We arrive in April, and it has been eight months since Marwa and Raha began talking about their daily lives with reporter Caroline Gillet. Raha is in Kabul, Marwa in a refugee camp in Abu Dhabi. They say that documenting what they are experiencing and sharing helps to compensate for the immobility.

The economic situation in Afghanistan is dramatic following the freezing of international aid which financed nearly 80% of the Afghan budget. Half of the country is threatened by hunger. Aid is conditional on measures promised by the Taliban in favor of human rights and women’s rights in particular, such as the return of adolescent girls to school.

Marwa and Raha celebrate Ramadan in very new conditions. These religious events are perhaps the last things that connect them. In this episode, their two trajectories will separate radically. While Marwa is far from her family, Raha is surrounded, but explosions make her fear for her mother’s life, and push her employers to fire her. Marwa finally has her tickets to go to Germany.

By Caroline Gillet with Marwa and Raha. The original podcast broadcast on France INTER / RADIO FRANCE © RADIO FRANCE. Canadaland is proud to premiere the English-language adaptation of this urgent and intimate podcast, building on Commons’ crucial season that told the story of Canada’s role in the War in Afghanistan.

COMMONS is brought to you by: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), Max Collins (Production Manager), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)

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