Afghanistan will thrive if only we let it

Increasingly the media reports Afghanistan as a disaster story. Casualty lists from Helmand and other provinces sit side by side with accounts of millions of pounds’ worth of aid wasted and booming opium crops. No wonder then that politicians and journalists have begun to debate the wisdom of remaining committed to Afghanistan. In turn, the Afghan population has begun to doubt the commitment of its international partners.

But the accepted story is never the whole story, and that is especially true of Afghanistan. The real truth about the country is that despite the many missteps, there is good cause for hope, and reason to believe that the country can pull itself out of its current chaos. The story of hope — the one the newspapers currently ignore — is that, faced with the monumental tasks of stabilising their country and creating better lives and livelihoods for their families, Afghans managed to create a path to peace after 9/11.