I will die, and I have a very bad life. It’s better to try, 50 percent—maybe I will go there and I will arrive there, and I will have a normal life.
AMY GOODMAN: President Obama said the war is ending in Afghanistan. Do you see it ending?
SIKANDAR: Until Americans in Afghanistan, it will be not ending. Never.
AMY GOODMAN: The map of this camp, it’s like a map of the world, or a part of the world.
SIKANDAR: Yeah.
AMY GOODMAN: It’s a map of where refugees are from. Most of these countries have been bombed by the United States.
SIKANDAR: It’s true. I didn’t think about it, but, yeah, it’s true.
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: My name is Sidiq Husain Khil, and I am from Afghanistan.
AMY GOODMAN: And why did you come here?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: I want to go to U.K., because in Afghanistan, you better know, the situation are very bad. And America comes there. They want to finish al-Qaeda and terrorism, but they are unsuccessful in that. Instead of that, to finish the terrorism, they increased the war in Afghanistan. And the people are in a very bad situation. It’s all because of America.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S43sGtDWwe8
Voices from a refugee camp. Selections from conversation. Part 2-of-2:
AMY GOODMAN: Where do you come from in Afghanistan?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: I come from Kunar.
AMY GOODMAN: What is it like? Was it destroyed? Was it bombed?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: Yeah, Kunar was totally destroyed. And a big group of Americans were there. There was a big base. And still, Kunar is under bombing, from—even from Pakistani side. All areas of Kunar is. Each day and every day, the Pakistan is bombing on Kunar. And at that time, was also American were bombing there, because from the past the people of Kunar are all like—you know, they are religious people, all of them, like that are the—this is the main center of Taliban.
AMY GOODMAN: Why do you think they’re bombing?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: Because they say these people are Taliban, they are terrorists, Americans are bombing there. And Pakistan is also bombing there.
AMY GOODMAN: Were there drone strikes in Kunar?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: Yes, there were drone attacks.
AMY GOODMAN: And what effect do they have? Did you know people killed?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: They’re always killing innocent people. They’re bombing on the civilians, on the villages. In fact, they were not Taliban. Many times they kill civilians there.
AMY GOODMAN: And how does that make people feel?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: They make people unhappy, disappointed, from both sides—from government and from the—from the whole world, from America, from all the people.
AMY GOODMAN: Al-Qaeda, Daesh, do you think it increased since 2001?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: Since 2001, yeah, because, you know, if they are bombing on civilians—America or the NATO or all these groups—if they are bombing on civilians, civilians become very angry, and they join the group of Taliban. That’s why if they are killing one person or 10 person, 100 of them are joining the group of Taliban. They don’t support the government, because government cannot help them.
AMY GOODMAN: So are you saying the bombing increased terrorism?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: Yes. The war is not the solution for finishing terrorism. They have to talk face by face. What is their demand, you know? Look to the Syria. The whole world is bombing Daesh, but they are increasing. They can’t do anything.
AMY GOODMAN: When did you actually leave Afghanistan?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: I left Afghanistan in—I think in August. I don’t know. Five, six months ago.
AMY GOODMAN: And how did you make your way out?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: It’s a big story. It’s very difficult. You know, everyone knows. I come to Iran. Then, after that, I come to Turkey. After that, I come to Bulgaria.
AMY GOODMAN: Do you drive? Do you walk? Do you—
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: We—sometimes we were in buses, sometimes we were walking, in the mountains when we were crossing the borders.
AMY GOODMAN: So, from Bulgaria to where?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: to Serbistan, to Serbia, to Hungary, to Austria, to Italia, France. And now I’m here.
AMY GOODMAN: It’s a very, very long trip.
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: It’s a—yeah, of course, it’s a very long trip. It’s not that easy just to buy the ticket of airplane and go to the airport, sit in the plane and come directly here. We were just illegally crossing the borders, and that is very difficult, a very difficult task. We lost many of our friends. They lost their—they passed away, they lost their lives. And some of the people, they’re not with us now.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: And your family? Is your family with you here?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: No, my family is not here.
AMY GOODMAN: Where is your family?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: They’re in Afghanistan. Yes.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: So, what do you think the U.S. should be doing now?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: I told you, you know, U.S. is just increasing the war. Actually, U.S. don’t want to finish the war. It’s their game. It’s the game of George W. Bush, Obama and all the European Union. They don’t want to finish that.
AMY GOODMAN: Why?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: Because it’s on the—behind, there are their profits, their benefits. They are selling their weapons and using in the Islamic countries. This is the big point. How much they spend there? If they spend $100, they’re getting from there $1,000. They don’t care about the people who are dying there.
AMY GOODMAN: President Obama said they’re wrapping up the war in Afghanistan. Do you feel like the U.S. is ending the war in Afghanistan?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: What do you mean, sorry, by "wrapping"?
AMY GOODMAN: Ending the war.
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: Ending. No, never he will end the war. Never he will end the war.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you be safe in Afghanistan?
SIDIQ HUSAIN KHIL: I don’t think so. If I was safe there, I don’t like to live here in these tents. And I don’t like these, the high buildings, the beautiful countries. My country is my country. But, you know, I was not safe there.