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Afghan Left interviewed

03-11-2001 Report from Alan McCombes in Pakistan

Scottish Socialist Voice editor, Alan McCombes has travelled
to Pakistan. Socialists from the underground Afghan
Revolutionary Labour Organisation describe their
work. Further reports from Alan are featured in the current
issue of Scottish Socialist Voice.

ON THE day I met Mahsooda in her home, she and her comrades
of the Afghan Revolutionary Labour Organisation - an
underground socialist party - had just received tragic
news. Eight of their comrades and their seven children had
been killed two, nights before in US bombing raids in and
around the city of Kharkhana. Mahsooda and her other
comrades could not reveal to me their real names because
they work secretly under dangerous conditions, but they told
me the names and ages of their dead comrades. "They are now
martyrs and cannot be killed twice," I was told. Four of the
dead socialists were female activists - Llallama (31),
Marzia (25), Rabia (30) and Gulmaco (40). The men were Abdul
Karin (21), Abdul Farouk (47), Abdul Rahman (51) and
Abdullah (38). At that stage, no-one was sure of the names
and ages of the dead children but told me they would pass
that information on as soon as they found out. It is easy to
be a socialist activist in Scotland, where you can publicly
argue!  for your ideas, produce leaflets and newspapers,
organise campaigns, stand in elections.

The life of an Afghan socialist is entirely
different. First, they have they have no money for leaflets,
websites, or computers. Every day is a struggle to
survive. The activists I met live in grinding poverty, often
eating nothing but potatoes for days at a time. They have no
money for leaflets and newspapers. Even if they had they
could not distribute them, because they live under a
permanent death sentence. Even those like Mahsooda, living
in exile across the border in Peshawar, would be killed by
the Taliban or other religious extremists if their
identities were discovered.

But as an organiser of the party's women's section, Mahsooda
carries out in effect double underground work. They are in
even more danger of punishment from the religious parties if
they are discovered. And the women Mahsooda organises are
forced to meet clandestinely, behind the backs of the men in
their families "Lots of women conform to a traditional
role. But many thirst for knowledge and want to become
active," says Mahsooda, herself a mother of four young
children. "Women have a long history of involvement in
political struggle in Afghanistan. But now many men won't
allow them to attend events, or courses. "We have lots of
women comrades who work in secret from their husbands,
brothers and fathers. They will say `we are going to the
market' or `we are going to buy clothes' but instead they
will come to this house and other houses."

The day after I met Mahsooda, I met two other women
organisers who have never met Mahsooda, because the party
works in a secret cell structure. Shalbala is 27 years old
and is from the province of Bamiya in Central Afghanistan -
a Shia Muslim stronghold that has suffered terrible
sectarian persecution at the hands of the Sunni Muslim
Taliban. Earlier this year, the Taliban went on the rampage
in the area, destroying world-renowned Buddhist statues and
slaughtering villagers. One of Shalhala's uncles and four of
her cousins were executed when the Taliban entered two
villages, Darali and Naick, and rounded up all the men. "In
Darali, the people had come out of their homes to welcome
the Taliban.

But then they collected the men from the houses, brought
them to the centre of the village and tied their
hands. "No-one thought they were going to be killed, they
thought they would be taken to jail. But they killed them
all - 180 in Darali and 220 in Naick." Shalhala says that
women are more hostile to the Taliban than men: "Some women,
those who are from extremely religious backgrounds support
them. But not most woemn.

They see their own houses turned into jails. Most people -
99 per cent of people - in Afghanistan are Muslim, but most
of them want freedom and democracy." But Shalhala believes
that the choice between the Taliban and the Northern
Alliance is a choice between Frankenstein and Dracula. Her
area was in the past a Northern Alliance stronghold before
it was captured by the Taliban. Shalhala explains that the
Northern Alliance were guilty of terrible brutality against
women, kidnapping them regularly and raping them. "They are
extremely cruel. One young girl - Shukria was her name - was
attacked in her home by Northern Alliance leaders. They
tried to rape her but she jumped from her window to escape
and was killed."

Hilla is 22 and organises the women's section of the Afghan
Revolutionary Labour Organisation in the city of Herat on
the other side of Afghanistan near the border with Iran. She
speaks good English and tells me that 99 per cent of women
in Afghanistan are uneducated. A major part of Hilla's work
is organising basic educational schools. Hilla and her
comrades collect women and take them to houses where classes
are held in total secrecy. They charge very small fees to
cover the cost of providing basic materials like pens, paper
and books. Those who have no money are allowed to attend
free. "In each class we teach 10 to 15 women. I have
responsibility for five different courses, but we are
organising many other courses across the province and across
the country as a whole.

They are organised by the Afghan kevolutionary Labour
Organisation. "Our first step is to organise basic
literacy. Before we can educate women politically, we first
have to teach them to read and write. We also teach basic
medical care and clothes making. Then later, we move on to
politics.". Despite the repression they suffer from the
Taliban, Hilla says all women in Afghanistan oppose the
American bombings. "This is not seen as a war between
America and the Taliban - it is seen as a war waged by
nonMuslims against Muslims. Where I work it is mostly Shia
people. They oppose the Taliban. "But if they invade the
country on the ground, most people will fight with the
Taliban against America and Britain. "Yes, America wants to
defeat the Taliban and Al Quaida. But their main aim is to
take over Central Asia as they have done with some Arab
countries.. "America thought they would win easily, but now
they say this is a long war, maybe two or three years. "But
even if America defe!  ats the Taliban and brings in it's
own government the Left will still have to work underground
because America will not bring democracy but another
dictatorship. "The Left in Afghanistan has always had to
work underground and now things are getting worse, not
better."


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