A new book by a veteran international journalist uses the history of Kabul’s Intercontinental Hotel to trace decades of political upheaval in Afghanistan, while highlighting the experiences of ordinary Afghans who lived through successive governments, conflicts and social transformations.

The author argues that Afghanistan’s modern history is marked by repeated cycles of change and uncertainty, yet many Afghans continue to hold on to a belief that no political system is permanent. That sense of resilience, she says, remains one of the defining characteristics of the country despite the challenges facing its people.

“Afghans always used to say: the last to die is hope,” she said during an interview discussing the book. “Afghanistan has possibly lived through every political system the world has tried. The thread through Afghan history is that nothing lasts forever.”

At the centre of the narrative are employees of Kabul’s Intercontinental Hotel, one of the country’s most recognisable landmarks. Through their personal accounts, the book documents how political changes shaped everyday life across generations.

Among those featured are a longtime housekeeper who worked at the hotel from its opening, one of its first female chefs, an engineer responsible for maintaining the property through periods of conflict and instability, and one of the hotel’s pioneering female waiters.

Their experiences provide a perspective on Afghanistan’s recent history that extends beyond political leaders and military campaigns.The author said documenting those stories required the trust and cooperation of Afghans who were willing to speak despite potential risks.

“I have to pay tribute to the Afghans who helped me and spoke to me for the book, because in Afghanistan even sharing stories can have risks,” she said.The journalist began her reporting career as a freelance correspondent in West Africa before joining the BBC and covering conflicts and political developments around the world.

She later became the broadcaster’s chief international correspondent, reporting from some of the most significant geopolitical events of recent decades.Her latest book opens with the collapse of the internationally backed Afghan government in August 2021 and the return of the Taliban to power following the withdrawal of U.S. and allied forces.

The fall of Kabul and the chaotic evacuation that followed form a central part of the narrative.Recalling the scenes at Kabul airport, she described a period marked by fear, confusion and desperation as thousands attempted to leave the country.“There was this fear at the end,” she said.

“People kept talking about Vietnam. In fact, it was a hundred times worse.”She remembered military transport aircraft, helicopters and large crowds carrying only essential belongings as they sought evacuation. Images of Afghans clinging to departing aircraft became some of the most widely circulated photographs of the withdrawal and drew international scrutiny over the manner of the exit.

The events of August 2021 remain among the defining moments of her reporting career and continue to shape international debate over the consequences of two decades of foreign military involvement in Afghanistan.Since regaining power, the Taliban administration has introduced a series of restrictions affecting women and girls.

Secondary education and university access for girls have been suspended, while women have been excluded from many forms of employment and public participation. Additional regulations have imposed strict dress requirements and further limited women’s visibility in public life.The journalist described the situation as one of the most pressing human rights concerns facing Afghanistan today.

“Five years in and it is getting worse. It is a stain on our world,” she said.Despite those restrictions, she said Afghan women continue to demonstrate remarkable resilience and determination in the face of mounting obstacles.She also expressed concern about challenges faced by Afghan women outside the country, particularly those seeking educational opportunities abroad.

While scholarship programmes remain available in some cases, she noted that visa barriers and immigration restrictions have prevented many students from pursuing studies overseas.“There are Afghan women getting scholarships, but there are no visas now to allow Afghan women to come and study in Britain and in many other places,” she said.

According to the author, many Afghans who once held prominent roles in journalism, civil society, education and public service have been forced to rebuild their lives from the beginning after leaving the country.“People who were somebody in Afghanistan — activists, world-class journalists — find themselves having to start again from scratch,” she said.

The displacement of professionals and educated workers has contributed to concerns among international observers about the long-term impact on Afghanistan’s social and economic development.At the same time, the author cautioned against viewing the entire period between 2001 and 2021 solely through the lens of its final outcome.

She argued that the years of international engagement produced significant changes in education, media, civil society and opportunities for women, even if many of those gains are now under pressure.She said debates about whether two decades of foreign involvement achieved meaningful results often overlook the experiences of millions of Afghans whose lives changed during that period.

“People often say: what did 20 years of international engagement achieve? Was it all for nothing?” she said. “I always say it wasn’t for nothing.”Through the story of one hotel and the people who kept it operating across decades of turmoil, the book seeks to document those experiences and preserve the voices of Afghans whose lives intersected with some of the most significant events in the country’s modern history.

“The mainstream media is actually covering the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey a few weeks ago. And the mainstream corporate media has been all over it 24/7.

“When I saw the mainstream media doing the right thing covering this murder, I was excited, I was thrilled and I was like: ‘what exactly is going on here’?” Camp said.

But if that was the case, Camp suggested, “they would have extensively covered the intentional murder of a Palestinian journalist a few months ago in Gaza where they were wearing press across their chest and were still shot by snipers.”

If US mainstream media cared about journalists, he continued, “they would have extensively covered the police shooting of reporter Erin Schrode in Standing Rock where, while on camera, she was intentionally shot with rubber bullets. Or they would have covered the arrests of journalists at the J20 protests or at Occupy Wall Street. They would be standing up for journalist Julian Assange.”

“I’m not saying you can’t find one mainstream story on some of those things I mentioned but none of them got a tiny fraction of the 24/7 Khashoggi treatment,” Camp explained.

Camp says he finally figured out why the media is doing this. It is “because Khashoggi was part of an elite DC crowd. He was a writer for The Washington Post, he was a member of The Club. That is when our media and our government get upset – when you harm the elite. You can shoot, arrest low-level journalists all day long. The corporate media don’t give a sh*t.”

“Only the elite matter,” Camp argued adding that “this goes for more than just murder.”

“Imagine the number of people harmed by the 2008 financial collapse, the number of homes lost… But who went to prison? Only Bernie Madoff… he stole from the rich,” he said.

He also recalled the Martin Shkreli case; he went to jail not for increasing the price of medications “to such a level that very few could afford them… but for lying to investors, for defrauding the rich.”

“This is why no president or higher official goes to jail even after we discover, let’s say, there were never any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq,” he pointed out.

According to Camp, “for the most part the entire system: the courts, the politicians, the media, they know their job is to protect the upper class.”

The reason why we saw US media covering the killing of a journalist is because some Saudis “made the unforgivable mistake of murdering one of the elites”, Camp concluded.