But with the departure of the American troops, the whole local economy collapsed.
“Today, I am unemployed. I don’t know much about politics, but the departure of American forces from the base is a big economic loss,” laments Saifulrahman Faizi, one of the 80,000 inhabitants of the town of Bagram which gave its name to the nearby military base.
Located about fifty kilometers from Kabul, the military complex has been the nerve center of the international coalition, serving as an air base for American forces.
This veritable miniature city, frequented by tens of thousands of foreign soldiers, housed a residential area with swimming pools, cinemas, spas, but also a detention center, denounced by Amnesty International for having also been a center of “torture”.
A few weeks before Washington officially ended its military presence in Afghanistan on August 30, 2021, American troops had already discreetly left the scene in the middle of the night.
Today, the military base is occupied by the Taliban, who took control of the country in a lightning offensive during the withdrawal of American forces.
The departure of the United States brought in its wake the collapse of the city’s economy, illustrating how the fate of Afghanistan was linked to war and foreign aid.
Before the troops withdrew, Saifulrahman, then employed at the base, earned $30 a day. At that time, hundreds of people waited for hours outside the compound in the hope of finding work at the military base.
“Now nobody goes there. Everything has collapsed, everyone is struggling to get out of it,” says the 26-year-old.
– “Wanted to know” –
The main market, which housed multiple stalls, is another glaring example of the collapse of the economy: rows of shops and warehouses are now closed, and those that remained open have seen their sales plummet.
Shah Wali, a 46-year-old grocer, used to earn between 20,000 and 30,000 Afghanis (220 to 340 euros). Today, he struggles to pay his rent.
“With the coming to power of the Islamic Emirate (the Taliban), peace returned, but business disappeared,” Wali told AFP, clutching his rosary.
At the height of the American invasion, Bagram was home to tens of thousands of troops and contractors, with the town serving as a hub for the tons of supplies destined for the base.
Built by the Americans for their Afghan ally in the 1950s, in the midst of the Cold War, it was enlarged by the Soviets when they invaded Afghanistan in 1979 to support the communist regime of the time.
After the Red Army withdrew in 1989, the base came under the control of the Moscow-backed Afghan government and then the fragile alliance of mujahideen groups that overthrew it and conquered Kabul in 1992.
Bagram then fell into the hands of the Taliban during the civil war which brought them to power in 1996, from which they were driven out in 2001 by the American invasion after the September 11 attacks.
When the US military withdrew, it took much of its military equipment with it, but tons of civilian equipment remained behind.
For several months, the town managed to prosper thanks to the booming scrap metal trade. But, according to the inhabitants, the activity is also disappearing.
Stores that sold gym equipment, generators, air conditioners and auto parts are closed or receiving few orders.
Several houses are now deserted, their inhabitants having moved to Kabul or elsewhere in search of employment.
Many of those who had worked at the base also fled the country, fearing retaliation from the Taliban. “Half the people have left, the city seems so empty,” says Saifulrahman.