Left Of Leftfield

By Abubakar D. Sani, Esq.

Welcome to Afghanistan;
In case you never heard of it;
It’s the graveyard of the world’s super-powers;
The Yankees, the Russians and the Brits

A place each tried to conquer and dominate;
And they failed, in turn – to their regret;
Defeated by little more than rockets, grenades;
AK-47s, land-mines and suicide vests

These Westerners, won’t they ever learn –
That you can’t beat enemy in his home turf –
Unless you are ready to commit in the long term
Hell, it’d be just like being an alien in New York

Yes, we are Afghans, no prouder people than us;
It’s true we are landlocked;
Smack in Asia – South and Central;
Bordered by 5 countries whose names all end in ‘stan’

A land of rugged, mountainous beauty;
And ethnicity made up of Pashtuns, Hazaras, Uzbeks and Tajiks;
We’ve always lived up to our anthem:
‘The Land of the Brave’ – just ask the Soviets

They left (or fled – take your pick);
In the face of our resistance led by the Mujahideen;
13 short years after they came in;
Just over a decade to the end of the last century
As did the Americans in 2021
They lasted longer, after ousting the Talibans – but not by much;
One score years until they negotiated their exit under Trump;
A departure widely derided as a humiliation

Now, the Talibans are back;
Zealots, Ultra-Conservative – call them what you like
What matters is that they are in charge
The worst possible news for women and the girl-child

For them, education and jobs are strictly a no-no;
Women expose their hair at their own peril;
No, the Taliban don’t believe in gender equality;
Nor the LGBT flag of a rainbow

This brings to mind another Asian country:
North Korea – as closed a State as they come;
Bounded by Russia, China, South Korea and the Yellow Sea;
And a currency known to few, called the ‘Won’

Just like Afghanistan, it was birthed in conflict;
Which lingers to this day, albeit under an armistice –
Ensuring that a non-shooting war persists;
And, guess what: the Americans are here too – neck-deep!

Only a shouting-distance from the Southern border;
In the Demilitarized Zone where they stare down each other;
Ruled from inception by a family dynasty –
It’s current leader is a reclusive maverick –

Who presides over a nuclear arsenal;
And a military fore second only to China;
With fully 30% of its population under arms;
It occasionally lobs ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan

Human rights abuses are alleged to be rife in this country;
Al least, according to the United Nations and Amnesty International;
As are rampant malnutrition and famine;
What you gonna do about it, ‘Rocket Man’?

That’s what Trump called its current leader –
Given his seemingly infantile missile launches as aforesaid;
Only to famously meet and greet him in ‘Noman’s Land’;
Before handing him over to his successor, Joe Biden

This leads us neatly back to the Caucasus;
Precisely, to Belarus – in Eastern Europe;
Bordered by five countries and consisting of 7 regions;
It is more famous for its long-term leader Alexander Lukashenko

Did I say famous? Make that notorious;
Yes, for his style – widely acknowledged as authoritarian;
And of having a poor human rights record;
Leading other European countries to shun him – except Russia

This has led some to dub Belarus “Europe’s last dictatorship”;
It is the only country in the Continent with the death penalty;
Every single one of it’s presidential elections since 1994 –
Has been controversially predictable – Lukashenko has won

None of these criticisms, however, has fazed the man in Minsk;
Rather, they’ve bounced off him like water on a duck’s back;
Indeed, they seem to have pushed him closer to Putin;
His idol and apparent mirror-image in Russia

It has brought their 2 countries closer than ever;
Given the latter’s known territorial ambitions;
And indifference to outside perception of his reputation;
Who – or what – will bell these two cats?

So, welcome to the Pariah States!
Where you’re not free to have your say;
As ‘Big Brother’s Secret Police is always watching;
And you insist on your rights at your own peril

Abubakar D. Sani, Esq.
23rd September, 2021
08034533892

(Inspired by ‘Welcome to Atlanta’ by Jermaine Dupri, 2001)

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