Early in the summer of 2021, we asked a diverse set of Afghans living across the world- Kabul, Delhi, and beyond- to write a series of personal essays reflecting on what it was like to live through the new cycle of change that seemed to play out in Afghanistan. As they wrote, events unfolded in an unforeseen direction, and at a rapid pace. The resulting works — all written before the Taliban's capture of Kabul — are a witnessing of this change; one that transformed the country and the region.
These essays are an insight into the links that connect Afghans living across the world to Afghanistan -- links that traverse generations of displacement and conflict. These are the voices of a journalist and a visual artist; a student who chose to travel back from Delhi to Kabul into an increasingly uncertain situation, and a filmmaker trying to get his family to safety. Together, they are a window into how history and current events are intertwined in this moment, and an early document of this pivotal time, that will be examined again and again in the years to come.
These essays are an insight into the links that connect Afghans living across the world to Afghanistan -- links that traverse generations of displacement and conflict. These are the voices of a journalist and a visual artist; a student who chose to travel back from Delhi to Kabul into an increasingly uncertain situation, and a filmmaker trying to get his family to safety. Together, they are a window into how history and current events are intertwined in this moment, and an early document of this pivotal time, that will be examined again and again in the years to come.
