I got to know Afghanistan, the land of my fathers, exactly a year ago. This is my third visit. The other times, I had a pleasant feeling of coming home. This time, however, the friendly faces and hospitality have disappeared. It’s the first time I’ve felt homesick for the Netherlands.

On my earlier trips here, it began in the plane. As soon as I saw the rugged mountains of the Hindu Kush, the proud Afghan in me surfaced. I saw Afghanistan’s 5,000-year-old history reflected in those hills.

This summer, I again disembarked from the plane full of expectancy, taking it for granted Kabul, the city of my birth, would welcome me once again. But the warmth and friendliness have disappeared.

Quarrels
I noticed Kabul had changed the first day I went to the city centre. The atmosphere was tense; people started quarrelling at the slightest thing. I’ve witnessed three rows in the street in just two weeks. I thought we had short fuses in the Netherlands, but here it seems even worse. Now the holy month of Ramadan has begun, things will only go further downhill.

Where does all the tension come from? Why has ‘my’ Kabul changed so much? Even the look of the place: new wedding halls and gigantic shopping centres are popping up like mushrooms. Construction work is going on everywhere.

But culture seems to have become scarce. Respect for others has disappeared. Money is increasingly important and honesty has become hard to find.

Lost hope
I’ve put my observations, as it were, to one side and have started looking for some explanations. I realise the results won’t be pretty. My search takes me to friends and acquaintances. The television also provides important information. I now know that the hope which kept these people going is on the wane.

When President Hamid Karzai came along, Afghans hoped that they might finally see peace. Nine years later, the city has indeed improved somewhat. That does not go for the situation of ordinary people. At first, Afghans started returning home from the surrounding countries. Now, they have begun emigrating again.

Democracy?
At the moment, people are very occupied with the parliamentary elections scheduled for September. And the large sums being splashed about by the candidates. Politicians on the campaign trail have plastered the whole of Kabul with huge posters of themselves. One poster costs 1,000 afghanis (about 16 euros). People are asking themselves how these politicians can have so much money. Many suspect they are getting support from countries such as Iran, the United States and Pakistan.

Trust in democracy is growing weaker. Recently, people on a television programme were asked what they understood democracy to be. One of those interviewed replied: lawlessness, immorality and the end of civilisation.

President Karzai and his political games have pushed the Afghan people further towards ruin. All they had was hope. Now even that has vanished. Some are so desperate that they look back to the Taliban time with longing.