Association of Afghan Blog Writers (AABW)

Sahar Gul’s Story, A Clear Image of Women’s Life in Afghanistan

2012-01-12T17:29:00.000+04:30

By Basir Ahang

photo source: thedailybeast.com

On December 27th, 2011, 15 year old Sahar Gul was discovered imprisoned in her in-law’s musty, dark cellar by the Baghlan Province Police. Seven months earlier, while living in Badakhshan Province, Sahar had been forced into marriage. The police report stated the young girl had been imprisoned, tortured and violently beaten by the husband and his family because she refused to work and earn money as a prostitute.

Sahar was in critical condition when she arrived to a hospital in Polikhomri. The doctors reported she had multiple injuries from the abuse, including a broken shoulder and head trauma. Her torture included someone pulling her fingernails out.

After stabilization, Sahar was transferred to a hospital in Kabul. Soraya Dalil, Supervisor of the Ministry of Health, told journalists that Sahar Gul’s physical condition should improve in several months, but the consequences of negative psychological shocks may remain throughout her lifetime.

Sahar Gul’s story is only one of the thousands of stories of torture and cruel abuse currently experienced daily by Afghanistan women. Whether defamation or traditional conservativeness, most of these women’s stories will continue to remain untold. Seeking justice for their suffering would only expose them; leaving minimal chances for survival after retaliation from the abuser.

What happened to fifteen year old Sahar Gul, her forced marriage, torture and abuse, is a clear example of violation of women’s rights in Afghanistan. Despite the president of the country visiting Sahar in the hospital and ordering the abusive family to be prosecuted, these cases have appeared thousands of times before only to find the violators have gone unpunished.

This violence against Sahar Gul has been vastly reported by media and human rights activists. Once again, the concern for women’s rights in Afghanistan is being voiced louder than ever. When will violators be prosecuted and imprisoned as punishment for their crimes against women?

Last month, the office of UNAMA (United Nations Assisted Mission in Afghanistan) in Kabul criticized the Afghan government for limited application of the "Elimination of Violence Against Women Law“. Based on a UNAMA report, of the 2,299 reported cases of violence against women recorded between March 2010 and June 2011, only 26 cases were processed. Also in this report, only 7% of violators were condemned to punishment by the Afghan courts.

Enacted in 2009, this "Elimination of Violence Against Women Law" forbids more than twenty types of violence against women, including underage marriages, forced marriages, forced suicide and forbids any exchange of a female to resolve a dispute. Rape and physical attacks on women are also considered crimes for sentencing.

Afghanistan Human Rights Commission states there were 1,026 reported cases of violence against women in the first six months of 2011. In most cases, the women are very afraid to file a complaint, stating there is a considerable chance they will be punished severely for doing so. Another 2011 report by OXFOM, shows 87% of Afghanistan women have experienced physical violence including physical and sexual harassment or forced marriage.

Read Full Story On Kabulpress

Snow in Kabul

2012-01-11T15:19:00.000+04:30

: Kabul Winter

It is really cold out their. All the mountains and hills were covered with full snow. And it was really I mean extremely cold. It is still cold but the snow is all melted now. Because of the sun. Although I love snow but one thing hate and don't like about it is in Kabul it is the best that it should not snow. Because there is different things that is problem in Kabul with snow. I will tell you:

1/ There is going to a lot of mud in Kabul streets

2/ For poor people there is not going to be enough wood to burn to get warm

3/ Mud houses are going to collapse due to too much snow

4/ Flood!

See there will be a lot of trouble for most of the people. But again nothing can beat up snow beauty. It is really beautiful and amazing. People tell stories about snow in the past that was in Kabul. Most of them say that decades ago their was a lot of snow and rain in winter season. They say that it was reaching like half a meter in a way. To say this technically I don't know what is the reason for this? Because they say amount of snow have changed from the past till yet. It may be Global Warming. It might be because of Climate Change.

All in all I always want the Kabul city to be white. With snow. For some people snow might bring them depression and sadness kind of...But for some people it is awesome and beautiful.

No Shelter, No Protection: Afghanistani Asylum Seekers Struggle to Survive in Greece

2011-12-31T01:27:00.005+04:30

by Basir Ahang
Within the sprawling city of Athens, Greece, Victoria Park resembles a war front camp. Close to a thousand Afghanistani asylum seekers, many are children, now call this park home. Hoping to put the struggles of a war torn homeland behind them, they left Afghanistan to find security. Sadly, the hunger, homelessness, cruelty and desperation has followed them on their path.

Zulmay, an Afghanistani refugee has been attacked several times by men he suspects are from a Greek nationalist group.

‘This park is the only sanctuary for us. If we go outside of this park, we are assaulted.” His eye is swollen, oozing and bruised. An injury confirming his claim of mistreatment by Greek assailants.

“If we go outside of the park, the Greek police will not protect us. The Greek police are reluctant to interfere when we are attacked. I went to the police when my head was bleeding after an assault. The police told me I should defend myself if I am attacked. Clearly, the Greek police will not register our complaints of harassment or assault.”

Zulmay says it is not good to fight back. It will only worsen the situation for a refugee and it could land them in jail or prison. He is not going to take the chance of being separated from his wife and children just to fight back.

“My family needs me. I must find us shelter and food. I want to find a job to take care of my family.”

Along the roads of Athens, young Afghanistani refugee children work selling handmade items. For six months now, brothers Fareed, 8, and Hamyoon, 11, walk the streets selling to survive. Everyone in the family must do their part to earn money. Their parents ask them to earn at least 15 Euros before returning home to the park. It is a rough life compared to the children eating cereal and milk for breakfast in front of a television. A school bus will not arrive to taxi these refugee children to school for education. For now, the streets of Athens are their classroom. The lesson for “survival of the fittest” is now in session.

These Afghanistani refugees are waiting to be processed by the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), a UN agency mandated to protect and support refugees. The commission assists in the voluntary repatriation, local integration and resettlement. It is an immense and complicated process.

Consumed with their own economic troubles, it appears there are Greeks without care for the plight of refugees. You would think that a people so steeped with a history of war would understand such things. The days of Spartacus are long gone. Why must a refugee fight for his life and the life of his children within this arena? Would it have been better they starve or die on the battlefields of Afghanistan?

The cruelty and confinement in Athens has many refugees feeling an urgency to smuggle their families out of Greece and into neighboring European countries.

“We are not a danger to Greece. We only want to find safe shelter and a little food to feed our children. We desire a secure place to live and find work. Our people are capable and willing to work. We want our children to have a chance for education. Shouldn‘t everyone be allowed a safe place to raise a family? In my homeland, every day I felt fearful a bomb or bullets would destroy my family. Many of us have already suffered loss from the death of a loved one. A war that I did not start took away jobs and food for my family. No one should have to endure such things.” These words from an Afghanistani refugee mother sound like those of any parent concerned for their child.

Read Full Story On Kabulpress

Band-e-Amir (Afghanistan's Wonder)

2011-12-26T06:13:00.000+04:30

Band Amir Bamyan

There is something really hard to know when is this war is going to be over, I mean it has been 30 years and only 10 years since Afghanistan is facing Taliban. Since then there have been some changes but from my point of view not that much that I expected. In some places there is no school and there is no hospital at all. In some places there is no water for the crops. And of course that year there will be no product, and this leads that economy will not grow.I don’t know what will happen with Afghanistan’s economy when NATO leave Afghanistan in 2014. It is going to be a hard time. And that is for sure.

From the time that there has been war in Afghanistan , it made Afghanistan a bit more down from culture to tourists. I have seen photos and weekly magazines that before war there was a lot of tourists coming from around the world.

Places like this is very rare in the modern world.

Band Amir Bamyan

A few short words about Band Amir: Band Amir have seven places like this one. Or seven dams like this and each one have different style and water. It was once a very huge touristic place. Afghanistan have a very rich History of places. Each is like a legend and some are unknown.

Band Amir Bamyan

Band Amir is located in Bamyan province in Afghanistan.

Band Amir was once elected as Afghanistan’s first national park in 1960′s but unfortunately that did not happened due to Kabul situation of War. In 2004, Band-e Amir was submitted for recognition as a World Heritage site.

Band-e-Amir Bamyan

And finally in 2009 it was declared to be Afghanistan’s first national park. Some say that there is 6 dams but I have heard that there is 7 dams more. Anyways/

The six dams are these :

Band-e Gholaman (slaves)
Band-e Qambar (Caliph Ali’s slave)
Band-e Haibat (grandiose)
Band-e Panir (cheese)
Band-e Pudina (wild mint)
Band-e Zulfiqar (the sword of Ali)

Band-e-Amir , Bamyan

I am praying that our touristic places to be back in list of touristic places in the world. It is going to be a great achievement for Afghanistan. Most of the world countries get their economics mostly from tourists from around the world.

I will recommend you to go to this attractive place. Of course when this stupid war is over. Or at least better.I went there for 1 day like some 5 years ago. And it is magical and unbelievable the water is like real blue unlike other rivers. And some believe that, dams water is pure and will give health.

Why Do I Blog?

2011-12-17T14:22:00.000+04:30

Why Do I blog?

As a young blogger, I see blogging as a way to share my positive thoughts and ideas on different subjects, arts (photography, drawings), news about Afghanistan and issues on a much a larger scale that is global issues affecting all of us. I do it mainly because it is a personal hobby for me. Blogging is not too much old as it became very popular in 1998. I started blogging in fall of 2010 and so my blog is not too old. There are many reasons that I like to discuss about why I like to blog.

Blogging is now a very social thing. Everyone can keep a blog for different purposes. One can connect and make friends around the world. It doesn’t require any special knowledge of writing and is very easy to start. Blogging is now also a serious thing. Some blogger have actually been punished by governments for expressing their ideas. Their writings have been seen as an insult to the governments and as a result some writers have had to face jail. On the other hand, bloggers's also get respectful prizes for their blogs specially the ones who write academically and on important global affairs. People use their blogs as a source of genuine information. Personally, I write my blog because I think writing is an important tool in understanding many issues and getting a message across to people.

Blogging

When I blog, I feel like I am communicating my feelings and thoughts; communicating not only with the world out there but also with myself. As I write I put my feelings and thoughts into words and so I am in touch with the world, I communicate with the world. Sometimes I look at what I write, evaluate it and re-shape it. At times, I leave it as it comes with no more editing. I evaluate and edit my original thoughts and writings because it helps transfer my thoughts in a way that is understandable to the people who read my blog. After all, what I feel and write may not always be perceived as I intend but it helps a lot when thoughts are transferred neatly into words. But sometimes it is best to leave the words untouched and the interpretation to the reader’s own imagination. Sometimes I just write about what I dream. Sometimes I write about things that I would like to do one day. It may look like fiction, but one day I hope I will be able to do some of those. For example I want to go to the Amazons or climb to the top of the Himalayas.

Therefore as I write, I feel I am creating and the joy of creating is known to all.

I blog because there is so much I want to say. As a kid with great ambition and thus my blog title “akidwithgreatambition”, blogging is my first platform where I can raise awareness about issues that are close to my heart, important for me and I think important for everyone else. I write about nature. I write about how beautiful this world is and it can be for all. I write about nature because I want everyone to know about it and appreciate it as I do. I love our planet and am greatly concerned about how it is changing due to reckless behaviour of people. It makes me angry when I hear that thousands of hectares of forest are being cleared every year in Amazon for instance. I write about global warming so I can stay up to date with matters related to it and at the same time inform my readers about this important topic.

People might think it is a serious issue that adults should deal with but I believe the responsibility to keep our home clean and sustainable lies on everyone’s shoulders including kids my age. If we develop good habits of recycling, reducing pollution and buying environmentally friendly goods from a young age, we are more likely to keep such habits for the rest of our life and transfer them to our children too. So I write to help myself understand global warming better and raise awareness about it.

I also want to be a voice for the voiceless. I want to write and share about the painful life of kids in Afghanistan with the rest of the world by blogging. A large number of children are homeless in Afghanistan and they live on the streets. Most of them are beggars and labourers. In developed parts of the world, children don’t have to do any work. They enjoy their childhood and are worry free. In Afghanistan and a few other countries, children are deprived of their childhood and have to work or beg to feed their families. Most of them are abused too. These children do not have the same opportunity that I have so I write to share their pain and suffering with the world. I feel connected to them when I do this. One day I will be able to do more for them.

I also write my blog to inform the world about my country Afghanistan. People have seen a lot of negative things about Afghanistan on the media but I want to show them the other side too. I want the world to know that there is another side to all of this, a much bigger one. There is positive side. By writing about the old and modern artists of Afghanistan and their work I want to inform the world about my culture and how it used to be before the wars destroyed my country. I know there is a lot of violence and destruction going on but despite all these, there still is love for arts, music and humanity among my people. I hope that through my blog, people will realize this and become interested in knowing about Afghanistan.

This is why I blog!

Evolution Of Blogs

2011-12-17T13:09:00.003+04:30

Really? I didn't knew that blogs had influence on society and it people, let me rephrase that : I didn't knew that blogs had influence on "World" and it's people. Yes blogs are very influencing thing for society's and you can say the whole world. Millions of people around the world that have access to internet and a passion for blogging is blogging right now. They are sharing their thoughts, their opinions (on almost anything), their ideas, their achievements....etc.

Form some people blogging have changed their life, and everything in their life!

This is because blogging is awesome, fun, cool, educative, informative, and anything you can imagine. Personally my self that I have just started blogging about 5 months ago. I have noticed a lot about my self that I have changed. People have noticed about me. Now that I see I am kind of recognized inside my people, and also a bit recognized inside world wide web. It is just so much interesting to me . That every day I think about it. I have got so much achievements from blogging. And recommend for any body to have a blog and share their opinions about their concerns. Some like to blog about writing reviews about movies and books and some like to just write about their daily-life. But you know it is just blogging that can be used for anything. With a blog you can have as many pages as you want as may categories as you want as many posts as you want except for files that is limited.

Blogging is changing world- Blogging Is having Influence on world!

Blogging is a type of free-style writing , but some take it kind of serious which is also nowadays visible to media world. Even some blogs have that much influence on governments that it leads to protests.

From my point of view blogging is the very easy and best platform for person or a society to raise their voice about something.

Some points about why is blogging the best platform:

It is Free!
It has a lot of features
Their is a lot of blog providers
You can share anything!
You will find other great people by blogging
Even some people earn their day living by blogging
Now blogging is a job
It is life changing! Trust Me!

This is my first post in Association Of Afghan Bloggers (AABW) . I hope that my posts and my opinions will be helpful and enjoyable to read. And your comments on posts are encouraged and will be appreciated.
Thanks.
Esmatzeerak

Being Disable Is Not An Unability

2011-11-22T09:44:00.001+04:30

Ten years ago, the Afghan government and its international allies pledged to advance women’s rights following the military intervention to oust the Taliban. Millions of Afghan women and girls have seen progress in their lives since 2001: two-and-a-half million girls are enrolled in school, women can work outside their homes and the constitution grants women and men equal legal status.

But many Afghan women now fear their rights will be sacrificed as the Afghan government and its international partners seek a political settlement with the Taliban. The Taliban have an appalling record of human rights abuses both in government and as insurgents. Today, in areas under their control, the Taliban have severely curtailed the rights of women and girls, including the denial of education, employment, freedom of movement and political participation.

Yesterday I met a woman having an iron stick under her hand and walking so slowly. It was at 6.30 pm. She was one the first Afghan women that I saw using a stick to walk. I didn’t know how start communicating with her, since culturally it is hard to communicate with Afghan women when you are a man. Fortunately, my sister was with me. She could do me a favor.

First my sister went up to her began talking. She accepted my sister easily. After a while my sister nodded toward me to join them. I asked her what happened that she lost her leg and she said the following:

“we had a good life and all of my family members were happy enjoying the life, although it was war era. Devastated situation was created when Mojahidin come to exist. It was the beginning of the time that misery and evil stepped in our country. Hundreds of thousand people were migrated, some were killed and others stayed in their homes.”

She added:” Thanks to God that the life is ever-changing and nothing is forever but Allah. During the war among different parties and sides, another violent and severe group came to exist – Taliban. In 1996, I was studying in grade 10 in Rokhshan High School. During such horrific days, one rocket was smashed to the block of our school and three people were killed and nine other were wounded. I was one the victims. After a while, an ambulance appeared and took us to the Red Cross Hospital in Kate 3.”

She is sighing:” When the rocket smashed to the block, everything became black and I fell down. And when I opened my eyes I felt irritating pain. It was so late when I felt recovered because I wasn’t like past time. I no longer was a girl like others. One of my leg went nowhere. At first it was so annoying for me and people teased me as a “Disable”, but day by day I thought to myself that it was from God and I always thank him because he knows better.”

“ then I was taken to surgery room for artificial leg implanting. After a while I felt another leg in my body that would help me a lot. Now I am working in a private hospital as the physiotherapist and I love my job.”

By Basir Bita

Stay At Your Home, Boy!

2011-11-22T09:39:00.001+04:30

By the freak of destiny I called Hassan, one of my close friends who lives in Kabul and he told the following story.

My name is Hassan. I live in an area of the city namely known as Afshar where about 3000 people have been massacred during the internal war in 1993. Those who committed this inhumane killing or the perpetrators of this war crime were fighters of the Shoraye Nazar; the most power Mujahideen group.

Today, as part of my usual routine, I got out of home at 08:30 to go for work. Just about 50 meters away from my house I saw two well-armed policemen on an army vehicle talking nervously to a woman. It took my attention; so I decided to approach them to find out what was going on there. Before I got any closer to them one of the policemen shouted at:” go back home”.

I asked “why? I have to be at work at 09:00.” He reluctantly shouted:‘’ Go back home’’. He said loudly:‘’ You cannot get out of your home for four days’’. He explained due to forthcoming ‘’Grand Assembly’’ (a Pashtun tradition of meeting to discuss matters related to high importance) at Poly technique Institute.

They felt offended for I did not know about the Grand Assembly. I tried to explain that I was bound to be at my office at the regular official hours. I told them that organizing an even should not stop people from going about their lives, but they refused to allow me pass through.

Polytechnic University is situated at about a 3-4 kilometers from Afshar and lies between the main city and Afshar. What do the residents of Afshar do while Loya Jirga is going on? Officials have no answer for.

I got back to home and stayed there for the whole day, but later in the evening, I got out to buy some bread to eat. The bakery shop is in vicinity to our home, but still I had to enter into argument with the reluctant policemen in order to buy bread from the shop.

It’s evening of the second day and I’m not allowed to get out of home because somebody that I don’t know about is making decision about something that I don’t know. But I know it’s related to our prosperous future. Some people call Afghan Government as a democratic government, but I don’t agree to it, because both the president and elected members of the people are bypassed while making big decision related to national interest. It seems to me that Grand Assembly is preferred over Afghan democracy.

By Mahdi Mehraeen

Two Young Afghans Join the Taliban

2011-11-22T09:28:00.001+04:30

All names in this real story are unreal.

Sexual Harassment

Basir, who lived with his extended family in a little village 20 KM outside Jalalabad city, raped his sister-in-law. The victim, Shinkai, finally told her husband and the rest of her in-laws at home after spending two long days going over it in her head. She shared it with them so that they would punish Basir for his unforgivable crime. Nobody in the family believed her and everybody thought that she was making up the whole story.

Everybody in the family looked at her as a troublemaker and they all started treating her badly. She didn’t want to go to the police because that would’ve publicized it, everybody would’ve found out about it and that would’ve degraded the family’s honor.

Feeling very distressed and extremely embarrassed by seeing Basir at home every day and the rest of the family treating her inhumanely, Shinkazi thought it was time she shared the story with her own parents and her crazy brothers back home in the nearby village. She told her parents and brothers that something had been bothering her very much lately and she asked them not to use emotions and instead help her out. Shinkai’s brothers blew their top and went directly to her husband, Jawed, and warned him to do something about it or he might be sorry. He didn’t do anything immediately about this since he wanted to involve the rest of the family. It’s not clear why the family didn’t investigate more.

Revenge

Shinkazi’s brothers warned Jawed a number of times and asked him to do something about their sister’s rape (I am not sure what they meant by “do something” but I am assuming they wanted him to kill his brother). Her brothers waited for about one month to see Basir punished for his crime. Basir’s family looked at this story as a conspiracy and gave Shinkai and her brothers the cold shoulder, one of Shinkai’s brothers, Crazy Rahim, thought that it was time for him do something about it. It was noon and the men of the village were at work, including Basir himself. All women were at home. Rahim, filled with anger and disappointment, went to Basir’s house with a vicious intent of raping his sister. By raping Basir’s sister, he thought they would be even. He locked all the women in one room and took Basir’s sister, Gulshan, into another room in the back with him and locked the room from behind.

Gulshan was a single innocent young girl. When a woman loses her virginity in Afghanistan and people find out then no men will marry her. Her image has been tainted. In a rape case, the rapist and the victim are killed because they bring shame to their families. That’s part of the reason why many women would keep it to themselves and never tell anybody – the unbearably harsh truth.

Time for Basir to Move and Retaliate

When Gulshan’s brothers came from work in the evening and found out about her, they were very agitated and started brainstorming a plan for an immediate retaliation. They were quiet the following day and moved to a secret place when it was night. They moved under the cover of darkness to a secret place so that nobody could see them. All of the family members also left the village and went into hiding, Gulshan’s two brothers came back to their village the following day with a Russian AK47 and a rusty Pakistani pistol. Both brothers knew were Rahim worked and went directly there. They found Rahim, pulled him out of his taxi and threw him on the ground. Basir shot him with his pistol one time but it jammed. Then Jawed, Shinkai’s husband, shot him 30 times with his AK47. They hi-fived in the little bazaar outside Jalalabad and then escaped back to their secret sanctuary.

Where Is this Secret Place?

When Basir and Jawed killed Rahim they already had a permanent sanctuary in mind. Basir went to the Taliban and told them their heroic story and how they defended their honor. Impressed by their story, the Taliban accepted the free lunch offered by Basir and Jawed with a very warm welcome. They gave them extra weapons and promised them a “lifetime” of protection. Basir’s family had to leave everything behind including their land, hometown, relatives and friends. The story gets even worse. God only knows what will happen to the two brothers and their family when they are in the real Taliban “hi-five” games.

Law and Order Vs Pashtoonwali and Honor

Why didn’t any of them refer to the law or government? That’s a good question and the explanation is a little complicated.

In our society, if our honor has been violated it is not common to press charges because this is considered cowardly and weak. That’s where Pashtoonwali comes in. Pashtoonwali is the state of being Pashtoon and a Pashtoon is considered strong and powerful. If someone tries to seek justice through the government, this is considered degrading to their Pashtoonwali, honor and image among other Pashtoons. Using your own power and taking revenge is preferred by most people here. Using a third party (in this case the government) to defend your honor and to protect yourself is a sign of weakness. This is true for almost 100% of the cases in rural areas.

Reconciliation Jirga: Another Option

Another option for resolving conflict disputes in the community is through a Jirga. Community leaders and elders get together as mediators and they come up with what they think is a workable agreement for both sides. [m. Both sides directly affected, choose their mediators called Jirgamars and give them full authority to make the decision. Neither side can talk to each other face to face because they get emotional and cannot agree easily.] The Jirgamars usually ask for something called Machalgha which is a huge amount of money that both sides temporarily leave with the mediators who have full authority and will represent them. [m. This money will remain with the mediators until the end of the Jirga and the result which will solidify their authority. If a side does not agree with the decision then they lose their money and it goes to the mediators. It’s such a huge amount for the villagers that people have to borrow from one another which makes the situation even worse. Regardless of the final decision at the Jirga both sides will have to agree so that they can get their money back.]

Sometimes these so called reconciliation Jirgas make irrational decisions, like ordering each family to give girls (for marriage) or call on both sides to swap daughters. The Jirga thinks that these compensatory marriages will create stronger ties between the families but a lot of the times these innocent women are treated like after their marriage. A Jirga does not usually solve problems because some people will still take revenge even after a Jirga.

My Experience with a Jirga

I was about 17 years old when I got stabbed four times in the back near our neighborhood. I am not going to go into detail of how and why but in the future at some point I might. To make a long story short, I was hospitalized for ten days and I got nine stitches and some ugly scars on my back but luckily no internal damage. Everybody came to our home to ask about my health. To add insult to injury, most of my visitors would “advise” me and my family to take revenge and kill Gaddaffi, the guy who had stabbed me. “We are with you”, they would say. My visitors would usually bring fruit. One distant relative came and brought me a bag of fruit in one hand and an AK47 in the other. “I want you to shoot him with this gun”, he said.

My family decided to go to the police. After the police investigation they sentenced him with 3 years of prison for intended murder. Since Gaddaffi was in high school and he was almost my age at the time, my dad didn’t want him to be in jail and not go to school for three years. My father went to the local court with a bunch of elders from our town and forgave him. The judge asked us to do a Jirga and come to an agreement signed by both families. We did do a small Jirga and agreed that we would never try to harm their family. Later, many relatives and friends were upset with us for not having listened to them. Had we gone with the traditional form of revenge, only God knows where I would be, who would be exploiting my family now or if we would still be alive at all.

By Hameed Tasal

Twitter and International Forces

2011-11-22T09:25:00.001+04:30

@ABalkhi is Taliban's Twitter handle and @ISAFMedia is ISAF's. I am following both. They sometimes have Twitter fights. They are exchanging some serious words right now as I am typing and here is how the @ABalkhi started and then the @ISAFMedia's response follows and I quote everything:

@ABalkhi: Article CSM:1000s Afghan mercenaries hired by CIA in Afghanstan.Commit outright human rights abuses(rape,robery,extra judicial killing etc)

Story confirmed by US diplomats, western officials, afghan authorities. Hired to fight Taliban and others

Recruits 'cherry picked' from regular ANA and trained by US Special forces at Camp Gecko

US tactic as withdraws is going "beyond traditional intelligence, military, and law enforcement functions.”

These kinds of units who are trained by US military, funded by CIA fits the bill perfectly

These units which are shadowy and unaccountable to anyone, only answer to CIA

Repeatedly commit extra judicial killing, rape, torture, larceny is being directly bankrolled by CIA and US military via US taxpayers

Matt (Green Beret captian) says: must work with these units to beat Taliban even though behavior insults 'western sensibilities'

Matt (Green Beret captian):No standard to begin with. No rule of law. taliban not that bad and Afghan farmer not innocent civilian

So ISAF admits hiring mercenaries to commit mass murder, rape, torture and does not consider farmers as innocent civilians. Great JOB!!!

i wonder why not many journalists and even the UN talk much about such issues and the dire situation it has created for the Afghans

link to full story http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2011/1116/After-the-US-pulls-out-will-CIA-rely-more-on-Afghan-mercenaries

ISAF Twitter handle(@ISAFMedia) then responds with: @abalkhi We don't hire mercs to commit murder/rape/torture. OTOH ... that seems to be a core competency among Taliban

@ABalkhi replies: @ISAFmedia your officials admitted to it dumb dumb. and how can you talk about taliban when u cut fingers etc and use them as throphies

@ISAFMedia: @abalkhi Dumb dumb? How the dialogue elevates. Look: Nobody takes you seriously. Everything you type is wrong. Just. Stop.

@ABalkhi: @ISAFmedia Thats why they picked you for this job. If I wasnt here, you wouldnt have a job

@ISAFMedia: @abalkhi You're just a fun sideshow. How many tanks did you blow up today. (I have the actual number if you lose count.)

By Hameed Tasal

A Wish As Big As A Gun

2011-11-22T09:17:00.001+04:30

She targeted me by her gun and drew back the trigger. It horrifically made a sound and then smoothly I felt its coldness on my shoulder. I saw her face on the water next to her tent. Her blonde hair was upward. The buttons of her collar were open to her belly and a black talisman was shining. I brought down the camera slowly.

Looking down I found a bunch of flowers circled around her legs. I heard the sound of feet coming. It was the children’s who were laughing and clapping. Picking up the head of gun, she asked me:” what did you do Khala? What are you afraid of?” she brought down the gun and I felt it.

She accepted me by a smile as if she had wanted to compensate her joke. Playing with head of her gun, she veiled a piece of tent when she encountered me. Once again she targeted me by her gun and faked the sound of fire by her mouth. And her friends faked their hands as if they were shooting me. She found the camera when she blew off my head after a shot. She came up very seriously and touched it. They ringed around me and we became friends after a while.

She called her friends and sat on a stone. She was trolling her toy gun and cleaning it carefully with a corner of her skirt. “a memory picture?!” I picked up the camera. His dry lips were opened by another smile. She shook her body and raised her gun a bit in order to have a better memory picture.

I showed the picture after I took it. She shouted excitedly and starred at it several times. She approached the picture to me and starred at me wonderfully. Everyone congratulated her in order for she was now established her fame. She shook her gun and asked me to take some photos for her. This time he felt better before the camera. She is still laughing and embraced her sister.

She doesn’t name her sister and thinks she would be 20 years old. But she looks like 9 years old or so. He points out her mother who is brining the water out of the tent. She has recently gone to the school, but she has no idea about school. She doesn’t like it. From dawn to dark night, she is taking care of the sheep. She has many wishes and one of them is to have a big real gun.

By Zohra Najwa

No Number Is Damned

2011-11-22T09:01:00.003+04:30

The history of humanity is filled with ups and downs in different places. Human beings cannot afford living without thinking and imagination – as Decarte says:” I think, so I am.” One the thing pertained to the imagination is Superstition.

Superstition is appeared in di

fferent ways such as cult generated by cults, talisman, some religions, beliefs, traditions and so on. One of them is sayings originated from superstition and these sayings are sometimes constituted into number like 666 in Holy Book and Satanism, 13 among Samarians and the new one – 39 in Afghanistan.

Sometimes Afghans call this number 40-1.39 has no logical background among Afghans, but there are many stories about it that I cannot write and collect them all. One the most heard one is that:

“Once upon a time, there was a rich man like Khan in a village. He was powerful and very superstitious as well. After collapse of Taliban he built several places and buildings, bought a cell phone, and renewed most of his property. His phone number had three 39, the size of his shoes was 39, he had 39 mistresses and he had 39 buildings.”

“When he dies, due to being so cruel, no villagers went to grave him. Day by day, people forgot his name, but the buildings he made, the mistresses and all his property were remained. People used his buildings and made the number 39 popular among their village. Then the story went to other villages and cities so fast.”

This was one of the stories of why number 39 became popular among Afghans and they detest it.

Yesterday, a large number of Afghan bloggers, facebookers and twitters post articles, pictures and music and video in order to condemn 39.

Some days ago during the four days of Luya Jirga, I saw all of TV networks filmed all the chairs whose numbers were 39. There was no guest sitting on those chairs. That is why Afghan bloggers, facebookers and twitters post their articles, picture, music clips and video clips.

Yesterday, President Hamid Karzai was asked as to why this is like this. And Karzai said:” this is what people believe. I did nothing and this is not my responsibility to answer it. When people accept, I do too.”

One of the facebookers who changed the picture of his facebook account to 39 says:” I did so for two reasons. The first one; because I want to show the ridiculous culture widespread in my country. And second one; because I would like to indicate my hatred about the participants of Luya Jirga.”

But in reverse, other person says:” I live in Kabul, if I changed my facebook account picture to 39, I will be mocked. What looks like great in West is not acceptable in Afghanistan.” He added:” I hope one day we would change Afghanistan in a favorite way.

Beg or Die

2011-11-22T09:00:00.000+04:30

It occurred four days ago, right in the first day of Luye Jirga – the day in which President Hamid Karzai had gathered 2030 national and international VIPs to discuss with them about permanent military bases of the USA.

I was walking on the Ministry of Educational Street, a sunny and rather foggy day. I was thinking to myself concerning Luye Jirga and its positive and negative consequences on my personal life. All of a sudden, my left leg smashed with a hard, stone-like thing that stopped me from walking. Starring down, I found a boy crying next to me while a pot of eggs was spattered on the pavement. ” ahhh …. There is no egg in my pot. My mom would kill me.” the boy was screaming. Hugging himself, he was weeping and tears were coming down to his face from his nice eyes.

It was so question-making, very novel. First I wondered what an ugly accident. I bend down and put a 100-Afghani to his hand. Afterward, I felt relaxed because I helped a human being like myself – particularly a kid – whose mother is that cruel that doesn’t figure out it was not her kid’s fault. It always happens for kids. They are learning new things, experiencing new phenomena and their parents are in charge of steering them.

Beside feeling relaxed it was a very interesting case to have a more profound understanding of kid psychology. Therefore, I stayed in a corner watching the weeping boy. After a while or so, I saw two people – who probably were compassionate like me - came to him giving him 50 Afghani and 100 Afghani. Then another person and another person came to him and bestowed him the same or less amount of money. I thought:” it is his right to do it because he needs money, because his mother would kill him right he gets home. Or ...”

But a new theory! What if his family sends him out to beg? begging?!

A big question comes to mind:” what is the rationality behind collapsing a pot of eggs on the street in order to make money?” I cannot find a proper answer for this question because somebody should do a research.

You are right. At first I didn’t contemplate that it might be a sort of begging. It might be misunderstanding of mine in definition of poverty and poorness. Scientifically, definition is an economic problem takes root from inflation, migration, bankruptcy, social and political revolution, displacement and many other things.

I went to boy and asked him if he could answer a couple of questions that scratched my mind. I paid him 100 Afghani to talk to me only for one minute. The first question I posed was that why he begs and he said my parent became disable duration Taliban era, before he was born. Then I asked how much he earns per day ( a dangerous and sensitive question). Wonderfully, he answered to me:” I make around 1000 Afghani per day since I started this new trick.” It is a big amount of money while a simple laborer makes 350 to 400 Afghani per day.

I have seen many little kids working in offices, on the streets and other places in order to make money for their families. Some of them wash the cars in a corner of the street, some others call people to take a taxi for 5 Afghani, some brushes the shoes, some beg and so on. Poverty is one of social and economic problem in the world that results to prostitution, child abuse, human trafficking and even death. According to Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, over 45% of Afghans make only one US dollar per day.

I Am Sick Not A Culprit

2011-11-22T08:58:00.000+04:30

Afghanistan, the world's leading producer of opium and heroin, is also facing a major and growing problem with drug abuse, the UNODC survey Drug Use in Afghanistan reveals. The survey shows that around 1 million Afghans between the ages of 15 to 64 are addicted to drugs.

The rate of drug addiction in Afghanistan is twice the global average, according to a new United Nations report that also shows Afghans have become the leading consumers of their own opium.

Here is the story of my brother who is a drug addict since four years ago:

“I was in my tailing shop that he came up. He is still one of my best friend to whom I talk and spend my time. He was drunk and had a bottle of wine in his bag back. He asked me to have a sip of it. I did so and found it very interesting and delicious at first.”

“He forced me to go with him somewhere for some refreshment. He was claiming that the air in my shop is drippy. I agreed to go with him. We took a taxi and headed toward Pul e Sukhta – where now is best known as the center of drug addicts in Kabul. When we got there, the killing and choking smell of smoke stifled me.” Now he is crying loudly.

He added:” and then I didn’t know what happened. I smoke for the first time. It made me vomiting. Day by day I used to use drugs to lessen the pain of my body while in first days I felt comfortable and worry-free person. Now I know that all I did was wrong.”

“by the way, I would like not to use drug anymore because I have a family and a kid. I love my wife and my little boy. They are the only people about whom I am concerned. If they were not I would be worried. Now I want to heal and I want to leave smoking. I don’t want my kid to become like me – somebody who is nothing but a burden for the society. The big problem in this regard is that there is no place for me to be hospitalized in. I know there are some places but they say we would accept you after six months – if I have connection there.”

I went most of the centers in which they train drug addicts how to leave the drug, but they need connection. As far as I know there are six centers in Kabul that teach addicts how to leave drugs. They have a one month or two month program. And there is only two centers over two months: one is located in Karte 3 and the other one – that I only heard about – belongs to American troops. In other words; the latter one has a two-year program and they keep the drug addict there in a camp and don’t let them go outside like a prisoner.

At the end, he doesn’t let me to upload his picture in my story.

By Basir Bita

Hidden Tears

2011-11-16T21:20:00.002+04:30

Author: Nazifa Alizada
Student at Asian University for Women

It was 1996 when the wild Taliban regime attacked Afghanistan and wanted to interfere in different parts of people’s life by the name of an Islamic government.

I was only two, a small child who could walk and sit but couldn’t talk properly, there were only a few words which I could pronounce properly, “Momi(Mother)”, “Baba(Father)”,“Nan(Bread)”,“Ab(Water)”.However most people couldn’t even understand the words I pronounced correctly.

The situation of the country got worse and worse day by day. Many limitations were created for both women and men. I don’t remember anything from that time. My mother says the Taliban entered houses whenever they wanted and collected most of the valuable house materials for themselves. The only reason behind this was what they called an Islamic country. But it was either a wrong interpretation of Islam or misuse of people’s religious belief.

My father decided to migrate to any of the neighboring countries. The only thing which I clearly remember is when he drove us on his big orange bus from our home through a special part of way.

I guess my parents especially my father tolerated too many troubles until he found Iran as a shelter for us.

I was five when for the first time my mother sent me for shopping alone. I went to shop and asked the shopkeeper with my pure Afghan language: “Kaka Waytex dari?(Uncle! Do you have washing powder?)”It was the language which my mother taught me and we all talked in that at home. When I told it at first he didn’t understand and asked me to repeat my words but as I did, he grinned at me and told ironically “Go...Go… learn the name and come back Afghan baby...”

I was frustrated.

In Afghanistan it normal to call men shopkeepers “Kaka” but it seems impolite in Iran. This was the thing which I got to know after a long time during my stay in Iran. Maybe it was one of the reasons which drove the shopkeeper so mad.

I was six when my father wanted to register my name for school but almost none of the Farsi schools were ready to accept a native speaker of Dari on their school.

Finally I got admitted to an Afghan-Iranian school. There was a minority of Iranian students but most of the teachers were Iranian. Basically it was a part of the school rules that we had to speak the national language of the country on campus. Soon I got familiar with their language and accent. Since then I had neither faced problem with the shopkeeper nor with the teachers. I could easily ask the shopkeeper for “Safid konanda” instead of “Waytex”, or could ask my teacher “Mashqh man chea?” So simply I called him “Aqha” instead of “Ustad” which stands for the word Teacher in Dari. I distinguished the mispronunciations between two languages and found that I have to pronounce every “A” sound of my language like “O” to make it more Farsi, like “Non” for ”Nan”. On the other hand, I used to talk Farsi so that my other classmates and teachers don’t make fun of me; in school campus every student who couldn’t or didn’t speak Farsi was called rural kid. So we had to speak Farsi even if we weren’t comfortable with it.

At that time the question which always kept my childish mind busy was why do I have to ignore myself and my identity by speaking Farsi. At that time I was so small and naïve to know that it wasn’t ignoring me but the way to communicate with others and respect school’s rules.

I was nine, a fourth grader student of my Afghan- Iranian school- which recently has changed to an absolute Iranian school with specific laws-when the oppressive Taliban government collapsed and the situation in my country got better. Without any hesitation, my father decided to return to Afghanistan as soon as possible.

At first, it sounded nice for me and my siblings but later created many difficulties for each of us.

Since my father insisted on our education he registered our names in a governmental school by the second week of our return to Kabul.

I never forget the day in which my Dari teacher screamed at me in front of the class which had 40-45 students. It was my third day at an Afghan school; in spite of being the youngest student in the class I usually sat in the last row. Before starting the new lesson she asked some of the students to read their writing assignments out loud and asked some questions. It was my turn that time. After she entered the class told me to stand up and read my essay from my note book. So I started reading confidently with my mixed Dari- Farsi language. I used mixed words because I was used to talking Farsi in Iran but was trying to replace it with Dari then and it wasn’t possible at once: “sar am ra ka dowr dadam, maman am onja waystada bod, yak khorda asabani ba cheshm mekhord” instead of saying “sar khoda ka dawr dadom , madaram anja estada bod wa kami qhahr malom meshod”. Unintentionally the sentence betrayed me and told all my classmates and the teacher that I was an Afghan who was had migrated to Iran and came back recently.
As I was reading she screamed at me “Sit down Zawarak (the special word which is used for the Afghans who were migrated to Iran in order to show them lower status).” the whole class was laughing at me which made me badly ashamed as well as nervous. I couldn’t believe that I started crying. I was sure that they could understand my words and had no problem with my Farsi-ized language but I didn’t know what the screaming and laughing was for. Most of the teachers and students hated Iran (maybe because of some political issues) and anyone who came from there. After that event none of the students behaved well with me, even when I said “Hi” to them they answered it by shaking their heads. This was intolerable for me and later forced me to change my school.

In reality, my Farsi-ized language isolated me from my classmates, teachers and even from the school.

Five years later my language and accent had completely changed. Living in Afghanistan, as time went on, talking with different people has affected my language and changed it in a few months.

I went to another school, in contrast with my first school, when I told any of my friends that I spent five years in Iran, they didn’t believe me because I could talk pure Dari without mixing any Farsi word. I found ups and downs of sounds, vowels and consonants in my language and changed the sound “O” to “A” again.

Everything changed but the question which still remains in my mind is why, when I was in Iran if I talked in Farsi they called me “Afghani” and when I returned to Afghanistan- at least to be known with Afghan identity- on the first few months every one was calling me “Iranian”, although the languages are so closed to each and even the alphabets are the same, people of both languages can know each other but again why does it matter to people so much? if the languages don’t differ there might be another reason behind which people are thinking about that after we talk and that probably is identity.

***

My identity is what I am and my language is what I say. The fact is that what always I am affects on what ever I say because what I am makes what I say.

Afghan Security Forces Do Not Let Afghans Be in Peace

2011-11-14T17:47:00.001+04:30

Writer: Basir Bita

According to state authorities, 16 to 18 November are the days for Luye Jerge Ananawi – literary means “Traditional Gathering”. Luye Jerga is a gathering ceremony in which representatives of people from different ethnic groups come together making decision about big political phenomena.

The name of Luye Jerga dates back Abdul Rahman Khan era, the first king who changed the name of Afghanistan from Khurasan to its current name. When he wanted to crown, first he invited deans from his ethnic group – Pashtun – and asked them to give approval to his kingdom and accept him as a king. Since then, a few kings established a Luye Jerga Ananawi to impose their personal decisions to the people under their sovereign. Now Hamid Karzai, the first Afghan president after disintegration of Taliban, is going to build it for the fifth time in the history of Afghanistan and apex his name within Afghanistan’s new political chapter.

In these days, Police and security forces are all in Kabul streets particularly in the streets and lanes in vicinity to Luye Jerga Tent. There are security forces and polices patrolling the people. You can see even checkpoints near to Luye Jerga Tent. Moreover, disguised individuals from intelligent services are placed in Kabul.

But such heavy security strategy has intimidated local people settled around Luye Jerga Tent. Some say that such heavy security protection is not only a factor that makes a heavy traffic in recent days, but it frustrates them and mismanage their routine life.

Abuld Ahad, resident of Afshar Hill next to Luye Jerga Tent, says:” the residents of here have been census to, but what they want to do it for? What are they doing with it?”

Intercontinental Hotel, one of the most important, and the oldest internationally appreciated hotels in Afghanistan, and that was targeted by a group of suicide attackers three months ago, is located very close to Luye Jerga Tent. Some local residents claim that security forces get in their houses without pre-alarm asking them their names and their identities.

According to local residents, flying military helicopters over their heads and houses have disordered their minds. Zahra Ahmadi, a student in Talim O Tarbia University – which is located near to Luye Jergar Tent – says:” today, whenI entered the university I encountered with military forces. It made me frustrated thinking what would happen next.”

Mirza Mohammad who came in Afshar to meet his brother’s family says that there was no way for him to drive; he had to arrive in his brother’s through lanes.

Some people say that they cannot arrive in their offices on the time; no matter they are employees of state or non-state organizations. They say that their job position might be jeopardized.

Authorities in Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs which is in charge of official holidays told that they have not still finalized what days would be off because it is President’s task to make final decision.

Where the Luye Jerga is going to be happened a consultation gathering held three months ago and four months ago, Intercontinental Hotel was targeted by RPJ.

NATO in Afghanistan - ISAF fighting insurgents in Kabul

2011-09-14T06:10:00.000+04:30

Video of ISAF soldiers inside ISAF Headquarters - Kabul, Afghanistan fighting back against an attack on the US Embassy compound and ISAF HQ - 13th September 2011

Afghan Air Force and Coalition Forces respond to Attack in Kabul

2011-09-14T06:06:00.001+04:30

Iranian scholarship for Afghans

2011-08-22T07:52:00.002+04:30

Iranian government has announced a number of scholarships for Afghan students who are seeking higher education. For more information please go to our Farsi section or click on this link to check out the main source.

Something Shocking: Taliban as American Translators

2011-08-18T07:47:00.000+04:30

As you may know, American troops and perhaps American intelligence services in Afghanistan often need Afghan translators who are fluent in both the Farsi and Pashto languages. There is constant advertising on Afghan TV channels that translators can earn as much as $220,000 per year.

What you may not know is that they don't require you to be a qualified translator! In fact, I know of people who were hired that were not even fluent in either one of those languages, and their command of English is worse than mine. I find this to be terribly unfair to all of our service men and women in Afghanistan. After all, how much do our fighting soldiers actually earn? Likely it is a fraction of what those translators make.

To add to the inequality of pay to service, the translators end up working in the safety of our bases in Kabul and elsewhere, whereas our troops are always in harm's way, fighting on the dangerous and deadly front lines throughout the mountains and fields of Afghanistan. Why do we hire thousands of unqualified individuals and shower them with that kind of money? There are thousands of Afghans living in Afghanistan that are fluent in English and who would be more than happy to support our cause and work with us for a fraction of that money. Even in America there are thousands of Afghans that could work for $5000 a month. However, the way that we appropriate the translator salary is only a small part of the concern.

What worries me the most is that we are not even careful about the background and the connections of the people we hire. For example, in the Seattle Afghan community, several people were hired that are well known pro-Taliban and are also members of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's extremist organization. When they talk with each other, they joke about how they are getting paid by the "infidels" while they are at the very same time simply helping their "Muslim brothers"—that would be the Taliban—when they are at work in Afghanistan! The fact that we are unable to identify these enemies is not as shocking as the fact that even when we know who they are we fail to take any measures to stop them.

Just before 9/11, three or four American women were captured by the Taliban in Kabul. They were charged with promoting Christianity and converting Muslims. This is a grave charge in any Islamic country, but that was especially true in Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban and Bin Laden, where it was punishable by death. I recall feeling absolutely terrible when I heard of these arrests. I felt guilty for being an Afghan living in America, along with tens of thousands of other Afghans, all enjoying America's freedoms, without worry and without fear of persecution, yet none of us were doing anything significant to help or support the helpless Afghan people back home. In stark contrast, these American women had left their beautiful lives in America for Kabul to feed thousands of orphans; orphans which I might add were created by our Muslim Taliban brothers.

In Seattle during that time there was a small group of Afghans who allied themselves with, and sent aid to, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, one of the worst extremist leaders in all of Afghanistan, responsible for the killing of hundreds of thousands of innocent Afghans. At that time, the American system was much more liberal with respect to extremist ideologies, and therefore this group was operating freely and openly. Every two or three months this nefarious group would circulate a propaganda pamphlet among the greater Seattle Afghan community. That ugly pamphlet consisted mostly of news or messages from their killer leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

Just before 9/11, they disseminated one of these propagandist pamphlets, which I'm happy to say was their very last one. However, it contained the story about those women missionaries arrested in Afghanistan, and it claimed to be giving us the "good news" that these "evil" Zionists missionaries were caught by the Taliban. Further, this Seattle-based extremist group called for the execution of these women to make an example of them, and argued to promote the idea that the Taliban should chase down and capture more "Zionists" and put them to immediate death as well.

A few years ago I found out that one of the two people who were acting as leaders of this group in Seattle had been hired as a translator by our army and was working with them in Kabul. Recently I also found out that the second leader of this group was also hired as a translator and is now imbedded with our troops in Afghanistan. We are paying each of these people hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money each year, and we have every reason to believe that they may be doing more to protect the Taliban than our own troops. This is utterly shocking to me! Needless to say, I was determined not to be quiet about it, and I have made many complaints to whatever authorities I could possibly contact. I even sent a letter to the recruiting company that had supposedly completed background checks on these two individuals. In response, a lawsuit was filed against me.

- Article by Shafie Ayar, Author of Afghan Hearts & Minds

Precarious Position of Afghan National Army Calls for Patience on All Military Sides

2011-08-11T10:11:00.000+04:30

There is no doubt that the Afghan National Army is at a precarious position. Though they can pride themselves on many positive factors, it it still left to be said that there is widespread drug-use among the ranks, illiteracy inhibits their competency, and unresolved tribal tribulations continue to flair up. But what else can you ask for? Afghanistan's history cannot change in a year, or even a few years. Patience is the most important thing to value in this war. Patience for all military sides.

Lack of Opportunity for the Best Afghan Athletes

2011-08-05T03:22:00.001+04:30

Sometimes heroes don't get the backing they need to fulfill their goals - and ultimately, their potential. Boxer Mustafa Qasemi is one of Afghanistan's top-ranked athletes, but he is not considered by the Afghan Olympic council because of his lack of sponsorship.

Many boxers in Afghanistan move on to the Olympic national team who are of much lesser skill than Mustafa, as they enough money to enter the care of the council. Afghanistan's honor can not be complete without athletes like Mustafa being able to compete at the skill-level they deserve to contend in.

Training on Post-Graduate University Application

2011-07-03T10:48:00.002+04:30

This six-day practical training is designed to provide an insight into the post-graduate study, primarily, in Europe and America. The training aim is to familiarize the participants with the process of a university application, from surveying the university market, to selecting a course degree, to filling in an online application and to applying for scholarships.

By the end of this practical workshop, participants should be able to understand thoroughly the process of a university application, find scholarships and prepare their own supporting materials (i.e., personal statement, academic references, and CV). This training applies to those wanting to pursue a taught degree and those wanting to make an application for a research (PhD) degree.

For both Taught and Research Applicants

An Introduction:

· Introduction

· Training outline

· Course selection

· University selection

Making an Application:

1) Supporting Documents

· A supporting statement

· Academic references

· English language proficiency

· Proof of your undergraduate degree

· CV

· GRE/GMAT

2) Making an online application/ Practice session

Scholarships:

· Scholarship types

· How/when to apply for a scholarship?

· Interview preparations

For Research Applicants Only

All research applicants in addition to the above need to provide a research proposal in their applications. The following elements of a research proposal will be discussed and practically exercised during the training.

· Rationale (Problem/ Literature Gap)

· Aims and Objectives

· Literature Review

· Research Questions

· Research Hypothesis

· Research Methodology

· Bibliography

Application Requirement:

· Obtained a BA degree or in their last year of BA study

· Proficiency in English language

Starting Date: 9th July, 2011

Duration: Two Weeks (Sundays, Tuesdays ,Thursdays)

Class Hours: 05:00 – 07:00 P.M

Fee: 2000 Afs Only

TIMOR SHARAN is a PhD candidate in the Department of Politics and International Relations at University of Exeter. His research is on the political economy of network politics in post-2001 Afghanistan. He holds an MPhil degree in Development Studies from University of Cambridge and a BA degree in International Relations and Politics from University of Essex. He is a founding member of the United Kingdom Afghanistan Studies Group (www.ukasg.org) and a founding member of Afghanistan Intellectual Property Rights Association.

His Forthcoming Publications Are:

F “The Dynamics of Elite Networks and Patron-Client Relations in Post-Bonn Afghanistan”, (Europe-Asia Studies Journal, August 2011, Vol 63, No 6)

F “Identity Politics and State Building in Post-Bonn Afghanistan: The 2009 Presidential Election” co-authored with John Heathershaw (Ethno politics, September 2011, Vo 4)

Mobile: 0793705320; 0795121748;

Emails: p.ibrahimi@ach.af ; y.entezar@ach.af

Website: www.ach.af

Address: House # 582; Behind Kateb University, Shora Road, Karte 3, Kabul- Afghanistan

Be the First to register; 30 Seats Only!

Female applicants are highly encouraged to apply!

Source: www.flyingdinasour.wordpress.com

That side of Kabul City

2011-05-29T15:19:00.000+04:30

Kabulistan

Afghanistan Nature: A visit from Panjshir province, Afghanistan

2011-05-17T14:50:00.000+04:30

Afghanistan Nature: A visit from Panjshir province, Afghanistan