New Delhi, August 16

A sense of hopelessness pervades the Afghan settlement in Delhi’s Bhogal where hundreds of refugees are glued to television sets, unable to reconcile with the heart-rending visuals coming from the crisis-hit nation.

“We just lost our future forever,” says Arifa Sadat, who came to India four years ago hoping to build a life and return once things normalised back home. But that dream stands shattered.

“Not even in our wildest dreams had we imagined that the Taliban would recapture Afghanistan. Now, a rule of tyranny awaits our families. We have no way back home now,” she says.

Refugees spoke of bodies strewn all around in Afghan cities with locals unable to muster courage to clear them. “No one is safe in Afghanistan — no woman, no man, no Hindu, no Sikh, no one. Taliban’s approach is medieval and can never change. We are praying for our loved ones,” says Abdul Kadir, who has left his father and mother behind. Fareena Akemi, whose husband had joined the Taliban, fled to India about five years ago with her two minor daughters who ran the risk of being sold to Taliban fighters. “The Taliban have issued death warrants against me. I can never return,” she says.

Women refugees speak with fear of a new Taliban order that says any of their fighters could marry anyone aged 12 to 45 years.

Javed Saeedi, another refugee, says, “Taliban know nothing, except perpetrating violence. Our homes in Afghanistan have turned into jails. No one can go out, no one can walk freely again.”

Javed and Abdul say the Afghan government must take responsibility for the present plight of the country. “We saw no resistance from the Afghan government. They capitulated too quickly. They have plunged the future of all Afghans into darkness. Unless the world comes together to save us, we have no hope,” Javed says. — TNS