San Diego Unified schools are back in session

S1: San Diego Unified is back in session and masks are optional.

S2: Kids bring it home to unvaccinated family members and can be prevented if they're wearing a mask indoors.

S1: I'm Maureen CAVANAUGH with MJ Perez. This is KPBS Midday Edition. An NFL player is released from his team , the latest in the ongoing SDSU rape allegations.

S3: SDSU could have just launched the investigation as soon as they knew about the alleged rape.

S1: We'll hear about the importance of COVID vaccinations for kids going back to school and the effect of war on the people of Afghanistan. It's explored in the new book Most Dangerous , Most Unmerciful. That's ahead on Midday Edition. It's back to school today for students at California's second largest school district. San Diego Unified District Schools opened their doors , welcoming students for what may be the most normal school year since the pandemic struck two years ago. There are no district wide mask mandates. Weekly COVID testing is voluntary , and most of the district's students have chosen to leave remote learning behind and go back to class.

UU: I'm not going to.

S1: There was an opening day ceremony this morning at the Logan Memorial Educational Campus featuring Logan Heights First Neighborhood High School. KPBS education reporter and midday co-host MJ Perez was there and he joins us now. And welcome , MJ.

S4: Hello , Maureen.

S1: So what did this opening celebration look like ? Kids excited.

S4: It was quite the extravaganza , to be honest. It started with a press conference with Dr. Lamont Jackson , the superintendent , who kind of set the tone and talked about mental health for students , general health and safety for students. And he set the tone of excitement for a new school and also a new school year. Now , this facility that we're talking about , Lemack , for short , has kingdom pre-K all the way up to high school. So theoretically , a student in the neighborhood could start the school at four years old and go all the way until they graduate in the 12th grade.

S1: Now , I'm going to ask you a little bit more about this campus , because it's really beautiful and it's exciting to look at.

S4: There were a few students that I saw wearing masks , but all of the activities were outdoors. So we have to factor that into the equation. And that's really what they're going to start to do , holding a lot more outdoor activities so that it is a safer environment to be at school.

S1:

S4: Dr. Terrace is the district physician who has kind of taken the lead on COVID and COVID precautions and protections. And he said that there are no mask mandates , but it's still a good idea to wear a mask.

S2: It's still a very good preventative measure. There is still , as we all know , some COVID in the community and kids bringing it home to aging parents or unvaccinated family members can be prevented if they're wearing a mask indoors.

S1: Now let's get back to this newly built campus , Logan Memorial Educational Campus. I know that you spoke with some of the high schoolers going to this new campus. Tell us about that.

S4: Well , I want to introduce you to a 14 year old young lady. Her name is Amani Fulton. She is a freshman as of today in the new high school and will be part of the first graduating class in four years. She is also a performer. She's an actress , and she's very confident about what she plans to do at her new high school , including starting a brand new drama club.

S1: You know , the musicals.

S5: More into the Hispanic aspect in it because I'm Hispanic myself.

S4:

S5: And then at the end of the day , Broadway and New York City.

S1: Big dreams for a new school year. Absolutely.

S4: Absolutely. And she's a great representation of students who are so excited to have such a beautiful campus to learn in now. It's really a benefit for the community as well , which has suffered through hard times , through COVID , economically , and all that comes with it.

S1:

S4: But to keep it simple. Everybody starts at 830. So the new California state law said that middle schools couldn't start before 8 a.m. and high schools before 830. So to keep it uniform , since we have basically three groups of students , everybody starts at 830. They were lined up and ready , parents dropping off their kids , parents walking their kids into the campus. Today , amongst the pomp and circumstance and just excitement.

S1: Our schools preparing in any way , I wonder for a potential new COVID wave in the fall.

S4: We talked to the head of nursing and she told us that , yes , they are prepared. They are prepared in the sense that they have free testing. They're encouraging masks. But if something does happen , they will go into a protocol that basically says if there's an outbreak in a school , then restrictions or protections would be added just to that school. If there's an outbreak in a particular campus , then they will handle that campus individually. Okay.

S1: Okay. So what are the hopes for this school year ? As you can understand it ? M.J..

S4: Dr. Jackson told us that belonging and equity are his main two themes. And what he means by that is everyone is welcomed. Every student is welcome to express themselves just as they are and to receive the education that they deserve. The equity is something that has come up in the world , in society in the last couple of years. And there are programs in place and mentorship with teachers and coaches. We're specifically encouraging students to be who they are and to excel at their natural talents.

S1: I've been speaking with KPBS education reporter and midday co-host M.G. Perez. M.G. Thank you.

S4: You're welcome. Three former SDSU football players have been named in a civil lawsuit , accusing them of raping a 17 year old girl during an off campus party in October. One of the former players , SDSU star punter Matt Arisa , was released by his current NFL team , the Buffalo Bills , on Saturday amid the allegations. Joining us now with more details is KPBS North County multimedia producer Alexander Wen. Alex , welcome.

S3: Thanks for having. Me.

S4: Me. Alex , I understand the SDSU football head coach is holding a press conference right now.

S3: That's correct. Along with the athletic directors and some football players. But we don't know whether they'll touch upon this issue or not. We're still just sitting here waiting to find out what , if anything , will come out of this regarding the case.

S4: Let's talk about the case.

S3: There she met with what was now named as Matt Arisa. He gave her a drink and then he had sex with her in the backyard , then brought her back inside a house where she said there was three other men there. And then he threw her onto the bed and then they raped her.

S4: We know that San Diego police concluded their investigation of this case earlier this month before handing it off to the district attorney.

S3: And they've gotten a lot of flak for delaying this long into the investigation , its own investigation. People are asking , well , you know , Title nine investigation and the criminal investigation are two different types of investigations. SDSU could have just launched the investigation as soon as they knew about the alleged rape. SDSU , for its part , say that it was asked by the San Diego PD not to do anything so that they can do their own investigation and protect the integrity of that investigation.

S4: Alex , as we mentioned , the Buffalo Bills released a riser on Saturday.

S3: That is when the L.A. Times story dropped and didn't go into much details about it. So when the lawsuit dropped Thursday , a lot of details came out , such as him having sexual transmitted diseases and telling her to get herself tested and also admitting to what happened onto that. So they have a lot more details as to the alleged incident. So I think that may have played into the reason why they dropped him.

S4: Alex , you spoke with the alleged victim. The woman is now 18 years old , the one at the center of this case.

S3: But she did say that it was a very violent attack. She says that , you know , her piercing , her ear piercing , her bellybutton piercing , were ripped out , her clothes were bloody. She remembers , you know , being repeatedly raped. And it's very graphic details of what she still remembers. So it lends a lot of credence to what she's been saying.

S4: Has there been any official statement made by the accused former SDSU players or their attorneys ? Yes.

S3: Matt Arisa made a statement to ESPN saying that the facts of the incidents are not what they portrayed in the lawsuit or in the press. I look forward to quickly setting the record straight. And his two other teammates released statements through their attorneys proclaiming their innocence as well.

S4: Legal experts have said that the strategy behind this civil suit is unusual.

S3: This time the civil suit is filed beforehand. And that legal expert told me that it is rare that it happens , but it happens for a variety of reasons , one of which is that , you know , the attorney for the accused I'm sorry , the attorney for the woman is very aggressive. That's Dan Gillies. And he is trying to push the attorney , the district attorney into filing charges and also trying to give a lot of public pressure so that the case will be prosecuted. So that's one of the strategy behind that filing , that lawsuit.

S4: We will wait to see what happens at today's press conference.

S3: Now , there's two ways that she could do it. Whether it is a straight criminal complaint , filing the actual criminal charges , or she can send this to the grand jury and the grand jury can indict the three players named in the lawsuit. And part of the reason why she might send it to the grand jury is that the grand jury meeting is secret , so that the victim in this case won't have to go through a hearing to stake their defense , their case at the event so that , you know , going on to being cross-examined by the opposing attorneys before the charges are officially filed. So that's might be a way that she could do that by sending it to the grand jury so that it saves the victim in this case from having to retell the story again and again.

S4: I've been speaking with KPBS. North County multimedia producer Alexander Wynn. Alex , thank you.

S3: Well , thanks for having me.

S4: I'm M.G. Perez with Maureen CAVANAUGH. And you're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. This fall , thousands of young new students are attending school for the first time. California's transitional kindergarten program for all is now rolling out. That means four year olds are learning at campuses across the county this semester. And turns out most of them have not been vaccinated against the COVID 19 virus. Even with plenty of vaccine available , the latest data from the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency shows only 9% of children between six months and four years old have been vaccinated and just 47% of kids , 5 to 11. Joining us now with more on this is Dr. Mark Sawyer , infectious disease specialist at Rady Children's Hospital and a professor of clinical pediatrics at UC San Diego. Dr. Sawyer , welcome back to midday.

S6: Great to join you.

S4: You are part of the FDA vaccine advisory committee that has worked on this issue over the past couple of years. What are your thoughts on the low numbers of those children who have been vaccinated is discouraging.

S6: You know , we have been very careful to look carefully at the safety data and the effectiveness data and the risk of COVID in children. And when you go through that , you come to the conclusion that the best decision parents can make is to vaccinate their children. But there are many , many parents who still have questions , and that's reflected in these low vaccination rates. So I would encourage parents who do still have questions to reach out to their pediatrician or family physician and talk to them about the issues around these vaccines.

S4: I want to ask you about the idea of herd immunity.

S6: So you can be vaccinated , get the infection and still spread it to somebody else. So the best way to think about this is this is for your personal protection , protection of your children. And , you know , someday we may get to herd immunity , but that's not really on the table right now.

S4: None of the local school districts have mask mandates this fall.

S6: And , you know , children need to be aware of the risk and taught by their parents how to minimize risk from any infection. And that's why should good washing and avoid sharing water bottles and other things like that to to minimize the contact. In the case of COVID , you know , schools are likely to see some cases that occur as a result of exposure in school. But the good news is lots of kids have already had the infection. A subset are immunized , as we've already talked about. So hopefully we'll be able to control things this fall as schools reopen.

S4:

S6: There's a new set of vaccines that are going to start rolling out next month and eventually those will be used in children and those are likely to be more effective at creating the herd immunity that we're hoping to get to some.

S4: Of those parents who have had their youngest children vaccinated. Some have expressed concerns about the newness , if you will , of these vaccines.

S6: Certainly at this stage of the rollout of the campaign , you know , literally millions of children have already received the COVID vaccine , if you look around the world. Billions , billions of people have received these vaccines , adults and children. And although there are some very rare serious side effects , we know exactly what they are. So parents can be reassured that the vaccines are not new anymore. We know what we're dealing with. And that and when in despite the rare but potential side effects , we pediatricians are 100% in favor of recommending the vaccine for children.

S4: You have mentioned the side effects.

S6: I think what has parents wondering about these vaccines are that what they hear about in terms of more serious side effects , the only common one of those is myocarditis , and that's extremely rare. We're talking 30 or 40 cases per million doses , and in the youngest age group , it's less common than it is in adolescents. So again , the FDA , the CDC , the American Academy of Pediatrics have all looked at the risk and the benefit of vaccine and unanimously come down in favor of vaccinating kids.

S4: You have young grandchildren. You've told us that you were encouraging your kids to vaccinate them.

S6: In fact , my two two of my grandkids just got their second dose this last week.

S4: And how does Grandpa feel about that ? Excellent.

S6: And they had no problem with the vaccine. And now I'm a little bit more comfortable when they start preschool this year.

S4:

S6: There are very few pediatric cases of monkey pox. Is this mostly confined to adult populations ? It's not that children can't get the infection , but they're just not being exposed. And schools will be monitoring. Public health department will be monitoring for any suggestion that the rate in children is increasing , but I'm not expecting that to happen.

S4:

S6: Keep your kids home when they're sick. In the case of COVID , test them if they're sick to make sure you're not sending somebody to school with COVID and get the vaccine. If you have questions about the vaccine , talk to your your children's physician and get your questions answered.

S4: I have been speaking with Dr. Mark Sawyer , infectious disease specialist at Rady Children's Hospital and professor of clinical pediatrics at UC San Diego. Thank you , Dr. Sawyer.

S6: Thank you.

S1: Every kid is guaranteed a spot in their local public school , but the same doesn't go for spots and afterschool programs. KPBS investigative reporter Claire TRAGESER says this is becoming a big problem as California embarks on a massive expansion of transitional kindergarten classes.

S5: On a hot Sunday afternoon , Sara La Pietra and her husband Vince follow their four year old son Teddy around a playground in Balboa Park. Tell me a message. Well , I don't know. This is a relaxing day , but there's a lot of uncertainty in Teddy's future. The law Pietro's learned in June that he got a spot in their local schools transitional kindergarten or tech class. They felt like they'd won the lottery. They could stop paying $2,000 a month for his preschool. And the speech therapy and occupational therapy Teddy receives would be on site at the school. Unfortunately , the lottery ticket turned out to be a dud. We found out , you know , everybody had signed up for the after school care months and months ago , which we would never have known to do because they didn't even have a boutique classroom at that point. While Teddy had a spot in tech , he didn't get a spot in after school care. That meant the Petra's would have to pick him up at 2 p.m. every day and noon on Wednesdays. Impossible given their work schedules. I just feel like we've been tearing our hair out for three months trying to figure out what to do , and it just seems like there's no solution. And so I really do think unless something magic comes along , we're going to have to keep them in preschool. Parents here and throughout California are in similar predicaments. Starting this school year , California expanded the number of kids eligible for tech with the goal of providing tech to all four year olds by 2025. But the program is missing a crucial piece afterschool care.

S1: We also know that working parents were really looking forward to being able to enroll their children in a 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. day.

S5: Nancy Gannon Hornberger is CEO of SAY San Diego , which provides aftercare and many local schools. She says staffing shortages and licensing delays mean , say , San Diego is limited in how many students it can serve. It's frustrating.

S1: I know , for parents who are counting on that longer day of care and we're here to help them navigate to. Preschool.

S5: Preschool.

S1: Or some other form of care.

S5: For their for their teenagers. The San Diego Unified School District has more than doubled the number of tech classes this year , and the wait lists after cares have shot up to across all programs run by , say , San Diego. There are more than 2000 kids on waitlists , almost twice as many as last year. It's incredibly frustrating. It's making us crazy for the last since the idea ever came out. Kim McDougal runs child care for the San Diego YMCA. She says after the state announced tech expansion , the YMCA looked at whether they could get licenses to care for younger kids at their afterschool program sites. We would have to do all kinds of facilities , renovation. We would have done child sized toilets. We would have to have age appropriate playground. It would be really close to impossible for us to even do. Democratic Assemblymember Kevin McCarthy authored the T.K. Expansion Law. One of.

S3: The biggest things lacking that that's the thing we need to start make sure we completed was having. Universal.

S7: Universal.

S3: pre-K for all four year olds to show up at kindergarten and kindergarten. Ready.

S5: Ready. One San Diego school district has taken matters into its own hands. Cajon Valley Union in East County is providing free afterschool care for all students. Superintendent David Mesirow says it started during COVID and he plans to continue it as long as possible.

S3: Pending some type of fiscal cliff in California where we have to go into a cutting situation. We're planning to provide this for years to come.

S6: You're doing it. They're doing it. You're doing it.

S5: Meanwhile , the law pietro's had heard that Teddy might get into an after care class run by the YMCA , but they're still waiting to find out.

S1: Joining me is KPBS investigative reporter Claire TRAGESER. Claire , welcome.

S5: Thank you.

S1: You say the lab patrons were thrilled when their son got a spot in transitional kindergarten.

S5: But schools are sort of slowly ramping up to be able to provide this for all four year olds by 2025. And so this year , a lot of elementary schools were opening maybe one classroom. And so then , depending on how many kids there are in the neighborhood who would qualify , not every kid would get a spot this year.

S1: Can you remind us why schools in California are offering transitional kindergarten ? What are the benefits ? Sure.

S5: So Assemblyman McCarty , who was the one who authored the the law that paves the way for this program , talked a lot about just helping to prepare kids for kindergarten and especially a lot of lower income disadvantaged students and English language learners. He says , you know , really need need that help to be able to be ready when when kindergarten starts. So maybe not the kids who have been in preschool already , but who have been in different care or or just at home. And so the goal is to to make sure that all four year olds have , you know , more preparation , more time to be ready to start kindergarten when they turn five.

S1: Why did some parents think transitional kindergarten would take care of kids all day ? I mean , most elementary school classes end in the middle of the day.

S5: That's right. I don't think any parents were thinking that would go all day. It's that they thought that they would be able to get into an aftercare program at the end of the school day. So in San Diego , all of the aftercare is provided by these outside companies , nonprofits who operate at the school. And in years past , you know , maybe it's been a little bit hard to get in if you wait way too long to to apply to get into aftercare , you might not get a spot. But this year , I'm hearing from people who , you know , applied at 6 a.m. the day that it opened and they still didn't get in. And then other people like the La Petra , as I mentioned , didn't even find out that they would get to go to take a until way later. And by that time , all of the aftercare spots were already full.

S1: And what our schools doing to help parents out of this dilemma.

S5: I'm not sure that they are doing anything. It depends on the school. I think some principals are trying to work with , you know , maybe the YMCA or other aftercare providers to to open up more classes. But otherwise , you know , I think it's a situation where the schools aren't aren't necessarily involved. And so the parents are left trying to piece together some kind of aftercare solution , like I've heard of people hiring college students to go pick up their kids at school and bring them to a park or , you know , nanny share situations. There are some home daycares that actually , like , drive a van and go and pick up kids at the school and bring them to the home daycare. So all different situations that parents are left to kind of figure out and coordinate.

S1: So the local preschools are in some way trying to fill the gap in for the kids who get released from T.K. in the middle of the day.

S5: Some of them are , yeah. I mean , home daycares. There are a lot of home daycares that provide after school care. And so they will you know , they're either located really close to a school , so they'll walk over and pick up kids or like I said , they have a van and they'll bring kids to the home and , you know , do activities or help with homework , things like that. But the more , you know , larger licensed preschools aren't really in the mix for providing this after school care because their model is set on having kids there all day. And so I don't know if in the future they would be able to , you know , get new licenses or change their license so that they could provide care from , you know , two until six on Monday , Tuesday , Thursday , Friday and noon till six on Wednesday , because school gets out at noon on Wednesday for a lot of schools. But that's not something that they're doing right now.

S1: You know , looking at it from the viewpoint of these very young children would really be a good idea to have a four year old in a school environment from , let's say , 6 a.m. to 6 p.m..

S5: I mean , I don't think there are probably a few parents where that really is a necessity that they they need that level of care. But most parents aren't really looking for 12 hours of care. You know , say elementary school starts at 730 , 745 , and then it gets out at two and then noon on Wednesdays , like I said. So for a working parent , they probably need , you know , a few extra hours , two or three extra hours of care so that they can they can go to work. So they're not really meeting that full day. It's just more than the 2 p.m. and noon on Wednesdays that the schools cover.

S1:

S5: These are specific types of teachers who are going to need to teach transitional kindergarten , which , you know , some schools have had in the past , but not not really on this scale. And so , yeah , it's it's it is putting a lot of pressure and it's a big challenge that they , you know , have just a few years to really sort out.

S1: I have been speaking with KPBS investigative reporter Claire TRAGESER. Claire , thank you very much.

S5: Thank you.

S4: I'm M.G. Perez with Maureen CAVANAUGH. And this is KPBS Midday Edition. A year ago , 13 service members , mainly from Camp Pendleton , died , along with more than 100 Afghans when a bomb exploded at the Kabul airport. New details emerged about how the Marines took it on themselves to rescue a group of young female Afghan skateboarders. KPBS military reporter Steve Walsh has the story. It's a short.

S6: It's August 20 , 21. Hundreds of Afghans crowd the Abbey Gate at the airport in Kabul , desperate for a way to get out as the Taliban takes over the city. The Afghans are forced into a canal as they press to get inside. It smells of desperation , right ? The whole scene. You know , it's dirty sewage run off and it's just filthy and they're just trying to get out. Green Captain Andre Rodriguez is part of security at the gate. Scores of Marines have been rushed from Jordan just days before the Americans were scheduled to leave Afghanistan after 20 years. Back in , the U.S. , Marine vet Jeff Phaneuf is getting calls and texts from Rodriguez and other marines. He knows that navigate asking his help locating paperwork for people outside the airport. Fan of tweets , his advice for getting into the airport and then his phone starts to ring.

S3: Found myself having to ask again and again those Marines , hey , can you can you go out into the crowd and try and find so-and-so ? I was feeling requests from everyone , from , you know , local Afghans whose husband or wife was trying to get through the crowd to colonels at the Pentagon who somehow got my phone number.

S5: I was like crying , texting , begging.

S1: The girls to stay at the gate. That I would we would figure it out. We would get them through.

S6: Corey Shephard Stern is a film producer from San Diego. In the days before the bombing , a year ago , she began searching how to get a group of Afghans out who had been educating young girls there using skateboarding.

S1: It's safe here for girls to learn.

S6: The women gained global fame after being featured in the Oscar winning short film about skater Stan Sheppard. Stern wasn't involved in that film , but the group reached out to her. Many of the Afghan organizers felt that it was time for their families to leave , including Zeinab Hussaini , who now lives in the United States.

S1: When I was at work.

S5: I heard the Taliban.

S1: Enter to the city.

S5: And everything was just changed and me and my husband.

S1: Decided to leave.

S6: The country. Hussein , he is speaking publicly for the first time about their experience. Then she made it through the airport gate once , but was turned back when there was no room on an Australian flight. The next day she took a red umbrella , a signal for the Marines to spot her in the crowd.

S1: Whoever entered into the airport was safe.

S5: It was under the control of the US government and it was like guaranteeing your life.

S6: Back in the U.S.. Corey Shephard , Stern and Jeff Hannah for celebrating getting one last group through the airport. When news came that 13 troops and more than 100 Afghans died in an explosion outside the airport , and then when.

S1: The bomb went off at Abby gate.

S5: And just this terrible , you could feel this like empty echoing canyon , a void , just like everyone , terrified about what it meant for the.

S1: People that had just helped us do this incredible thing.

S6: That evening , Alicia Lopez , the mother of Corporal Hunter Lopez , was coming back to their home in Indio , California , when she saw two Marines in a white truck.

S1: Pull into my driveway and they asked me if I was good. Well.

S6: It's hard to see now , but originally under here were a bunch of letters.

S7: That we had set aside from Country. One.

S6: One. Herman and Alicia Lopez's home has become a shrine to their 22 year old son , Hunter , who was killed in the bombing. They're still trying to understand what happened to their son that day. Hunter and his brothers and his brothers and sisters were able to , you know , do great acts.

S7: In their last few minutes on this earth. But , you know.

S6: You , of course , wished that they were here with you. Strangers sent artwork , including a painting of hunter carrying a child made from pictures they found on Hunter's social media. Hunter told them some of what he saw. I know he understood the seriousness of what was going on.

S7: The despair and in the hearts and the minds of a lot of the people that were trying to get out and get their families out.

S1: The desperation of the parents. Yeah.

S6: We're just now finding out more about the final moments , which a year later gives them some comfort and solace. Steve Walsh , KPBS News. Oh.

S1: For 20 years , America fought battles in Afghanistan. But they also fought for the hearts and minds of the Afghan people. With mixed results. JAY Malcolm Garcia is a journalist from San Diego who spent time in Afghanistan getting to know some of the people in the country and what they thought about their lives and the war surrounding them. JAY Malcolm Garcia's book is called Most Dangerous , Most Unmerciful Stories from Afghanistan. And Malcolm , welcome to Midday Edition.

S7: Thank you very much.

S1: These stories cover a span of about ten years of your experiences in Afghanistan.

S7: I went for about four months and then the star sent me back about two more times. And then I left the star and began freelancing and my work would always take me back to Afghanistan. And I began doing pretty much every every year up through 2017.

S1: Now , the first essay in the collection , Most Dangerous , Most Unmerciful , introduces us to how you got on with everyday people in Afghanistan , and it seems you were accepted with courtesy. Would you say that's a trait of the Afghan people ? Absolutely.

S7: They were incredibly friendly and very welcoming up until my my last trip. They were always , you know , concern for for people who weren't from their country. Always , always being polite. They spoke their mind. They expressed concerns about the United States , about particularly about its withdrawal. But they couldn't have been kinder.

S1:

S7: And the country has been and has had a turbulent history. And most recently , it's been at war for almost 50 years. And that is how he described the country as most dangerous and most unmerciful , that it doesn't it doesn't give any leeway.

S1: You tell the stories of people who tried to carry on with their lives amid the backdrop of war. In the essay Mothers House. It's the story of addiction care worker Leyla Haidari.

S7: So her work run , in a sense , a program , a 30 day program for Afghans who were addicts attracted my my attention. And she got into that work because her brother had been an addict. And so she was determined to try to address the issue in Afghanistan. And I started her own program , and many of the people who entered her program were Afghan veterans who had seen horrible things in the war. And they turned to drugs to to help get over what they had seen. And that certainly reminded me of stories of U.S. veterans who had experienced post-traumatic stress disorder and sometimes turn to drugs or alcohol. So I saw a connection between her work and also US soldiers that I found interesting.

S1: You know , speaking of connections , Malcolm , this essay collection is the latest in a series of books you've written , telling the stories of ordinary people who get caught up in war and conflict. One of your previous books profiled people caught up in the unrest in Central America and Mexico.

S7: I suppose the common theme is that people really just they just want to get on with their lives. And there are these forces that are much bigger than them that are just bearing down on them. And they become , you know , as we often say , the collateral damage of these conflicts that they really want no part of. They really just want to do their live their life and get on with their life. And that's been a common theme in many of the stories that I've done.

S1: Many of the people you write about in Most Dangerous , Most Unmerciful , I imagine , aren't safe with the Taliban back in power.

S7: Other people I haven't heard heard from , which obviously I find very distressing. Layla , I didn't hear from for a long time and I recently heard from her and her program has been shut down by the Taliban. And now she's working with women , doing crafts and things that they can do to to try to earn money now that they all but can't work under the current regime.

S1: You know ? Throughout the book. There is a lot of tea drinking in these stories.

S7: So they always give you a green tea and then there's always something to eat , some nuts or crackers like that. And you can't get started on an interview until these little formalities are met. They take it. They take it very seriously. So it's really just part of the culture of welcoming people and making sure you're being taken care of , making sure you feel welcome. And then we can get on with the business of your visit.

S1:

S7: I got a little tired of green tea , although I certainly appreciated the hospitality.

S1:

S7: You know , before the withdrawal , it seemed that the only time we heard about it was when a bomb went off. And we only heard about that if , you know , vast number of people were were killed. I'd like people to see it as real , three dimensional people who have suffered a great deal and who should not be forgotten by by the United States.

S1: I've been speaking with Jay Malcolm Garcia. His new book is called Most Dangerous , Most Unmerciful Stories from Afghanistan. And Malcolm , thank you for speaking with us.

S7: Thank you. I appreciate it.