The Very Rev Dr John Chalmers reflects on the impact of the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan as Remembrance Sunday approaches.

BACK in August when news broke that British troops were being sent to help evacuate British nationals from the ever increasing dangers of an Afghanistan which was in the hands of a resurgent Taliban, Tom Tugendhat, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee tweeted: “If you think I’m taking the news from Afghanistan badly and personally, you’re right.”

He had served there for four years of his career in the army, he had served with courageous women and men and he was perturbed because, close up, he had counted the cost and seen the sacrifices, which now appeared to have been for nothing.

Having had some up-close and personal experience of how the war in Afghanistan has impacted individuals and families across the world, I know how Tom Tugendhat was feeling and I shared his unease about the way in which an opportunity for lasting change seemed to have been cast to the winds.

War is not the way to resolve the world’s problems and with hindsight it is hard to see how a war on terror could be won; but, once we had become an ally to those who supported democracy in Afghanistan and after we had paved the way for tens of thousands of ordinary Afghans, especially women and girls, to enjoy new freedoms; surely, when the chips were down, we should have been a better friend.

It is the idea that we have let people down, it is the humanitarian crisis that has been left behind and it is the human rights abuses which will now follow that make the current situation in Afghanistan so distressing. I find it difficult to disagree with those who feel that we have abandoned and even betrayed the Afghan people.

So much was sacrificed, so much was promised, so many dreams have been dashed and I feel ashamed when I hear people blame the current situation on the Afghans. We have to take responsibility for our part in this and political expediency does not trump the need for political integrity.

Now, as we approach the season of Remembrance, there is concern for the families of those whose loved ones were killed or injured in this conflict. Year on year these families comfort themselves with the thought that, at the very least, their loss contributed to making life better for others. I dread the thought that this year those families may be feeling that their loved ones died in vain. They most certainly did not.

Even if the difference they made was short lived – they made a difference and one day the voices of Afghan women will be heard above the sound of Kalashnikovs, one day Afghans who respect the views of others will prevail and one day the violence and oppression of the Taliban will be consigned to the dustbin of history. Then, we might trace the origins of change to those who befriended people on the ground, helped to reopen schools and marketplaces and gave the Afghan people a proper taste of freedom.

War is not the way to resolve the world’s problems and with hindsight it is hard to see how a war on terror could be won...

The Remembrance Season reminds us that freedom isn’t free and the journey from conflict to concord can be a long drawn out and complex business. Experience tells us that after war it can take generations to establish peace. In so doing we have to play the long game and engage with the real stuff of the spiritual life which includes repentance and regret, justice and truth, pardon, forgiveness and atonement.

For Afghanistan this has now become an even longer game, but the seeds of freedom and hope and the vision of a better Afghanistan will not die in the ground, one day these seeds will grow and flourish. For now, we have to take the long view and we must assure those who are feeling the pain of acute loss and aggravated grief that the price which has been paid will one day be repaid in full.