A grassroots democracy for Afghanistan

This article first appeared on the AfPak channel of foreignpolicy.com on June 27, 2011
The Malik-ul-Malik System and a Representative Afghan Government

During the 2009 presidential elections, when I was serving as a senior aide to candidate Dr. Ashraf Ghani, I used to share a taxi with other travellers going from Kabul to my home town of Jalalabad every weekend. Thousands take that road each day, many either going to or returning from Pakistan - mainly for healthcare or trade. With so many Afghans taking this road, it was an opportunity to gauge public opinion on the elections. I would introduce myself as a university student to get uncensored thoughts from fellow passengers about the topic. I didn't always have to bring it up--as soon as the journey commenced, an analysis of the presidential elections would inevitably begin.

Their opinions would almost always be that the so-called democracy in Afghanistan is a Western-imported and -imposed form of government. The international community footed the bill for the 2009 presidential elections, worth hundreds of millions of dollars; however, according to the Afghanistan Independent Election Commission (IEC), only about one-third of registered voters visited the polls, approximately 5 million of the roughly 15 million Afghans who registered. Common knowledge is that wide-spread vote rigging, ballot box stuffing, and various frauds and corruption discounted the legitimacy of elections, as the counting dragged on for months in uncertainty.

After the disaster of the elections-and the candidate I supported having lost- I began reflecting on the electoral system as it exists in the country today. The general public, especially those in the rural and insecure areas, has been alienated by the central government through this counter productive system. The 2010 parliamentary elections exposed more flaws in the current system, when 2,577 candidates vied for 249 seats. News reports and independent studies documenting the elections evoked the same nightmares of fraud, corruption, low turnout, and illegitimacy from the 2009 presidential elections. Too many of those who made it to the parliament are not truly representative of their constituencies, but instead are often warlords and regional strongmen whose power has been bolstered through their strong political ties and bribery.

For the past 10 years, Afghanistan has been pushed to emulate a Western model without room for its democracy to sprout from Afghan customs and cultures. It's not democracy itself that dismays in this country; rather, it is the way it has been installed and implemented that many find so frustrating. States such as Turkey and Indonesia show that Islamic nations can construct their own forms of democracies, but it must be custom-tailored to make sure democracy can function in each local context.

As reflected in the voices of those I shared taxis with, and others with whom I spoke, Afghans have become cynical about their government. Today, many take for granted the corruption and inevitable failure of elections to secure a representative central government.

Despite this, Afghans pride themselves on their history of a kind of democracy--decisions on both local and national levels have been made by consultative councils of tribal elders (shuras or jirgas) and grand councils (loya jirga), respectively, throughout Afghanistan's history. An alternative, sustainable, and effective approach to the current failed system must stem from traditional Afghan democracy, such as the malik system.

Afghan societies function internally. Local governance is no exception to this societal structure, with communities traditionally turning to local non-government entities, such as shuras, composed of village leaders (maliks), and religious leaders (mullahs), for legal matters, conflict resolution, and issues concerning social and economic needs. This is the basic Afghan localized system of governance--a tribal or village elder, or malik, is elected or, rather, selected, through consultation and mutual agreement in a community jirga or shura.  The malik then represents the village's needs and interests to external parties and deals with any internal matters. Very rarely do Afghan citizens living outside of urban centers feel inclined to contact local government officials or their respective members of parliament for issues or regarding services that should theoretically be provisioned by the central government under the current system.

A 2010 national survey conducted by the Asia Foundation shows that when faced with social or economic problems, or in need of dispute resolution or services, the vast majority of respondents approach a non-government entity, either the village shura or jirga, or the malik or mullah. The number one reason given by respondents for seeking out local governance entities was simply their faith that local shuras would be honest and fair.  In fact, the majority of respondents said they did not believe that the parliament was working in the interest of ordinary Afghan civilians, but rather, in individual political interests.

This continued reliance on informal justice systems, mixed with knowledge of the history of Afghan governance, suggests that rural-dwelling Afghans (about 75 % of the population) don't benefit or find much use for parliament, or its electoral processes, as it exists in Afghanistan today.

This customary system of local governance is how Afghans have governed themselves for centuries, even after formal centralization in the 1880's when Amir Abdur Rahman unified the state, albeit by force, and after 1964, when King Zahir Shah established a parliament, albeit one with restricted power. The founder of modern Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Abdali, was elected to be king by a loya jirga of tribal elders. While such arrangements have been sustained at the local level, there has been a consistent failure to duplicate such effectiveness, efficiency and trust in popular representation at the central level, particularly in today's Afghan parliament.

An alternative approach would be to extend the traditional malik system to the central level. It would establish linkages from the grassroots to the central government, and be sustainable and affordable. Under an indigenous Afghan system of democracy, the idea would be to limit the current election system to the cities and instead adapt the malik system into a formalized process of democratic governance that would reach its way to the central level, resulting in actual popular representation.

In this system, each village would elect or select their malik after convening a jirga, as is traditionally done. The elected village maliks would collectively form a district council. Eligibility requirements could be put in place to ensure that those elected to the village and district shuras are full-time residents of their constituencies, in order to edge out warlords and commanders who are often granted parliament or ministerial positions through political or financial coercion. The district council would then convene to elect one district representative--a malik-ul-maluk (chief of the chieftains) from amongst themselves to represent the district as a whole at the central level within the parliament. Provincial jirgas could be established and convened regularly, along with a term set to allow for routine turnover. In this way, members of parliament would be directly connected to the localities they represent, serving as a direct line for voicing the needs and interests of their constituencies. To avoid a swollen bureaucracy, some districts could be coupled together based on their demographics to meet the target of 249 seats, or elected maliks could also be placed in the Provincial Councils.

Afghanistan is not ready for a centralized Western-style democracy, perhaps because it's just not suited for the system created after the fall of the Taliban. Few Afghans have confidence in their elected representatives, and even fewer have any use for them; thus, Afghans take little to no interest in voting, particularly with the levels of corruption that strips elected officials of their true representative function. However, a certain style of democracy is woven into the fabric of Afghan society, both through religion and culture-it must be allowed to crawl first before it can be fast-tracked. Building on the existing democratic structures in the country, such as the malik-ul-maluk system, from the local to the national level, could produce the best form of representative parliament, one that comes from amongst the people, is affordable and sustainable for the country, and one that would ensure effective, grass-roots outreach for the government.

This generation must stop paying the price for the damages of the past!

Which generation?
We may refer to them as the ‘young generation’, young not only because of their age but also because of their immature thinking and struggling. Let me try to define this generation:
Any Afghan who currently struggles and thinks about saving Afghanistan and the prosperity and harmony of Afghans, or at least has such hopes for them. Any Afghan (old or young), who has not killed a fellow Afghan, has not been involved in looting and predatory actions in this country. Any Afghan who has not fallen deep into the extreme left or right to the extent that he or she considers that killing innocent Afghans is justifiable or any Afghan who has not had any part in stealing the assets of the government of Afghanistan. Any Afghan who has not undermined the morals and values of this country in order to serve others’ ideologies or any Afghan who has not committed atrocities and caused the destructions of Afghanistan just so to make his/her foreign backers happy. Any Afghan who does not sacrifice the interests of Afghanistan for his/her own personal or sectarian’s interests.
This Afghan human being is included in ‘this generation’ which fortunately makes the majority in Afghanistan. My words refer to this ideal generation. I call it the ‘young generation’ and I repeat once again that by ‘young’, I do not mean young in age but innocent individuals with clean conscience.
This generation must not pay the price for the past mistakes which were the result of political games. Nowadays, if a young man/woman is killed, deprived of humane living conditions, without access to school, college or fair work conditions, withheld from leading a healthy business, kept back from a place to live and suffering from psychological disorders, these are all due to the consequences of the past and present unhealthy politics. Has this generation ever asked itself; “Why are the culprits of current atrocities still holding power and ruling over the ‘young generation’? Why are they still abusing this generation and stripping it its assets? One of the reasons is that we are unnecessarily lost in our past and we tend to forget about today and the future.

The Problem
We are still fighting over history; we are still wasting our valuable time defending or condemning those faces that are part of history and so unable to do anything useful for our present and future.
At gatherings, political discussions, press conferences, on Afghan websites and during meetings, I witness that instead of discussing our destiny and thinking the way forward, the ‘young generation’ engages in supporting or decrying those figures that cannot make a positive contribution for this generation. One considers a politician clean and respectable while others see him as a warlord, a criminal and a traitor. Similarly, some stand up in support of one side while others denounce them. This is how this generation wastes its energy and valuable time to the extent that quit often their arguments lead to hostilities. Some try hard to find evidence for their claims and force others to accept their counterarguments whereas they never question the benefits and advantages of problematic discussions which sometimes even turn violent. Will such unhealthy rivalry lead to a constructive change in their lives? One of the negative consequences of Afghanistan’s wars and crisis is that our ‘young generation’ has been coerced into getting involved in discussions of history. I do not encourage the ‘young generation’ to take revenge for the past generation but I just ask them to forget about the past. I do not deny the fact that we should learn from the past and historical experiences but I do not want anyone to lose himself or herself, getting lost and vanishing in history. The ‘young generation’ should study history in as far as it helps them learn from the wrongdoings of the past in order to prevent similar mistakes from occurring again and renew and develop the positive experiences of history.
When I mention history, I don not imply a history that is centuries old. Yesterday is a part of history, the last thirty years are also part of a history that apart from some exceptions does not have any significant value. One of the exceptions is that lessons from our near past should be taught to widen our understanding and experiences beyond this part of history which had made us neither independent nor rich. Millions of us were killed yet we are still poor and hungry, still under others’ influence, deprived and helpless.
If two young Afghans smash each other’s head in support or opposition to this or that Khan, Ustad, leader, commander or any other disputed figure while these powerful figures are not even aware of the “sacrifices” made by their “supporters”, how will this contribute to the betterment of the ‘young generation’?
The ‘young generation’ (the innocent generation) pays for the mistakes and the crimes of the past by taking part in problematic arguments. Unfortunately, paying this price is extremely expensive and has almost caused a vicious cycle. On the one hand, the loss has deprived this generation from everything and has resulted in their being abandoned in a dry desert with nothing in hand. On the other hand, this loss has caused the generation to become involved in a psychological war, a war from which this generation has not been able to rescue itself. This loss has not only stolen everything from this generation but has made this generation get lost in search for clearing or accusing controversial figures while losing its ability to work for a brighter future. This is indeed the biggest loss. Guilty politicians have turned the young generation into their defenders, clearing the politicians’ reputation. On the one hand, these politicians abuse the innocence of the ‘young generation’ to hide their crimes. On the other hand, they try to deter progress of the ‘young generation’ because if the ‘young generation’ tries to progress, the guilty politicians can no longer show their true faces to people. They want the people to thank them for being worse than worst.

Solution
Everything has ended!
We need a new beginning!
The incidences and events of the past are just lessons for us. We need to renew and develop the best lessons and bury the worst ones in the graveyard of history. Beyond this, we should separate our relationship with our near past. A new Afghanistan cannot be built by the elements that have already been tested. The Afghanistan of today and tomorrow will be built only by this young thinking, young acting and innocent generation. This generation should devote time to building this country.
The solution is that the ‘young generation’ must no longer pay the price of the crimes, mistakes, wars and betrayals of the past. The politics of the past were imposed on us so that some figures could come to power, becoming fat and rich. We no longer want to burn in the fires created by the perpetrators of old politics. We should no longer make ourselves tired and exhausted in praising or condemning them. This generation can only afford to spend its time, stamina and knowledge to build its today and future and forget its bitter past.
Today, if we are hungry, ignored, isolated, deprived, have nothing, far away from education and development, unfortunate, taken hostage, and have no leaders - doesn’t this mean that we have nothing from our near past to be proud of?
Shouldn’t we feel ashamed of our past, at least the nearer past? Aren’t the players of the past guilty of the current atrocities and problems? Therefore, if we do not forget the past and do not move forward and do not roll up our sleeves to get out of these crises, wont the generations of tomorrow blame us the same way we blame the previous generations? And god forbid, wont they consider us accountable for all deprivations caused?
A major part of national awareness is to turn the attention of the ‘young generation’ to the future. Do not look back, look forward for the present and the future or else our heads will eventually hit the stone.
The guilty political players of the past cannot help you. They just want to use you to present them as clean and innocent and that is it. They want to hide themselves behind your innocence and carry their stolen assets on your shoulders. Throw them away, wake up and brighten your fellow citizens up and search new ways for a prosperous Afghanistan.

Pay attention
Some names may appear big and important, but you are more powerful than them. You have a cleaner conscience than them and you are more trustworthy in society than them. You can do it. You can find solutions for the crisis of trust and believe that they have caused.
These words are not mere slogans. They are a call for awakening and for creating awareness of national movement. Start everything from the beginning and do not pay the price for the mistakes of the past any longer! It is not worth wasting our time in justifying or condemning crimes, sins and so-called prides of the past. Do not cause pain and agony to each other for the sake of the past because you are innocent. Do not get involved in sectarian differences; these cannot offer anything to you but will take everything away from you. Do not follow “colours”; make a white and clean future. This is the way for awakening and brightness.

English translation: Fazel Fazly

Malak-ul-Maluk, an alternative for the current MPs?

If cardboard and paper were edible, the poor of Kabul city could live on the posters and billboards of the parliamentary candidates of 2010 for almost a month. Most of those who voted would agree with me that it wasn’t the posters that influenced their decision to vote. Then why such a huge waste of money? And the cluttering of our own cities? I would argue the fault lies in the system itself.

Democratic institutions have to happen naturally and evolve organically for them to be effective and representative, which is not the case with the Afghan parliamentary system. It has been forced from the beginning, and after a 9 year trial period, clearly isn’t working. In the last parliament, only a handful of the MP’s ever visited their constituencies. For the majority it wasn’t possible as they feared for their lives. This lead to the alienation of the public, especially those in the rural areas, because their voices could not be reached.

The recent parliamentary elections of 2010 were a prime example of the collective failures of the past 9 years of the experiment in Western-style democracy that this country has become. There were 17.5 million eligible voters though only 4 million showed up to vote, most of them the urban population in cities. That is only 23% percent of the eligible voters leaving 77% behind– meaning further alienating them from the current Afghan government. It clearly isn’t working as it is supposed to. It is too forced and doesn’t connect well with the fibres of rural Afghan society.

The alienation of rural Afghans could have been stopped the first time if the parliament was actually a representation of the people. Voting should lead to representation of the people, not just be undertaken as part of the democratic machine. If one part of the machine doesn’t work -- in this case, the voting process and fair representation of the people, then the entire machine is broken!

The 2010 elections saw a huge number of candidates – 2,500 for 249 seats. The extravagant amount of money spent on the campaigns by corrupt candidates made the honest ones disappear as if they never existed. In addition to the money spent by the candidates, it cost the government 150 million USD which the international community paid for. What did we get by the end of it? We got a non-representative parliament full of warlords and the facilitators of corruption. The country is not able to sustain this type of false representation, and for what? It doesn’t even work!

Perhaps a better alternative would be to limit the current elections system to the cities and instead adapt the local system of malaks (informally elected village chieftains) in the rural areas into a formalized process that would result in more actual popular representations. Here’s how it would work: Each village would elect their malak, and the village malaks would collectively form a district body. The malaks of the district would then elect a malak-ul-maluk (chief of the chieftains) from amongst themselves to represent the district as a whole in the parliament. This way the MPs would really be from amongst the people, and would be connected to their constituencies; thus, serving as a direct link back to their constituencies throughout the provinces. Some districts can be coupled together based on their population and geographic size to meet the target of 249 seats in the parliament. The mix of the two systems could produce the best form of representative parliament, one that is from amongst the people, affordable and sustainable for the country, and one that would ensure effective outreach for the government. A real, representative democratic machine, home-grown in Afghanistan.

The grave yard of empires...

The last time I wrote something for this blog was November 2008 – almost two years ago. That was just a few months after I moved to Afghanistan. I always thought I had a writer’s block but a recent chat with a couple of my friends in Kabul made me realize it wasn’t.

Most of the people that write about Afghanistan are either not Afghans or those who live abroad. Even the professionals that do see what it is like here are only here for a few days or weeks at a time which is not enough to realize the truth before they can write about it. Their perception is what they import with them and then their experiences later exported back in the form of articles. Almost never do their opinions jotted down are separate from their imported thoughts.

Afghanistan – the empires’ graveyard – is a complex state or what today is called a country under that name. The multi-cultural state is not only diverse in terms of languages, religions and social dynamics but also varies in opinions and perceptions from one village to the other in each one of the ~398 districts of the country. Understanding them all and trying to do the right thing has always been a challenge for the Afghan puppet government no matter whose puppet it was or is.

Every puppet prime minister/president imports their own ideologies from their master state; thinking it is the best for the country. This is of course without conducting an intensive research or even a mere opinion research to understand what the locals want. It is always assumed that what the leaders or the master state thinks is right must be the right approach. Of course, they are the ones pouring money so it should be, shouldn’t it?

Afghanistan is not like anywhere else in the world. Understanding its differences may take decades if not centuries but are the key to peace and stability here. Money cannot buy anything other than the time of temporary pimps of the land. When the money is over those pimps will be the first to turn against their masters.

Anyway, I don’t want to talk about the government or policies of the invading nations. It is a series of topics for the future. All I wanted to point out was that the longer you spend in Afghanistan the more imprisoned you feel; and that feeling make you wonder about the future. However, that feeling is not enough to stop you from writing about the country but it is rather the challenge of trying to stay positive.

Negativity seems to be the trend here amongst the writers without a real analysis, which is just too easy to write about since the majority of the readers want that. However, there is much more to this country – things that are real. It doesn’t matter whether it is sad news or joyful, it needs to be reported as it is! That is all I am asking for – reporting without any biases. Understand the country and its culture first before you write or make comparisons. What may look like backward to you may be a step forward to many ordinary Afghans.

As I mentioned before most of the people writing about Afghanistan have never lived here for long enough (more than a few weeks/months). They write based on their short term livening experience, their comparison with their childhood experiences if they were born here, their ideology and/or their wishes and that can never be real.

As for the Afghan bloggers; most of the active ones either live abroad where they feel safe and it is most easy to write based on their comfort or are paid to do so by their foreign masters. They are far away from the reality and the sentiment on the ground. Bring them out in to the reality and I promise they will lose their minds (if they have one to start with of course) because all of a sudden they will not be living in the dreamy bubble they built for themselves. A majority of them (the Afghan writers/bloggers) are fascists and for some reason, perhaps for their ignorance, they are proud of that.

It is time we change that! And the way forward would be to write about the realities on the ground without any fear. If we lose our lives doing that then consider it our sacrifice in the effort to rebuild our nation. I am not a proud Afghan but rather ashamed of it! To me it is not important what we were a long time ago but what we are today. Pride will take us nowhere but shame will make us build our country so that one day our children can be proud of it.

Shame on those who destroyed our country! Shame on those who still are! And shame on the greedy pimps that are selling Afghanistan out for their own financial/personal gains!

Let’s build a future we, our children or grandchildren, can all be proud of for real one day!

Long live Afghanistan!

Stop the bombs and talk to the Taliban

Stop the bombs and talk to the Taliban
On October 7 2009 it will have been eight years since the U.S led invasion of Afghanistan.
despite the presence of international security assistance force and international community the violence and instability has been increased.Why?

Keeping tabs on the events of the war in Afghanistan is not difficult. Press coverage includes daily reports of soldiers dying and killing, elections counts and recounts and even stories from the far flung tribal areas.But there is little about what the ordinary Afghan thinks.
What is his story? How does the war affect him? Does he want President Karzai to stay in power? Does he want more troops, be they from the US or France? Do they make him feel safe? When answered these questions weave the missing thread through the real story of the war. These answers tell a frustrating tale.Look back to May, for example, when US air strikes killed more than 100 civilians.This is when the Afghan people first began to lose faith in President Barack Obama.As protocol required Obama and US secretary of state Hillary Clinton expressed their deep sympathy with the victims, and said sorry for the civilian deaths.But a change occurred. Right at that moment that the ordinary people of Afghanistan lost faith in Obama’s commitments for peace and stability. After the death of yet more non-militants, they began to suspect that Obama could not keep his early promises to protect civilian live in Afghanistan.Karzai, meanwhile, in the US at the time, and travelled back to the devastated area. He sanctioned the award of 100,000 Afghanis (US$2,000) to each of the victim's families.This is the price of an Afghan life.Along with the government 'gift', families were forced to sign a document to say they were happy with the settlement. Happy that the $2,000 should clean up the human mess that bombs leave behind. For those families with little money, their options were limited.In the west, some countries have a law to protect animals. If anyone dares to harm an animal, he or she will face justice. In my country a human life can be taken very easily because there is little justice.Since the war began, mass killing has become part and parcel of everyday life. If any dare to challenge this notion or to call for justice, perhaps, they accused of being insurgents. This is the story of the ordinary Afghan.The ordinary Afghan, who testimonies I have spent years collecting, does not understand why the international forces have not found Osama Bin Laden and Mullah Omar. He does not understand his fellow countrymen and women are paying the price.Three decades of war takes its toll.Some of those ordinary Afghans killed in the bombs on two fuel tankers earlier last month, had survived Russian invasion. They would not be surprised by theirs deaths because of what they had seen once before.When a small group of Taliban hijacked two tankers which carried fuel for NATO forces in northern Kundoz, local people saw it as a chance to get free fuel for their lamps.They remembered a time back in 1980s, when Mujahideen gave out captured equipment seized from the Russian invaders. These included fuel, food, cloths and car spare parts.On pondering further on the Russian invasion, the ordinary Afghan remembers that, despite war, the USSR considered attacks on locals’ haphazard and foolhardy way to conduct their military campaign. Such attacks would only bring retaliation and in turn cause a long drawn out battle.The Russians strategy was to give to the Afghan government at the time. They didn't keep private jails and they tolerated petty looting.But the Americans and Germans decided to frightened local people when the Taliban stole their tanks, heavily bombing them. After World War II it was the first mass killing committed by German troops in the history.Isn't it strange, Afghans are saying to themselves, that while we did not expect peace from the Russian army because, well they were invaders and committed to no international treaty.Yet these Americans and Germans invaded Afghanistan under the cloak of an international treaty committed to peace. But so far, it poses a continuous threat to normal life.Lives in countless Afghan villages have been threatened since 2003, for the lives of perhaps one or two Taliban militants were hidden there. Sometimes they are killed in these deadly air strikes, other times they escape. But what is consistent is that hundreds of ordinary villagers have been killed by wild card strikes.Women rights, democracy, human rights and political stability are the constant battle cry of the invaders. But ordinary Afghans appreciation of such gifts is tampered by heavy bombs, which are damaging all hopes of democracy and justice.Meanwhile, the criminals and sadly comical farce of Karzai's government remains. After allegedly winning the elections last month, and a recount still not complete, hopes of competency governance is vanishing fast.It seems unlikely that my country will be free of its current government, full of drug lords and war criminals, who care little for social justice and democracy and more about lining their already bulging pockets.This is just a snapshot of what my fellow Afghan witnesses day by day. He also sees a resurgent Taliban, offering an alternative.And it is because of this that NATO must talk to the Taliban. There is no option but to negotiate. The Taliban alternative, while distasteful to some, is more palatable than the trekking across Europe sleep on the streets of Calais or to stay at home and hope the bombs do not fall.

حامد کرزی، حقوق بشر و انتخابات

تامین و محافظت حقوق بشر و دموکراسی در افغانستان به عنوان یکی از دلایل مهم موجودیت قوای نظامی و موسسات غیر دولتی در این کشور شناخته شده است. برای ممالکی که سربازان شان در افغانستان استند شعار هایی مانند دفاع از حقوق زنان و برابری یگانه وسیله خاموش نمودن تظاهرات افراد ملکی و جلوگیری از فشار برای بیرون کردن قوا از کشور است. مطبوعات خارج از کشور هم به اشکال مختلف کوشیده اند روی دست آورد ها در افغانستان تاکید نمایند تا از نارضایتی مردم جلوگیری کنند اما با گذشت زمان در داخل و بیرون از کشور حمایه از نیرو های خارجی کاهش یافته و بر فشار بالای دولت امریکا و سران ناتو افزوده است طوریکه ایتالیا و آلمان احتمالا به جستجوی راه بیرون رفت استند. تخلف های پی در پی دولت حامد کرزی مسبب بخشی از این نارضایتی ها است. ناتوانی حکومت مرکزی در پیگیری ناقضین حقوق بشر و حمایت آشکارای دولتی از بعضی از این متخلفین باعث دلسردی مردم افغان و جامعه جهانی می شود و باعث می شود که امید اندکی که برای بوجود آمدن ثبات و عدالت به وجود آمده هم از بین برود خصوصا چون حقوق بشر و مردم سالاری برای دولت افغانستان به مثابه شعاری برای جذب حمایت ممالک کمک کننده و ملل متحد است و خود دولت تعهد چندانی نسبت به آن ندارد.

انتخاباتی که گذشت مثالی روشنی بود از راه دوری که افغانستان تا دموکراسی دارد. حدود 1.5 میلیون رای مشکوک که 1.1 میلیون آن به نفع حامد کرزی به صندوق ها افگنده شده بودند نمایانگر این است که دولت افغانستان، که برای محافظت از حق ملت به وجود آمده بود، یکی از بزرگترین ناقضان حقوق بشر در این مملکت نیز هست. بازار گرم تجارت کارت های رای دهی و صندوق ها پر شده قبل از انتخابات که در آن حامد کرزی و طرفدارانش بزرگترین سهم را داشتند نیز نشانه بی توجهی رئیس دولت به نظر و رای مردم و بسته کردن دریچه ها به سوی مردم سالاری است. تخلف های انتخاباتی توسط آقای کرزی و گروه کمپاین انتخباتی اش به صد ها و شاید هم هزاران قضیه می رسد. اما مهم تر از همه این تخلفات استفاده کرزی از سیاست های قومی برای بدست آوردن رای مردم است. انتخاب سران قومی و جنگ سالاران احزاب وحدت، جمعیت و شورای نظار که ناقضان کهنه کار حقوق بشر در افغانستان استند به عنوان معاونین و مشارکین دولت ضربه بزرگی به افغانستان است. این رهبران سالها به نام این قوم و آن قوم با زندگی و سرنوشت مردم بازی کرده اند و نصب دوباره آنها به مقامات بلند پایه دولتی تیغی است که از عقب به افغانان و حقوق بشر زده شده. سیاست های دوگانه و قومی توسط کرزی و بعضی کاندیدا های دیگر باعث به وجود آمدن خلایی بزرگتر میان اقوام مختلف در مملکت شده و باعث می شود مردم ما چند سال دیگر را صرف جنجال با همدیگر کنند تا با استفاده از هرج و مرج جنایتکاران و مافیا افغانی و بین المللی کنترل مملکت را به دست بگیرند و راه به وجود آمدن حکومت مردمی را برای چند دهه دیگر ببندند.

قوم یگانه اسلحه برای به دست آوردن رای در انتخابات نبود حقوق اقلیت ها، حق زنان و آزادی بیان نیز نقشی بزرگی را ایفا نمودند. امضا نمودن قانون شخصیه احوال اهل تشیع افغانستان توسط کرزی را به گونه یک مثال بررسی می کنیم. بعضی از مواد این قانون که چندی پیش از سوی پارلمان تصویب و از سوی حامد کرزی، رئیس جمهوری افغانستان، توشیح گردید به صورت گسترده‌ای مورد انتقاد نهاد‌ های حقوق بشری و روشنفکران در داخل و خارج از کشور قرار گرفت. نقد اصلی این بود که در ساختن مواد این قانون زنان اهل تشیع پارلمان هیچ نقشی نداشتند و قانون آیینه طرز فکر و باور های فیصدی کوچکی از شیعه مذهبان بود. دلیل دیگر مخالفت این بود که کرزی فقط برای به دست آوردن دل بعضی از رهبران مذهبی و رای این قانون را ناخوانده امضا نمود. در حالیکه این حق تمام مذاهب افغانستان است تا قوانین مشخص به خود را داشته باشند اما مواد این قوانین باید مورد قبول اقشار مختلف آن جامعه باشد و قانون اساسی افغانستان را که حقوق مساوی برای زنان و مردان را تضمین می کند زیر پا نگذارد. توشیح این قانون نه تنها توهینی به زنان اهل تشیع افغانستان بلکه به تمام پیروان این مذهب بود و ضربه دیگری بر حقوق بشر در افغانستان بود.

پیگیری نکردن قضایای تجاوز به کودکان در سرپل، هرات و بدخشان، سنگسار یک زن در بدخشان و قتل خبرنگاران متعدد و خاموشی دولت در مقابل از بین رفتن صد ها افغان ملکی توسط قوای ناتو و ایساف در حملات هوایی و دهها جنایت دیگر روز بروز باعث پایین رفتن اعتبار دولت و حمایه کنندگان خارجی آن و بیزاری مردم از آنها می شود. تمام این قضایای و ده ها مثال دیگر از بی توجهی دولت نسبت به حقوق بشر باعث می شود که نه تنها جامعه جهانی از کمک به افغانستان رو بگرداند بلکه مردم افغان نیز نسبت به ملت سازی بی باورتر شده و اگر تا حال چنین نکرده باشند کم کم دوباره به ممالک دیگر پناه ببرند.

War is a big monstor

I always thought war is a big monster with spiky blue skin and a big left nostril that he nourishes with the smell of blood. When I was four, I imagined that every time I quarreled with my sister over the Barbie doll that we shared, War would drink a glass of Champaign with his other monster friends and laugh at how easily he tempts and conquers his human toys. Afraid of being confirmed on this frightening thought, I didn’t share it with anyone but my mother. My mom had smiled and kissed me on face saying “I will never let that monster touch you, honey.” Even though in school we were taught that all truth is worth knowing, my mother always said we should distinguish between the facts we need to know and the ones we do not. She said: “it doesn’t matter whether the monster exists or not, the important thing is how we let it control us even when it doesn’t exist.” I didn’t understand that until I was thirteen.

My mother had met War when she was a blooming rose and enjoyed over-the-wall talks with her friends. For the past 15 years I have watched the colors of this rose fade. I have seen some of the petals drop on the Bukhari* and burn as the winter wind blew harshly through the holes of our wooden door and brick cottage. Father had said we would cover the holes with wood and mud before next year’s first snow. “Until then”, he said, “You gals should hug each other tight and make sure all of you are covered and warm.” Despite the cold, the water dripping from the leak of the roof provided us, the four daughters, with entertainment as we competed on catching them before they fall into the bucket placed by mother. The rainy and snowy nights of winter were haunted with poverty, hunger and need for peace but the tales of elders in the family kept us distracted and warm until we fall asleep.

The elders would talk politics, gossip about the evils of the war and drink lots of tea to stay warm. They would warn us, the children, to avoid becoming toys in the hands of humans who were loyal servants to war. “War brings poverty and ignorance, which cause slavery of one’s body and mind” my grandma would say as she braided my hair. I knew the monster would shiver and scream with outrage when we heard these words of wisdom. I knew he would breathe heavily and his nostrils would expand. He would feel thirst for more celebrations, more blood, more hunger and more devastation.

The thorny fingers of war touched me in 1991 when I was 40 days old. 18 years I have lived with war and watched the bricks of our house fall. My mom hugged me and run out of our house to the street. Houses falling everywhere. Bricks breaking everywhere. I saw how everyone claimed and fought for one of the bricks without thinking of the house. Today, I watch people trying to build new houses with their one brick forgetting about the common house; the house where they come from. I don’t see any hands covering the holes and protecting the children against the cold breeze. I see blood streams flowing out each hole. There were children with fingers that froze searching for food and parents who sold their children to save them from starvation. The monster watched women with burqas who stayed nights out to survive poverty and save their children and mocked us. There were more Champaign glasses for the monster. I know if we don’t open the windows for sunlight to reach, many more roses will also lose color and die and many more will steal the bricks of our house to build their own palaces.

*Bukhari: Afghan traditional heater

G20 Summit and Afghanistan

In my previous article, I have explained in detail the impacts of Global Financial crisis on Afghanistan. This article will analyse the importance of G-20 summit for Afghanistan.

As the World economy further gets victimised by the “economic monster” of modern capitalism and an increasing number of both developed and developing nations enter recession, it was obvious that G-20 summit in London will largely focus on tackling the economic slump. It has been over a week since the heads of state and governments of G-20 group gathered in London to seek solutions for the many economic challenges created by financial crises. Leaders of the world’s largest economies discussed plans to deal with the severe economic downturn, restore growth in the short term, reshape financial system, preserve global trading system, and laying foundations for a sustainable economic recovery.

Despite agreeing on some key points to restore confidence, growths, and jobs, strengthen financial supervision and regulation, fund and reform international financial institutions to overcome such crisis and prevent future ones, promote global trade and investment and reject protectionism, support sustainable recovery, the summit also agreed on providing $1.1 trillion in resources to the IMF and other international institutions to confront the economic crises. The figure includes an agreement to boost the IMF's lending resources from its current level of $250 billion to $750 billion while an additional $250 billion is allocated to boost World trade and $100 billion would be given in aid for developing countries.

Afghanistan would certainly be benefited directly and indirectly both in the long and short terms by the agreements made in the G-20 summit. Firstly, Afghanistan requires exactly the same parameters to economically grow and to have strong financial integrated markets. This may well be a long term goal but it would only be possible if the global economy is in good health. Secondly, there are now more funds available ($750bn) with international financial institutions and a small fraction of which can rescue Afghanistan in the time of need, in case the international community fails to finance Afghan government machinery, which is very unlikely, but that would be costly and tied with many unkind conditions. However, in the past six months many developing nations such as Ukraine, Hungary and Pakistan have turned to IMF for much needed funds despite many strict demands. Thirdly, the extra $100bn in aid for developing countries will help Afghanistan to continue with projects mostly financed by the International development and financial organisations such the World Bank, IMF, and Asian Development Bank. Fourthly and most importantly, Afghanistan is likely to benefit more from the promotion of global trade and investment than borrowing, charity or aid. The figure of $250 billion is set aside to boost World trade; however it is too early to comment on the share and nature of trade and investment promotion Afghanistan will receive.

In short, the G-20 summit would benefit the World’s economy and developing countries including Afghanistan to an extent but it would not find magic solutions within few months or perhaps few years. Nevertheless, the recovery of World’s economy will have two very important positive impacts on Afghanistan’s economy.

First – Private sector development, international trade and investment would grow again, and which is vital for a Self-sufficient Economy. In the initial euphoria after the fall of Taliban in 2001, private investment grew steadily to $1.2-billion in 2006. But it slid to $646-million in 2007 and has plummeted further to $316-million by September 2008. The figure for 2009 is also not very promising either according to the Afghan Investment Support Agency. Private sector development will only take when the World’s economy is in good shape. Historically, World economy has grown well after such crisis and developing nations are equally benefited.

Second - Aid from the international community and non-governmental organizations makes up about 40 percent of Afghanistan's legal GDP, which means, greater the financial crisis, deeper the negative impacts would be on Afghanistan. Thus, the recovery of global economy is in the best interest of Afghanistan, which would ensure the continuous inflow of funds in the form of international aid to finance government’s spending and funding other key projects.

G-20 summit may help to ease the global economic pain. However, Afghanistan needs a G-20 style summit to specifically assist in rebuilding financial system, fostering trade and investment and strengthening overall economy. The international community prioritizing economic reconstruction and infrastructural development is still lacking.

Afghanistan probably does not need more NGOs that come, start projects and leave when the funding runs out. We need the development of private sector which is something not largely prioritized and as a result reconstruction goals have not been met and strategic economic objectives are not achieved. Afghanistan needs investment, which would simply create more jobs, will generate more revenue for the government, would increase production and exports, and would lay down an economic platform for ordinary Afghans. Unless, the international community pave the way for a long-term sustainable economic recovery and growth, and help to establish an environment suitable for trade and investment, Afghanistan would fail to boost fiscal revenue, create the required amount of jobs, and alleviate mounting poverty. The Afghan government would also need to work hard with the international community to ensure good, transparent and accountable governance, correct enforcement of laws and regulations and the correct implementation and execution of trade and investment policies if they are truly serious to secure a viable economic future.

The impact of Global Financial crisis on Afghanistan

The global financial crisis has already greatly damaged developed economies and the economic slowdown is yet to continue in most developing countries. Governments across the World injected huge amount of cash into financial markets and brought interest rates to record level low, but many economists believe that the worst is yet to come. The World seems to be trapped in deep financial crises with major Stock markets around the globe down by more than 40% from their recent high while several major Investment banks have collapsed and many other rescued by their national government’s bailout packages. Key indicators of the global economic activities such as shipping rates are dropping at shocking rates.

What does this all mean for Afghanistan and how Afghanistan would be affected by the global financial crisis?

The impact of financial crisis may have not yet heavily felt in Afghanistan primarily because our economy is not fully integrated with the modern global economy and global financial markets. This financial isolation may be to Afghanistan’s benefit, keeping the economy away from the immediate effects of the economic meltdown across the world. The World Bank's country manager for Afghanistan Mariam Sherman is also positive about the economic outlook of Afghanistan and feels that “the global financial crisis is unlikely to have great damaging implications for Afghanistan primarily because the financial sector of Afghanistan is relatively small and has no major role in financing economic activities, and has also very limited international exposure".

However, the analysis of Sherman does not mean that we may completely escape the shocks of “once-in-a-century credit tsunami” as termed by Alan Greenspan. Like many other developing countries, Afghanistan may possibly face new challenges and there could be long-term direct and indirect consequences of the global financial crisis.

The single major and immediate direct risk is Foreign aid. Afghanistan is a highly aid dependent country and relies heavily on foreign aid for 90 percent of government budget. As also pointed by Sherman that any cuts on aid by donor countries, which themselves are in deep financial crisis can adversely affect the inflows of aid and that would be challenging for Afghanistan.

Canada and some European countries are facing increasing economic problems at home and many question, whether they will pour billions of dollars at a time when they are strapped for cash with increasing criticism from their public that there are few signs of success in Afghanistan. It is however, the US that provides more than half of foreign aid and if this crisis worsens further in America, where President Obama is struggling to cut back on an ever increasing budget deficit, then many experts believe that foreign aid might be slashed down and Afghanistan would have to bear the brunt of a global crisis.

Another area that can possibly be affected is the foreign investment in Afghanistan. Foreign direct investment in Afghanistan has been increased year-on-year and has been enjoying steadily growth since 2002. Foreign investment in Afghanistan may fall as many companies and investors face huge cash shortages and there may also be the possibility of slashing funds from ongoing projects. The worsening security situation in the country may further create challenges for the Afghan government.

The indirect consequences will be that Afghanistan’s exports may decline as imports of the recession hit economies would fall. Export growth is already slowing markedly in several developing countries.

Remittances from Afghan expatriates, communities and workers abroad may also decline mostly in recession affected rich countries. Afghanistan has received over $3.3 billion from its expatriate community in 2006 alone while $500 million come from Iran annually. If countries like Iran, Germany, Netherlands, Canada, Britain, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Turkey and India with sizeable Afghan population plunge into extend financial crisis, the affect would surely be felt at home in the form of less remittances being sent to Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is not exposed to other potential risks faced by many other developing countries such the sudden withdrawal of foreign capital from several developing countries which has caused dramatic falls in their exchange rate. While other developing currencies rise and fall, the Afghani remains stable at around 52 to the dollar which is about the same since the start of financial crisis which is again partly due to US support of the Da Afgahistan Bank / Central Bank.

There is also the risk of unemployment in the case of prolong financial crisis and cuts in foreign aid which could also have social effects such lower growth translating into higher poverty, more crime, corruption, less spending in the public services and even more difficulties meeting the strategic Development challenges of Afghanistan.

As the global financial crisis are becoming viral and the goal to increase more troops and financial funding may become even tougher for Afghanistan. The Afghan government and International Community now more than ever, need a clear financial strategy as well as military strategy if it is to “win” this struggle in Afghanistan.

Preparing for Tomorrow

Is it coincidental that Islam is going through a reformation 1400 years after its birth just like Christianity whose reformation started in the early 1500A.D? Different Christian sects such as the Protestants and Catholics fought with themselves until they learnt to live with their differences (relatively).

Afghanistan, the battlefield of world's most conflicts – first a buffer state between the British Empire and USSR, then the Russian Invasion and US supported war against them, then Al-Qaida’s training camp - is once again being used, not to decide on a new super-power but to decide on which sect is the true recreation of the values that were once in place during the reign of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). Wahabi, a Saudi backed sect has been penetrating the South and East of Afghanistan for quite a while now. Shia, an Iranian backed sect has now joined in the race from the North. It is a war of ideology that is working on a grass roots level to gain strength and support in the country. It hasn't resorted to violence yet, but one that will create chaos in the next decade to come. Educational institutes, a place for unbiased and progressive education to flourish, are now at the centre of this divide.

It won’t be the first time religion is used as a reason to make Afghans go to war. The only difference this round will be that the enemy will not be a foreign invader, at least not physically. Both opponents will be Muslims, both believing their chosen sect is the right one and their key to heaven.

Those who have a religion carry a great amount of love and respect for it – some consider it personal while others believe it is their duty to spread it far and wide. There are different methods used by religious preachers to spread their selected religion and the one they believe is the right one. A religious missionary in his or her truest form will never harm, but only try to raise awareness about the path he/she believes is the right one and will make the world a better place. Fundamentalism, on the other hand is largely politically motivated – using the less informed to turn them in to extremists.

When thinking about religious fundamentalism the first thing that comes to mind implied is Islam - a misleading idea promoted by the Western media to justify the shameful war in Afghanistan and Iraq. There are Christian and Jewish fundamentalists, certainly more (some are) discrete in their operations and with more control of the situation to keep their work low profile. The dispute on ID and evolution is a good example of the existence of fundamentalism in the American politics.

Fundamentalism doesn’t have quick fixes; it cannot be resolved by war. Those who are fighting the war know this – a clear indication that the current war has other political/financial reasons than abolishing fundamentalism. It is a widely known fact that prevention is better than cure. It is too late for prevention in some cases. To undo that damage will require strategic work and time. Where it is not too late, staying vigilant and protecting the society from the things that would cause harm is important, such as in the case of preventing a future sectarian war.

Looking back at history, when the Christians were busy fighting the inter-religious war and while there was still religious persecution in place from the 1300AD to 1600AD they stayed confined to Europe and made no significant scientific progress. The current state of the Muslim world explains why that was the case. On the contrary, this (between 8th and 16th century) was a peaceful time for the Muslims; they made significant scientific discoveries and were at the peak of their cultural and intellectual progress – known as the Islamic Golden Age. Ibne-Sina (Avicenna), Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (Rumi), Alzheimer, Algebra, chemistry (then Alchemy) are well known contributors and contributions to scientific and intellectual progress. (Wikipedia article - Science in medieval Islam is a good starting point to find out more for those interested)

Moreover, the Muslim empire was spread over three continents, Africa, Asia and Europe. (See Map of the Islamic Empire) Its downfall started when Muslims diverted their focus to nationalism, power and greed. It coincides with the rise of the Christian's progress in both scientific and intellectual fields.

Afghanistan is not the only country in the region with a Muslim population of different religious groups (sects). However, what makes this country more vulnerable to its devastating effect is the high level illiteracy and religious ignorance. In addition to this it is an already divided nation on many fronts widely known such as ethnicity, language, and now religion. The attitude of divide has grown so much that it is in everything we do. If there is no reason for a divide, we create one. The latest one that came with the American invasion was the gender divide. Every Afghan woman I meet with the potential of making a real difference in the life of all Afghans work for the progress of women alone and every man is against it. What about the nation? What about integration? Without noticing it, we have formed an imbalanced society which is vulnerable and incomplete. Afghans’ good majority, who will soon be on the front line of this sectarian war, cannot differentiate religious obligations to cultural. Some widely known examples are:

• Divorce is an acceptable but not favoured practice in Islam; however it is over ruled by the Afghan culture. In most cases, no matter how unhappy the couples are in a marriage, they are not allowed to divorce.

• Racism and slavery were forbidden by Islam 1400 years ago. In the famous farewell pilgrimage speech by the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), he said ‘There is only one God, and no Arab is superior to a Non-Arab; nor is a Non-Arab superior to an Arab; a White is not superior to a Black, nor a Black over the White. The only criterion for superiority is Taqwa – i.e. righteousness, piety, and God-consciousness'. Yet the first question an Afghan asks you will pertain to if you are an Afghan: “Where in Afghanistan are you from?” The answer to this question decides whether you qualify to be human or not, in his/her eyes. Most Afghans seem to think every other ethnicity should be wiped off the face of the earth or at least suppressed because their own tribe/ethnicity is the best. All the other ethnicities are a curse God sent upon them. This is fascism in its clearest form obviously banned by Islam.

• Islam has mentioned men and women exactly the same number of times in the Quran (24 times each), explicitly gave them an equal status, and made education a must on both of them. The culture only favours men. Culture over rules Islam yet again.

It is probably weaknesses in religious practices, as above, and the lack of understanding of the religion Islam itself amongst the general public that is fuelling religious conflicts. Whatever the reason is, it is going to set Afghanistan and possibly the region back in to chaos for many decades. The flames of this conflict will most certainly burn whatever is left of Afghanistan if preventative measures are not taken immediately.

Recent Afghanistan – Summer 2008

When travelling to Afghanistan every visitor optimistically looks for signs of positive change. Hearing about fuel tankers and other vital supplies being shot and burnt by the Taliban on the main transit route (Jalalabad-Kabul) puts things right back into perspective. The daily bombings, kidnappings and killings raise major concerns about the lack of security even inside the capital of Kabul which was fairly safer just a year ago.

Reconstruction is just as painfully slow as ever and the frustration of the locals over the presence of the International Forces is growing very rapidly. The job of the donor community is perceived as being inadequate in its manner of unfair distribution of moneys, paying extremely high salaries to International staff, who do less to nothing but offend people with their expensive cars, etc. Even the donor community and the NGOs themselves are not investing in Afghanistan so how can they encourage others to do just that. The rent they pay for a year could easily build them an extravagant building. Because of their occupation of all the houses and the high rent they can afford, no one other than them can even think of living in a reasonable house.

CDP, a project of USAID, which received a fund of $218million supposedly works on capacity building but what does CDP do? I have yet to figure that out exactly. The feeling here amongst professionals is that they don’t even know what to do with the money they have – what a way to build capacity! I sat in one of their “Strategic Planning” training sessions which was no more than a complete waste of time and of course a lot of money. The money that donors pledge for the poor, the hungry, the orphans, the widows, and the less fortunate – all go to those already with deep pockets. If the donations stop, only the rich will suffer, not the poor because quite frankly they never stopped suffering. If they are not suffering more now then they are definitely not suffering any less than before.

Civil Servants from other countries take a leave from their job, so they can be rich overnight in Afghanistan by getting extremely high salaries for – once again doing nothing and the skills they bring with them “to benefit Afghans” are greed and corruption. All the hiring posts are occupied by them and the only people they hire are their own except for the posts allocated directly from donor countries such as the US. International “talents” are hired just so they can complain about the poor state of Afghanistan, its culture, security, lack of infrastructure, unemployment, pollution, dust and make fun of people. They do all that “work” while earning more in a month here than they could possibly earn in a year back home. This is without their security, housing and partying costs to make them feel at home. All this could be done by a local employee too plus it would mean one less unemployed Afghan.
It is not just about how money is spent. Donors pledge money but they never deliver as much as they promise. The only exception was Britain, last time a survey was undertaken it showed Britain spent more than it pledged.

Just a few days in Afghanistan is enough to make you heart break with disappointment and injustice. Yet you still see smiling faces everywhere; you see optimism in everyone and hope in the eyes of every child. Real progress is not in buildings or wealth but in the happiness of people. If people are happy than that is all that matters. Its not that the people here are used to the injustice so they have stopped caring or their smiles are fake because eyes never lie. So what is keeping the Afghans in high spirit and proud after 30 years of war, destruction, misery and injustice?

The only thing I find common amongst all Afghans is their strong faith. Could it be that? Faith as many scholars say is a power and a source of energy. It might be that energy, which keeps them going. The power of faith is described in every religion from Islam to Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism. In the Gospel Jesus says that people with faith could move mountains. Islam says that those who have faith “They have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve”. Its not just religions that preach the power of faith, Napoleon Hill said, "Whatsoever the mind of man can conceive and BELIEVE he can achieve."

Soul as believed by Muslims (most Afghans are Muslims) is immortal and the strength that belief of immortality in itself must give people an enormous amount of hope. Knowing that, this life is not everything and that there will be an end to the misery may make it easier to live with. Any temporary torture may be bearable as the belief is that it will only be for a short time. More suffering in life means more rewards in heaven. This is what the feeling must be amongst the people in Afghanistan which gives them hope and the energy to remain happy in the never ending anguish that is brought upon them.

Localisation

Localisation is usually associated with mere translation of technology in to local languages; however it actually means adapting to local needs. A technology that may work in one country does not necessarily work in another even if their languages are the same, due to geographical and environmental differences. Adapting to local needs may include language translation to make it understandable to the local population.

Various Afghan institutions have been heavily involved in Localisation, including private/public sectors and the non-governmental organisations (NGO). While their work is worth admiring, it is subject to many flaws that are yet to be filled.

Bandwidth is an expensive commodity worldwide but especially in Afghanistan. A mere double (128Kbps) of a dial-up (56Kbps) speed costs 300 US Dollars (~ £160) per month. It is therefore important to be optimised to accommodate more users and to bring costs down. Over one billion users are connected to the Internet worldwide. Making access to the internet accessible to all those who can in Afghanistan would mean giving those Afghans over one billion opportunities to explore, learn from, do business with, socialise with, make friends with, etc.

Optimisation is far from being achieved here (in Afghanistan), it is actually being wasted. The ISPs (Internet Service Providers) seem to be more concerned with making money rather than making the internet market grow. I say this because the current internet users in the country mostly use windows and a killer for bandwidth that is associated with windows is its updates. Currently every windows user downloads updates directly through the backbone (via satellite) [See Figure 1 as an example]. The load on the backbone makes less available bandwidth and hence not only prevents the ISP from giving new connections out to new users but also affects the speed for the current users. Investing in a local cache server would avoid the repetitive download of the updates by each user separately [see Figure 2 for an example]. If a user wants to install the updates 10 times, it would not affect other users but only his own.

The other issue concerned with the localisation at the moment is the lack of awareness about the software and its costs. The average income of an Afghan is between $200 and $350 per year. A legal copy of Windows XP costs about $560 locally. For Afghanistan to be able to sell its software in the international market it would first need to comply with Intellectual Property and Copy Right laws. However, if most people cannot afford to buy the software, then enforcing the law becomes a problem. Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) and its localisation is therefore important to provide Afghans with something they can afford. Although there is no lack of support for FOSS in the ICT sector itself but it is struggling to gain the support it needs from the government and financial support institutes (donor community). The awareness amongst the public as to why they should change to open source is also lacking.

For a system to have flaws, it will have to exist first. In a place like Afghanistan it is difficult to foresee the future clearly; hence the work is usually carried out to fulfil the immediate needs without full analysis. It might be due to those reasons, that everything was/is done superficially. However, the good thing is the ICT industry is growing rapidly and the necessary improvements may clearly be seen as the number of professionals increase in the country. Despite its flaws, if there is a success story in Afghanistan, it would have to be the growth of its ICT sector. It has come a long way in the past five years but still has a long way to go. A well developed ICT sector will boost the economy and serve as an enabler tool for development and education. It will also address the divide between those who have access to information and those that do not.

Some ministries are working on e-governance. It wouldn’t be effective if the population has no access/limited access to the internet. The importance of internet can be summarised in the words of Stuart Lynn, President of ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Numbers and Names) in a presentation to the United Nations ICT Taskforce (October 2002), “If you can’t be found on the Internet, you don’t exist.”

Making local adaptation of ICT available and affordable is critical for the progress of Afghanistan. Let’s hope it will be very soon! There is a dedicated organisation just for the ICT sector – National ICT Alliance of Afghanistan (NICTAA) – an umbrella association of the ICT related private sector, academia and civil society. Its work has already made a huge difference and I hope it will continue its contribution to the progress of the Afghan ICT sector.