Afghanistan Water Crisis
The Afghanistan water crisis has been something that has haunted the Afghans for quite some time. Since around 1997, the intense droughts and the constant wars have put the population in a fight against the climate and the severe lack of oversight from the government. The droughts that have plagued the country have led to a lack of water and a lack of agriculture which is a main part of their lifestyle. The Taliban have continuously haunted the government due to their rise in power and their overtaking of the government. The instability has led to a misuse of the irrigation system and this has led to even more intense water shortages. The people of Afghanistan have been in a constant state of dehydration and they have also been misplaced multiple times due to them trying to find more stable and secure places to live. A lot of other countries have tried to aid them in their struggle but it has not been successful. I believe that three main issues have been the cause of this water crisis: the Taliban moving in and crippling the government, the serious climate that hangs over Afghanistan, and the wars within and outside of the country. Afghanistan has been in a constant war with Iran as they fight for control of the water systems that are on their borders. This war has caused the Afghans to not have their main source of water and this has aided the water crisis. Afghanistan's water crisis has been studied and pondered over for many years due to the horrific nature of it; many reasons can be pointed to for this issue but I want to introduce a three pronged issue: the Taliban moving in to topple the government, the aggressive climate that plagues Afghanistan, and the ongoing fight between them and the other countries that surround them.
In Rob Nixons, Slow Violence, he takes a look at developing countries and how they are affected by damages that are happening around them. He focuses on structural damages and how this causes people to be displaced. One thing that connects to the people of Afghanistan is the idea of displacement due to situations happening around them. A lot of people in Afghanistan have had to move to new areas due to the droughts, and the violence that is happening all around them. This has caused them to forget where they are from and they do not have a permanent home due to this. This is a common issue for the people of Afghanistan because everyday, they have to wonder if they will have enough water to survive and plant the food they need. Slow violence is also a common theme in the book. Slow violence is seen in Afghanistan in many ways. The conflicts between Afghanistan and their neighboring countries were out of sight at first. They were fought by the government behind closed doors, but as the Taliban began to move in, these conflicts were brought to their front door and they were faced with ongoing fights and skirmishes that they did not sign up to be a part of. “By slow violence I mean a violence that occurs gradually and out of sight, a violence of delayed destruction that is dispersed across time and space, an attritional violence that is typically not viewed as violence at all” (Nixon, page. 2). This quote from the chapter gives a definition on what slow violence is and this is exactly what the people of Afghanistan are facing everyday. This violence comes out of nowhere and soon, they are displaced and they have to move to different areas just to survive. Slow violence affects the people of Afghanistan daily and no matter how many times they move and relocate, they are not able to escape the horrors that are haunting their nation.
