On August 19, 1991, Russians awoke to looping videos of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake on Soviet state TV — a sure sign something seismic was up.

There have been more protests in parts of Afghanistan against Taliban rule. The militant group is already having challenges governing. With a humanitarian crisis brewing, thousands are trying to flee.

NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Steven Butler of the Committee to Protect Journalists about his organization's efforts to help evacuate Afghan journalists.

Afghanistan deserved better, says New Yorker staff writer Steve Coll. "We're a democracy," he says. "We decided to go over there and do this — and look what we've got."

"There's nothing more eerie than walking into a half-destroyed building and seeing yesterday's lesson on the blackboard as if nothing had changed," says Christy Delafield of Mercy Corps.

Thirii Myo Kyaw Myint's second book reads like poetry, an embodied experience of exquisite reflections on family and rootedness and deracination and sorrow and love.

Activists and relief workers can't help but respond to mounting disasters in Haiti, even though they are fatigued from the constant churn of relief efforts.

Tensions are rising among Haitians as recovery teams are still slow in reaching the needy impacted by the Aug. 14 earthquake that hit the southwestern area of the island.

Mahbooba Seraj, founder of the Afghan Women's Network, has a message for Americans watching what's happening in Afghanistan.

Looking to get involved but not sure how to help? Here are some resources to get you started.