BALTIMORE — What's going on thousands of miles across the world hits right here at home in Baltimore as the owner of Kabul watches with concern for his sister living in Afghanistan.
Wali Anvari built a home away from home for many Afghanistan natives who come to his restaurant often
He says the unrest back home has been the conversation dominating the dinner table especially since yesterday when the President fled the country after Taliban over threw the government
“A captain never leaves a ship until all of the passengers are safe but our president he left the country and left people like that on the street which is unacceptable not good,” said Anvari.
He questions how that could happen while Anvari's friends and family couldn't leave the country if they tried.
“My friend went to Kabul to see his brothers wedding. it was don’t like 2 weeks ago. he flew like 3 weeks back and now he's stuck in Kabul. he can't get a flight to come back here so he's stuck there and his kids are all here,” he recalled.
He shared exclusive video with us showing kids roaming with no shelter water or electricity after a battle, weeks before the Taliban claimed power saying the country's unaddressed turmoil has been an ongoing issue for weeks.
The question he has is one many of us share here at home and abroad, "What does this mean for Afghanistan’s future?"
He says that answer depends solely on the direction of who's running it.
“They are good in fighting, I know that but running a country is a completely different thing so we have to wait and see,” Anvari reasoned.
He says he expects a different approach now the Taliban have taken power but rooting out corruption--regardless of the regime--will be the biggest challenge.
“Corruption is there. If a country has corruption its really hard to develop,” he added.
The concern Anvari has for his family are similar to the concerns we have right here in the U.S. with security infrastructure and education but only time will tell if those concerns will be put to bed.
