Dispatches: On the Ground in Western Afghanistan

In this dispatch, Hollie checks in for an interview. Listen to the audio.

What’s the difference between Kabul and Kandahar

Hollie compares the hustle and bustle of Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul with the more orderly atmosphere of the country’s second largest city of Kandahar. She describes “long grassy strips with Kandahari’s having picnics.” She also talks about the differences she encounters a a journalist in interviewing Taliban leadership in Kandahar versus Kabul.

Spin Boldak

While covering a humanitarian crisis on the Pakistani border, a crowd builds around Hollie and her team. The excitement causes problems with local authorities that are eventually resolved, resulting in unique access to better coverage.

Mosque of Mosques

Hollie describes a visit to the mosque of Mullah Omar, who founded the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in 1996, which returned to power in August of 2021. Omar’s teachings form the foundations of Afghanistan’s cultural laws. He fought the Soviets in the 1980’s. It was Omar’s refusal to extradite Osama Bin Laden that led to the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. She describes how the reaction to her as a woman reporter surprised her.

A Much More Open Country

Hollie also talks about how access to Afghanistan has changed so quickly after the end of the US presence. She observes that she now has the ability to travel what were some of of the most dangerous roads in the world. “It would have been unthinkable just five or six weeks ago.”

Stay Tuned for What’s Next?

Hollie describes her plans to visit Helmand Province.

Interviewer, Dennis Santiago. Photos by Jake Simpkin.

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