The incursion of Western military troops into Afghanistan changed the lives of the people of the Central Asian country, and the soldiers who arrived saw their lives turned upside down by the strange environment generated by the clash of cultures.
This is the case of Paul Farthing, nicknamed Pen, a soldier from the United Kingdom who arrived in the Afghan country in 2004 and since then saw how his presence began to change the lives of the people of Afghanistan for better and for worse.
Rather than simply monitoring political tensions and addressing conflict zones, Pen spent her time creating an organization for the protection of animals, which has brought an opportunity for professional development for Afghan veterinarians.
Now, faced with the takeover of the country by the Taliban, Farthing refuses to leave the country without the animals he rescued, but above all, without the Afghan women and men who have built the animal protection organization known as Nozwad with him. He has dedicated himself to caring for dogs, cats, horses, donkeys, and all abandoned animals.
Paul Farthing points out that the West has a great responsibility to the people of Afghanistan, as it seems that during all these years of occupation, they did nothing but give false hopes and aspirations to thousands of souls. For Farthing, these expectations that were woven over 20 years were abandoned in a matter of weeks.
We gave people hope, aspirations, dreams for the future. In a matter of weeks, we have them removed.
Pen's foundation was born after he witnessed a fight between dogs, from which he rescued one of them, naming him Nozwad after the city where it all took place. He is now seeking the UK government to make an exception to its rescue flights for interpreters and British government workers to evacuate its entire foundation, workers and animals, from Afghanistan.
What do you say to someone who will probably be told that they will have to marry a Taliban fighter and end up living at home, never being allowed to leave, and simply raising children with someone they absolutely detest?
To achieve his goal, he hopes to raise $ 200,000 to get a plane that can get the veterinarians and animals of Nozwad out of Afghanistan safely. Through their website, they have begun to collect donations to achieve their goal, and everything seems to be going well, but they have not been able to establish direct contact with the British government.
We hope that the organization manages to evacuate its workers and animals because, for more than 15 years, it has allowed women and men to exercise their professions and help their community by rescuing and relieving hundreds of animals.
