Terrorist attacks in Afghanistan and persecution of Hazaras Tragedy of nation in Mikhail Shereshevsky's review

On September 30, a suicide bomber attacked an educational centre in the Afghan capital Kabul. As a result, about 50 people were killed and 100 more were wounded. According to media reports, the target of the attack was the private Kaj academy. The fact is that it is a co-educational centre for girls and boys. Since the Taliban came to power, most such educational centres have been closed down. According to representatives of the centre, the students were taking a mock university exam. Most of the deceased were girls and about 600 people were in the auditorium. From the standpoint of some fanatics, such form of education is unacceptable.

Moreover, it is significant that the attack took place in the Dasht-e-Barchi area, predominantly populated by Hazaras. Unfortunately, this is by no means the first attack on them. One might recall, for example, the horrific bombing of a Hazara wedding in Kabul in 2019, which killed more than 60 people.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but there is little doubt that it was militants from ISIS-Khorasan (the Afghan branch of ISIS). The Taliban have vowed to investigate the crime. But they have themselves repeatedly attacked Hazaras in the past, and three days ago shot up an Afghan women's demonstration as they protested against repression in neighbouring Iran.

The persecution of the Hazara people is a little-known tragedy. The Hazaras, a people of Turkic origin (or perhaps they were formed through a synthesis of Turkic and Iranian-speaking populations), follow a Shiite Islam, but speak an Afghan-Persian Dari language. In total, there are about 8 million Hazaras, more than half of whom live in Afghanistan and more than a million in Pakistan.

According to various estimates, between 500,000 and several million Hazara refugees live in Iran - those who have fled persecution. However, despite the fact that Iran is ruled by their fellow Shiites, some Hazaras are held in camps in appalling conditions. Another part lives an ordinary life, but because they do not have Iranian citizenship, they are discriminated against in their jobs and education and receive the lowest salaries. A third is offered Iranian citizenship in exchange for service in the Fatemiyoun mercenary brigade, which is one of the main pillars of the Assad regime in Syria. Thousands of Hazaras have died fighting in the ranks of Fatemiyoun.

The tragedy of the Hazaras is directly related to the situation of women in Afghanistan. Hazara girls constitute perhaps the most educated and emancipated part of Afghan society, or at any rate, the women of Afghanistan. This irritates the Taliban, the ruling group belonging to the hardline Sunni Deobandi faction. The Taliban are gradually imposing harsh rules on women, regulating their dress and denying them their right to education. If you have seen photos of Afghan women protesting against this, it is very often Hazara women. Of course, their protest is suppressed by force.

I do not know the reason why the tragedy of the Hazaras remains almost unknown in today's world. All these events are unfolding against the backdrop of famine and the collapse of Afghanistan's economy. The Taliban, who seized power a year ago, have no experience in running a huge country almost the size of Germany and do not understand what to do with finances and public services. A large part of the social sector workers does not receive salaries. Moreover, in the past, international aid to Afghanistan amounted to around three-quarters of its public expenditure. Since the early 2000s, the country has received funding from 70 states (the main donor being the US), and 30 international organisations. Today this aid has all but stopped: the Taliban regime is not recognised anywhere in the world and no one wants to deal with these people. As a result, about half of Afghans - 20 million people - suffer from hunger and malnutrition.

Unfortunately, this is the price for the rise to power of incompetent people who know how to fight well and have seized that power by force, but are unable to develop the economy and social sphere or protect ethnic and religious minorities from attacks - if one considers that the Taliban have any such desire at all.