EIGHT weeks since British and US forces pulled out of Afghanistan, the mother of a Gwent soldier who died fighting there says it seems the nation and its people have been "forgotten".
The withdrawal of the Western nations' military, and most of their diplomatic presence, in Afghanistan brought an abrupt and chaotic end to 20 years of fighting and nation-building, and paved the way for the Taliban to sweep into Kabul and reclaim control of the country.
As well as causing international bewilderment and leaving veterans with questions over the war's purpose, the withdrawal has sparked a humanitarian crisis, with thousands of Afghans previously employed by the Western powers desperate to flee the nation, fearful of Taliban reprisals.
Sarah Adams, whose son James Prosser died, aged 21, in Helmand province in 2009, said that for those Afghans – and for the armed forces members and their families whose lives have forever been changed by the war – the nation's plight cannot be forgotten.
She maintains it was "absolutely wrong" for the Western powers to pull the plug on their commitments to the Afghan people, who had taken great strides in creating a more democratic, free and equal society. Under the Taliban, women's rights were wiped out and freedoms of speech and expression were curtailed.
Since the 2001 invasion and the defeat of the Taliban, a generation of Afghans have grown up with hope, but now fear the Taliban will take that all away once again.
"James was told we were going to give the Afghan people a better way of life," Ms Adams said. "That was important to him. In those 20 years we did that, children had an education, women were safer. We did good things there.
"We gave hope for 20 years and then just turned our backs. That future we gave hope to, we've taken away.
"It's absolutely wrong, you can't treat people like that."
In 2009, her son, Private James Prosser, from Cwmbran, was serving with the Royal Welsh in Helmand when his armoured vehicle was targeted in a bomb attack.
Since then Ms Adams has campaigned tirelessly for the soldiers' charity ABF, for whom she is an ambassador; as well as petitioning government to improve the way they support bereaved families.
She has also travelled to Helmand to see first-hand what soldiers experienced in Afghanistan, and to visit the place where her son died.
Last week, communities across the UK observed Remembrance Day, honouring the sacrifices of armed forces members who fought in the world wars and in more recent conflicts, such as the Afghan war. But while the coalition withdrawal was the top story on the news eight weeks ago, little is mentioned of it these days.
All the while, the situation in Afghanistan remains hostile, and the futures of thousands of people who are desperately seeking safe passage to the UK are up in the air.
More than 4,000 days have now passed since James' death, and Ms Adams said that "just to have a bit of recognition, that the loss of James helped build a nation's future, would help".
"Now I'm scared for what's going to come on the news about Afghanistan," she said. "I get Facebook messages from people asking for help – it's absolutely heartbreaking.
Soon, Ms Adams hopes to meet with British defence secretary Ben Wallace, and plans to ask him what the government is doing to help those people left behind when the troops left Kabul. She will also seek assurances around the government's treatment of bereaved families, whom she says are all too often left out of the loop when it comes to commemorations and support.
Some of the Afghans who are most at risk of Taliban reprisals are people who worked as interpreters during the war, providing a vital communications link between the British forces and the local people.
Last week, Newport East MP Jessica Morden pressed the government for an update on efforts to relocate interpreters, and their families, to the UK.
"Afghan interpreters who previously settled in Newport East are still waiting to be reunited with their families who have been stuck in bridging hotels waiting for biometric resident permits for some months now," she said. "What are defence ministers doing to impress upon Home Office ministers the need to sort this out?"
In response, a government minister said there were regular meetings about the progress of the relocation efforts.
Back in Gwent, Ms Adams said she hoped the sacrifices made in Afghanistan, where 457 British soldiers died, would not be in vain.
"It seems like Afghanistan is being forgotten now," she said.
"I'd like the public to think that we can't just leave a nation. It breaks me. I'd like to think the public won't allow it just to go away.
"The war isn't over for me, or all the people who came back injured, or for those families who lost somebody."
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