America’s longest war is over. Now, after 20 years, countless deaths and $2 trillion in spending, Afghanistan is back in the hands of the Taliban.

In this week’s episode, we talk to Afghans who have personal perspectives on what’s unfolding. 

Reveal producer Najib Aminy watched the fall of Kabul from his parents' home in New York. They left the country in the 1970s and, as an Afghan American, Aminy has been trying to make sense of what this new era in the country could bring. Since he was born in the late ’80s, Afghanistan has gone through a handful of different national flags and anthems. A few years ago, Aminy interviewed the poet who wrote the lyrics that served as Afghanistan’s national anthem from 2006 until this week, Abdul Bari Jahani. The two connected again this week to talk about the Taliban’s return to power. 

From the southern city of Kandahar, Jahani is a beloved poet whose work has been printed in numerous collections. The Pashto-language anthem includes the lines, “This is the land of peace / the land of the sword / This is the land of every tribe…” before going on to list 14 ethnic groups that call Afghanistan home. When Aminy talked to Jahani, he asked what message he wanted the national anthem to capture. “It was just the unity of all the people of Afghanistan, that we are trying for justice and that we are trying to go forward.” 

This week, watching from abroad as the Taliban lowered Afghanistan’s flag and raised its own, Jahani said: “I am feeling sad inside my heart. It's a tragedy and it's sad news for every Afghan.”

As the Taliban rolled across the country, Fariba Nawa’s phone rang with desperate calls from relatives, friends and colleagues asking if she could help them escape. More than 300,000 civilians who worked with American groups over the last two decades are left behind in the country, as well as outspoken women who fear for their lives. “We have a moral responsibility, just like we did after Vietnam, to bring these refugees here and make sure that they are given opportunities and safety,” says Nawa, an Afghan-born journalist who spoke with host Al Letson for this week’s episode. Nawa now lives in Turkey and tried to console friends and colleagues as they called her, without being able to offer any certain advice – it’s unclear what the future holds for the tens of thousands of Afghans who are trying to flee the country. She worries about the young people who have grown up during the past 20 years. “The generation that came from this two decades has been amazing. And they are now the ones who are going to suffer and lose.” 

One of those young people is Aysha, an Afghan teacher in her mid-20s who spoke to Aminy from her family home in Kabul as the Taliban marched toward the city. She resigned from her job as a teacher and hunkered down at home to stay safe. “I packed my clothes to nowhere, I have no place to go,” she told us. “I just packed my clothes. I told my mom, ‘Mom, if I die, give this to the beggars.’ ” Over the last 20 years, Aysha says the American presence has given her false hope that she could have a different future in her country. Now that the Taliban are back in control, she says she will have to face her fears. “The only way that you can face your fear is to be brave, braver than your fear,” she says.    

While the war is now officially over, its effects will remain for generations. 

Listen to the episode: For 20 years, I saw no peace

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This newsletter was written by Sarah Mirk. Drop her a line with feedback and ideas.