The murder of over a hundred children by the Taleban in Peshawar left people furious but also frustrated. What can we do to stop the Taleban? Troops are leaving Afghanistan, combat mission over; we’ve no stomach for army casualties and drone strikes too often backfire. Every innocent farmer killed by a drone galvanises local support for the Taleban.
There’s a Pashto saying which gets to the point: ‘Be afraid of those who do not fear death.’ If we’re not prepared to risk much, and we’re not, it’s near impossible to defeat an enemy prepared to risk everything.
So, should we despair, shop for Christmas presents, forget about the Peshawar dead? No. There is something that you and I can do which will hit the Taleban where it hurts: we can support the building of schools in Afghanistan, especially schools for girls.
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