There are fewer and fewer stories coming out of the land of my birth(我出生的土地). Before, I would open Instagram and see my cousins, lip-syncing(对口型) to trending(热门的，趋势的) videos, posing(摆姿势) with flowers at a rose garden or at a trendy cafe in their coolest outfits, keeping a record of their lives. I would hear British-Afghan friends talk about their recent trips to the provinces, towns and cities of their foremothers(女性祖先) and the buzz of learning about their heritage(文化遗产). I would eagerly await the latest music video from Afghanistan’s many pop stars, all vying(竞争，争夺) to become the hottest track played at weddings, not just in Afghanistan but all over the world. Afghanistan, its culture, and people felt closer back then.
从我出生的土地上传出的故事越来越少。以前，我会打开Instagram，看到我的表姐妹们对着热门视频对口型，在玫瑰园或时尚咖啡馆里穿着最酷的服装摆姿势拍照，记录她们的生活。我会听到阿富汗裔英国朋友谈论他们最近去祖先故地的省份、城镇和城市的旅行，以及了解自己文化遗产的兴奋感。我会热切期待阿富汗众多流行歌手的最新音乐视频，他们都争着成为婚礼上播放的最热门曲目——不仅在阿富汗，而是在全世界。那时的阿富汗、它的文化和人民，感觉离我更近。
Five years ago today, the brittle peace of the fragile new democracy was shattered by the withdrawal of western military, diplomatic and charitable groups that had intervened in the country’s fate since 2001.(五年前的今天，脆弱的和平与不堪一击的新民主，被自2001年以来干预该国命运的西方军事、外交和慈善团体的撤离所粉碎。) Overnight, on Sunday, 15 August 2021, Afghanistan was undone(被摧毁，被瓦解) and abandoned.
五年前的今天，脆弱的和平、不堪一击的新民主，被自2001年以来干预该国命运的西方军事、外交和慈善团体的撤离所粉碎。一夜之间，在2021年8月15日那个周日，阿富汗被摧毁并被抛弃。
I spent the rest of the month glued to(粘在……上，全神贯注) my phone, monitoring(监控，密切关注) WhatsApp groups sprouting(迅速出现，涌现) every day or so, with people asking for information and help, begging me to get them out of the country because we all knew what was coming, though the rest of the world seemed to lag behind(落后，滞后).
那个月剩下的时间里，我整天盯着手机，关注着几乎每天冒出来的WhatsApp群组，人们在群里寻求信息和帮助，求我把他们弄出国，因为我们都预感到将要发生什么，尽管世界其他地方似乎反应迟缓。