By Shelby Brooks
A decade after returning from Afghanistan, army veteran Chris May said he was left feeling horrified and disappointed as he watched the fall of Kabul earlier this week.
The Emerald man, who served two tours in Afghanistan in 2009 and 2011, said the speed in which the Taliban took control of most of the country shocked him.
“We always knew in the back of our minds that the Afghan National Army (ANA) would have to step up to maintain the status quo but ultimately we all knew the country would fall back into a type of its old habits,” Chris said.
“What we didn’t expect, and personally from my point of view, was to see it fall so quickly. We all thought it might happen in five years time, not the same week.
“I’m sure the ANA put up a good fight to try and protect the people of Kabul but the speed that the Taliban took control, seeing the media and the videos of the rapid decline back into the old ways and some atrocities occurring of people being killed in the streets- that’s tough to watch.”
Chris said there were many unique perspectives about the situation among the 39,000 young Australian veterans who had served in Afghanistan over the past 20 years.
“I’ve had a few guys contact me and say what a waste of time, what a waste of lives, it was all in vain, why waste 41 lives – all those comments are getting thrown out there,” Chris said.
“But everyone is going to see it differently but the common theme among all of us is a general disappointment.
“We made amazing progress while we were there but to see it all go down the drain is pretty tough to watch.”
Confronting and disturbing footage and photographs from the Taliban’s takeover have been hard to escape from on social media and the 24-hour news cycle.
Chris said many of his fellow Afghanistan veterans have been struggling to switch off.
“I had to go into the shed last night and put some music on and leave my phone in the corner. I was stuck watching things unfold,” he said.
“The influx of media is really starting to hamper on veterans’ minds.
“I’ve urged some of them to turn their phones and Facebook off.”
The role of social media is unique to the younger generation of war veterans, however older veterans are able to empathise, Chris said.
“I’ve had a few Vietnam veterans reaching out who watched the fall of Saigon and they said they understand how we feel,” Chris said.
“The difference is now we are watching Kabul fall on our phones as it happens, we aren’t getting that break in the media between the newspaper and the 6pm news.”
Seeing the desperation of Kabul locals is the hardest part for Chris.
“That is the truest desperation. They don’t want to be there. I really do feel for them,” Chris said.
“Women are being executed in the streets of Kabul as well as the men who supported the previous government or the ISAF forces.
“If we are true to our word and we want equality and we want people to stand up for what is right, we can’t watch what is happening in another country and do nothing.”
Chris urges everyone to support their local Afghani communities during this difficult time.
“We have seen around Dandenong and the south east suburbs that we do have a large influx of Afghan migrants who have come here who escaped the Taliban rule in the peak of fighting,” Chris said.
“Supporting our local Afghan population is one way of going about it.
“Supporting our veterans through RSL Victoria and the local branches is important too.”
