'Don't turn a blind eye': Bay Area advocates spread awareness of Taliban takeover of Panjshir

ByRyan Curry KGO logo
Tuesday, September 7, 2021
Bay Area advocates spread awareness of latest Taliban takeover
Multiple reports out of Afghanistan claim the Taliban has Panjshir, the last province not under their control.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Multiple reports out of Afghanistan claim the Taliban has Panjshir, the last province not under their control. Resistance leaders say the fight is not over, and now people in the Bay Area are pushing for more awareness over the situation.

"We do not want people to turn a blind eye," said Sadaf Doost, a UC Berkeley graduate and member of Global Efforts for Afghanistan. "I can't even begin to comprehend what our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan are facing and the international community turning a blind eye really adds more pain to all of it."

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Her group developed a text alert people can use. By texting "Go ADVOCATE4AFG" a message will get sent to a local congressional leader urging them to still be aware of the latest developments. Their goal is push for a global effort to stop what the Taliban is doing right now.

"We are just advocating for the needs of those still directly impacted in Afghanistan," she said.

Some reports coming out of Panjshir are alarming. Tabish Forugh, a former journalist now political analyst from Panjshir says his former colleagues are reporting devastating attacks.

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Marcus Yam, a photojournalist and foreign correspondent with the Los Angeles Times, speaks to ABC7 about covering the Taliban takeover in Kabul.

"The Taliban attacked the valley from four different sides," he said. "They have captured the main parts of the valley and the main districts."

He hopes by spreading the global awareness, help can come soon.

"The fighting is not over," he said. "The Taliban have blocked out communications and the leader of the resistance is collecting his troops, but global help is needed."

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