I got the call I’d been dreading at noon on Monday.
The Taliban had arrested N., an Afghan man whose family I’ve written about as they huddle in hiding. His family is in danger because several of them worked with Americans on anti-corruption and women’s rights issues before the U.S. withdrew troops from Afghanistan in August, leaving them behind.
Mercifully, N. was released, but only temporarily. (Because of fears for N.’s safety, I will only refer to him by the first initial of his given name.) The Taliban pledged to return; they have guards in front of their building. Terrified, with crying children and a severely ill grandmother, the family is waiting for the next knock on the door. Speaking to them on WhatsApp feels as if one were talking to Anne Frank as her safe house was being raided by the Nazis. In 2022, it’s possible to hear the terror live.
