Fw: Afghan Recovery Report No. 26

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From: "Institute for War & Peace Reporting" <[email protected]>
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Sent: Friday, September 06, 2002 10:48 AM
Subject: Afghan Recovery Report No. 26


> WELCOME TO IWPR'S AFGHAN RECOVERY REPORT, No. 26, 6 September, 2002
>
> IN THIS ISSUE...
>
> PAINFUL LEGACY OF US AIRSTRIKES - Many Afghans say they had to pay a heavy
> price for the American bombing raids that forced the Taleban out of power.
> Rahimullah Samandar reports from Kabul.
>
> EDUCATION BOOST - The authorities believe they have come up with a
> strategy for revitalising Afghanistan's ailing education sector. Mohammad
> Hakim Basharat reports from Kabul.
>
> TOURISTS BACK ON AFGHAN TRAIL - Afghanistan looks to foreign visitors -
> and their money - to boost the country and its economy. Abdul Baseer
> reports from Kabul.
>
> TV TURN-OFF - Kabulis try to circumvent government bid to take the spice
> out of Indian movies broadcast on Afghan television. Abdul Wali reports
> from Kabul.
>
> "HEALING" POWERS OF TALEBAN GRAVES - People are flocking to a bizarre new
> shrine north of Kabul after reports of miracle cures. Danish Karokhel
> reports from Qara Dushman, Kabul province.
>
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> ******************** THIS WEEK'S STORIES ************************
>
> PAINFUL LEGACY OF US AIRSTRIKES
>
> Many Afghans say they had to pay a heavy price for the American bombing
> raids that forced the Taleban out of power.
>
> By Rahimullah Samandar in Kabul
>
> Nazrullah will never forget the night American bombers flew over Kabul
> looking to destroy Taleban positions in the Afghan capital. A stray
> missile hit his house, killing four members of his family, including his
> mother and sister.
>
> Now he lives next door to the rubble of his former home and cares for his
> surviving kin. "Thank God I am safe, but my three-year-old son has got a
> head injury and my wife has lost her mind," he told IWPR.
>
> As for any practical help from the Americans, Nazrullah smiles ironically
> as he recalls a visit from a 35-man US delegation in the wake of the
> October airstrikes. "They gave us a pair of trousers, a ball and a pair of
> glasses."
>
> Afghans were amazed by the September 11 attacks. They wondered how
> America, with all its modern defences, could have suffered such
> destruction.
>
> Such was their bewilderment, that some began to subscribe to the
> conspiracy theory that America carried out the New York and Washington
> atrocities to justify intervention in Central Asia.
>
> "The US wanted to have control over South Asia and get closer to China,
> India, Pakistan and Iran. They also want to have control over our natural
> resources," claimed Abdul Rahman, a former teacher of Rahman Baba high
> school.
>
> The Americans went on to oust the Taleban, but in doing so they inflicted
> suffering on many innocent civilians. As a consequence, many ordinary
> Afghans are divided over the US bombing.
>
> Some like Kamila, who lives in old Macroyan, a jumble of tower blocks
> built by the Russians in the Eighties, and Qambar from the Wazir Abad
> district, seem reluctant to criticise the Americans because they liberated
> them from the student militia.
>
> A US bomb hit Kamila's block destroying 12 homes and killing her
> neighbour's daughter.
>
> "September 11 was a big loss to the United States, but it was good for us
> because they suddenly understood that the Taleban and al-Qaeda were a big
> threat to the world community," she told IWPR. "The Americans wouldn't
> have realised our pain otherwise."
>
> Qambar lost his home during the bombing and now works from morning to
> night making mud bricks. " I have borrowed 30,000,000 afghanis - 750 US
> dollars - so far to repair my house and I will work and pay back the
> money. It is good that America saved us from Taleban."
>
> Others, such as Abdul and Nasreen, also Macroyan residents, and Rafessa,
> one of Qambar's relatives, feel bitter about the damage caused by the
> American warplanes.
>
> "Despite the Americans having modern air technology they caused tremendous
> damage to this block. If we are hit by a small earthquake or even heavy
> rain, it will fall down," said Abdul.
>
> "I lost my son in the bombing, my hearing is bad and two of my other
> children, Naseer and Zareena, suffered head injuries. Now just I want the
> Americans to leave us alone, because everything is destroyed," said
> Nasreen.
>
> The bomb that hit Qambar's home also destroyed his father-in-law's house
> and killed his mother-in-law. Her daughter Rafessa said, "The enemies of
> the US are still moving around and America is killing us instead of them.
> My three daughters now have hearing problems and are afraid of everything.
> No one has helped us to rebuild our house."
>
> Rahimullah Samandar is an IWPR reporter
>
>
> EDUCATION BOOST
>
> The authorities believe they have come up with a strategy for revitalising
> Afghanistan's ailing education sector.
>
> By Mohammad Hakim Basharat in Kabul
>
> The Afghan government has unveiled ambitious plans to revolutionise the
> crumbling schools system, but teachers and pupils have little reason to
> believe the programme will succeed.
>
> A school rebuilding programme, a review of teachers' pay and more
> education for girls are part of a massive 350-project plan - which will
> cost up to a billion US dollars - revealed by Education Minister Mohammad
> Yonus Qanunee.
>
> Qanunee, a former intelligence aide to the murdered Northern Alliance
> leader Ahmad Shah Massood, outlined his plans to international
> organisations, government officials and embassy representatives at a
> conference in Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel this week.
>
> Earlier, he told more than a thousand teachers and ministry officials
> gathered in a school hall in the city that the ministry of education had
> finally come up with a successful strategy after years of the failed
> policies.
>
> "Aid organisations will implement these projects and will also be
> responsible for their budgets," he said.
>
> Under the plans, teachers would have access to housing, be paid on time,
> and be given vouchers to help with food and transport costs. As well as an
> increase in the number of girls' schools, vital equipment such as chairs,
> books and stationery will be provided for all students.
>
> The announcement comes as problems in the hard-pressed education sector
> mount, with morale amongst students and teachers at rock-bottom.
>
> Just three km from the education ministry in central Kabul, 17-year-old
> Mohammad Shakib is struggling with his studies at Ghazee High School. "Our
> school has countless problems," he told IWPR.
>
> "There are 67 students in our class and we have to study in a cramped
> tent, which has room for only 15 people. Most of us are studying in the
> yard under the hot sun.
>
> "I have been given only three books and have bought 14 more in the bazaar
> with my own money. If this is the situation in schools in the capital I
> wonder what's going on in the provinces. I cannot believe in this new
> scheme until I see it working."
>
> Teachers in the provinces have been facing such hardships that many have
> decided to leave the profession altogether. "We have lost patience with
> the authorities," said Fazil Rehman, principle of the Narkh High School in
> Wardak province 25 km west of Kabul.
>
> Muhebullah, a teacher at the capital's Speen Keli High School, told IWPR
> that he doesn't earn enough to live on. "They say that they are working
> for education of Afghanistan, but if we compare with the past, you can not
> see any changes in teachers' lives," he said.
>
> "A teacher is paid 1,800,000 Afghanis a month - around 45 dollars. The
> salaries are not paid on time and it is not even worth mentioning the
> health problems. Our teachers have a very tough life."
>
> Some educationalists question whether the new plans will be properly
> funded.
> Nargeesa, a teacher at Fatima-tul-Zehra school in Wardak, is suspicious of
> what happens to foreign aid money. "I don't believe the officials spend
> the cash properly. Most of it is going in private pockets for their own
> purposes," she said.
>
> Qanunee has rejected such claims, and announced that the education
> ministry's accounts will to be thrown open to public scrutiny so that
> teachers and officials could see where the money was being spent.
>
> Mohammad Moheen Marastyal, an education ministry official, defends the
> department's record. "I accept that the we have lots of problems, but we
> have done lots of important things too," he said.
>
> More than 7,500 schools were destroyed during the years of conflict. There
> are only 65,000 teachers for three million students - another 1.5 million
> want to go to school but are being denied by a lack of staff and
> facilities.
>
> Ministry officials and students will go on a charm offensive as far afield
> as Saudi Arabia, the United States and Europe drumming up financial
> support for the new projects.
>
> Lakhdar Brihimi, special envoy of the UN General Secretary, was in Kabul
> to hear the new plans. "We are ready to take an active part in solving
> problems of the education ministry, but at the moment providing one
> billion dollars is looking a difficult job. We will take part according to
> our ability," he said.
>
> And UNESCO representative Lutfullah Safi pointed out that they have
> already done a lot of work for Afghan schools. "We have helped in many
> different sectors. We've provided chairs, desks and stationery, paid for
> seminars, held courses and so on," he said.
>
> "It is possible that UNESCO will help the education ministry in
> construction and building affairs in the future."
>
> Mohammad Hakim Basharat is a Kabul-based freelance journalist
>
>
> TOURISTS BACK ON AFGHAN TRAIL
>
> Afghanistan looks to foreign visitors - and their money - to boost the
> country and its economy.
>
> By Abdul Baseer in Kabul
>
> Considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world just one year
> ago, Afghanistan is determined to throw off its reputation for conflict
> and put itself back on the tourist trail.
>
> London travel company owner Phil Haines recently led a seven-strong group
> of Britons on a week's visit to this war-ravaged country and predicts a
> bright future for the fledgling industry.
>
> "Tourism in Afghanistan has a good future because many people want to
> visit the country," said Haines. "Afghans are very hospitable and
> everywhere we went they gave us a warm welcome. It was interesting for us
> to see their traditions."
>
> Afghanistan's beautiful landscape and ancient monuments have always held a
> strong attraction for travellers, and the country was a popular tourist
> destination throughout the Sixties and Seventies.
>
> Young backpackers made up the bulk of the visitors, taking the "Hippy
> Trail" across southern Europe to Central Asia, via Turkey, Iran,
> Afghanistan and Pakistan.
>
> The Soviet invasion in 1978 put an end to such adventures, starting a
> cycle of conflict and destruction that was to last more than two decades.
>
> The Taleban turned the country into a no-go area by the mid-Nineties. The
> student militia's reign has left the country's heritage in tatters - with
> museums and cultural artefacts destroyed. The Bamyan Buddhas, one of the
> biggest attractions, were reduced to rubble.
>
> In spite of this, the country has retained its wild beauty and the interim
> administration is confident that visitors will soon return.
>
> Despite unpredictable electricity and water supplies together with an
> uncertain security situation, Haines' tourist was not put off visiting a
> country that has made headlines for all the wrong reasons for more than
> two decades.
>
> "The purpose of our visit is to see all the historical places of the
> country," Haines told IWPR from his guest-house in Kabul. "We started our
> tour in the capital, and visited some historical places in the provinces
> as well as the grave of Humaira, the wife of former king Zaheer Shah, who
> has just returned from exile.
>
> "We also bought some interesting gifts such as Afghan rugs and saw the
> remains of the Bamyan Buddhas. From there we went to Mazar-e-Sharif and
> saw its famous mosque."
>
> Apart from the intrepid Britons, a party of Turkish tourists was also in
> the country last week. They travelled overland through Iran and entered
> Afghanistan at the border city of Islam Qila in Herat province.
>
> "Afghans are so hospitable and they respected us a lot. We saw Herat and
> its historical monuments. We also saw Kandahar, Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif.
> The purpose of our trip was to meet our Muslim brothers and get to know
> them," said one of the travellers.
>
> Dr Hisamuddin Humrah, chairman of the Afghan tourism authorities, revealed
> that so far this year 75 registered tourists have visited Afghanistan from
> Turkey, Switzerland, Japan, Iran, Pakistan and England. "When a foreigner
> wants to come to Afghanistan they inform us and we prepare visas and
> tickets as well as transport and accommodation. We also provide
> translators, who can speak the local languages fluently, and a guide," he
> said.
>
> Humrah told IWPR that visitors are most interested in seeing the ancient
> walled city of Kandahar with its pilgrim centre, 5,000-year-old Balkh, the
> Chakari minaret and Balahisar Fort in Kabul, the grave of Sofi poet Khwaja
> Abdullah Ansari in Herat, and the remains of the Bamyan Buddhas.
>
> Ahmad Asadzai owns the Marvellous Guest House, situated opposite the
> Pakistan embassy in Kabul. "Tourists are the future of Afghanistan," he
> said.
>
> "When they return home they will tell their countrymen about the peace and
> security in Afghanistan, which will attract more people here - and earn us
> more foreign currency."
>
> Abdul Baseer is a Kabul-based freelance reporter
>
>
> TV TURN-OFF
>
> Kabulis try to circumvent government bid to take the spice out of Indian
> movies broadcast on Afghan television.
>
> By Abdul Wali in Kabul
>
> Residents of Kabul are signing up for cable TV to get round laws censoring
> popular films.
>
> Under new legislation television channels must cut sequences of a romantic
> or sexual nature from Indian movies and other entertainment programmes,
> and radio stations have been forbidden from featuring female singers.
>
> The move was called for by the recently appointed head of State Television
> and Radio in the city, Mohammad Ishaq, a senior member of the former
> Northern Alliance.
>
> The government has defended the move, denying that it amounts to
> censorship. "We simply want broadcasts to be in keeping with our culture
> and tradition," explained Abdul Hameed Mubarez, deputy of information and
> culture minister.
>
> The editing of Indian films has particularly angered Kabul televisions
> viewers, who say it'll make it hard for them to follow storylines.
>
> Indian films, with their mix of melodrama, romance and songs, have become
> hugely popular since the fall of the Taleban, who banned music and
> television.
>
> Female singers have followings all around Afghanistan, but the deputy of
> the supreme court, Mawlavi Fazil Ahmad Manawee, seems to consider them
> un-Islamic and insists that their popularity is confined to the capital.
>
> "We have a strong Islamic culture and tradition - the people in favour of
> broadcasting women singers are only Kabul resident and they are limited in
> number," he said.
> "Given the views of Afghan people, there will be real anger and disgust if
> these songs are broadcast, " said Mubarez.
>
> However, in the Sixties and Seventies female singers were in demand
> throughout Afghanistan, travelling the length and breadth of the country
> to give concerts and perform at wedding parties.
>
> The authorities do acknowledge that a handful of female artists -
> traditional singers all over 60 - have a nationwide following and have
> agreed to continue playing their music.
>
> "We decided to broadcast the songs and pictures of these singers because
> they have such reputations.  People are addicted to their songs," said
> Mubarez.
>
> There's little Afghans can do about the ban on women singers, but
> television viewers angered by the editing of movies and entertainment
> programmes appear to have simply switched to watching cable TV.
>
> A cable network was set up in Kabul about a month ago and it already has
> 6,000 subscribers.
>
> Half of them have signed up with Star Cable TV in Mecroyan, which claims
> to have been given official permission to broadcast western programmes so
> long as they don't conflict with Afghan culture.
>
> "We are broadcasting programmes from 30 different channels, including BBC
> and CNN. Twelve channels are from India, Iran and Pakistan.
>
> "We have permission from the ministry of information and culture to
> broadcast, but they have directed us not to show some American channels
> because they are not in keeping with the cultural policy of Afghanistan."
>
> The ministry, though, has denied that it has given any such approval and
> is now threatening to close down the cable operators.  "They have begun
> broadcasting without asking us. We have officially asked the interior
> ministry to close their offices," said a spokesman.
>
> If they do, would-be cable subscribers are likely to join the growing army
> of people buying satellite receivers. A Taiwan-made model costing 100 US
> dollars in Kabul will get you Indian, Pakistani, Iranian and Hong Kong
> channels.
>
> Mohammad Sayed, owner of an electronics supermarket in Kabul, said, "After
> the collapse of Taleban, the market for dishes has become bigger and
> bigger - everyone wants one."
>
> Abdul Wali is a part-time reporter for IWPR in Kabul
>
>
> "HEALING" POWERS OF TALEBAN GRAVES
>
> People are flocking to a bizarre new shrine north of Kabul after reports
> of miracle cures.
>
> By Danish Karokhel in Qara Dushman, Kabul province
>
> Just days after residents of Intifat, 25 km north of Kabul, buried two
> Arab pro-Taleban fighters killed in a shoot-out in their village last
> October, strange things began to happen.
>
> First, there were reports of ghostly lights near the graves, and stones
> began to fall from the sky. The people were frightened, but then one man -
> who was suffering from a hand injury - touched the site accidentally and
> experienced a "miraculous" cure.
>
> The legend grew very quickly. People soon flocked to the site, in the hope
> of being healed: a mute claimed the graves gave him the gift of speech.
>
> A renowned military commander has since taken charge of the new tourist
> attraction - and has built a mosque and even a guest-house for the
> visitors.
>
> Mohammad Barad travelled from Kabul with his wife and child to visit the
> site. "I have heard that by coming to this place lots of people have been
> cured, so I brought my child here because he is being plagued by demons,"
> he said.
>
> The two men killed in Intifat were part of a contingent of Arab fighters
> who joined forces with the Taleban to fight the Northern Alliance, but
> were abandoned when the student militia fled the capital.
>
> Haji Abdul Rahman, the head of Intifat village, recalls how the militants
> died. "Three Arabs went to my neighbour Karim's house to get some water.
> Karim's sons informed the closest military post, which sent soldiers to
> surround the house and capture the men," he told IWPR.
>
> "When the fighters realised what had happened, they opened fire. While one
> Arab escaped, two were killed, as was one local soldier. One of Karim's
> young sons was seriously injured in the gunfight.
>
> "After the event the Imam of the village, Molavi Zareef, secretly
> performed their death prayers and buried them at the side of a hill close
> to the village."
>
> Faizurahman, another villager, was the first to discover the alleged
> healing properties of the graves. "My hand was in great pain. I went to
> many doctors in Afghanistan and in Pakistan, but didn't get better. When I
> visited the graves, it got well," he said.
>
> The shrine came to national prominence when Asif Khan, a mute from Shakar
> Dara north of Kabul, was suddenly able to speak - and promptly told
> everyone he met.
>
> The popularity of the graves became such a problem for villagers they
> asked for them to be moved. After six months, Haji Qayoom, a senior
> military commander, reburied them near Qara Dushman, 10 km away.
>
> Qayoom is now the caretaker of this new shrine. Money collected in a box
> on top of the graves goes towards the upkeep of the site and three
> attendants. Enough money has been collected to build a mosque and a
> guest-house at the site.
>
> One of the attendants Zahir Khan said, "More people come here on
> Wednesdays and Fridays because these are the shrine days in Afghanistan.
> At such times, there is no room to move here.
>
> "I am making 500,000 Afghanis - 12 US dollars - a day from visitors.
> Hundreds of people come here daily and God has made them well."
>
> On the day IWPR visited the shrine, it was also attended by a group of
> people from the Koe Safi area of Kapeesa province, 80 km away. One of the
> visitors Ali Baba said he hoped to cure his back trouble, saying, "These
> shrines are the friends of God."
>
> He took a stone from the grave, rubbed it on his body, and tasted the
> soil. Another woman kissed the small pieces of cloth that hang from the
> shrine before adding a piece herself. "I haven't had a baby for a long
> time, so I have come here to ask God to give me a child," she said.
>
> Danish Karokhel is a freelance reporter based in Kabul.
>
>
> **************** ABOUT AFGHAN RECOVERY REPORT *******************
>
> Afghan Recovery Report from the Institute for War & Peace Reporting is a
> unique free service providing local media outlets and the international
> community with objective and reliable news from local sources.
>
> Afghan Recovery Report is produced as part of IWPR's training work to
> develop the professional capabilities and sustainability of the Afghan
> print media, facilitating their role as a critical monitor and guardian of
> the stabilization and recovery process.
>
> IWPR Afghanistan provides workshops and practical on-the-job training for
> local journalists, with weekly publicaton and syndication in local
> languague media. Further activities include training Afghan trainers,
> working with Kabul University journalism students and faculty and
> reporting on human rights and humanitarian issues. The project operates in
> parternship with the Geneva-based Media Action International and, in
> Peshawar, with the Afghan Media Resource Centre.
>
> Executive Director: Anthony Borden; Managing Editor: Yigal Chazan; Project
> Coordinator and Editor: Jamila Aman; Programme Manager: Duncan Furey;
> Training Coordinator: Andrew Stroehlein; Local trainers: John West (Kabul)
> & Jack Redden (Peshawar).
>
> The opinions expressed in IWPR's Afghan Recovery Report are those of the
> authors and do not necessarily represent those of the publication or of
> IWPR.
>
> ************************ ABOUT IWPR *****************************
>
> The Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR) is an independent
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> democratic change.
>
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>
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> Copyright (c) 2002 The Institute for War & Peace Reporting
>
> Afghan Recovery Report No. 26
>
>
>