Camp Istiklal (Afghanistan). Thousands of people were left with no choice but to leave their homes due to the increasing Taliban activity in northern Afghanistan. 11-year-old Sakina is one of the thousands who flee with her family after the Taliban took over their village and burned down a local school.
About 50 such helpless families are living in a makeshift camp built on a rock in Mazar-i-Sharif, located in the northern part of the country. They live in plastic tents in the scorching heat, where temperatures soar to 44 degrees Celsius in the afternoon. There is not a single tree for shade and there is only one toilet for the entire camp. It is just a dirty little tent, built on a pit, which smells terrible.
According to the government's Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation, over 56,000 families, mostly from the northern part of the country, have been forced to leave their homes in the last 15 days due to increased Taliban activity.
Fawad Aman, a former Tolo News journalist who worked in the Ministry of Defense, posted a picture on Twitter saying – 'Taliban terrorists blew up a hospital in the Helmand province.' They first looted medicines and equipment and now the hospital is being destroyed.
At Camp Istiklal, families spoke about the Taliban commanders' heavy-handed tactics used by them to capture towns and villages. Most of these people belong to the 'Hazara' community (an ethnic minority). Taliban's actions have raised several questions. They had promised to not repeat their harsh regime of the past.
Sakina, who lives in the camp, said it was midnight when her family picked up their belongings and fled their Abdulgan village in the Balkh province, but the Taliban had already set a local school on fire before they left. Sakina said that she doesn't understand why her school was burnt down.
She said that there is no electricity in Camp Istiklal and sometimes she hears voices at night. "I feel like maybe the Taliban have come here. I'm very scared." Sakina's dream is to become an engineer someday.
Yakub Maradi, who fled from the Sang Shanda village, said that the Taliban threatened the people of his village. Maradi's brother and several family members have also been arrested. "They have been taken hostage so that they don't leave from there." "He might be released today, but he will not be allowed to leave," said Maradi.
The February 2020 agreement between the US and the Taliban prevents insurgents from capturing provincial capitals, but they still have a stronghold on Kandahar (south) and Badghis (north).