Sarah Chayes is a woman with a cause. After the fighting broke out in Afghanistan after 9-11, she was on the ground covering the war for National Public Radio. But when combat ended, she realized her responsibility didn’t. And so she quit her job as a journalist and returned to Afghanistan as an activist.
She is now working to rebuild the broken country, starting in the small Southern village of Akokolacha. Caught in the crossfire between the Taliban and US forces, the town was half smashed to rubble… and many of the villagers’ homes were destroyed. Now Chayes is working to build new homes there, and along the way encountering warlords, opium growers, and indifference from some in the U.S. government.
Guests:
Sarah Chayes, field director of Afghans for Civil Society
Kathy Gannon, Associated Press Bureau Chief for Afghanistan and Pakistan and current fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations