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Over the last four decades, the international discussion around Afghanistan has become an industry. This is particularly so in the West, where the voices of Afghans are rarely found. In order to enter this revolving-door Afghanistan industry, what matters is not the knowledge or expertise brought to the table. What matters are the views and opinions of those seeking to get their foot in the door.

Western media, academia, NGOs, a cohort of foreign governments and their embassies in Kabul, all work in a murky nexus. When this nexus decide to give Afghans a platform, it is because those Afghans have the ‘correct’ opinions, not because of their expertise. Almost uniformly, these Afghans either represent political organisations or are avowed ideologues, working toward the achievement of some ideological goal. What shapes discourse surrounding Afghanistan are not the aspirations of its citizens, but the political, social and ideological interests of the West.

That is why we’re here. The Afghan Eye exists to give normative Afghans, who lack the access to global media that the “experts” have, a voice. The Afghan Eye’s purpose is to provide a platform for Afghans to share their perspectives on their terms, without having to apologetically dance around the ever-shifting limitations and taboos that Western governments and mass media place upon them.

In order to do so, however, we require support. A lot of support. Those who sit in shiny, pointy shoes, repeating now meaningless phrases like “transparency” and “democracy” in  elaborately decorated conferences in Western capitals, have an abundance of resources. Theirs is a well funded, well staffed and well organised machine. Their funding is almost guaranteed, even as their recommendations usually lead to further war, conflict, death and bloodshed. Their resources aren’t dented even as their primary focus is how the owners of alcoholic bars will fare under the Taliban, as opposed to critically analysing geopolitics or ignoring the aspirations of Afghans.

In contrast, ours is an independent platform run for Afghans, by Afghans: who want to see the end of Afghanistan being used as an ideological laboratory for non-Afghans powers and their Afghan clients.

So far, your support has enabled us to make a real difference. Your support has meant that we have been able to purchase equipment for our podcasts, ranging from state-of-the-art microphones, to having our podcasts hosted on audio-streaming platforms, to building our website. There remains, however, a lot more work to be done, and we are just getting started. With grand plans ahead to propel ourselves forward and to amplify the voices of independent, non-aligned and bold Afghans further, we will continue to need support.

In order to contribute to a grassroots, independent and politically non-aligned platform like The Afghan Eye, no amount of support is small. Everything matters. Support us by becoming patrons on Patreon, or help us via PayPal. Finally, don’t, of course, forget to share our content on social media!