Fri May 18, 2012
Musadeq Sadeq AP Images
Over 60,000 children make a living on the streets. Foolad, 5 sells green peppers at a market in Kabul.
Saving Afghanistan from Itself
By Ahmad Fayaz Rahmany, Afghanistan – March 2010
Like most people, I want to live in a safe place and have a job that supports my family. I want my children to be able to get an education so that they can have a better life than me. But I am an Afghan and even living in Kabul these normal wants are not possible.
I am also a Muslim – which by definition often comes with implied preconceived notions in today’s world. I am neither a terrorist nor do I hate the United States or the West. But as a Muslim living in a largely Muslim country I fear for my life every time I leave my home for work. I fear I may never come home – never see my family again – and I feel like that every day of my life.
Like any other big city, Kabul is a busy place. Sidewalks are packed with pedestrians and large and small business is transacted daily. Vendors of fresh and dried fruits, vegetables, fabrics, toys, snacks, cell phones and the like sell their goods on the streets. But unlike most major cities around the world, there is no security and when you don’t have security you have to fend for yourself.
Protecting Kabul, a city of over 3 million people is a job for police officers, yet most of them are currently being developed to meet their mission. Moreover, with the army in the process of being built and trained men focusing on the most violent areas of the country – most people in Kabul are left without protective resources.
An explosion of gunfire or a roadside bomb could occur at any moment and life could end – even though much of the violence is aimed at the Afghan government and the international forces.
As worried as Afghans are about the violence, it’s more worrisome and heartbreaking to see so many children on the streets instead of in school. They sell as many packs of cigarettes and snacks as they can carry in their hands, or they wash cars – even in a very cold weather – or they just beg.
It’s really the children who have paid the biggest price from all the wars in Afghanistan over the last 30-plus years. Most of these children have lost their fathers and now even the very young help their family with money. I wonder about their future. Will all of these hard-knocks be the cause of unrest for the next generations?
Even those young people who are able to go to school and take the Conquer exam for university admission see only dead-ends. Two of my best friends from high school did very well on this test and they were accepted at Kabul Medical School. I always thought they were the lucky ones because they would become doctors.
But six years later with another year in medical school to go my friends believe that once they graduate they will end up sitting at home out of a job. Or if they do get a job it will be in an dangerous, remote province where they will be paid 4000 Afghanis –approximately $80.00 a month. Think about it. You go to college and study very hard and that is what you get.
It is very disappointing to see the educated young professionals who embody the future for our country in such a situation. That’s why a lot of talented young people are leaving the country. They are not escaping the culture – they are leaving because they are hardworking, educated people who have many more challenges just living in Afghanistan than the demands of their professions.
Government needs to establish both security and the means to get children off the streets and into school so they can be Afghanistan’s proud future. However, in light of the fact that the government was established not very long ago, change is not likely to happen any time soon.
There are so many unanswered questions Afghans have. Some people believe that the international community is not doing enough to bring about peace and stability in the country.
Others think that neighboring countries are fanning the flames of war in Afghanistan just to promote their own agendas and interests. But, regardless of whose hands are involved, there are always people dying in my country.
There are many groups in Afghanistan working and fighting for change in the country such as the Afghan National Army, the Afghan National Police, Afghan local governments, NATO Forces, the international aid organizations and the Taliban. Unless these groups can be brought together in non-violent actions, I have little hope that Afghanistan will become a peaceful nation.
The international community must help by focusing on building the country’s economical and educational infrastructure – helping to develop projects so Afghans can get good jobs and become self sufficient. Enhanced security will come with a more prosperous economy. Factories that produce products needed by the people in the country can encourage private and international investments in the country. This will be what creates a more secure and peaceful future for the people in Afghanistan.
The Afghans have a treasured poem which translates as:
All human being are parts of one body, because they are created from the same essence. If one part faces pain caused by fortune, the other parts will not live in peace.
I am not losing hope. I may be waiting for a miracle but I am ready to work days and nights to rebuild my homeland. I am waiting for that chance….
One Comment
Leave a Reply
world headlines
U.S. headlines
editorial headlines
I read this article with extreme interest. Because I worked in Afghanistan as a Mentor/Adviser to the National Police and also as a personal friend of the Author, (I had the privledge of working with him for a year in Afghanistan.) I too, may be waiting for a miracle and am ready to work day and night with him, in rebuilding his homeland. Most of the people of the world will never have the opportunity to get to know how resourceful, hardworking, and principled the average Afghan citizen is, and I consider myself blessed to be able to call myself a friend to them.