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2 AFGHANISTAN'S HIGHWAY TO
HELL Rebuilding and
reconciliation By Syed Saleem Shahzad
districts of the province were
sitting, members of newly formed tribal councils.
They were talking about prolonging ceasefire deals
with the Taliban.
"We don't have any
problems with the Taliban. The Taliban are the
sons of the soil. They are Afghans. You could see
I had people here from Nawzad and Sangeen; they
are all pro-Taliban. We talk to each other and are
sincere in finding solutions for the
betterment of Afghanistan,"
Governor Wafa said.
"The problem is the
ISI's [Pakistan's Inter-Services
Intelligence]Taliban. Those who get money from the
ISI and fight with their own people. I don't
consider them Afghans," Wafa said.
"I term
the present insurgency unleashed on the people of
Afghanistan a war imposed by Pakistan. But the
history of Afghanistan is witness that foreign
invaders have never been successful in Afghanistan
and are always defeated. So, too, will Pakistan,"
Wafa said.
Wafa is optimistic that through
his tribal councils he will make a difference and
will persuade the masses to cooperate in opening
up schools and eliminating poppy fields. He said a
new phase of reconstruction in the province
through the Afghan government will change the
province's dynamics.
Wafa was somewhat
unnerved when I mentioned that suicide attacks in
the province had not stopped, and I referred to
the one on his offices just days earlier. "I
cannot comment on that," said.
The
governor and his tribal councils are now versed in
the latest strategy of the foreign coalition to
make an enduring effort by engaging Afghans in so
many reconstruction projects that their hearts and
minds will be won over. Nevertheless, the biggest
problem is how actually to engage the people in
the projects.
Barry Kavanagh is a
development adviser for the British Department for
International Development, which assists
provincial reconstruction teams in Helmand.
"Yes, there is a general complaint here in
southwestern Afghanistan that northern Afghanistan
has received a lot in comparison to the south in
terms of reconstruction projects. But the fact is
that the north is secure and the south is not.
"Even Afghan officials are scared for
their lives working in this region. No NGO
[non-governmental organization] is ready to visit
Helmand province, which is the reason coalition
countries do not launch projects in southwestern
Afghanistan," said Kavanagh.
"However, now
we have chalked out a strategy under which we ask
Afghans to set targets and priorities. We will
only arrange the money, like we recently earmarked
a development budget of 20 million pounds sterling
[US$39 million] for Helmand province. This will be
given to the federal Ministry of Finance, which
will then pass it on to the Ministry of Rural
Affairs. It will then come to the provincial
government, which will consult with the tribal
councils and then award the contracts to Afghan
contractors. They will only employ Afghan youths
to execute the project.
"Since the money
belongs to British taxpayers, we will make sure
through supervision that the money is used for the
projects and does not go into the [wrong]
pockets," Kavanagh maintained.
According
to Kavanagh, such projects have only been in
operation for a month, so it will take some time
for them to have an "enduring effect".
"Most of our focus is on capacity-building
and engaging Afghans, and of course this is not an
easy task. You cannot build capacity in days in a
region which has been ruined in the last 30 years
and all the brains have been drained abroad. It
will take at least 20 years to build real
capacity," Kavanagh said.
Squadron Leader
Elizabeth Hyde is the officer in charge of civil
military cooperation, an interface in southwestern
Afghanistan. Hyde is enthusiastic because in the
past few months the security situation has
improved after the implementation of ceasefire
agreements between occupation forces and the
Taliban.
"We have selected 50 girls for
the midwifery program. Generally, people do not
allow their girls to be trained for such programs
in which they are required to go out from their
homes, but we finally managed to at least start
our program with 50 girls," said Hyde. The program
has also been pursuing teachers who have been
scared off by the Taliban to return to their
schools.
The biggest problem is the gulf
between the foreign aid missions and the local
people. The tribal councils make things happen,
but in the past they are known to have pocketed
much money. NGOs would also normally help, but
there aren't any in Helmand province because of
the security situation.
The initiative in
Helmand is just months old. To re-establish tribal
networks effectively as a bottom-up means to
rebuild the province - both socially and
physically - could take years.
This might
be too long. The Taliban are certainly using the
breathing space they have negotiated to beef up
their resources in preparation for their spring
offensive. The tribes will be caught in a
tug-of-war between joining the Taliban's mass
revolt and the lure of massive infrastructure
projects.
Syed Saleem Shahzad is
Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief. He can
be reached at saleem_shahzad2002@yahoo.com.
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