Pashtunwali...according to wikipedia:
non-written ethical code and traditional lifestyle which the indigenious Pashtun people follow. It is a system of law and governance that began during the prehistoric times and is preserved and still in use today, but mostly in the rural tribal areas.
There is a story of an Afghan soldier who had killed the son of this family from a village. The soldier, having been wounded in the melee, asked the family to take care of him. Under Pashtunwali beliefs, you cannot turn down a request to assist someone in need. Guests are treated with MORE respect than family members. Keep in mind, this is a soldier that murdered their son.
Days turn to months. Months turned to years. Then a decade past. All the while the family housed and supported this soldier.
One day, the soldier decided he would like to return to his own family. They said their goodbyes. Then he took a step out of the front door, and he was instantly killed by the family members.
Ten years, living with that resentment of having to deal with the man who killed their son, all under the same roof. And one thing that kept civility between them was a "non-written ethical code and traditional lifestyle..." These aren't people you negotiate with. Nor reason with. Nor attempted to alter in any way. This is deep tribal Afghan shit we will never understand.
These are the people the Taliban are made of.
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