As the world watches the harrowing images of chaos and fear in Afghanistan following the Taliban return to power after the United States and its allies have left the country, ending the 20-year conflict, N1 spoke on Wednesday to Carmen Gentile, author and journalist who spent time in Afghanistan as a war reporter.

In a book relating his experiences in Afghanistan, Blindsided by the Taliban, Gentile describes a visit to a small Afghan village in September 2010, when a rocket-propelled grenade was launched towards his group. The attack left him blind in one eye and one side of his face shattered.

“I’ve only seen (the footage of the attack) once. That was eleven years ago and it (feels like) yesterday. It plays in a continuous loop in my mind,” Gentile told N1’s Tihomir Ladisic.

During his time in Afghanistan and other conflict zones he covered, Gentile said he always made a point of talking to civilians and lower-ranking soldiers. “It was the regular people, the Afghans, who were suffering and fighting and dying. They had to live that reality every single day.”

Women’s hopes dashed

“Over the last 20 years, women in Afghanistan have seen their lives improve in a lot of ways,” Gentile said. “There’s been a sense of hope among young girls that they can grow up to be doctors, engineers, anything they want to be. Those hopes are being dashed right now.”

“The Taliban say they will respect women’s rights, within the confines of Sharia law. Well we know what the confines of Sharia law are, and we’ve already seen and heard reports of the Taliban… forcing women out of schools, back to wearing burqas, as well as the cruelty they’ve exhibited towards the Afghan soldiers that they’ve been fighting,” Gentile added. “I have friends on the ground right now who are running for their lives.”

‘I am ashamed’

Asked whether he believed the promises of peace and respect for women coming from the Taliban over the last days, Gentile is resolute.

“No, I do not believe them, not for a second. That is not going to be the case,” he said.

“As an American, I’m ashamed. I’m embarrassed, I feel terrible for what we put the world through, for what we put them (the Afghans) through. This is a horrible, horrible moment, I hate to say,” Gentile said.

Watch the full interview below: