Hi everyone!
As the United Nations tries to put out fires in Syria, this week saw a whole new conflagration erupt in Afghanistan...again. This time it isn't video of U.S. marines urinating on the corpses of dead Taliban and then joking about it, as if that wasn't bad enough. No, this time we've gone back to our old standard of burning the Holy Koran. When will we learn?
It doesn't matter if this desecration was performed out of malicious intent as we saw last year in the case of the "mock trial" officiated by Florida pastor Terry Jones or out of seeming ignorance as we witnessed this week at Bagram Air Force base in Kabul. Burning the Koran is not only the epitome of disrespect toward Muslims worldwide, but it's just plain stupid. And frankly it's this stupidity that is costing us the so-called "hearts and minds" of the Afghan people our forces are trying to win over.
American military personnel were clearing out a room in Bagram that contained books they claimed were filled with handwritten communication pertaining to terrorist strikes against coalition forces. Obviously they couldn't keep these around. These personnel also claimed that they had no idea that the books were copies of the Koran. As they were being tossed into an incinerator, a couple Afghan workers at the base noticed what these guys were doing and intervened. Word got out and understandably outraged Afghanis took to the streets in violent protest. This was on Monday.
Yesterday, President Obama issued a formal apology to the Afghan people which was accepted by Afghan President Hamid Karzai who expressed outrage at the offense but, realizing the last thing he or the Americans need is another outbreak of anti-American violence, urged his security forces to help maintain calm while calling for a swift trial for the offenders.
It's already too late. As of yesterday, seven Afghans were killed in the violence while an Afghan Army soldier attacked and killed two American servicemen. This is only the latest in a series of killings of coalition servicemen and women at the hands of their supposed allies in the Afghan Army. One such attack against French troops is what prompted Sarkozy to announce his early withdrawal of French troops from Afghanistan this year.
After over ten years of war in this part of the world, you would think by now that we'd know better than to blatantly demonstrate our continued ignorance--or lack of consideration--of the Islamic faith. While killing of any nature is rarely justified, I can understand the rage that the Afghan people feel over yet another desecration of their religion at the hands of foreign occupiers. Our troops complain about not winning the fight in Afghanistan and the Muslim world, well, is it really so surprising? Without taking away from the courage and valor demonstrated by our men and women in the armed services, there seems to be a continued and demonstrated lack of knowledge about the countries and cultures to which they are being sent. Or perhaps it's just a lack of intelligence? Either way, it's no wonder the Taliban continue to be as powerful as they are.
And while I again don't believe we should be legitimizing an organization that indiscriminately stones women to death, bans music, and commits other unspeakable acts against its people in the name of religion, I can see how the Afghan people are angry, disillusioned, and fed up with the insults they and their religion are subjected to by our troops that after ten years still have not learned to respect their religion and their culture.
What a shame.
Ciao.
Showing posts with label Kabul. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kabul. Show all posts
Friday, February 24, 2012
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Saving Afghanistan's children -- one orphanage at a time
Happy New Year, everyone!
I'd like to start 2012 off by highlighting the important work of one Afghani man -- Sayyid Abdullah Hashemi -- in improving the lives of Afghanistan's 1.6 million orphans. (2011 UNICEF estimate.) Mr. Hashemi is the director of the National Directorate of Orphanages within Afghanistan's Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and the Disabled.
An article in today's New York Times profiles the challenges Mr. Hashemi has faced over the seven months since he took over this position. In a country steeped in official and unofficial corruption at all levels of society, the very fact that Mr. Hashemi is unafraid to travel throughout the war-torn country visiting orphanages and demanding that changes be made is remarkable in and of itself. But what makes him all the more inspiring is that he is dogged in his determination. Mr. Hashemi was once an orphan himself so he knows first-hand the plight of Afghani children and the terrible conditions in which most of them live. According to the article, his father was killed fighting for the mujahideen against the Soviets when he was a young boy. As a result, Mr. Hashemi's mission has been to make sure that orphans grow up in an environment that not only feeds and shelters them, but gives them the tools and skills they need to help make them productive citizens.
The article mentions two government-run orphanages in particular, both in Kabul. Before Mr. Hashemi assumed his directorate position, these orphanages were notorious for their truly inhumane living conditions. In fact, the Tahya-e-Maskan orphanage gained notoriety for the poisoning of several of its children who almost died as a result of drinking bad milk. Today, however, under Mr. Hashemi's tutelage, this same orphanage is now run as a school where classes such as computer science and English are taught and students are going on to pass university entrance exams.
Mr. Hashemi continues to come up against bureaucratic challenges and governmental ineptitude on a daily basis. Government money that is allotted to the orphanages for basic necessities is distributed through the local provincial governments who more often than not keep this money for themselves with barely a trickle of the amount actually going to the orphanages. Mr. Hashemi complains of visiting orphanages where children are left long hours without adult supervision, where food is scarce, and abuse rampant. He's fired staff only to have his actions challenged by local government officials -- not to mention the fired employees -- who claim he has no authority to make improvements because these decisions are supposed to be made at the local, not national, level.
What strikes me most about Mr. Hashemi is his tenacity. He is utterly realistic about the uphill battle he faces and yet because he cares so much about these orphaned children he continues to push for reform and improvement. All too often we turn on the news or read the papers and see nothing but negatives coming from this part of the world--the Taliban still control vast swaths of the country, the government of Hamid Karzai is corrupt and funded by the cultivation of the opium trade, etc etc etc. On this first day of the new year, I was heartened to learn of the genuine good that is being done and not only by foreign NGOs or occupying troops, but by an Afghani national concerned with the well-being and future of his country's youngest generation.
Even if Mr. Hashemi can help effect positive change in the life of only one orphaned Afghani child, that is one more than might have been helped otherwise. No small task indeed.
Happy New Year to you, Sayyid Hashemi.
Ciao.
I'd like to start 2012 off by highlighting the important work of one Afghani man -- Sayyid Abdullah Hashemi -- in improving the lives of Afghanistan's 1.6 million orphans. (2011 UNICEF estimate.) Mr. Hashemi is the director of the National Directorate of Orphanages within Afghanistan's Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and the Disabled.
An article in today's New York Times profiles the challenges Mr. Hashemi has faced over the seven months since he took over this position. In a country steeped in official and unofficial corruption at all levels of society, the very fact that Mr. Hashemi is unafraid to travel throughout the war-torn country visiting orphanages and demanding that changes be made is remarkable in and of itself. But what makes him all the more inspiring is that he is dogged in his determination. Mr. Hashemi was once an orphan himself so he knows first-hand the plight of Afghani children and the terrible conditions in which most of them live. According to the article, his father was killed fighting for the mujahideen against the Soviets when he was a young boy. As a result, Mr. Hashemi's mission has been to make sure that orphans grow up in an environment that not only feeds and shelters them, but gives them the tools and skills they need to help make them productive citizens.
The article mentions two government-run orphanages in particular, both in Kabul. Before Mr. Hashemi assumed his directorate position, these orphanages were notorious for their truly inhumane living conditions. In fact, the Tahya-e-Maskan orphanage gained notoriety for the poisoning of several of its children who almost died as a result of drinking bad milk. Today, however, under Mr. Hashemi's tutelage, this same orphanage is now run as a school where classes such as computer science and English are taught and students are going on to pass university entrance exams.
Mr. Hashemi continues to come up against bureaucratic challenges and governmental ineptitude on a daily basis. Government money that is allotted to the orphanages for basic necessities is distributed through the local provincial governments who more often than not keep this money for themselves with barely a trickle of the amount actually going to the orphanages. Mr. Hashemi complains of visiting orphanages where children are left long hours without adult supervision, where food is scarce, and abuse rampant. He's fired staff only to have his actions challenged by local government officials -- not to mention the fired employees -- who claim he has no authority to make improvements because these decisions are supposed to be made at the local, not national, level.
What strikes me most about Mr. Hashemi is his tenacity. He is utterly realistic about the uphill battle he faces and yet because he cares so much about these orphaned children he continues to push for reform and improvement. All too often we turn on the news or read the papers and see nothing but negatives coming from this part of the world--the Taliban still control vast swaths of the country, the government of Hamid Karzai is corrupt and funded by the cultivation of the opium trade, etc etc etc. On this first day of the new year, I was heartened to learn of the genuine good that is being done and not only by foreign NGOs or occupying troops, but by an Afghani national concerned with the well-being and future of his country's youngest generation.
Even if Mr. Hashemi can help effect positive change in the life of only one orphaned Afghani child, that is one more than might have been helped otherwise. No small task indeed.
Happy New Year to you, Sayyid Hashemi.
Ciao.
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