The day Kabul fell I found myself at a Peet’s in Harvard Square. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I had an inkling the barista might be from Afghanistan, so I asked him whether he was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I asked if he still had family there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He did. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I said I was very very sorry and hoped they would be unharmed.He seemed oddly unaffected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He was there at Peet’s again yesterday. I asked him how his folks were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said that banks and other such services were closed, but for the rest it was fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They were safe?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oh yes. The security situation was much improved. There used to robberies and murders before. All stopped now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That I found discouraging, but I didn’t tell him that.
Sadly horrible regimes often get their start and staying power precisely because of prior disorder and capricious misrule.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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