Margot Buff

Produced by Margot Buff

November 30, 2021
'Dreams Destroyed': Afghan Women Lament Losses After 100 Days Of Taliban Rule

A public defender, a rights activist, small business owners: these women have seen their lives and careers upended by the Taliban's return to power in August. After 100 days of Taliban rule, they take stock of the personal and economic harm caused by the regime's repressive policies.
September 21, 2021
'Our Futures Will Be Ruined': Afghan Girls Fear Denial Of Education Under Taliban

Since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, the militants have made vague statements about allowing girls to get an education, but so far, that female secondary-school students have stayed home. Students told Radio Azadi about their fear that their educations have been cut short.
September 15, 2021
Jobless And Cashless, Afghans Sell Off Possessions To Survive Economic Collapse

Millions are out of work, the country's foreign reserves are frozen, cash has mostly dried up, and markets are running low on imported goods. Afghanistan's collapsing economy has had devastating personal impacts, with some unemployed Afghans selling off their household items to buy food.
August 23, 2021
'Just A Mom' In Oklahoma Helped Afghan Girls' Robotics Team Flee The Taliban

Allyson Reneau, a mother of 11 and an expert in U.S. space policy, welcomed the Afghan girls' robotics team when they traveled to the United States in 2019 for a technology conference. In mid-August, as Taliban militants descended on Kabul, Reneau quickly helped the young engineers flee to safety.
July 29, 2021
For Radio Azadi Reporter, Covering Afghan Women's Rights Is Worth The Risks

As Afghanistan faces a resurgence of the Taliban, the hard-won rights of Afghan women hang in the balance. One young female reporter for RFE/RL's Radio Azadi says it's her mission to tell women's stories as they fight to defend their rights.
July 21, 2021
Afghan Medical Device Aims To Solve Oxygen Shortage Amid COVID Surge

With Afghanistan facing a wave of coronavirus infections, oxygen is in short supply at the country's underfunded hospitals. To help meet the demand, faculty and students at Kabul Medical University have built an oxygen-concentrating machine that pulls the vital gas from the air.
July 12, 2021
Taliban Seizes Civilian Homes In Kandahar As Government Forces Fight To Defend City

Fighting between Afghan security forces and Taliban militants broke out in the southern city of Kandahar on July 9, leaving at least 18 people dead and more than 100 wounded. Government troops say the militants have seized homes in residential neighborhoods, forcing civilians to flee.
June 24, 2021
Amid Taliban Offensive, Afghan Civilians Are Taking Up Arms

Taliban militants have seized dozens of districts across Afghanistan as fighting has surged in recent weeks. Civilians in some parts of the country have begun mobilizing into armed militias, vowing to fight alongside troops to keep the Taliban from taking more territory.
May 12, 2021
As Afghan Talks Stall, Former Fighters On Both Sides Hope For Resolution

Talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban have halted in recent weeks as extremists launched a new wave of attacks. But two former combatants say they're still holding out hope for the peace process and an eventual end to the conflict.
April 29, 2021
'An Attack On Free Speech': Colleagues Remember Afghan RFE/RL Journalist Killed In Bombing

RFE/RL correspondent Mohammad Ilyas Dayee was known for his intrepid reporting in Afghanistan's Helmand Province. In November 2020, he was killed by a bomb attached to his car. It was just one of many targeted attacks in the past year that have silenced vital voices in Afghanistan's embattled media.
April 12, 2021
For Pakistani Children In One Poor Neighborhood, A New School Makes All The Difference

Mohammad Khan's family fled Pakistan's Waziristan region during anti-Taliban military operations and endured the hardships of life as displaced people. Determined to help other struggling families, Khan founded his own school in a poor neighborhood for kids with no other access to education.
March 18, 2021
Twenty Years Later, Cultural Scars Remain From Loss Of Giant Afghan Buddhas

In March 2001, Taliban extremists used dynamite and artillery to demolish two towering Buddha statues that had stood in Afghanistan's Bamiyan Province for nearly 1,500 years. Today, the country is still not at peace, and hopes of rebuilding the statues are stymied by prohibitive costs.
March 02, 2021
School Program Offers Signs Of Hope For Afghanistan's Stateless Jogi Minority

Members of Afghanistan's Jogi minority are not counted as citizens, which means they have no rights to receive an education, vote, or own property. But activists in northern Jowzjan Province have succeeded in bringing about a first step toward change: a school for both children and adults.
February 22, 2021
Images Of Children With Mother Wounded In Kabul Attack Prompt Outpouring Of Grief

After a deadly bombing in the Afghan capital on February 21, a video went viral showing two children crying for their wounded mother, who was hospitalized afterward. The video provoked strong emotions and debates over which scenes of violence are too shocking to share. [Warning: Disturbing images]
April 17, 2020
Survivors' Stories: The Trauma Of Severe COVID-19

Some patients with severe cases of COVID-19 recover fully after intensive treatment, but the process is long and harrowing. Survivors describe the nightmare of seeing their skin turn blue, saying goodbye to loved ones, and witnessing others succumb to the disease.
April 07, 2020
Masks For Everyone? More Countries Are Making Them Mandatory

More countries and regions are advising -- or requiring -- all residents to wear face masks in public to protect against the spread of the coronavirus. While fabric masks don't provide full protection, doctors say they can help block transmission from people who don't yet know they're sick.
March 20, 2020
Iranians Turn To Good Deeds In Dark Times

As Iran battles the coronavirus epidemic, people across the country have been working to ease the impact of the crisis. Volunteers are distributing food aid to poor families, sterilizing surfaces in public places, and sewing extra face masks for health workers.
August 29, 2019
Displaced And Desperate, Afghan Kids Search Trash For Food

At the Tagab settlement in Kabul, hundreds of families displaced by conflict and drought live in grinding poverty. The job of bringing home food often falls to the children, who are forced to sift through garbage dumps in search of scraps or anything of value to sell.
October 22, 2018
'Everyone Is Dead': Wedding Bombing Devastated A Pakistani Family

In 2013, a bombing at a market in Peshawar struck a passing wedding party, killing 18 members of one family. One survivor who was seriously injured is now helping to raise 12 children who lost one or both parents in the attack.

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Margot Buff

Produced by Margot Buff

'Dreams Destroyed': Afghan Women Lament Losses After 100 Days Of Taliban Rule

'Our Futures Will Be Ruined': Afghan Girls Fear Denial Of Education Under Taliban

Jobless And Cashless, Afghans Sell Off Possessions To Survive Economic Collapse

'Just A Mom' In Oklahoma Helped Afghan Girls' Robotics Team Flee The Taliban

For Radio Azadi Reporter, Covering Afghan Women's Rights Is Worth The Risks

Afghan Medical Device Aims To Solve Oxygen Shortage Amid COVID Surge

Taliban Seizes Civilian Homes In Kandahar As Government Forces Fight To Defend City

Amid Taliban Offensive, Afghan Civilians Are Taking Up Arms

As Afghan Talks Stall, Former Fighters On Both Sides Hope For Resolution

'An Attack On Free Speech': Colleagues Remember Afghan RFE/RL Journalist Killed In Bombing

For Pakistani Children In One Poor Neighborhood, A New School Makes All The Difference

Twenty Years Later, Cultural Scars Remain From Loss Of Giant Afghan Buddhas

School Program Offers Signs Of Hope For Afghanistan's Stateless Jogi Minority

Images Of Children With Mother Wounded In Kabul Attack Prompt Outpouring Of Grief

Survivors' Stories: The Trauma Of Severe COVID-19

Masks For Everyone? More Countries Are Making Them Mandatory

Iranians Turn To Good Deeds In Dark Times

Displaced And Desperate, Afghan Kids Search Trash For Food

'Everyone Is Dead': Wedding Bombing Devastated A Pakistani Family