'I identified my brother after he fell from plane fleeing Taliban. His face was completely gone...
Sunday Express|September 17, 2023
MILLIONS watched his body tumble out of the sky in a tragedy which has come to represent the death of hope for Afghanistan itself.
By Marco Giannangeli
'I identified my brother after he fell from plane fleeing Taliban. His face was completely gone...

Zaki Anwari was just l7 and a striker with the national youth football team when he attempted to flee Taliban rule by clambering on to the fuselage of a US cargo plane in Kabul.

The images of his falling body in August 2021 echo those made famous by the “falling man”, following Al Qaeda’s September 11 strikes on the US almost 20 years previously,

It was those attacks which brought the West to Afghanistan, and which ushered in two decades of increasing prosperity, fledgling democracy and real hope for a historically luckless country.

The past two years have seen that hope snuffed out by a merciless fundamentalist sect riven with internal strife.

“Zaki and I were not yet born when the last Taliban regime took place but we were told lots of stories and the ugly face of the Taliban was in everyone’s mind,” said 20-year-old brother Zaker last night, from his home in Kabul.

“Because we had seen videos of women being beaten, men being beaten just for shaving their beards and wearing Western clothes we never imagined the country would allow them to return to power so easily. But in the end, the treacherous leaders ran away and turned the dreams of the Taliban into reality.”

Zaker’s life has been completely transformed from one of middle-class comfort to perennial misery – and fear.

“I lost my brother and I have lost my father, who died a few months ago of grief. Over time, my studies stopped and we lost our jobs and the shop. Then I lost my freedom,” he said.

“Now we live in secret; fearful that the next Taliban we are forced to deal with will be our last. I can’t go to college, I can’t do sports and go to football or the gym. We are alive but we are not living.

Denne historien er fra September 17, 2023-utgaven av Sunday Express.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra September 17, 2023-utgaven av Sunday Express.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA SUNDAY EXPRESSSe alt
Sunday Express

Emily's expecting even more in '25

ENGLAND'S record points scorer Emily Scarratt is convinced 2025 is going to break new ground for women's rugby in this country.

time-read
1 min  |
December 29, 2024
LUKE: TRASH TALK IS JUST RUBBISH
Sunday Express

LUKE: TRASH TALK IS JUST RUBBISH

WORLD CHAMPION Luke Humphries planted his standard at the summit of Alexandra Palace and sent out a warning to Peter 'Snakebite' Wright: \"Your trash talk won't work on me.\"

time-read
1 min  |
December 29, 2024
'Insecure' Elvis feared for future as Beatlemania was always on his mind
Sunday Express

'Insecure' Elvis feared for future as Beatlemania was always on his mind

ELVIS Presley was all shook up and feared his music career would end when Beatlemania hit America 60 years ago.

time-read
1 min  |
December 29, 2024
Time to roll back the ‘harmful' nanny state
Sunday Express

Time to roll back the ‘harmful' nanny state

BRITAIN needs to roll back the nanny state and give its citizens more freedom to manage their own health and finances, an independent think tank has suggested.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 29, 2024
Rapid nationalisation for failing train firms
Sunday Express

Rapid nationalisation for failing train firms

BOSSES of failing train operators have been warned they could be fast-tracked for nationalisation.

time-read
1 min  |
December 29, 2024
Life after cancer: 'I am lucky to be here, but now I'm ready to move on'
Sunday Express

Life after cancer: 'I am lucky to be here, but now I'm ready to move on'

DESPITE all of her career success Sarah Beeny reveals she is hugely proud that her four sons have formed a successful indie rock band.

time-read
5 mins  |
December 29, 2024
growers AI to help cut global waste
Sunday Express

growers AI to help cut global waste

RED SPIDER mites can devastate vegetable plants, as this image shows, but help is at hand thanks to artificial intelligence.

time-read
1 min  |
December 29, 2024
Monty brings blooming good news
Sunday Express

Monty brings blooming good news

PERENNIAL green-fingered favourite Monty Don shows no signs of wilting - and will host Gardeners' World for at least another two years.

time-read
1 min  |
December 29, 2024
Reeves: VAT on school fees will raise standards
Sunday Express

Reeves: VAT on school fees will raise standards

CHANCELLOR Rachel Reeves has defended the introduction of VAT on school fees by insisting it will lead to \"more teachers\" and \"higher standards\" in the state sector.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 29, 2024
Homes face £45 bill hike to clear bad energy debt
Sunday Express

Homes face £45 bill hike to clear bad energy debt

PLANS to charge every household up to £45 extra on their energy bills, to help write off £1.29billion in customer debt are being considered by the Government.

time-read
1 min  |
December 29, 2024