WEBVTT

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NICK SCHIFRIN: For months,
American diplomats have
been negotiating with
the Taliban leaders

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to find a way to end
the war in Afghanistan.

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American officials were hoping
the Taliban would announce this
week a suspension of fighting.

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But the details of such an
agreement, how long would it
last, how much area would it

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cover, remain to be worked out.

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Meanwhile, the U.S.' longest
war grinds on with attacks
every day by both the U.S. and

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the Taliban.

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What is life like for
Afghans who live in territory
controlled by the Taliban?

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Special correspondent Jane
Ferguson traveled to Wardak
province for a rare look at life

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behind Taliban lines.

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JANE FERGUSON: Efforts to end
America's longest war are once
again ramping up. This time,

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the U.S. is pushing for a
cease-fire before signing
a deal with the Taliban.

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That crucial gesture could be
agreed to at any moment. In
Taliban-controlled areas like

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this, a cease-fire, however
long it lasts, could
change the lives of many.

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Little Agha Waheed tells
me his favorite subjects.
He doesn't know his age,
but he knows he loves

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school. Nearly half the
population of Afghanistan
is under 15 years old,
and as long as the

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war continues, this will be the
next generation of fighters.

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Excited shouts fill the air,
as dozens of little boys arrive
for class. It's late afternoon,

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but there are so many children
living in this area and so few
schools, they learn in shifts.

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These kids have only ever
known a life in wartime. Their
home in Wardak province is

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just 30 miles outside the
capital, Kabul, but it's firmly
in Taliban control. Fighters

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living among them are
a normal part of life.

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A real peace deal in Afghanistan
would give these boys a chance
at living peaceful lives.

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While the Taliban rules this
region with the gun, money for
the very few public services

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still comes from Kabul.

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Schools in Taliban areas
are still technically
state schools. They are
funded by the government,

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and the people who work
in them are technically
government workers. It's
simply that the areas

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around them and the communities
that these kids come from
are dominated by the Taliban.

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This is one of the most violent
parts of the country. I traveled
here to Wardak province,

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sneaking through Afghan army
checkpoints dressed as a local
Afghan woman, to see what life

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is like for people living
under the Taliban and
close to the fighting.

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The insurgent group agreed
to allow us this rare access,
yet they keep a watchful eye

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and escort us everywhere.

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MUJIB RAHMAN, Teacher (through
translator): Sometimes, the
boys join the Taliban because

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of what they go through in the
situation here. It affects them
inside, when their relatives

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were killed.

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JANE FERGUSON: Mujib Rahman is
a teacher here. He says life
on the front line of this war

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has taken a terrible toll on
the children. It's the kind
of stress even an adult would

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struggle with.

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But despite all the
hardship, these boys
dream of a better life.

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MUJIB RAHMAN (through
translator): I am hopeful
that, in the future,
they will have access

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to more education and they
will get to go to college.

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JANE FERGUSON: People in these
areas are surviving between
two violent sides in this war.

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His colleague, Esmatullah Omari,
told us that, when government
soldiers come to raid nearby

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villages, they enter the
school and use it as a base.

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ESMATULLAH OMARI, Teacher
(through translator):
Whenever the security
forces come, they break

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the doors and come in here
and take our notebooks
and stationary. Can
you tell the security

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forces not to come
to our school?

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JANE FERGUSON: There are no
girls at this school, and one
person, who asked not to be

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named, told us the Taliban
banned girls from attending.

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We asked the commander in
the area about Taliban policy
on schooling for girls.

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MAN (through translator): We
have education for girls and
boys in separate schools. We

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have created an educational
atmosphere for them in our
areas. They are enjoying their

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education.

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JANE FERGUSON: Yet, despite his
assurances, in a nearby village,
we found one small religious

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school with only three
little girls inside.
They were terrified when
they saw the Taliban

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gunmen with us.

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Getting an education
can sometimes seem like
a luxury for an entire
generation of children

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just trying to survive this
war. The United Nations says
this is the most deadly war in

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the world today and, in a
report released earlier this
month, said nine children are

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killed or maimed every day.

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It's an increase over previous
years, mainly due to suicide
bombings by the Taliban and

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fighting between the group and
Afghan and American forces.

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Taliban land mines blow
up civilians travelling
by road, and American
airstrikes also claim

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many lives here. This area is
constantly under surveillance,
being watched from the sky.

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We are not going to stay very
much longer where we are,
because we have attracted a

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bit of a crowd of people. The
-- and we can hear surveillance,
some sort of surveillance

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aircraft above us.

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We soon spotted several
helicopters flying overhead.

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A peace deal has the
potential to change everything
for these people, but
would only be the first

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step in a long, difficult
road to a lasting
peace in Afghanistan.

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The next step, getting the
Taliban to agree to share power
and put down their weapons,

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will be harder than announcing
the pullout of American troops.

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These Taliban commanders foresee
no compromise on the horizon.

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MAN (through translator):
Our struggle will continue
until either America
ends its occupation

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of Afghanistan or judgment day.

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JANE FERGUSON: If the Americans
leave, and there is peace in
Afghanistan, would you still

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consider them your enemy?

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MAN (through translator): Yes,
of course. The infidels are
our enemy until the day of

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judgment. We will
continue to fight them.

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JANE FERGUSON: Navigating
an end to this war
is among America's
greatest foreign policy

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challenges today.

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For children like Agha, it would
mean a chance at a different
life, a life the generation

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before him has only dreamed of.

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For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Jane
Ferguson in Wardak, Afghanistan.