The Taliban legacy

Filmed just prior to the September 11 disaster, this documentary provides an inside look at the humanitarian crisis building on the Afghani/Pakistan borders where Afghani refugees were seeking shelter from drought and war and the oppressive regime of the Taliban. Since the Taliban gained control of Afghanistan in 1996, schools have been closed, women excluded from public life and a strict form of Islamic law enforced. The producers of this program visited Jalozai, in Pakistan, a makeshift camp without food, water or shelter which has become home to over 70,000 Afghani refugees whose plea for UN aid is ignored by the Pakistan government. Over a period of 20 years Pakistan has taken in 2 million refugees and has now decided to close its borders, along with other neighbouring border countries of Afghanistan. The plight of these refugees is graphically illustrated through film footage and interviews with Montserrat Felix (the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), Francesc Vendrell (United Nations mediator), Taliban representatives including Ebdul Salam Zaeef (Ambassador of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in Pakistan) and several Afghani women refugees. Also covers a brief history of Afghanistan from 1978 onwards when Afghanistan was invaded by Soviet forces. Suitable for senior secondary and tertiary students. Teacher notes included.