Back in 2001, I still traveled internationally. I had always tried to follow international stories that would give me an indication that an area was dangerous so I could take appropriate precautions, so when I heard of the group of individuals were abducted back around 9/11/2001, the story was of interest to me. Fast forward to 2009, I had completely forgotten about the incident until this book.
Kabul 24 is the story of a group of 8 Westerners and 16 local Afghans who were arrested and imprisoned by the Taliban. At the time of the arrest in early August 2001, the Westerners were a bit perplexed as to what they had done wrong. Several people had possibly bent a law about promoting Christianity, but the organization, Shelter Now International (SNI), had operated in Afghanistan without problems for years. What made things different now? As the story is told, it becomes apparent that the individuals were set up specifically for the purpose of attempting to destroy SNI. About a month after the arrests, the attacks on the World Trade Center towers occurred. It is theorized that the whole thing was a ruse to find and detain Westerners in Afghanistan prior to the attacks on the US.
Throughout the book, the author tells the story of the 8 Western workers who were in Taliban captivity for over 100 days. On the surface, it sounds like this story has all the makings of a dynamite, action packed story, but this book just did not tell that kind of story. The book focused a lot on the journey the 8 Westerners took (spiritual as well as the literal journey) throughout their captivity. Despite suffering a much harsher fate than the 8 Westerners, the 16 local Afghans make up little of the actual story. The author does give the 16 locals a tremendous amount of well-deserved credit for their part of the ordeal and I understand their story maybe being withheld for a reason (my guess is the locals still fear for their safety as it is still not a particularly stable region). However, I think the book would have benefited greatly from focusing on the plight of the 16 local Afghans a bit more.
While the book lacked âHollywoodâ style action, what it did do very well was discuss the role of faith and religion in the plight of the 8 Westerners. All 8 people were what I would deem religious and the book showed how the role of religion helped people carry through against seemingly impossible odds in the most hopeless of circumstances. Also, throughout numerous points in the book, it showed that in your darkest of hours, sometimes the kindness of random strangers can be your saving grace.
Personally, I think the book could have significantly benefited from expanding the story to not just focus on the 8 Westerners and better quality writing. The story told is still a good story and I did enjoy reading it. Personally, I think the book served as a great reminder of what can happen to people when they live and work in a foreign land. That aspect of the story really touched home with me. Overall, I think it is worth reading, just do not expect a lot of Hollywood style violence and drama.
Kabul 24 is the story of a group of 8 Westerners and 16 local Afghans who were arrested and imprisoned by the Taliban. At the time of the arrest in early August 2001, the Westerners were a bit perplexed as to what they had done wrong. Several people had possibly bent a law about promoting Christianity, but the organization, Shelter Now International (SNI), had operated in Afghanistan without problems for years. What made things different now? As the story is told, it becomes apparent that the individuals were set up specifically for the purpose of attempting to destroy SNI. About a month after the arrests, the attacks on the World Trade Center towers occurred. It is theorized that the whole thing was a ruse to find and detain Westerners in Afghanistan prior to the attacks on the US.
Throughout the book, the author tells the story of the 8 Western workers who were in Taliban captivity for over 100 days. On the surface, it sounds like this story has all the makings of a dynamite, action packed story, but this book just did not tell that kind of story. The book focused a lot on the journey the 8 Westerners took (spiritual as well as the literal journey) throughout their captivity. Despite suffering a much harsher fate than the 8 Westerners, the 16 local Afghans make up little of the actual story. The author does give the 16 locals a tremendous amount of well-deserved credit for their part of the ordeal and I understand their story maybe being withheld for a reason (my guess is the locals still fear for their safety as it is still not a particularly stable region). However, I think the book would have benefited greatly from focusing on the plight of the 16 local Afghans a bit more.
While the book lacked âHollywoodâ style action, what it did do very well was discuss the role of faith and religion in the plight of the 8 Westerners. All 8 people were what I would deem religious and the book showed how the role of religion helped people carry through against seemingly impossible odds in the most hopeless of circumstances. Also, throughout numerous points in the book, it showed that in your darkest of hours, sometimes the kindness of random strangers can be your saving grace.
Personally, I think the book could have significantly benefited from expanding the story to not just focus on the 8 Westerners and better quality writing. The story told is still a good story and I did enjoy reading it. Personally, I think the book served as a great reminder of what can happen to people when they live and work in a foreign land. That aspect of the story really touched home with me. Overall, I think it is worth reading, just do not expect a lot of Hollywood style violence and drama.
