‘Alone’: Afghan women fault West for lack of support

Afghan female students walk near Kabul University in Kabul, Afghanistan, on December 21, 2022. (REUTERS)
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Updated 27 December 2023
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‘Alone’: Afghan women fault West for lack of support

  • Some 600,000 people have fled to Pakistan in fear since Taliban returned to power in 2021
  • Afghan women who fled country fear reprisal at the hands of Taliban if they are deported

PARIS: Afghan activist Rita Safi has harsh words for western governments she said have failed to deliver on promises to help women from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

Safi herself has made it to France where she is seeking asylum, but her sister Frozan was not so lucky. She died in a hail of bullets back home because she, too, was a defender of women’s rights.

Speaking in a shelter outside Paris, the 29-year-old Rita Safi said her sister would still be alive had the promised help been forthcoming.

“They were saying that they would support us, but these were just words,” she said. “They left us alone. This is the reason why I lost my sister.”

Safi had hoped for more support from Western powers after the Afghan capital Kabul fell to the group in 2021.

But a large majority of Afghans did not make their evacuation lists following the takeover, leaving them at the mercy of their new rulers.

Safi’s older sister Frozan was a prominent human rights defender in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif.

Her body was found in October 2021, just over two months after the Taliban takeover. She was 29.

“She was killed so brutally by the Taliban,” she said, showing AFP an image of her coffin draped in a red cloth on her phone.

“She was shot with seven bullets. Her face was totally destroyed.”

The Afghan authorities said that four women died that day and that they had arrested two people in connection with the killings.

After speaking to the media about the killings Safia said that she, too, received death threats.

Safi managed to escape to Pakistan in December 2021. She only had a two-month visa but hoped a Western nation would soon give her refuge.

Instead she was forced to spend two years in the Pakistani capital, living in constant fear of deportation.

During this time, the Taliban authorities continued to exclude Afghan women and girls from ever more spheres of public life, including high school and university, as well as parks, fairs or gyms.

It was not until a French journalist highlighted Safi’s plight in an article and vouched for her request for a French visa that things started to look up.

She was among around a dozen Afghan women to land in Paris on December 8. All have sought asylum and will likely be given it.

Rights groups have said many Afghans have been left in limbo in Pakistan, at risk of deportation.

Some 600,000 people have fled across the border to Pakistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

But since October, some 345,000 Afghans have returned home, including after being deported.

“There are so many women like Rita in Pakistan who have had relatives killed or abducted in Afghanistan, who have been threatened,” said French journalist Margaux Benn, who is member of a collective trying to help these Afghan women.

“But they haven’t met a Westerner who wanted to help them, so their cases stay at the bottom of the pile.”

Tcherina Jerolon, from Amnesty International, said the visa application was so “long and complex” that Afghan women had basically been “abandoned to their own fate.”

Since 2021, France says it has handed over 15,000 visa to Afghans, “mostly women, rights defenders, journalists and magistrates.”

But Delphine Rouilleault, the head of the France Terre d’Asile (“France Land of Asylum“) association, said that hardly anyone had landed in France over the past year.

“No one has arrived from Afghanistan, and only very few Afghan women have landed from Pakistan,” she said.

The French foreign ministry did not reply to a request for comment.

Afghanistan is home to some 40 million people.

Since the Taliban takeover, the United Kingdom has given refuge to 21,500 Afghans, most through a massive airlift operation in late August 2021.

The United States has taken in 90,000, most also in 2021.

Some 30,000 have traveled to Germany, where authorities have said they are “very worried” by deportations from Pakistan.

Sweden and Denmark have said they would automatically give Afghan women visas despite tough immigration policies, but it is unclear how many have benefited.

Neveen Hashim, a 32-year-old Afghan women’s rights activist who landed in France in September, said it was not enough.

Afghan women in Pakistan are often single and more vulnerable to abuse, she said.

And “if they are deported back to Afghanistan, they will definitely be facing death, or detention, or jail,” she added.

The West spoke about “civilization, democracy and human rights,” she said, but “they left us at the mercy of a regime who... closed every door in our face.”

“The international community is hypocritical,” she said.

Her sister Rafah, who is in Pakistan, is hoping for the French authorities to grant her a visa.

‘Alone’: Afghan women fault West for lack of support

Some 600,000 people have fled to Pakistan in fear since Taliban returned to power in 2021

Afghan women who fled country fear reprisal at the hands of Taliban if they are deported

PARIS: Afghan activist Rita Safi has harsh words for western governments she said have failed to deliver on promises to help women from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

Safi herself has made it to France where she is seeking asylum, but her sister Frozan was not so lucky. She died in a hail of bullets back home because she, too, was a defender of women’s rights.

Speaking in a shelter outside Paris, the 29-year-old Rita Safi said her sister would still be alive had the promised help been forthcoming.

“They were saying that they would support us, but these were just words,” she said. “They left us alone. This is the reason why I lost my sister.”

Safi had hoped for more support from Western powers after the Afghan capital Kabul fell to the group in 2021.

But a large majority of Afghans did not make their evacuation lists following the takeover, leaving them at the mercy of their new rulers.

Safi’s older sister Frozan was a prominent human rights defender in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif.

Her body was found in October 2021, just over two months after the Taliban takeover. She was 29.

“She was killed so brutally by the Taliban,” she said, showing AFP an image of her coffin draped in a red cloth on her phone.

“She was shot with seven bullets. Her face was totally destroyed.”

The Afghan authorities said that four women died that day and that they had arrested two people in connection with the killings.

After speaking to the media about the killings Safia said that she, too, received death threats.

Safi managed to escape to Pakistan in December 2021. She only had a two-month visa but hoped a Western nation would soon give her refuge.

Instead she was forced to spend two years in the Pakistani capital, living in constant fear of deportation.

During this time, the Taliban authorities continued to exclude Afghan women and girls from ever more spheres of public life, including high school and university, as well as parks, fairs or gyms.

It was not until a French journalist highlighted Safi’s plight in an article and vouched for her request for a French visa that things started to look up.

She was among around a dozen Afghan women to land in Paris on December 8. All have sought asylum and will likely be given it.

Rights groups have said many Afghans have been left in limbo in Pakistan, at risk of deportation.

Some 600,000 people have fled across the border to Pakistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

But since October, some 345,000 Afghans have returned home, including after being deported.

“There are so many women like Rita in Pakistan who have had relatives killed or abducted in Afghanistan, who have been threatened,” said French journalist Margaux Benn, who is member of a collective trying to help these Afghan women.

“But they haven’t met a Westerner who wanted to help them, so their cases stay at the bottom of the pile.”

Tcherina Jerolon, from Amnesty International, said the visa application was so “long and complex” that Afghan women had basically been “abandoned to their own fate.”

Since 2021, France says it has handed over 15,000 visa to Afghans, “mostly women, rights defenders, journalists and magistrates.”

But Delphine Rouilleault, the head of the France Terre d’Asile (“France Land of Asylum“) association, said that hardly anyone had landed in France over the past year.

“No one has arrived from Afghanistan, and only very few Afghan women have landed from Pakistan,” she said.

The French foreign ministry did not reply to a request for comment.

Afghanistan is home to some 40 million people.

Since the Taliban takeover, the United Kingdom has given refuge to 21,500 Afghans, most through a massive airlift operation in late August 2021.

The United States has taken in 90,000, most also in 2021.

Some 30,000 have traveled to Germany, where authorities have said they are “very worried” by deportations from Pakistan.

Sweden and Denmark have said they would automatically give Afghan women visas despite tough immigration policies, but it is unclear how many have benefited.

Neveen Hashim, a 32-year-old Afghan women’s rights activist who landed in France in September, said it was not enough.

Afghan women in Pakistan are often single and more vulnerable to abuse, she said.

And “if they are deported back to Afghanistan, they will definitely be facing death, or detention, or jail,” she added.

The West spoke about “civilization, democracy and human rights,” she said, but “they left us at the mercy of a regime who... closed every door in our face.”

“The international community is hypocritical,” she said.

Her sister Rafah, who is in Pakistan, is hoping for the French authorities to grant her a visa.


Philippine president says Duterte has left on jet bound for ICC

Updated 11 sec ago
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Philippine president says Duterte has left on jet bound for ICC

MANILA: Former Philippines leader Rodrigo Duterte left Manila on a jet on Tuesday bound for The Hague, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said, hours after he was arrested at the request of the International Criminal Court over a “war on drugs” that defined his presidency.
Duterte, a firebrand ex-mayor and former prosecutor who led the Philippines from 2016 to 2022, was arrested at a Manila airport early on Tuesday, in a major step in the ICC’s investigation into thousands of killings in an anti-drugs crackdown that caused shock and condemnation around the world.
“I am confident the arrest was proper, correct and followed all necessary legal procedures,” Marcos told a press conference confirming Duterte had left the country bound for the Netherlands.
“We did not help the International Criminal Court in any way. The arrest was made in compliance with Interpol.”
The “war on drugs” was Duterte’s signature campaign platform that swept the mercurial crime-buster to power and he soon delivered on promises he made during vitriolic speeches to kill thousands of drug pushers and users.
Duterte has long insisted he instructed police to kill only in self-defense and has always defended the crackdown, repeatedly telling his supporters he was ready to “rot in jail” if it meant ridding the Philippines of drugs.
Veronica Duterte, the 79-year-old’s youngest daughter, said on Instagram her father had boarded the jet but the family had not been informed of its destination.
“The airplane used to kidnap my dad just left minutes ago,” she posted.
Duterte could become Asia’s first former head of state to go on trial at the ICC.
Rights groups
His arrest follows years of him rebuking and taunting the ICC since he unilaterally withdrew the Philippines from the court’s founding treaty in 2019 as it started looking into allegations of systematic murders of drug dealers on his watch.
The ICC, a court of last resort, is probing alleged crimes against humanity and says it has jurisdiction to investigate alleged crimes that took place while a country was a member.
Duterte and his family and allies expressed fury at the arrest, calling it unlawful.
A lawyer petitioned the Supreme Court on Duterte’s behalf on Tuesday seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent authorities from complying with the ICC’s request.
A copy of the warrant, seen by Reuters, said Duterte is accused of criminal responsibility for the murder of at least 43 people between 2011 and 2019, which would include time when he served as mayor of southern Davao City.
Human rights groups and families of victims said his detention was a key step toward accountability for the killings of thousands of people in the Philippines, where police investigations have moved at a snail’s pace. Duterte has not been charged with any crimes locally.
According to police, 6,200 suspects were killed during anti-drug operations under Duterte’s presidency that they say ended in shootouts. But activists say the real toll of the crackdown was far greater, with many thousands more slumland drug users, some named on community “watch lists,” killed in mysterious circumstances.
The prosecutor of the ICC has said as many as 30,000 people may have been killed by police or unidentified individuals.
Police have rejected allegations from rights groups of systematic murders, staged crime scenes and fabricated incident reports.

‘War has come’: Russians shaken by Ukrainian drone barrage

Updated 37 min 34 sec ago
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‘War has come’: Russians shaken by Ukrainian drone barrage

  • Like for most Russians, Moscow’s three-year military campaign had until then felt distant — mostly constrained to television screens
  • The attack shattered the sense of comfort that Svetlana — a supporter of the Kremlin’s offensive — had

RAMENSKOYE, Russia: As a drone smashed into the side of her apartment block early on Tuesday, Russia’s full-scale offensive on Ukraine literally came home to Svetlana in a suburb southeast of Moscow.
Like for most Russians, Moscow’s three-year military campaign had until then felt distant — mostly constrained to television screens.
Despite militaristic propaganda and a mass recruitment of soldiers, authorities have tried to keep society at arm’s length from the conflict’s death and destruction — especially in and around the capital.
“You understand that it is war, but you don’t realize it properly,” Svetlana, wearing a winter coat with a fur collar, said. “But now, yes, it has come.”
In her town of Ramenskoye, around 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of central Moscow, police had cordoned off an area where a drone hit.
The attack shattered the sense of comfort that Svetlana — a supporter of the Kremlin’s offensive — had.
“Yes, we were weaving camouflage nets, collecting humanitarian aid, accompanying fighters there, but we still didn’t realize it. Now it has come,” Svetlana said.
“I’m scared for the children,” said Andrei, an electrician who lives on the 12th floor of a building that was hit.
He was sweeping up broken glass from his car, which was hit by falling shrapnel after the drone crashed into the 18th-22nd floors.
“My six-year-old daughter was sleeping with me, she woke up crying from the noise,” he told AFP.
Kyiv said it wants the attack — which involved more than 300 drones — to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to an aerial ceasefire.
The Kremlin has previously ruled that out.
Ukraine says the strikes are just a taste of what Russia has subjected its citizens to over the last three years, with Moscow having fired near daily bomb, missile and drone attacks across the country.
“There is not even any thought that tonight will be peaceful. It’s scary,” said Olga, a 21-year old who works in IT and lives in the adjacent building to one hit.
She ran out to the street after being woken at 5 am (0200 GMT) by the rumbling.
“People just have fear in their eyes,” she told AFP, the ground around her covered with shrapnel.
Unlike in Ukraine — where air alerts ring out practically every night in almost every city — there was no such warning of an incoming attack in the Russian capital or its suburbs.
“We don’t understand what to do in such situations,” said Olga.
“The news says that more and more drones are being shot down. It’s scary to even go to sleep after such a thing,” she added. “It could have been us.”
The idea of peace — previously seen as within reach amid US President Donald Trump’s rapprochement with Moscow — now felt far away in Ramenskoye.
“In my opinion, this attack won’t be the last,” said retiree Sergei, criticizing Ukraine’s “bloodthirsty” European backers who were supplying it with arms.
For 75-year-old Yulia, who lives next to the building that was hit, there was just frustration.
“My heart is bad. I don’t believe there will be peace,” she told AFP.
“Why can’t they agree? Why not? What are they thinking about?,” she said, through tears. “It’s terrible.”


Poland wants 100,000 volunteers to take part in military training in 2027

Updated 11 March 2025
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Poland wants 100,000 volunteers to take part in military training in 2027

  • “The most important thing for us is that every person interested can participate in such training no later than 2026,” Tusk said
  • The government backed giving military training to all adult males last week as Warsaw prepares for threats from Moscow

WARSAW: Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday the government wants to launch a new program to offer voluntary military training from next year, with a target to train 100,000 volunteers in 2027.
“The most important thing for us is that every person interested can participate in such training no later than 2026. And that is a difficult task, but I know it is doable,” Tusk said ahead of a government sitting.
“In 2027 we will achieve the ability to train 100,000 volunteers per year... Apart from the professional army and beyond the Territorial Defense Force, we must de facto build an army of reservists and our actions will serve this purpose.”
The government backed giving military training to all adult males last week as Warsaw prepares for threats from Moscow.
Galvanized by Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine three years ago, Poland now spends a higher proportion of GDP on defense than any other NATO member.
Tusk said that as an incentive, the government would analyze the possibility of, for example, getting a professional driving license, including for heavy goods vehicles, during the military training.
“This will be useful in the event of war, but it will also be useful in life for those who are interested in such qualifications,” he said. The government is also considering providing specialist training to specific professional groups.
Tusk later said in a post on social media platform X that he told ministers that government members and officials would also undergo training on a voluntary basis, which, he said, was met with full understanding.


Meningitis outbreak kills 26 in northwest Nigeria, official says

Updated 11 March 2025
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Meningitis outbreak kills 26 in northwest Nigeria, official says

  • Kebbi state Health Commissioner Musa Ismaila confirmed the outbreak
  • “We are saddled with the unfortunate situation of an outbreak with a rising number of cases”

ABUJA: At least 26 people have died from a meningitis outbreak in Nigeria’s northwest Kebbi state, a local health official said on Tuesday.
Nigeria is one of the hotspots of the deadly disease in Africa where at least 1,700 cases were reported last year, with more than 150 deaths recorded in seven states.
Kebbi state Health Commissioner Musa Ismaila confirmed the outbreak, citing a surge in cases in three local government areas.
“We are saddled with the unfortunate situation of an outbreak with a rising number of cases,” Ismaila said in a statement, detailing symptoms that include fever, severe headaches, and neck stiffness.
A total of 248 suspected cases have been line-listed, with 11 samples sent to the National Reference Laboratory in the capital Abuja. Two samples returned negative, while nine are pending, he said.
Meningitis is the inflammation of tissue surrounding the brain and spinal cord which can be caused by viral or bacterial infections. It spreads mainly through kisses, sneezes, coughs and in close living quarters.
In response to the outbreak, the state government has distributed drugs to affected areas with isolation centers established with the support of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Gwandu, Jega, and Aliero, the three affected local government areas, Ismaila said.
Similarly, neighboring Sokoto state has issued a health warning following confirmation of an outbreak.
Last year, Nigeria became the first country in the world to roll out the “revolutionary” new Men5C vaccine against meningitis, according to the World Health Organization.


Missing crew member in North Sea crash likely ‘deceased’: UK minister

Updated 11 March 2025
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Missing crew member in North Sea crash likely ‘deceased’: UK minister

  • “Our working assumption is that, very sadly, the sailor is deceased,” Kane said

LONDON: A crew member missing after a cargo ship struck a tanker in the North Sea off the British coast is presumed dead, a UK government minister said Tuesday.
“Our working assumption is that, very sadly, the sailor is deceased,” junior transport minister Mike Kane told the British parliament, adding that the man’s family had been informed.