Split Enz told us History Never Repeats. Devastatingly, the crisis unfolding in Afghanistan tells us it does. The parallels to Australia's involvement in Vietnam are undeniable, and that conflict's aftermath informs us how to deal with the humanitarian crisis that is Taliban rule in modern-day Afghanistan.
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Some of us weren't around for the conflict in Vietnam. But the members of our veteran community who returned from that war know what it's like to fight in a conflict that in the end felt vacuous. Members of the public protested their deployment, the media shunned them and they were ridiculed on their return. It was a trauma so deep many vets would recount it to me even years later.
Twenty years ago, politicians made a decision to enter a war. Our troops had no hand in that decision. They had a job to do, and they did it. When I visited Afghanistan in 2017 as part of a parliamentary immersion program, I was inspired, awed and impressed by the professionalism, dedication and capability of our personnel. We were punching above our weight in so many areas. This is partly what inspired me to participate in SAS Australia.
The conditions in Afghanistan are brutal - snow in the winter, and dry, blistering summers. The topography is something else - stunning and so very beautiful as you fly in. If it weren't for the bomb blast sites carved into the ground, the beauty of the landscape could fool you into believing it was a peaceful place. A mountainous terrain we could dream about skiing on. These are, however, less than ideal conditions to be facing when you have a war to fight.
After Vietnam, Malcolm Fraser granted refugee status to 60,000 Vietnamese people for their protection. One of those refugees used to do my nails at a salon in Penrith. She still bears the boiling-water scars on her hands and mutilated fingers caused by the conflict she fled. Fraser ensured babies were airlifted from harm, providing safety for orphaned children. Those who helped us, including interpreters, were brought to safety.
In 2009, Fraser resigned from the Liberal Party in disgust over their refugee policy.
Fraser's approach honoured one of Australia's proffered motivations for going to war in the first place: to liberate the Vietnamese people and to keep them safe. It also helped build trust in Western militaries.
Since our troops' withdrawal from Afghanistan in July, 900,000 people have been displaced. This is a moment of truth for Australia, and for a government proud of being deliberately cruel to those who seek asylum. We have contributed to a situation in which we know women and girls will be the least safe, and young men and boys will be radicalised into hate-driven, propaganda-filled monsters.
Women who for 20 years have been liberated will be forced into sexual slavery to lure men to join the Taliban. Girls' education will end at age 12 and women will be denied employment, forced to wear the burqa and be accompanied by a male when they leave home.
I cried in Afghanistan when, from the safety of a control room, I watched as bombs were dropped onto targets. I cried watching the breaking news late Sunday night of a bomb of a different nature.
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Today I checked in with some mates who served, who looked after me during my visit. Their mood is patchy. Some are asking: "What was it all for?" Others are thinking of their friends: "I am sad for the Afghan people I worked with and helped."
All I could do was remind them that the time they spent defending the human rights of others was time well spent. We should never diminish that.
If we have learnt anything from Vietnam, it is that our troops didn't decide to go there voluntarily. It was their job to go where they were told. Likewise, it was politicians who sent Australian troops to Afghanistan - and who kept them there, relying on the trust of soldiers that their government was doing the right thing and that their lives were not being risked unnecessarily.
Afghanistan's political history is complex, to say the least, and the geopolitical influences at play can never adequately be summarised. But history has repeated - and we know better this time. Our servicemen and servicewomen did us proud and made a difference while they were there. Their work and sacrifices created stability and gave liberation to those who deserved it.
Now is not the time to turn our backs on them. In fact, now is the time to ensure their sacrifice isn't wasted, by providing the humanitarian response that is needed - one that Malcolm Fraser could finally be proud of.
- Emma Husar was the federal member for Lindsay from 2016 to 2019.
