there’s a wave of travel vloggers flocking to afghanistan right now, capturing the breathtaking landscapes, the bazaars, the mountains, the resilience. and while i understand the curiosity the thirst for the untouched, the raw, the “undiscovered”... for many afghans in the diaspora, visiting our homeland has never been a simple matter of booking a flight. it’s been war, exile, closed borders, missing papers, buried family histories. it’s been fear. it’s been silence. and now, we see others move through it so easily. like it was always available to be explored while for us, it has always been just out of reach. portraying afghanistan as safe and open erases the reality of those still suffering. it turns survival into scenery, and our pain into someone else's adventure. may we see a free afghanistan. free not just from occupation, warlords and bans. free for us, the children of exile to return. #afghanistan #afghan #travel - @sabatadele