Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Karzai's Woes

On the International Literacy Day, President Hamid Karzai gave a speech at a high school and was expressing his concerns about the current state of Afghanistan. He touches on the topics of how Afghanistan is being plauged by Taliban attacks and threats. The constant suicide blasts are putting a toll on the country's education system. As Karzai was giving his speech he began to get teary-eyed. 1 out of 4 Afghans (which is about 10 million) are illiterate and all he wants is for his people to get an education so they would be able to be independent and self-sufficient. He urged for Afghans to do more to educate their children and he fears that his own son would be forced to flee his own country one day and become a refugee.


Karzai:
"I'm afraid that my son, my own son will become a refugee one day. Please, I don't want my son and your son to be a foreign citizen...I want him to go to school here, I swear to God I'm worried, I'm worried, oh people, I'm worried."
"I have pain in my heart...Our sons cannot go to school because of bombs and suicide attacks. Our teachers cannot go to school because of clashes and threats of assassination. Schools are closed."


During his emotional speech, several bearded men and hundreds of teachers and students in the audience began to cry as well. Karzai and his family are under a lot of pressure from Taliban threats and the pressure from being criticized and investigated.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Taliban Claiming They Shot Down Aircraft

A helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan in the province of Zabul killed nine members of the International Security Assistance Force, which was led by NATO. Three other people were also injured, an Afghan National Army soldier, a NATO soldier, and a U.S. civilian. The nationalities of the nine were identified as Americans. The cause of the crash is still under investigation by ISAF and it was reported that there were no enemy fire at the time of the crash. The Taliban claims that their insurgents were the ones who shot down the aircraft and their spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, is confident that this is true. This statement could not be proven and the ISAF force says that the Taliban is known for exaggerating their reports on attacking foreign troops. There was a similar incident back in April when three U.S. troops died in Zabul due to a helicopter crash that the Taliban also claimed they shot down.
**Please note: the BBC and CNN are both reporting this event differently. According to BBC the nationalities of the nine are unknown and won't be released until family members are contacted. It also stated that there were only three other people injured due to the crash. CNN says that there were actually four people who also sustained injuries and identified the nine as U.S. service members.**


Sunday, September 19, 2010

Death or Democracy?

UPDATE: 3.6 million ballots were cast, this was the final count (pre-sorting for fraudulent). Illegitimate votes would delay the result for months. There were ballot box stuffing even after the polling was finished, underage voting, votes being bought for $10 each, and also voting a second or third time by washing the "indelible" ink.


Fear and frustration is surrounding Afghanistan. Civilians are debating whether to risk their lives and vote or heed the Taliban's threats. The Taliban went around posting hand-written notes on people's doors in a village saying that they will kill anyone taking part in embracing democracy. This notorius group had in the past beheaded, cut fingers and noses of people who had voted or fought for democracy. Afghans are afraid of the violence that this election will cause and fear for their own lives. Despite the threats, about 40% of Afghans had come out and voted. For these people, freedom and democracy is worth dying for. Fear of dying is not the only reason why Afghans are refusing to vote, but the corruption in the government itself is making people in this country doubt that there will be any progress made. The Taliban is known for violence and the politicians have been known for deceiving its citizens, the elder Afghans have little hope that the government will change and will actually help the poor. For the 40% who came out to vote, they believe that by standing up for themselves then the Taliban will lose their power. Most vote knowing that the parliament won't be doing much (especially for the poor) but they vote because they know that they can and to show Taliban that they can't take away their rights. In the capital of Kabul it is relatively safe to participate in the election but in other places the risk of dying is very high and some ask, "Is this vote more important than my life?"

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Quran Burning

Dove World Outreach Center, a 50-member church in Gainesville, Florida lead by Pastor Terry Jones is continuing with their plans of burning copies of the Quran to mark the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The church even coined the event as "Burn A Koran Day" and to justify their actions the church says the burning will be a warning to radical Muslims. U.S. General David Petraeus already warned Terry Jones that if the church continues with their plans then this will endanger our troops in Afghanistan as well as other innocent civilians. Hundreds of Afghans are protesting in Kabul and chanting "death to America" and "death to Obama" while burning the U.S. flag and effigy of Terry Jones.
The Quran is very sacred to Muslims and by burning it shows a sign of hostility and disrespect. Not only is this causing an outrage in the Muslim community but many Americans are pleading for the church to stop. Terry Jones stated that he "is concerned" by Gen. Petraeus' warning but Jones never indicated whether the church will continue or cancel the event this Saturday. As far as we all know the church will carry out their plans. What happened on 9/11 was a shocking loss of life and to mark the ninth year anniversary by inspiring yet more killing is probably not the best route to go. This has become a "radical Christians vs. radical Muslims" type of situation, snowballing from the (unnecessary) chaos over building a mosque near Ground Zero.
Afghans burning an effigy of Pastor Terry Jones in Kabul