Art, war and another Afghanistan

I recently spoke at Melbourne’s Wheeler Centre about Afghanistan. Here’s the event blurb and video below: Writers, musicians, sportspeople, artists, refugees and activists celebrate the resilience, art and creativity of Afghanistan. ​​Haunting images from Kabul Airport filled Western television screens following the 2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, drawing into sharp relief the devastation caused by…

Art, war and another Afghanistan

Last week I spoke on a panel at Melbourne’s Wheeler Centre on “Art, War and Another Afghanistan” alongside photographer Barat Ali Batoor, human rights lawyer and activist Diana Sayed, Afghan football player and recently arrived from Kabul, Fatima Yousufi (who was featured in a recent New York Times story), and Hazara musician Taqi Khan. Afghanistan…

How much do we owe Afghan refugees?

My new piece for Declassified Australia on the disparity between Afghan and Ukrainian refugees and how Australia (and the US) view the neediest people on the planet: Around 6,000 humanitarian visas have been granted to Afghan refugees in the 12 months since the end of the US occupation in August 2021. This is from a total of…

The Kafkaesque nightmare for Halabi

My latest story for Israeli/Palestinian outlet +972 Magazine on the shameful case of imprisoned Palestinian Mohammed El-Halabi. I’ve been reporting on this story for years, here’s my +972 Magazine investigation from 2019, and it speaks to the systematic injustice meted out to Palestinians. Here’s my new piece: Kafka in Gaza: How Israel turned a Palestinian…

Twenty Years plus since Taliban takeover of Afghanistan

The Twenty Years project is a collaboration between Afghan artists, journalists and a number of Australians, including me, about the legacy of the US-led war in Afghanistan. There was recently a major exhibition at Blacktown Arts gallery in Sydney, Australia featuring Afghan artists Khadim Ali, Elyas Alavi, Orna Kazimi, Najiba Noori, Melbourne-based artist Tia Kass…

“August in Kabul” is compelling book on Afghanistan

My book review in the Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne Age: AFGHANISTAN August in Kabul Andrew Quilty MUP, $34.99 Matthieu Aikins is a journalist who has spent extended periods in Afghanistan, including stints with The New York Times. Early this year, he told The Columbia Journalism Review that his whole profession had often failed when…

How legalising drugs reaches India

My book, Pills, Powder and Smoke: Inside the Bloody War on Drugs, was published in an Indian edition in 2020. It’s therefore gratifying to see how its message is reaching Indians with the publication of this letter in The Shillong Times, a newspaper in north-east India: Editor, Pockets of Shillong are witnessing a rise in…

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