Wednesday, September 24, 2014

To Ensure Success in Afghanistan focus on Rural Afghans!


Over the past three decades the world has witnessed constant strife, war and violence in Afghanistan, the consequences of which we witness daily on our TV screens (when there is news about Afghanistan). News out of Afghanistan seems to always be about a corrupt government and violent insurgents who are vying for the support (by force or by choice) of a people who are caught in between unsure about their future and short on hope.


Despite the good intentions of the international community, the effort to develop Afghanistan and rebuild it has fallen short. Billions have come to Afghanistan and been squandered away through waste, corruption and apathy. Leaving many, both Afghan and non-Afghans, to ponder whether there is something fundamentally wrong with this ancient land.
There is little fate that Afghanistan will become the country the international community tried so hard to help it to be. This comes after the sacrifice of blood and treasure spend over a decade.
Myriads of writers and analysts have documented the waste of resources in Afghanistan which has lead to corruption of government, fueling of the insurgency and frustration of its citizens. 
Against this bleak background, the question that many are asking is, “Will Afghanistan ever recover and more important is it worth our continued support?”
Since of the start of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001, steady progress has been made in terms of health, education and infrastructure. If compared to the dark days of the Taliban, we can consider development in Afghanistan a success but if we compare development in accordance to the money and expertise spend to improve the Afghan lives then a fair assessment is that we have fallen short.

Why have we fallen short?
Simply put development in Afghanistan has been ineffective because the average Afghan citizen has not been involved in the process.  Development programming focused on two parts of the Afghan reality, namely the government elites and the insurgents. Development programs has been used to bolster the government and weakened the insurgency. This approached has not succeeded since the money usually ends up in the pockets of government and government-related elites or in the hands of insurgents who use it to support their anti-government activities. Development money has in fact become the fuel to fan instability in Afghanistan. While the two groups vie for the resources, caught in the middle are average men, women and children of Afghanistan, who either have to join the corrupt ways of the government or join in the violence of the insurgence. 
After the Talibans fell many Afghans believed that with a new government and the commitment from the international community their country would see an era of peace and growth, an era which they would see changes in their lives and their communities. Many are still waiting.


But as we look to the end of this decade, there is still a chance to get it right. Focusing on the rural communities where majority of Afghans live and developing them would go a long way to bring the promise of a better life to the most neglected of Afghan communities, and using classic grassroots efforts make a long-term change in this long-suffering nation. Lets not abandon Afghanistan, remember the admonishment of the great Afghan poet, Rahman Baba;

Make your path straight now, by the bright light of day;
For pitch darkness will come without warning!

Now is the time...

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Living in Ghana: The Gateway to Africa.

When you tell people that you live in Africa, they want to know if you have seen elephants and giraffes! Yes, there is animals and there is lots of great safaris you can pay thousands of dollars to come and see. Here in Ghana too there is a national park that has animals people like to see including elephants! It’s called Mole National Park and it’s located in northern part of the country.


Ghana is like most countries on this planet. It is made up of several urban centers like Accra, Kumasi, Tamale, Takaradi, Cape Coast and Bolgatanga. There are rich people, poor people, there are malls, local markets, street peddlers, there are BMWs, Toyotas, taxis and mini-buses and people walking. And yes, there are also villages and small mud huts. There are paved roads and some very good and very bad side roads. There is electricity and there are power cuts too. There are lawyers, doctors, engineers, farmers, and every other employment you can think of. No not every Ghanaian and African is a wood carver and plays the drums! FYI, Accra even has three Turkish restaurants. I hope you are getting the picture! 

The things that I like about Ghana are the friendly people, the culture, the weather (it never snows!), the food, and most importantly people look out for you when you are part of their community.

I know some of you are still wondering about whether I have seen elephants, I have yet to see an elephant but I did have an encounter with a much, much, smaller species while living in Namoo, in rural Ghana as a Peace Corps Volunteer…and here is the story…   




It was 14th of February 1999 around 2am, when I was awakened by my landlord Mr. Tony to come and watch the Oscar De La Hoya-Ike Quartey live from Las Vegas! Being half awake and half asleep, I put my leg down looking for my slippers which I found but before I could wear them I felt a sharp sting on the bottom of my foot, I took my flash light and saw a scorpion running away!!! I had step on a scorpion…so what do I do now? Call 911! Go to the non-functioning clinic? Is this my end? It’s been a good life, at least I died trying to make the world a better place! Though the thought of death crossed my mind, I had bigger problems to deal with! How would I go and tell Mr. Tony that I needed medical help. Mr. Tony did not like to be disturbed when watching a boxing match….And especially now that a Ghanaian fighter was involved. I mustered up the courage after saying a few prayers and walked to Mr. Tony and told him what had happened…Mr. Tony quickly mobilized the family and asked everyone to go look for medicine. He gave me a black stone to put on the bite and told Azanpoka, one of my mothers to apply a local medicine on my foot….I had no idea what it was but I said if it works for the Ghanaians it will work for me too!! That night I survived two near death experience one was the scorpion sting and the other disturbing Mr. Tony during a boxing match.

As the sun came up that day my pain subsided and I got throngs of people who came to see me, having heard that Anamoo (my local name) has been stung by a scorpion! There was no phones and yet the whole area had heard the news! Don’t underestimate the power of the LNN (Local News Network)

I survived the scorpion sting, and now my only wish is to see an elephant!

Friday, September 19, 2014

Geography, Diversity and Jamaica!


“Can someone tell me the capital city of Jamaica?”, “Sir, is it King-Stone?” I replied. Our geography teacher replied, “No, but you are close, its Kingston!” This was my 7th grade history and geography teacher, Mr. D’Silva. He was one of my favorite teachers, his teaching style was exceptionally interactive and creative, specially for the India of the early 1980s. That day I learned that Kingston was the capital of Jamaica, and later found out that Michael Holding, Bob Marley and Michael Manley were all Jamaicans. 

One of the most important subjects we were taught as youngsters was geography. There is nothing that creates connection between two people than when you indicate to the other person you know where he or she is from. It’s often surprising to find out how ignorant people are about where other people live or where they come from. There are politicians, despite the many resources at their disposal don’t know the difference between Iran and Iraq or that Africa is a continent not a country, that Thailand is no longer called Siam and Aleppo is in Syria!

Our world has changed dramatically, with the constant movement of people either travelling, fleeing or migrating to new regions. This movement of people has brought change to places which for years were homogeneous.  Our uni-dimensional lingo has changed, we now have global village, diversity, interdependence, interconnectedness, and many more to indicate this change but yet we still lag behind when it comes to the appreciation of this colossal demographic and cultural evolution. A Jamaican who now lives in Northern Ireland, has to deal with a brick coming through her window, because there are many who have yet to understand, that yes, there are Irish of Jamaican or even Chinese descent who are now part of Northern Ireland.      

The shaping of this global understanding must start at a young age, where children in school are  taught geography that at least teaches them where countries and people are located in relation to themselves. This hopefully will be the first step towards a wider understanding of the global community and their relationship to it, whether they live in America, Ghana, Bahrain, Japan or Jamaica.
Now in 2017 and many years after learning where Jamaica and its capital are located, I am reminded of what Bob Marley, the great Jamaican Reggae singer, sang so many years ago and perhaps underlining the challenge that the global community faces today;

“Until the philosophy which hold one race superior and another Inferior Is finally and permanently discredited And abandoned…That until there is no longer, first class and second class citizens of any nation, until the color of a man's skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes…Until that day the dream of lasting peace, world citizenship, rule of international morality, will remain in but a fleeting illusion to be pursued, but never attained!”

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

US-Iran Relation Revisited: Look to 1909!


I ate the last of the popcorn laced with butter and got up from my sit and walked towards the exit door. I had just finished watching the movie “Argo”. The movie is about a CIA agent who comes up with a plan to free some of the staff of the American Embassy who had escaped when the Iranian students had taken over the American Embassy in Iran in November 1979. It was a good Hollywood movie and I enjoyed watching it, partly because I like popcorn laced with butter!

Argo is another example of how US-Iran relation is often explained and presented. From the American side it’s the 1979 hostage crisis and from the Iranian side it’s the 1953 CIA-assisted coup d’etat against Prime Minister Dr. Mossadegh. Some view these events as defining moments in the relationship between these two nations. Though those events are significant, it is not that significant to cripple and break relationship between 370 million people. The fact that the governments are not able to normalize relationships with each other speak volumes of the minority view that controls the conversation on both sides of this wall of separation. On the US side, it’s the image of the Iran of 1979 that is burning US flags and taking hostages, on the Iranian side, it’s the image of 1953 America manipulating and interfering in the affairs of the Iranian nation.

On September 11th, 2001, the only people in the Middle East that expressed support for New York and the United States were the people of Iran. The only thing that was burning that day in Tehran were candles lit up for the victims of that dark day in American history. On 26th December 2003, when the earthquake in Bam killed thousands of Iranians, the United States government, send assistance, to help with search and rescue operations. These simple examples show that things don’t need to be the way they are.       

Hollywood can also help! By making a movie about something that both people, Iranians and Americans cherish the most, search for freedom! For this story we need to go back to 1907, when a young 22 year old American by the name of Howard Conklin Baskerville, came to Iran to be a teacher at the American Memorial School in Tabriz. Howard was from Nebraska and a graduate of Princeton. He decided to come as a missionary to Iran and be a teacher. Tabriz in those days was a hotbed of political activity. Iran was in the middle of one of its first push for democracy, known as the Constitutional Revolution. It was a time when Iranians were fighting to turn the Iranian absolute monarchy into a constitutional monarch and introduce representative government to their nation.

Howard the American soon joined the movement in Tabriz and 1909 when the city was surrounded by the Shah’s army, he led a group of revolutionaries against the much superior government forces. The effort was rewarded when the revolutionaries were able to break the siege of the city. Their success came at the cost of Howard’s life. At the age of 24 this American kid from Nebraska was killed. Howard laid down his life for the cause of democracy in Iran. Howard Baskerville is buried in Iran and his name is still alive, and still inspires many Iranians who dream of a government of the people, by the people, for the people.

One day the relationship between the two governments will normalized and everyone will enjoy fully and freely the cultural and material wealth and resources that both countries have to offer to each other. Until that day, it will be the relationship between Howard and his Tabrizi brethren that will keep us believing that normalization is possible and around the corner. In the meantime I look to Hollywood’s version of the truth, with a box of popcorn laced with butter!!!  

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Eating Curry over the Friendly Skies of United Airways!


When you work for the government you are required by the “Fly America Act” to fly airlines that are owned by American companies such as Delta, United and American.


Whenever people ask me what was the toughest thing about working in Afghanistan, my reply has been, “Flying United Airlines!!” Getting to Afghanistan was the most traumatic part of my work there. My usual route was Washington, DC to Dubai. I remember my heart beat going up and starting to sweat as I thought of the more than ten hours of being stuck up in the air and having to deal with flight attendants who were one of the most irritated and agitated group of people I have ever met! When I would get to the ticket counter, I would try to smile as much as I could to perhaps create a good atmosphere and make the initial step of getting on board as pleasant as possible. It never worked as the ticket agents never smiled back, I think they got a bonus for not smiling. If they did, there are lots of rich United employees out there!!  

I would make it through security, comparing to the next step, which was boarding the plane, the security checks were much smoother and friendlier!
I would give my boarding pass to the flight attendant, who would point me to the direction where my seat was, as I entered the plane I could see the flight attendants all lined up and ready to provide the best service, “unfriendly” could deliver!!

The first couple of times I flew with United, I took my seat and asked for a new earpiece or a blanket or something very rudimentary and each time I stopped the flight attendant she/he would stop, look at me expressionlessly (as I smiled) and as I would finish telling them what I needed, he/she would just walk away and never bring what I had asked for!!!
My favorite time on United was meal time, when you were provided the “best” food ever! I agree airline food is not good but it tastes even worst when the flight attendant feels burdened by serving you. One of my most favorite experiences was when during one dinner, the flight attendant came by to serve food to our row! He looked agitated and was in no mood to waste time asking what I needed, having served chicken to the window seat and beef to the middle seat, he turned to me and said rather impatiently, “and you will take curry!” Perhaps thinking he was looking at an Indian, an Indian who is a vegetarian. He wanted me to have curry, I thanked him, smiled and said no I will take the chicken!

Though I see the logic of the “Fly America Act”, I am personally against it as it is contrary to the American value of free trade and fair competition! Fair competition is a concept which the United States is the leader of and is constantly promoting it throughout the world!! Why should anyone be forced to fly an airline that provides inferior service? There are lots of better airlines that fly from DC to Dubai, including Emirates.
I am no longer forced to fly the “Friendly Skies” of United Airlines. I end this piece with a big smile on my face and look forward to lunch tomorrow, perhaps I will have curry and rice!!   

Friday, September 12, 2014

The Day that New York Times Came to Town!


During my first trip back home to the US from Afghanistan, met with friends who looked at me pitifully and wondered how I was doing! “Being in Afghanistan must be tough, with all that’s going on!” looking at me and shaking their heads. “You must be depressed to work so much and see no results!” another friend wondered. My view of Afghanistan was different from my concerned friends. Since I lived and worked there, I gave them my version of events and explained that yes, it was a tough environment but things were being done that was bringing positive change to the country. Like most Americans, my friends got their news from their radio, newspaper, internet and other avenues. Where ever they got their news from, it occurred to me that the American tax-payers was not aware of how his/her tax was being used in the war in Afghanistan.
 

So when I returned back from the US, I decided to do my part, and bring some perspective to the happenings in the Afghanistan, or at least in the small area that worked in. The first thing I did was, I went to the USAID office in Kabul, and talked to the communication person. I asked if it was possible to send a newspaper reporter to Shindand District. I explained that the report would give a chance to hear from rural Afghans, talking about USAID’s and international community’s performance, in their district over the past decade.

Our communication person readily agreed and said that he would find a reporter. After a couple of months, I heard back from USAID saying a New York Times reporter would be coming to visit Shindand. I was very happy to have such a reputable newspaper like New York Times visiting our humble district! I went around informing various communities of the impending visit of a foreign journalist to their village, where they would be able to talk about the changes that they have seen in their area and also talk about other development concerns they might have. The communities gave their support and ensured me of providing security to the reporter.

A few weeks later, the New York Times reporter and his translator arrived and I picked them up from the Shindand Airbase. The next two to three days this young American reporter got an unprecedented access to rural Afghanistan, speaking to whoever he wished to speak to and go where ever he wanted to. I thought he was in Shindand to ask questions about development issues and issues focused on the lives of Afghans, ten years after the war had begun. The initial questions were a false dawn of things to come, “how are things going in your community?” and majority of people he spoke to talked about the transformation of programs that USAID had initiated and how things were changing gradually for the better. A couple of minutes later the real questions would begin which was about “who killed who?” Each group we met they were asked about a particular assassination that had taken place in Shindand in 2011, and most questions revolved around that issue! Some people asked me whether he was a reporter or a part of the US government or the military. I assured them that he is an American reporter with interest in finding out more about the lives of Afghans!! It would be safe to say that we all risked our lives to ensure the New York Time Reporter could speak to as many people as he could, in their own villages.


 
 
After dropping the young reporter back at the airbase to fly back to Kabul, I was still optimistic that a long article about Afghan’s view of how things have changed in their lives, would splash all over the New York Times front page or at least somewhere in the back pages! After a few weeks, not hearing back from him. I reached out to the reporter and asked what happened and when should we be expecting the article to be published! He said unfortunately, his editor did not find the story interesting and therefore they were no longer interested in writing about it!!!



I was very disappointed and informed my friends in Shindand about what had happened. Most people were not fazed by it, as it was not the first time a foreigner came to them disguised as someone who wanted to hear their views!

Well, at least the reporter had three cups of tea! Kim Kardashian is now married to Kayne West and The House Wives of Atlanta are coming back for another season!

Monday, September 8, 2014

Building Relationship, Building Trust from Rural Ghana to Afghanistan!


Atia entered the court yard of the house and sat under the tree. After a few minutes, Assibi brought a calabash of water and offered it to Atia.  Atia drank the water and sat the calabash down at the foot of the stool he was sitting on. Then the greetings started between himself and his host, Mr. Tony. Greetings in the city might focus on a quick “hi”… “how are you?” and a quick “goodbye” but in rural Namoo in Bongo District of northern most part of Ghana, it meant a long and comprehensive greetings that asked about the house, the wives, the children, the crops, the animals and so on. After the greetings were done, there was a short silence while both men looked around. Then Atia, resumed the conversation, this time focusing on his mission to Mr. Tony’s house. He was there to ask his host to help with his son’s school fees, which Mr. Tony obliged.

One of the most important lesson I learned living with Mr. Tony in Namoo, was how to approach rural population. While in the urban areas you can come and go as you please, in rural areas around the world, it’s all about establishing relationship and explaining ones’ mission clearly and sticking to that mission! Rural folks tend to be suspicious of outsiders and building trust is difficult and even more difficult is rebuilding a relationship when that trust is broken.


So it was that when I got to rural Afghanistan, I visited many villages, representing the diverse tribes of the area. Each village, I went to, I introduced myself, my position and what my mission was in their area. I said I was there to work with them and asked for their protection. My mission stayed consistent with both mine and their collective interest. Had they for a second doubted my reason for being in their community, it would have compromised the effectiveness of our program, which would harm both us the donor and them, the beneficiaries.


Today more than ever the success of any development organization doing work in smaller towns and rural communities depends on its ability to build relationship with the population. While many donors are coming up with ways to use technology to monitor their programming and interact with the beneficiary. The truth is that nothing beats the human interaction, just ask the communities that have been around for thousands of years!

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Lisa vs The Old Jordanian Taxi Driver!

One of the most knowledgeable and least trusted people in any country are the taxi drivers!! They might not know every address you give them and cheat you ones in a while, but they can give you a pretty good read on the mood of their city and their country. They can be the best newscasters, telling you all the news and rumors on the streets, the perfect cultural advisor and political pundit. During the petrol shortage in Accra, it was a taxi driver who told me about the oncoming petrol-shortage and after not believing him, it was he who found petrol to put in my car!!




In 2005, I had the opportunity to go to Jordan and participate in a training for the Iraqi government officials. The reason the training was taking place in Jordan was because it was too dangerous to conduct any training in Iraq.


As it is typical, we were told about some of the cultural do’s and the don’ts while in Jordan, a predominately Arab and Muslim country. My favorite is don’t shake hands with your left hand! OK, I won’t shake hands with anyone with my left hand….cultural crisis averted!! There were also other things told to us, as if Jordan operates on the cultural manual printed in the US for an American Foreign Service Officer!! Another advice I was given was Jordan is an Arab, Muslim country therefore listen to Lisa from Chicago who was in Amman for one year and is now an expert on Jordanian culture! OK, I will!!


We finally made it to Amman safe and sound!
Jordan was a wonderful country, some of us saw Petra and some saw the Dead Sea, but in that short, few days, for me it was the soul of the Jordanian people that stood out. In a region where intolerance rules, I had one of the most enlighten conversations and discussions with some wonderful individuals. I think I even shook someone’s hand with my left hand and they did not stop the conversation to tell me how much I insulted their religion and culture!
Here is the Taxi part...

Couple of days into our trip, we were walking in downtown Amman, there were four of us, including Lisa "the Jordanian cultural expert from Chicago", two men and two women. We flanked down a taxi, and the taxi stopped. We all jumped in, and as it happened, one of our female companion sat in the front and three of us sat in the back. As the taxi was about to take off, Lisa asked the woman in front to come and sit in the back! And asked one of the men to sit in front saying, “In Jordan women are not supposed to sit in the front seat!” So the woman came and sat in the back and I got up and sat in the front! Suddenly the taxi-driver, who was an old man, turned around and told Lisa in English…"who told you women in Jordan can’t sit in the front seat?”…"you go and tell lie to the world about woman in Jordan!”…"Jordanian woman can sit anywhere she wants!! In the front, in the back…why you lie?” Lets just say that was a very uncomfortable taxi ride back to the hotel!
Could it be that Lisa having spent one year in Amman was not an expert on Jordanian culture? Is it possible?...And what does an old Jordanian man who has spent all his life in Amman driving a taxi and whose great-great-great-great… grand parents have lived in that part of the world, really know about his own culture and civilization?
I plan to send the Jordanian taxi driver, the American Foreign Service Manual for living in Jordan, autographed by Lisa…he could definitely use one!!

Monday, September 1, 2014

Tribute To My Brother Abdul-Fattah Haidari


One of the struggles of working in Afghanistan with Afghans was the danger of violence that they had to face twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The Afghans were one of the most dedicated souls I have ever met and worked with.

One  such person was  Engineer Abdul-Fattah Haidari, who lived in the village of Shoorab in Shindand District. He had gotten his engineering degree in Herat, though he could have stayed in the relative safety of Herat City,  he decided to dedicate his young life to the improvement and empowerment of his community specially women. Haidari, set up his own NGO, called the Shindand Women Social Foundation (SWSF) and held many trainings, from literacy classes to sowing, computer training to English classes. In a country where educating women is challenging in the best of circumstances, Haidari was an embodiment of courage and did his work despite all the threat to him and his family.



He worked tirelessly and was always ready to give a helping hand wherever possible. Haidari understood that strengthening Afghan national identity was essential in creating a viable, strong society and nation. Haidari worked with all groups and reached out to all Afghans, regardless of their tribal affliation, to him all Afghans were his family.



Unfortunately, a year ago i got a phone call from Shindand, and was informed that my brother, Abdul-Fattah had been found murdered in his office in Shindand Town.

So on this one year anniversary of his death, we remember, Haidari, one of the millions of Afghans who made the ultimate sacrifice, with courage and dignity to make Afghanistan a better, a stonger and a progressive nation. May he Rest in Peace.



I looked at myself, I did not see me anymore,
For in that moon, my body turned as fine as soul,

The nine spheres disappeared in that moon,
The Ship of my existence drowned in that sea. Rumi