Afghanistan

Lyse Doucet Offers an Alternative History of Afghanistan
Veteran BBC correspondent Lyse Doucet joins New Lines’ Faisal Al Yafai to discuss her new book on Afghanistan, “The Finest Hotel in Kabul.”

Hospitals on the Brink
While fighting no longer rages in Afghanistan, its medical professionals still face constant emergencies. Once overwhelmed by the pace and brutality of battlefield trauma, they are now adapting to new but equally formidable demands as the social fabric frays under Taliban rule.

The Women Helping the Afghan Refugee Community Connect with Literature and Culture in Delhi
In Delhi, two Afghan women are teaching the Dari language to children of fellow refugees, born far from their homeland. Beyond the needs of survival, they insist, refugees deserve beauty, joy and connection to their cultural heritage.

The Kabul Airport Bombing’s Afterlife as a Diplomatic Prop
The arrest of a supposed “mastermind” behind the Kabul airport bombing has reduced the deadliest attack of the War in Afghanistan to a diplomatic prop. While the Taliban claim to fight the Islamic State group, and U.S. leaders tout symbolic victories, ordinary Afghans sift the rubble of shifting narratives.

Preserving Afghanistan’s Soul: A Race Against Time
In a world where memories can fade and history is often erased by the forces that seek to control it, Afghan-American collector Omid J. reminds us that preserving stories — whether through songs, films or simple moments captured on a cassette — can be an act of resistance.

The Little-Known Story of Afghanistan’s Last Jew
Despite her frailty, 83-year-old Tova Moradi was a prized target because she was Jewish and had misled the Taliban during its previous rule in the 1990s by sheltering a rabbi in her house. She needed to escape, and Israelis were helping her flee.

An Afghan Photographer’s Portrait of Her Mother
When Laila Hazara left Afghanistan after the Taliban came to power in 2021, she had just contracted COVID-19 and had to fly without the oxygen tank she needed. Her daughter documents the life she left behind, and the one she has made with her family in Virginia.