- My neighbor is from Afghanistan, and he has been telling me
some very horrible things. (intense music) (sirens) - [Male Speaker 1] Last week as the US was leaving Afghanistan, after we've been there
for 20 years, the Taliban, which is a political and military group, took over the entire country. And eventually made it to the Capitol, where they ran the government
out of the country, and declared themselves the
government of Afghanistan. They did this really fast, faster than the US thought they would. Here's this map by EmperorTigerstar showing just the last few
months of Afghanistan, going from Afghan-controlled,
which is green, to Taliban-controlled, which is white. - [Male Speaker 2] CNN, CNN, CNN. - [Female Speaker] CNN.
- CNN. - He told me to cover my face. - [Male Speaker 1] One of the first things the Taliban did was
hold a press conference, where they assured the
people of Afghanistan that they would not be going after revenge on whoever worked for the United States, or NATO, or any other outside country. - Because we have announced
general amnesty for everyone. The security forces, from
senior, to the junior level. And this fear, all this hysteria that has taken place is unfounded. - [Male Speaker 1] This right here. This is actually what I wanna talk about in this short video. I'm not making an
explainer on Afghanistan, I just wanna make one thing clear. When I heard the Taliban
speak in this way, and talk about how they're different now, and how they actually want to
build an inclusive society, I wanted to believe them. I think a lot of us
wanted to believe like, "Well, what if they have changed?" - [Translator] Our women
even have the same rights. They can work in different
sectors on the basis of our rules and regulations, and education,
and health, and other areas. There will be no
discrimination against women. - But then my neighbor
came over last night. He and his wife and two
children moved from Afghanistan just a couple of years ago. They were US contractors,
worked for the US government, and their families are
currently still in Afghanistan. - I was working on the- to make something for our community, for ourselves. But we lost everything. - What I learned in this conversation is that we should not believe
the Taliban, they are lying. They're putting on a show
of inclusion and change in the name of trying to get
international recognition for their new self-declared country. But in reality, they are
actually seeking revenge, and imposing their dogmatic
rule on everyone around them, and especially targeting those who were a part of the US
military or civilian operations. They're going door-to-door,
hunting for anyone who was involved with the US, which is why you see scenes like this. People fleeing at whatever cost. (slow piano music) - My brother, he used to work
with US government contracts, direct, indirect, since 2010. My mother-in-law worked with US government contract from 2013, and some other colleagues. - [Neighbor] They are
searching house-by-house, to find their targeted people. They are saying, "If you
do not give me the person who used to work with this country, we will- we are going to
kill, like, family members." This is what it makes fear to our family. - It's easy to read the
news, and to package this up in our minds as just an issue that's happening far away, that has to do with geopolitics, and history, and newsy things. But after talking to
my neighbor last night, it was a stark reminder
that this is human lives. People who have fled their homes, who are living in hiding, right now, who are scared for their lives. Children who now live in the
shadows, and live in fear, and people who will do anything
to escape their country, where they have roots and
culture and connections. It doesn't matter because
their life is in danger. - That's the reason that
they have moved from there, like permanent resident. And they are living like,
few nights one place, just to hide out. They are living in fear. And any time- even if we are not, even they are not in their
like permanent residence, like their own house,
someone is knocking the door. They feel that the Taliban's there, and they are coming after them. - When I'm thinking about
my 16-year-old sister, it's very hard for me to think about. - I'm gonna think about
how I can tell the story of Afghanistan, and how
it turned out like this. That is a story that needs
to be told and understood. But today I'm making this
video just to tell you to remember that, as you read
about this and look into it, you should not believe anything the Taliban is saying; they're lying. They're lying to deceive all of us so that they can continue
their brutal rule towards the people that they now control. I also want you to
remember to think of this, not just as another breaking
news, but as real lives, people suffering, people living in fear. That's what this story is. And
it's playing out right now. (slow piano music)
