Afghan Lord

10 Years Changes in Afghanistan

2011-10-20T01:00:00.000-04:00

Note: This piece first appeared on NATO Review.

First, I fled Taliban brutality. Then I spent time in refugee camps in Iran and Pakistan. Finally, I found myself working in Dubai.

It was while I was in Dubai that I heard one evening BBC Radio announcing the assassination of the Northern Alliance commander Ahmad Shah Massoud by two Arabs.

Two days later, I was watching CNN when I saw a plane crash into the World Trade Center. I thought it was a movie. But then I switched over to Al Jazeera and the BBC. I realised it was real.

Some of my Afghan friends were happy when they heard that the United States planned to attack Al Qaeda and the Taliban, who gave sanctuary to Al Qaeda. Six months after 9/11, I had my ticket booked to return to my country after spending years in refugee camps.

In the plane, I saw people singing and dancing and celebrating; going home after ten or 15 years away from their families was beyond imagination.

We landed back home. Kabul was dusty. All around the city buildings were destroyed, schools and houses were riddled with bullets, and the wreckage of tanks and munitions leftover from the civil war were everywhere.

As soon as I entered the city, I heard music playing in shops. I saw children playing in fields. The Kabul sky was filled with kites flown by children. Life was back.

I completely forgot all the miseries and destroyed sites which had reminded me of the civil war in unsparing detail. I saw the US and ISAF convoys patrolling in the city, children waving to them as the soldiers distributed pencils and notebooks.

In 2002, I went to my village in central Afghanistan to see my parents. Nothing had changed since I was born.

We still had the oil lantern in our house, there weren’t any proper roads, and people still rode donkeys and horses for transportation. There was only one elementary school, an hour’s walk from my village, and a high school which was three hours' walk. There was only one health centre in the entire district. Communication was through couriers, and news from the next valley could not pass through unless someone travelled to that valley. Continue reading on NATO Review...

Afghanistan's Story in Pictures

2011-10-19T22:04:00.004-04:00

My second photostory is about 10 years changes in Afghanistan. This month, Afghanistan marks the 10th anniversary of the start of U.S. and NATO operations to oust the Taliban. The NATO Review asked me to make a photostory to illustrate the biggest changes since 2001.

Please find the photostory on this link "Afghanistan's Story in Pictures."

In Afghanistan, 'A Generation of Hope and Change'

2011-10-02T13:10:00.002-04:00

In some countries, young people have led in bringing change. In 2010, in Egypt and Tunisia, they toppled the government; in Iran, they have become the biggest and longest threat to the theocratic regime. In Iran, over 60 percent of 75 the million people in the country are under 30 years old. In Afghanistan, according to a United Nations report in 2008, 68 percent are under 25 years of age.

Traditionally, Afghan youth as a group have been quiet and never caused trouble. That may be changing. The Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings that spilled over to many other Arab countries have also inspired the Afghan youth.

Facebook and Twitter played a critical role in the Arab spring. Many Afghan young people were following the news of Arab uprisings carefully, and as regimes collapsed one after another, dozens of Facebook pages have sprung up calling for change in Afghanistan. A Facebook page like Love Afghanistan encourages Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara and Uzbek to unite. A similar page called "I love my glorious Afghanistan" promotes patriotism among its 9,000 members. The members debate questions like “when are we going to learn that unity is the only weapon to vanquish our enemies and is the best tool to make a better future for our Afghanistan?” Continue reading on the Nieman Watchdog...

Sino-Afghan relations

2011-09-18T15:02:00.003-04:00

It is said that the Afghan-Chinese relationship goes back to the seventh century when Chinese monks traveled through Silk Road to visit the Buddha statues in Bamyian, blown up by Taliban in 2001. The Silk Road was not only used for a pilgrimage purpose, but also an extensive interconnected route for trade which stretched across Afghanistan and connected the Asia. It was not only for religious and business reasons that monks and merchants throughout the history traveled to Afghanistan; in 1957, Premier Zhou Enlai and Vice Premier He Long visited Afghanistan which marked the beginning of the first diplomatic relationship in the history of Afghanistan and China. Since then, Afghanistan and China ties were bound in formal visiting and nothing remarkable happened until 1963, when a boundary treaty was signed between the two countries.

Afghanistan shares a 76km border to its north with China which is known as Wakhan Corridor. However, relations between the two countries were quite gloomy when Afghanistan delivered statements which condemned China for invading Vietnam and also when, in 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan; Chinese government condemned the Soviet Union invasion into Afghanistan. Nevertheless, following the September 11 attack which shocked the Western world, the U.S and NATO members dispatched tens of thousands troops to Afghanistan to destroy and dismantle the Al-Qaeda and terrorist safe havens. While the U.S and NATO troops were fighting against terrorists and in the meantime spending billions of dollars, China started piggybacking on the U.S stabilization and democratization efforts by establishing its economic relation with Afghan. Within a few years, not only had Chinese products overwhelmingly occupied the Afghan markets throughout the country, but China started investing on Afghanistan’s mine fields as well.

Today, if you walk anywhere in Afghanistan, from street vendors to markets, offices and houses, you would find Chinese products, the stuffs which are made by cheap materials and also sold cheaply. In spite of low quality, the majority of Afghans who have low incomes are buying Chinese products. Afghanistan is also a good market for products from Pakistan, Iran, Russia and Tajikistan, but scarcity of goods and less interest in vesting into Afghanistan opened a gap for China’s products. When Chinese products flooded the Afghan markets, the price for all goods which were imported from neighboring countries faced a dull market.

Afghan merchants have often been faced with problems getting visas to travel to Pakistan, Iran and Russia; they have been profiled, delayed or rejected. Even now, it is not easy to get a visa for those countries, but every day hundreds of Afghan citizens acquire Chinese visas at a low fee and in a short time. Of course, it is not only Afghans who travel to China for business reasons; there are many Chinese citizens living and working in Afghanistan. Since 2001, there have been several Chinese construction companies engaged in road construction, building schools and hospitals and several irrigation projects.

All of these contracts are either directly made with Western contractees or with the Afghan government, but the monies in which they are paid are all Western donation to Afghanistan. Likewise, there are many Western organizations that have hired Chinese firms for their reconstruction projects. Currently, there are two Chinese companies, ZTE and Huawei, partnered with the Afghan Ministry of Communications to implement digital telephone switches, providing subscriber lines. In addition, China is a major internet service provider of satellite and broadband to Afghanistan.

What is more strikingly shocking to the West is that, while U.S and ISAF forces are trying to stabilize the country, China is piggybacking on their efforts and investing in Afghanistan’s mineral resources, in addition to which the NYT recently reported that the U.S has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan. In 2007, the state-owned Metallurgical Group Corp. won a bid to develop the Aynak copper mine, which is in Logar province. It is one of the world’s largest copper deposits. In dropping $3.5 billion to develop the Aynak copper mine, Afghanistan has received the biggest foreign investment ever.

Moreover, China has also offered to build a power plant and a railroad from China to Afghanistan, which could triple the investment. China does not have military presence in Afghanistan, but China’s contribution to Afghanistan’s construction process has been quite significant. According to BBC, in recent years, China’s ex-gratia payments to Afghanistan reached up to $350 million yearly. In March 2010, Karzai visited China and the two countries signed a number of cultural and economical agreements. From now on, Afghan students are to receive more scholarships than before and Afghan merchants will have fewer problems in customs and importing goods from China.

Finally, some eyebrows may raise and wonder about the Aynak copper mine project and how China is taking advantage of Western presence in Afghanistan, but needless to say, according to Afghan officials China is willing to invest more than what it had already invested on the Aynak copper mine. As Afghanistan has enormous energy and mineral resources, especially copper, it seems that China is likely to be one of the main players in Afghanistan’s future and is also likely to be the largest investor in Afghanistan. One of the positive points about the Afghan and Chinese relation is that China does not have any political or ideological interests in Afghanistan, making it more safer for them to surpass their competitors and allowing them to take advantage of those countries which are apparently struggling to stabilize and democratize Afghanistan.

Celebrating Eid at Dickinson College

2011-08-31T22:40:00.004-04:00

We live with our memories and those memories are part of our past, the past which is connected with our tradition, religion and culture. We are who we are and sometimes we carry our values with ourselves where we go, doesn't matter even if it's in the far-flung corners of the world. I am carrying my immemorial custom of my people and villagers with me, it makes me to connect myself with a land which has a lot of proud no matter if it is devastated by the wars.

Tonight, I shared the custom of Eid-al-fitr with Dickinson students. Telling the story about my village, my family and relatives and how we were celebrating, I felt exalted at the dinner table. Students were getting more curious about Eid, they wanted to know more about my village, I wish I would have had enough time to talk more about it.

Most of the students who celebrated the Eid were Americans, they either had been on abroad program in the Middle East which Dickinson has or they are doing their majors in Middle Eastern studies.
By the way, these are the lines we prayed tonight at the dinner table:

May God accept everyone's fast during the holy month of Ramadan. May God bring peace and prosperity to the people of Afghanistan, Palestine, Libya, Syria, Egypt, and the whole Middle East which is in falmes now. May God bring peace and harmony among all people around the world.

Eid Mubarak and peace be with you!

Gladden My Spirit, It's Sad

2011-08-30T19:56:00.008-04:00

Eid al Fitr is one the most important holidays among Muslims, especially among Afghans. I've been out of the country for nearly three years and now God knows how much I miss Eid, how much I miss my village, my family and relatives. Until last year, I was resisting not to even about it. I now admit that this year, on the threshold of Eid I began to feel more and more homesick. I now remember those days, hennaining our hands, waking up early and taking bath, washing our teeth and breaking our fast with family. What a joyful days.

While thinking about Eid and feeling homesick, I found a clip of an old Afghan song from 1960s - sang by Mohammad Hussain Sarahang who was a master in Afghan classical music.

Here is the clip and by the way it's sang in Dari/farsi, underneath of this clip you will find the translation in English.

Gladden my spirit, it is sad.
Be kind to my heart, it is impoverished.
The very first day I laid eyes on you, I said:
"The one that will darken my days is this one"
From time to time remember me with a curse.
Even that bitter talk shall be sweet (to me)!
Without your face, my faith is all profanity.
With your face, my profanity becomes all faith.

Here is a Piano version of the same song.

Bloody Day in Afghanistan

2011-05-18T22:02:00.007-04:00

On Wednesday, May 18, a deadly NATO night raid on a house that left four dead sparked a massive protest that 12 people killed after the police forces opened fire on a 2,000 crowd.

Reports on Taloqan's raid are vary, some say that the four people who are killed yesterday were members of Taliban while others strongly believe they were members of Al Qaeda. I have been watching the Afghan news outlets, probing for details but could not find any detail whether those four people who are killed by NATO were the Al Qaeda members or not.

However, the Fighting for Bin Laden's documentary on the PBS website which reveals a lot about the influence of Al Qaeda in northern Afghanistan provides a clue that they might have been linked with Al Qaeda members.

Meanwhile 13 others died in a separate incident when a suicide bomber drove an explosive car into a bus carrying police academy trainers in Nangarhar province. These incidents are wracking the country while NATO forces are planning to hand over some areas to Afghan security forces.

Killing Osama: Would it Have Been Possible Without ISI Help?

2011-05-03T21:02:00.007-04:00

Many people are writing and discussing the outcome of Osama Bin Laden’s death, will his death make the world safe and is this a final nail in the coffin of Al Qaeda? These are part of the big questions on his death which have been raised during the last 48 hours. Yet, there is a crucial question that no one touched on: was this operation inside Pakistan possible without the ISI assistance?

The answer for this question is simply no. The reality that lies behind this operation must have been caused by a deep rift inside the Pakistani intelligence service otherwise this operation would not be possible without cooperation between the ISI and CIA. It is now quite crystal clear for everyone that Osama was under the safeguard of ISI for the past few years. The fortified million dollar compound in which he dwelt and its location next to a military academy makes it clear that he was enjoying living under ISI protection.

The ISI has so far simply said that it did not know about the operation, and it is possible that they are contemplating how to find proper answers to the question: how is it possible for American forces to fly two helicopters from Afghanistan to Pakistan and launch an operation under the ISI’s nose, only a few kilo meters away from Islamabad? This incident definitely brought shame to Pakistani intelligence service and they must be now working on how to find this rift, and understand what was going wrong inside the organization.
The U.S forces could have used drone attacks to kill Osama Bin Laden, instead of risking their lives through ground operation. It would be less controversial and also less humiliating to Pakistan authorities. Anyway, it is a complex issue and it is too soon to tell what made things so easy for the U.S. Navy SEALs to manage this operation so successfully.

Saudi Bloggers Face Stringent Restrictions

2011-05-01T10:02:00.004-04:00

In a country like Saudi Arabia in which media is controlled by the Kingdom, blogs have become an alternative source of news and opinion in recent years. Saudi is ranked second in the Arab world for having the most bloggers, trailing only behind Egypt. According to BBC, the number of Saudi bloggers (both male and female) was between 500-600 in both English and Arabic.

Like many other Middle Eastern countries, Saudi Arabia is restrictive in its blogosphere. In 2008, Fouad Al-Farhan, a well-known blogger was arrested for his criticism of the government’s corruption and his call for political reform. In 2011, in the wake of uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries, Saudi government enacted stringent new regulations forcing bloggers to register and obtain government licenses in order to publish online. According to this law, all Saudi news blogs and electronic news sites now must be strictly licensed, and are required to “include the call to the religion of Islam” and to strictly abide by Islamic sharia law.

Human rights activists and bloggers have reacted to government’s decision on limiting freedom of expression. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CJP) is already concerned about the new regulation, which was issued at the beginning of 2011. The CJP has voiced its concerned and has asked the Saudi government to listen to its bloggers and respect their freedom of speech.

Young Israelis and Palestinians Debate

2011-04-20T22:56:00.004-04:00

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Here in a program directed by Riz khan on Al Jazeera, young Palestinians and Israelis face off in a debate about their past, present and future. What do they think about their leaders, and do they think they will see peace in their lifetime?

It seems that to Israeli youth the pain of Palestinians are not quite understandable. Palestinians have suffered from multiple losses, including losses of territories and also human beings since the formation of Israel in 1948. On the other side, Palestinian youth are complaining about the way they are treated by the Israeli soldiers and settlers. Rez khan has done a great job bringing these youth from both sides together to talk about their issues. Without a doubt, this kind of debate would have impact on both sides and would be important to pave the way towards negotiation and peace. What these young people hope to achieve is peace for both sides. Both have shared pains, but the new generation should take initiatives towards peace.

"Three Cups of Tea" Spilled Over Dirt

2011-04-18T15:17:00.008-04:00

I just opened up my twitter account and tweeted Greg Mortenson, the author of the well-known book “Three Cups of Tea”: “What's up Greg? It seems your Three Cups of Tea spilled over dirt. I never heard of your schools in Afghanistan. Why is that?”

Last night, the 60 minutes report, raised questions on the accuracy of the Three Cups of Tea. According to CBS, the show "also checked on schools that Central Asia Institute claims to have built in Pakistan and Afghanistan and found that some of them were empty, built by somebody else, or simply didn't exist at all. The principals of a number of schools said they had not received any money from Central Asia Institute in years."

CBS also said that the dramatic stories in the best-selling "Three Cups of Tea" have become the source of speeches Mortenson is paid to make and the partial basis of nearly $60 million in donations to the charity he founded.

In 2009, while I was at Duke University on a media fellowship program, I was invited to talk on the situation of Afghan children to Carolina Friend School students in Durham. In the end, one of the teachers gave the “Three Cups of Tea” as a gift. I heard about the book before but never read it. I later on read the book, although the book encompasses fascinating stories and sometimes inspiring on humanitarian efforts, I found something different compare to what I had been hearing from others. I thought the book a fiction not based on personal experience of the writer.
It was hard for me to believe that he made schools for girls in a very dangerous and volatile zone like Kunar province. When last night I watched 60 minutes report, it made sense to me to understand the book that the story is really fabricated.

Here the 60 minutes report on the fraud book called Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson.

Daunting News: Egyptian Blogger Sentenced to 3 Years Jail

2011-04-11T14:58:00.011-04:00

Daunting news from Egypt in post-mubarakism surprised the world by jailing a blogger for three years. It shocked people because even in the Mubarak era, jailing bloggers was not as common as these last two months after Mubarak was forced to leave the power.

The only and the first case during Mubarak was Kareem Amir who was sentenced to 4 years in jail because of allegedly insulting Islam and Husni Mubarak. According to BBC, Maikel Nabil was arrested last month for blog posts where he criticized the role of the Egyptian Army during anti-government uprising. Based AFP, a military court sentenced him to three years in prison.

The Maikel Nabil case harks back to Mubarak era; it seems the Army is still remaining in its authoritarian nature and it would likely be hard to expect changes in institutions like the military. It clearly tells us that Egyptian Army does not tolerate criticism and it raises lots of unanswered questions about whether people’s efforts would finally succeed to a democratic society or not, was it worth it to sacrifice and how much power people have to change the governmental institutions. Anyway, the Maikel Nabil case is shocking and it makes the world look at post-mubarakism with doubt. Those who understand the nature of the Egyptian authoritarian regime which was headed by Husni Mubarak over the past 30 years will understand the nature of the Egyptian military and its court sentence for an internet activist and blogger of three years imprisonment.

We should not forget that it was Egyptian bloggers who were at the forefront of uprising since the beginning of uprising. I shall later write a separate piece more specifically on the role of blogging in the Egyptian revolution. It was the famous blogger, Khaled Said who was dragged from a cybercafe out into the street and beaten by police which led to his death. His death on June 12, 2010, outraged Alexandria’s residents and ultimately inspired many to stand up against Egyptian authoritarian regime which was headed by Husni Mubarak. Once again, even today, when in the case of Maikel Nabil proved that blogs continue to play an important role among traditional media, which is controlled by the state, but ultimately the uprising was caused by the bloggers who had relative freedom but not without intimidation and serious threat to their lives.

Malalai Joya's Pointless Tour to The U.S

2011-04-08T20:22:00.006-04:00

Malalai Joya is currently touring the United States and I am a bit confused at what she hopes to accomplish here. She speaks poorly of the U.S, NATO, International Communities, and everyone in Afghanistan. She sometimes appears to be a feminist, sometimes a politician, and sometimes a human rights activist. Some believe that she fails to fulfill all these roles, but rather wants to be the center of attention.

She does not have a clear agenda as to when she wants the NATO troops out of Afghanistan. She also demands US withdrawal from Afghanistan, a demand she shares with the Taliban. If NATO troops leave Afghanistan Joya would not have chance to speak out like now.

Here what she says:

“The Afghan people are squashed between three enemies: the Taliban, warlords, and occupation forces.”

She always rants and raves about government, the Taliban, NATO forces and warlords which are all pointless. Warlords have no power anymore; they were devastated and disarmed four years ago. They have no voice in the Afghan public domain, and if they do, they have no influence.

Joya is ignorantly supporting the Taliban right now because their demands match hers. The Taliban asks U.S forces withdrawal as well.

Here is another pointless claim of hers:

“The reason they refused to give me a visa, I think, is because I exposed the wrong policies of your government, and I talk about the reality of the so-called ‘war on terror,’ and I talk about the war crimes your government is committing in the name of the American people,” said Joya. “These are the reasons they are afraid of me and do not let me enter the U.S.”

I don't know who would be naïve enough to believe that she correctly understands the situation in Afghanistan. Joya is living in her own hysterical, and sometimes paranoid, world that she created from the Afghan public sphere. She has little voice in the country, even among women. Her typical speech always descends into a rant against the government, tribal leaders and foreign forces that often get her into trouble.

While representing her country, she portrays a very bad image of Afghanistan and, more specifically, Afghan women. She believes that the situation women are in today is worse than than their situation was under the Taliban. I disagree. She ignores the fact of hundreds of thousands of girls going to school today and thousands of women employed by numerous government and NGOs since 2002.

I would suggest instead of repeating everything that she used to say five years ago, she should come up with an idea. She can raise money for building schools for girls; she can be a good feminist and work specifically for women’s rights. She can raise money for widows and homeless women, who are now in despair. Malalai Joya must understand that she has not left room for herself in Afghanistan because she's always in fight with quite everyone in power there.

Endgame in the Slaughter Coast

2011-04-05T14:46:00.004-04:00

Finally, after heartbreaking news from mass murder of more than 1,000 people in Ivory Coast, we have got some good news on UN and French troops humanitarian intervention in that country. According to BBC, the UN has said that three generals loyal to Ivory Coast's besieged President Laurent Gbagbo are negotiating terms for surrender in return for guarantees of safety for him and themselves.

Also, for the past days, thousands of people crossed the border to take refuge in Liberia. In meantime, the The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, has warned that the dispute in Ivory Coast could destabilize adjacent Liberia.

Obama has also issued a sternly worded statement for Ivory Coast's besieged former President Laurent Gbabgo, saying: "To end this violence and prevent more bloodshed, former President Gbagbo must stand down immediately."

Humanitarian Intervention in the Slaughter Coast

2011-04-03T22:56:00.004-04:00

The humanitarian intervention of Western power commits a double standard if they do not intervene in Ivory Coast to stop the massacre. People believe that the Western intervention on Libya is based on some benefits rather than a humanitarian intervention.

In Ivory Coast, there is a massacre going on right now where 200 UN peacekeepers are not capable of preventing a mass murder. According to aid agencies, at least 1,000 people have been killed in an act of mass murder by forces loyal to President-elect Alassane Quattara.

The news came out just a few weeks after NATO’s intervention in the war in Libya. One would ask why do NATO allies not intervene in Ivory Coast to stop the massacre? Well, let’s see what will happen in the next few days. French troops have already taken control of the airport in the commercial capital Abeidjan as the fighting continues in the country.

The answer to the aforementioned question is quiet clear. The countries involved in Libya’s war are taking aim to protect international commerce, mainly oil. As unrest in Libya continues, oil prices rose to their highest point since 2008. This is the biggest concern of those countries that benefit from Libya’s oil. In Ivory Coast nothing is significantly important, at least not in terms of economic or strategic value.

Geographically, Ivory Coast is located in West Africa. Ivory Coast is considered one of the biggest cocoa and coffee producers in the world. The country has a potential of an economic take off, but until the political crisis is resolved, international investors would not dare to invest in the country.

Funeral Crackdown in Iran

2011-03-31T16:40:00.002-04:00

What the heck is going on in Iran? The Iranian regime put more constraints on its people and now they even have a problem burying their dead. On Thursday, more than 7 people were arrested while attending a funeral for the father of one of the reformist leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi.

The Green Movement website says that government security forces surrounded Mousavi’s home in Tehran as people were gathered for a funeral. It says that there was a confrontation between mourners and policemen in plain clothes who seized the coffin, forcefully placed it in a ambulance, and took it to a burial ceremony.

Furthermore it says, while a confrontation erupted between mourners and police forces, the police forces in plain clothes attacked mourners, beaten them up and arrested more than seven funeral attendants.

It has been since February 14 that opposition’s leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi along with their wives have been put under house arrest, after they called for a rally in support of Egyptian uprising.

Twitter and users

2011-03-23T21:06:00.007-04:00

Last week I tweeted: "I had a bizarre morning, lost keys and forgot my power adapter at the coffee shop, one of the laundry dryer machines did work, had to redo it," a few minutes later, I got this tweet from a user saying: " We can get you a new set of keys!"

There was also another company who tweeted me saying that they sold the best key leashes. These companies advertise their products through twitter, watching for key words and checking who tweets what, isn't that amazing?

Compare these tweets with the tweets that are being sent out from the Middle East, telling of how many people died in anti-government protests while government media denies them. It's quite ironic that on the other side of the world, people use twitter for their liberation from oppressive regimes while on this side of the world, people use twitter to advertise their products.

For one part of the world, twitter has become a powerful source of communication, spreading out their angers, organizing their protests, reporting about regime's brutality, whereas for another part, twitter still is being used as a source of communication, but also as a tool for marketing and celebrities.

For me personally, twitter is a source of getting update news from the Middle East, South Asia, Afghanistan and around the world. I use it as a micro-blogging tool to share links and comments related to those regions.

Happy Fifth Birthday Twitter!

2011-03-21T14:28:00.003-04:00

Today, March 21, 2011 marks the fifth anniversary of the first tweet ever sent. PCWorld has counted five milestones from the past five years, two of them are the most important to me:
1. The role of Twitter in coverage of Iranian elections.
2. Twitter in Tunisia and Egypt which help protesters organizing their protests and finally we unexpectedly saw the demise of authoritarian regimes one after another.

Here is a fascinating video of some important figures telling why twitter is important to them.

The Middle East Doesn't mean Israel or Palestine anymore

2011-03-07T16:39:00.001-05:00

The recent uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, and seemingly sweeping across the entire Middle East have definitely shocked the world. No one was expecting such cataclysmic movements one after another. However, these uprisings also give a new picture of the Middle East to the world, especially to Western countries - a new picture that encourages people in the West to no longer see the Middle East as Israel or Palestine, but as an original Middle East, a larger area with relatively cohesive and in some part homogeneous people living with the same culture and religion.

Young Middle Easterners have proven that they can change their fate and shape it to their wills. These people no longer tolerate living under tyrannical regimes, and the most important things we have sees in these uprisings are the demands of freedom. In these uprisings, hundreds, maybe thousands of people have been killed so far; nonetheless, as the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt triumphed in striving for democracy and freedom, they proved that no one can take away people’s freedom, even if you can kill a few of them.

Returning back to the subject, for the past decades, the only thing we have been hearing and reading about the Middle East was the conflict between Israel and Palestine. In many institution of higher education there are branches specifically teaching students about Israel and Palestine conflict. From now on, this could change; scholars would suggest studying a broader perspective of the Middle East.

Radical Protest at Dickinson College

2011-03-03T22:25:00.007-05:00

As more than 200 students continue their sit-in to protest in demanding more transparent policies on sexual violence, the news has already spread out to the media. Yesterday morning I realized there were a few students absent and I wondered where they were. A classmate reminded me that there is a protest going on campus. I thought it was not that serious and it could end soon but surprisingly it is still going on and they occupied the administration building, Old West.

It is the second day of the demonstration and I personally think it is too much; it is not civilized to occupy the administration building of an academic institution and create anxiety. There are some other ways that are more proper in addressing such issues rather than flocking around the offices as mass.

First, Dickinson College is an academic environment for higher education. Sometimes I am envious of American kids that have such a great opportunity for higher education. But I am afraid; I have often found that they are not taking advantage of such opportunities. Some have no idea what they want or what they are doing here. Some feel themselves unleashed from their families and think college is a place to get drunk, party and mess up. There is not a single weekend that goes by without at least one or two incidents. Most of these cases could be involved serious crimes but fortunately on campus security deals and makes things calm down. Last year, there was a movement that some students were asking the DPS not to show up around when they are partying.

It’s ironic that they want more freedom but they are sometimes are not capable of handling it well. This is finally the result when they messed up, they are flooding to protest against administrative policy which can’t do much. Some of them have no idea why they joined the protest. Nevertheless protest has become trendy nowadays.

If there is a rape case or sexual assault, there are some legal institutions that can deal with it, not the administration. It is police’s and court’s job to investigate the rape cases. If the students are very serious and want to bring changes, there are higher authorities in this country than college administration. The administration might be able toss out the perpetrator but that is it, it may not necessarily bring changes. These things should be done profoundly. This is not unique case which happens at Dickinson College, as my understanding is that sexual assault on college campuses is quite pervasive all over the country. So, why not address this issue in a broader way rather than taking a radical action and occupying the building? This creates tension, and it is a radical movement in its nature in such an academic environment.

Dickinson College does not resemble any Middle Eastern countries; there are many civilized ways for the student to address the issues. There is a rule of law in this country and such cases should be followed by law and addressed to legal authorities. In developing countries, protesting is the only way to show anger and dissatisfaction with policies because usually the legal systems are not strong enough or sometimes they are ruled by despotic rulers.

Finally, I think a better way to improve the college campus life is in students feeling a bit responsible for what they are doing on campus. I believe that girls are not only part of this cause, guys are also part of it. If boys and girls get less drunk, do less sexual exposure in parties, less mingling with drunk guys and girls, smoke less weed, we won’t have sexual assault cases on campus. We would have a healthy campus life without any sexual harassment.

Iran Opposition Preparing For More Protests

2011-02-28T22:02:00.002-05:00

According to a recent news report, the Iranian government jailed two opposition leaders alongside their wives on Sunday, February 27. Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi had been under house arrest since the February 14th demonstration. The protest on February 14th, called 25Bahman, was organized by Green movement in sympathy for Egyptian uprising but was cracked down by the government.

As Iranian government put more pressure on oppositions, there is some news about the outbreak of a widespread protest tomorrow across Iran.

Social networking sites which belong to the Green movement say that tomorrow will be an important day for Iran - an important day on which people would have a peaceful demonstration against the government that jailed their leaders. Tomorrow’s demonstration coincides with Mousavi’s birthday. The Green movement website has already announced that the tomorrow’s demonstration will follow the same pattern as February 14th and will likely continue until their leaders are released from jail.

According to the BBC Persian website, which quoted from the Green movement website, as nightly protest began, the anti-government slogans have already been heard from Tehran and many other provinces. The Green movement has asked its supporters to peacefully march through streets and reach the squares. It also emphasized that protesters should remain in public places and squares until their leaders Mousavi and Karroubi are released.

Surviving Under Capitalism

2011-02-27T22:49:00.005-05:00

It seems like a ridiculous weekend so far. On Friday night, I twisted my knee while I was playing soccer. The ground was quite sticky so I couldn’t turn my body as quickly as I normally would but my weight went on my left leg and tweaked at 90 degrees. My body was spontaneously rotated and rolled on the ground like a rock loosens from its bed and rolls down the valley. First I thought I tore my ACL or tendon, but when I saw part of my knee had popped out, I pushed it back into its usual place. It went back amazingly but the pain has not gone yet. I start walking for little bit when suddenly it popped up again and I again fell to the ground. This time, I could not move my body, so one of the soccer player called emergency and I was taken to the emergency room at Carlisle regional medical center.

It took me half an hour to do the paper work- imagine if this were to happen to someone who was in a very critical situation, what would it look like. I was pushed in a wheelchair and a nurse drove me to a small white room with a bed. The nurse wanted to help me to lay down on bed but I jumped up on my own and she laughed at my quick jump. I tried to convince myself that I am not that vulnerable. I have been through many kinds of difficulties, and these things are minor things I can easily deal with it.

The doctor came in and checked my knee and assured me that it is not serious; the nerves and muscles had compressed. He advised me to stay off of the knee as much as possible. The nurse brought a pack of crushed ice and wrapped it around my knee, I felt good and was released after almost an hour. When I checked the bill, they had charged me $290, just for touching my knee for less than two minutes.

It gave me a sense of understanding of what capitalism means and how I must survive in this country. I am trying my best to stay healthy, running and doing workouts just to repel any kinds of illness. Now, I am afraid of getting sick here.

It is unfortunate that I’ve also suffered from a ganglion cyst for the past two weeks. That was caused by an incessant period of damn guitar practice. Now, besides crippling, I suffer from a pain in my wrist, especially when I start typing- it torments me like a hell.

Why Egypt is so important to Afghanistan?

2011-02-24T08:42:00.002-05:00

I have been following the Egyptian uprising closely, and besides blogging I have been tweeting constantly. One would ask why I am so curious and care about Egyptian events, which have seemingly nothing to do with my country.

Well, the answer can be anything, particularly including the fact that Egypt is influential on regional level and, more importantly, in Muslim world. It is not clear yet whether these upheavals will put Egypt in a crisis or lead to a prosperous situation However, in any case, changes in Egypt will impact the Muslim world in general and Afghanistan in particular.

According to the BBC, since the 1950s, Afghanistan and Egypt have had a long cultural relationship; there has been a formal educational exchange contract between the countries. Since that time, thousands of Afghan students have been sent to Al Azhar University to learn religious subjects.

The most obvious impact of Egypt is the birth of the Afghan Muslim Brotherhood party, which was founded by those students who had studied in Egypt in 1950s. They were inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Today, there are more than 250 Afghan students at Al Azhar University. Ironically, the Afghan government did not pull out these students during Egyptian uprising, though every other foreigner from around the world was pulled out by their governments.

More importantly, the Afghanistan constitution is mostly based on the Egyptian constitution and Egyptian thinkers have been very influential among Afghans. Finally, the most striking impact of Egyptian upheavals on Afghanistan would be the weakening of Islamic fundamentalism because it originated in Egypt and it would fade there. Afghanistan has not been the source of any Islamic fundamentalism movements, but of course it has been a place in which extreme movements could easily grow and wrack and ruin the country very easily.

I blog, therefore I am

2011-02-08T15:34:00.003-05:00

Have you ever heard the saying "I think, therefore I am?" Well, that is a philosophical phrase said by Rene Descartes, a 17th century French philosopher. He simply wanted to demonstrate his existence and to prove that he is capable of thinking, therefore he is alive. I've twisted the phrase to "I blog, therefore I am."

Today, we are in the 21st century and to simply regurgitate what Descartes has already said, we get a palpable meaning of "I think, therefore I am. It goes beyond its existentialism definition. Perhaps Descartes was trying to explore the reason of existence philosophically, but if he had lived today and been able to observe the changes in today's world, he probably would have said something different.

He would see how much the world has changed and, with today's powerful mass communication tools like the internet, everyone has the ability to express themselves and demonstrate that they are because they are able to think and create things. We, as human beings, should be different from other species on the planet. What is that? That could be our identity, the identity that Descartes wondered about and inspired him to say that "I think, therefore I am."

That is what we are, therefore I am; I am to think, to be productive, creative, and innovative. I am because I can think, I can create, I live better, I change things, I can help others and that can bring changes to him or her. Therefore, I am. I blog about the people, culture, society, and politics, because I am. I blog to express myself, to prove that I am, to prove that I can still think, write, and be creative. I blog to let people know how and what I am thinking. I blog because I am interested in politics, culture, and, more importantly, in the issues of the Middle East and Afghanistan.

Too early to judge Egyptian uprising

2011-02-01T14:26:00.017-05:00

Of course everyone is in a state of bewilderment, especially those who follow the news on Egypt's upheavals. For the last hours I have been reading some confusing opinion which were saying that Egypt will meet the same fate that Iran did. It is simply an assumption that doesn't necessarily represent or relate to the major theme but it can be counted as a concern.

We should not be confused or naively believe in what we hear from news channels. They are still struggling to realize what to do, how to frame their news, what their narratives should be regarding to Egypt upheavals. But one thing is clear to us that all these news channels are trying their best to cover the uprising.

One thing has been vexing me for the last few hours that the Western media are trying to portray the Egyptian uprising as a pro-democracy movement. Of course it's up to them what kind of narrative or interpretation they give out to their audience but if we carefully look at those placards and slogans that are expressed and shown for the last days, non of them represent democracy neither Islamic fundamentalism belief that the U.S and other Western countries scared of.

One thing is pretty much obvious that the Egyptian protesters are out there mostly because of their daily concerns that they are angry about. The participants are from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds, they mainly focused on a number of issues which are important in their daily life, such as legal and political issues, police brutality, state of emergency laws, lack of free elections and free speech, widespread corruption, economic issues including high unemployment rate, food price inflation and low minimum wages.

Now, it is too early to call it Islamic movement or pro-democracy movement. The protesters will is to simply say good bye with a period of widespread corruption, inequality, oppressive and authoritarian regime which ruled by Hosni Mubarak for 30 years after Gamal Abdel Nasser assassinated in 1970.

China and Iran Censor News from Egypt

2011-01-31T15:41:00.001-05:00

As Egypt uprising enters its seven day and makes its way to the entire Middle East, some countries already shocked and have fears that their citizens might be provoked against their governments. Chinese government has already started blocking micro-blogs that talk about Egyptian unrest.

At the same time, Iranian government enforced censorship of the news from Egypt on its news channels. Not only news channels forced to censor news from Egypt, the Iranian regime also blocked he BBC and social networks Facebook and Twitter.

For the last days, hundreds of Iranian bloggers were also complaining about news channels that they abstained publishing images of protesters in Egypt. They also have been saying that the Iranian news channels incessantly called the Egyptian uprising an Islamic movement against corruption, secularism and against the government which was pro-Israel and the United States.

On popular community website "balatarin" Iranian bloggers discuss that for the last 48 hours, Iranian TV channels talked about the Muslim Brotherhood and called them the right party to take control of the country.

Head rush on the Middle East

2011-01-29T13:58:00.011-05:00

For the last days, I have been kept saying that uprising became a trendy in the entire Middle East. The Tunisian revolution emulated by Egyptian protesters and today the Egyptian unrest is entering to its fifth day. Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak sacked his government after four days of street protests. Today, he named the intelligence chief Omar Suleiman as his first ever vice-president in order to control the situation. As pressure is mounting for President Mubarak due to widespread demonstrations against his government, perhaps, the Western world would ponder and wonder what is next and what they would expect out of all these upheavals in the Middle East.

We should keep in mind that we will be witnessing lots of changes in the Middle East in new future. Today, the Tunisian uprising not only inspired Egyptian citizens but also Yemenis. Yemenis already started a similar act against their government, according to New York Times, thousands of people rallied on the streets against their government.

Egyptians deserve a better government, a country that had been a cradle of human civilization has been under a tyrannical regime that suppressed religious minorities and disregarded the freedom of speech for its citizen.

Henceforth, the Middle East issues will be part of my focuses and I will be updating this blog and take the view that relates to my Middle East and North African class. This includes politics and media. I have to confess that the recent issues although seems pretty much clear what's going on but honestly I am flummoxed like everyone else out there. But one thing makes me secure that what is happening in the Middle East is not spatially, it is palpable and understandable. We need to sharpen our ears and minds in order to peer on facts and latching onto issues that interest us.

Blogging workshop photos in slide show

2011-01-28T14:20:00.003-05:00

Here are some pictures in slide show that I've been taking for past years, roughly between 2003 and 2009. Most of those recent-uploaded pictures are from my workshops that I have been teaching blogging and online journalism for Afghan youth. The workshops have sporadically been taking place between 2006 and 2009. I thought it worth to put them in slide here on my blog as to showcase my works on digital Afghanistan. I'm still working on a project to develop blogging in Afghanistan, hopefully, soon, I will come out with some good news.

Anyhow, I'm inviting you to observe these picture from very a volatile and insecure zone like Helmand to quite secure places like Herat, Bamiyan, Kunduz and Kabul.

Afghan journalist attacked with acid

2011-01-21T00:49:00.000-05:00

Let me begin by saying this that Afghanistan is not a safe place for journalists, writers and bloggers. If you think you are safe you must be either supported by the government or some Islamic radical factions otherwise you are on your own and always exposed to different kinds of dangers.

Just a few days ago I heard Razaq Mamoon was attacked by an unknown assailant who sprayed acid on his face. I worked with him for a year; I was astonished by his capability and talent. He is not simply a journalist; he is a novelist and a great playwright. In his interview with the media, he accused Iranian intelligence service has hand in the assault. He has been criticizing Iran over a number of issues. Recently, he wrote a book about Ahmad Shah Massoud’s assassination, he claimed in his book that Iran was involved Massoud’s killing.

Karzai condemned the attacked and asked promised that his government will investigate the case. I’m having doubt that Karzai have a memory. When Samad Rohani, the BBC reporter was killed in 2008, in Helmand, he published the same statement and even made a committee to investigate Abdul Samad Rohani’s murder. Going back to 2007, in a span of just one week, two female journalists have been killed. President Karzai told to media the same words that repeated just yesterday in Mamoon’s case.

Bugs In Your Food

2011-01-11T19:58:00.012-05:00

How about having a few bugs in your food every so often? A few fly heads mixed up with your pasta or salad, or maybe those insects that eat in your flower gardens, how about adding to your dinner some cicadas that send out a deafening high-pitched shrill from your garden trees - that would also get rid of them and their shrill?

Well, perhaps, you may know that it is said that bugs are almost pure protein. There are many people in the world who are consuming bugs as part of their daily meal. It happened throughout history and happens today in many cultures. But there are also many cultures in the world in which eating insects are considered foul and disgusting.

Well, the use of this pretext is to demonstrate a gross experience I had today. Last night, my host family brought an Indian spicy food from a local Indian restaurant called “Tiffin”. We ate most of it and I quite liked the taste. Today, after an intense workout, I warmed up the leftover and started eating with big desire. After a few bites, I suddenly felt something unusual, something a bit hard and crunchy. Abruptly, I felt a strange and horrible taste in my tongue that has rarely happened in my lifetime. I immediately spat the food out in disgust and saw a huge blackish bug that still had its legs and its head. Arghhh, I’m spitting since then, almost running out of spit now. I lost my appetite and I’m trying to remember delicious food that I have eaten but it doesn’t help to regain my appetite.

Choking Feeling

2010-12-30T17:17:00.004-05:00

It was last year at this time of the year; I was torn apart with the grief and sorrow at my mom’s death. I was at school when I noticed that she left the world. That night, I was left in shock and chilled to bone. I didn’t know that I should expect such grief while I was away from home. It was fall semester and I had to cope with the pressure of finals and the grievous loss.

I didn’t tell anyone why I was sad and instead I isolated myself in my room and rarely walked out to the café and gym. I came to Philadelphia to spend my four weeks break with my host family and friends. My host family celebrated my birthday, and it was the first time in my life. When I was in Afghanistan, I used to consider it unimportant and no one really cares about it. That night, at dinner table, my hostess told me that when I get back home I should thank my mom for bringing me into this world. A sudden sharp grief chocked in my throat shortly, I resisted and I embraced her suggestion and said to her: “I will, I will.” No one realized the quiver in my voice. She didn’t know nor did others that what was happening in my inside. Nonetheless, that night was fabulous even it was blended with some bitter feeling.

Almost five months later, after all through the months and weeks that I have had a choked feeling in my throat and holding back my tears, I told my friends about the grievous loss and I wrote a eulogy to my mom’s death.

Anyhow, these days reminding me of last year’s memories, especially, the New Year’s night in Northern Liberties that I had put the bar’s glass in my pocket which the next day I returned it to the bar. I was heavily drunk that night.

My friend, you went far, to remember those nights, Cheers!

Waltz with Bashir

2010-10-17T19:50:00.002-04:00

In 2008, during a hot summer of Kabul, while I was wandering around the city of Kabul and trying to raise money in order to rent an internet café to teach blogging and online journalism to the students and journalists who were interested in doing citizen journalism, I approached a young documentary filmmaker who randomly spoke to me about the Oscar Award. He mentioned the movie ‘Waltz with Bashir” which was nominated for that award, but because I lived in secluded cities of Afghanistan that are mostly disconnected from the world, you would never hope you watch the most recent movies. Therefore, I never expected to watch “Waltz with Bashir” until I was assigned to write about it for my class.

The movie “Waltz with Bashir” is an Israeli animated documentary written and directed by Ari Folman. Folman served in the Israeli army and has been an infantry soldier. He depicts his memories of nightmares of two refugee camps: Sabra and Shatila. At a time when the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) occupied Beirut and blockaded the refugee camps, the allied Lebanese forces, enraged by the murder of their leader, entered the refugee camps and overnight more than 800 people were massacred.

Folman put himself aside and looks at this incident as a solider who later said that we were all pawns in internal political disputes that resulted in the massacre of hundreds.
“Waltz with Bashir” is a depiction of horror, insanity and pouring indignation. The film starts with a group of rabid dogs running towards a checkpoint and immediately cut into a dialogue where a solider tries to recall his lost memories from 20 years ago from the Lebanese civil war. He finds himself in a tank shooting aimlessly. in the meantime the film shows that the IDF were ruthlessly cruising the city of Beirut, moving from small alleys and driving the tank over cars and destroying the walls to find a way out. The story is being told by his friend whose tank hits a mine and as all the soldiers flee they are gunned down leaving one survivor. He swam and finally reached an outpost which belonged to his regiment.

Folman afraid of dying, he recalls his girlfriend and how hard it would be for his girlfriend to see his dead body back in Israel. He deploys to Beirut and after getting off a plane, he walks through a terminal and feels he should be sent on a vacation rather than to war. While he rejoins his unit, suddenly he and his fellows are targeted from the buildings nearby by enemy fithers.

Folman tries to remember his lost memories; he hallucinates on the beach that he drowns while his fellow friends left him. Folman tells the story through different characters; cameraman, commander, officer and major of military units. Folman shows that the Christian Phalangists take women and children out of their houses and drove them to a site of murder. The Israeli soldiers realize what will happen to them but are reluctant to prevent the massacre.

Finally, the film ends with actual footage of men, women and children who are brutally massacred by Christian Phalangists. “Waltz with Bashir” is a powerful film that narrates the story of Sabra and Shatila and could only be made possible though such an animated movie. “Waltz with Bashir” is mixed of horror and satire that depicts the most violent pictures with rock music, soldier’s dream of naked women, memories from living in pleasure at the beach and surrealistic pictures and the dreams in amidst of battle. “Waltz with Bashir” shakes up the viewers and shows the outrageous, shocking and graceless side of human nature.

At the UN Week Digital Media Lounge

2010-09-27T18:38:00.001-04:00

I spent two days last week in New York, having been invivted by Oxfam to cover the events of UN Week, and the Summit on the Millennium Development Goals. These were the final two days, and they were packed full with many great events happening Here I highlight just a few of the many inspirational, informative, and occasionally troubling events that highlighted UN Week Digital Media Lounge.

Thursday morning kicked off with an Oxfam breakfast disccussion about the Pakistani flood, which is affecting more people than the Tsunami of 2004, the Earthquake in Haiti, or Hurricane Katrina. The guest speaker was Dr. Donya Aziz, Pakistan’s youngest MP, and a long term advocate for health, education and womens empowerment in Pakistan. The program was moderated by Øistein Moskvil Thorsen, a humanitarian campaigner for the Oxfam. While by now it is common knowledge among international humanitarians that

The discussion focussd on the continuing effects of the flood. While it has been more than a month since the flood began, 430 people have been killed, more than 20 million people have been affected, thousands of whom remain in desperate need of aid, Dr. Aziz highlighted important aspects of catastrophe that rarely heard from conventional media. For example, a massive amount of crops were destroyed in the flood, which occurred soon before the seasonal harvast, so one of the lingering effects of the flood will be a massive food shortage and the economic impact of food shock.

While Dr. Aziz was talking about the flood and its devastation in Pakistan, USAID Administrator Dr. Raj Shah took part in a discussion moderated by Sen. Tim Wirth, Presidentof the UN Foundation. Though USAID has made major contributions o humanitarian aid relief in Pakistan, Shah took the opportunity to discuss a different issue, he Obama Administration’s domestic and international economic development. He made special mention of public-private partnerships, and the importance of bringing in businesses to invest more in global health problems. As an example, he invoked the work of Coca-Cola and their announcement to empower five million female entrepreneurs by 2020. Shah also spoke of “mutual accountability” as the fundamental driver of how USAID wants to operate.

The week also included the annual reveal of the top ten CNN Heroes of 2010. This is an annual television special created by CNN to honor individuals making extraordinary contributions to helping others. This year’s panel of judges included Muhammad Ali the former champion boxer.

The UN Week Digital Media Lounge was presented by Mashable, 92Y and the UN Foundation. The summit consisted of a week’s worth of activities revolving around how social media can be used to tackle some of the world’s social challenges and issues.

Someone is missing

2010-09-15T21:32:00.001-04:00

As usual, you come back from gym, sit on computer, log onto e-mail, read the newest e-mail and you are suddenly burst with excitement after read them, jump up and down like a child, grab the cell phone, look up the numbers to share the good news with a friend, start scroll through names from top to bottom but you can’t find someone on the list, someone who can express his/her enthusiasm towards your excitement. You pause and think for a moment how lonely you are sometimes. Suddenly, a cold sweat tumble down your cheek and you still think someone is missing from your list.

Days with the mourning dove song

2010-08-10T00:01:00.007-04:00

It is the cruelest week in this season; especially, when its days last longer and its hours operate slower when it is hot and humid. The cruelest part is when the mourning dove starts singing early in the morning and it goes on till frustration deepen to nerves. Then you have to challenge with your sadness that followed by your own insanity.

The season that everyone starts leaving or about to leave for a short journey or a long one, it reminds me that this is also the season of when every living thing in desert swoons south toward some dream of a Gulf and better climate (if we human beings respect and protect the environment); I guess they also test the horizon while human beings are not able to see it because of shortsightedness or may be they are not able to be so ambitious to fly that high and see the horizon. Down here is blocked by cloud, fog and bushes. To see the horizon, indeed, we need flying up there to see the better horizon.

My mom (Janet) is flying tomorrow, I envy her ambition and her ability that she is able to do it. Here, everyday, the shrill of cicadas hurts my ears in Chestnut Hill and around but now there is another thing overlapping and haunting me: She is flying by tomorrow and will be away for a while. A while that will end my summer and I will not be able see her when she gets back, probably a month later. A while that I have to bear her absence and feel lonely and live with her memories, what she taught me and what I learn from her. A great woman that I ever met, a great woman that has been a great supporter to me at any time. A well-educated and informative woman and most importantly very enthusiastic about environment, energy, human rights, education and more importantly thinking about global issues. A gift that can be found only rarely, mom is leaving by tomorrow and my day, tomorrow, will start with mourning dove song.

Afghanistan's not-so-free press

2010-07-07T21:26:00.001-04:00

In November 2008, I received a phone call at my home in Afghanistan from Information Safety and Freedom (ISF) an Italian nongovernmental organization that supports free speech, notifying me that I (and Sayed Pervez Kambaksh, a journalism student at Balkh University), were the two international journalists to receive its award. The winners, I was told, would travel to Italy for an awards ceremony. But I knew that would be impossible -- Kambaksh was in Kabul's prison. In October 2007, Afghan police arrested him for blasphemy, after he allegedly downloaded and distributed information about the role of women in Islamic societies, and he was sentenced to death in early 2008. His sentence was later commuted to 20 years in prison, after outcries from Afghan journalists and right groups. I received the ISF award for my work on a weekly satire cartoon magazine and blog, which was shut down in 2004. I received numerous death threats and was forced to leave the country for seven months that year. Continue reading...

Mullah McChrystal Must Be Drunk

2010-06-22T23:05:00.011-04:00

General McChrystal's remarks on Obama and Biden and others is already echoed through the media in the United States. God knows what he has been thinking with expressing such bizarre statements. I am having doubt that those comments are direct and are not have taken from the context.
But when he apologizes, this assures us that General has said something wrong.

There are many things to consider before writing about him, especially, during his command since 2009 in Afghanistan. I trawled through Afghan media to find Afghans reactions because this might bring a big shift in Kandahar operation which is planned to be happen in the next coming months but I couldn't find anything up to now.

Why Mullah McChrystal? Well, Mullah is Farsi word and means master, anyone who has enough knowledge in his (not her because mullah masculine name) profession is called Mullah. McChcrystal can be a mullah in Afghanistan but Mullah is also a notorious name for someone who is doing something wrong or screwed up, like McChrystal.

It is hard to hope that he will not be fired as everyone at the White House is angry at him right now. But lets hope for a big changes in U.S strategies fighting against Taliban. May be a new general with a new strategy is needed but who can be like McChrystal? May be the answer is no one.

With 95% of the Country Insecure, The Prospects for the Parliamentary Elections Look Grim

2010-06-21T17:58:00.001-04:00

According to the BBC, the Afghan Interior Ministry released a report to the media on Thursday June 17th stating that out of the country’s 364 districts, only 11 are stable. This report has come out during preparations for parliamentary elections scheduled for September 18, 2010. It raises question marks over the ability of the Afghan government and its international supporters to hold a national election amidst widespread insecurity that is escalating with each passing day.

Initially slated for May 22, 2010, the election was postponed by the Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan due to security concerns, logistical problems and insufficient funds. The postponement was warranted at the time, but it is unclear whether conditions will improve markedly enough to hold the poll in September. If the Afghan Interior Ministry’s estimation is accurate, almost 95% percent of the country is unstable at the moment. Read more...

Fresh Allegations Against Karzai

2010-06-14T20:02:00.001-04:00

Recently, a journalist based in Kabul reported from an unknown source that Mullah Baradar, the deputy of Mullah Mohammad Omar, the leader of the Taliban, has revealed information regarding his relationship with the Afghan authorities. Baradar was captured by US and Pakistani forces in February 2010 and is still in custody in Pakistan. President Karzai has persistently demanded that the Pakistani government transfer him to Afghanistan, but Pakistani officials have refused.

According to the unknown source, Mullah Bradar has revealed that a number of close relatives of Karzai have been working closely with Taliban insurgents in recent years. They were involved in mobilizing suicide attacks in a number of different cities. The source claimed that Mullah Baradar has revealed a long list of prominent figures in Afghanistan that opposed Karzai who were targeted by Taliban insurgents under this arrangement. Continue...

I became the grand prize winner

2010-05-30T16:17:00.004-04:00

I want to express appreciation to all who supported me and voted for photos in the contest. The photo contest which is called "Why Afghanistan Matters" was launched last year by NATO. According to their website, there were 451 photos submitted from 57 contestants in 15 countries. The goal of this contest was to show Afghanistan to the world through the lens that why Afghanistan matters. There were four categories: Beautiful Afghanistan, people of Afghanistan, ANSF in action and ISAF in action.

I entered into three categories with six pictures. This was a unique opportunity for me to show a different picture of my country to the world, the pictures of beautiful nature of Afghanistan and its people that rarely shown to the world. I became the grand prize winner with a photo from Mazar-e Sharif in which a family is feeding pigeons considered to be sacred.

Finally, thanks to NATO and organizers who came up with this great idea that allowed me to be parts of showing why Afghanistan matters.

I will continue to work hard and take pictures of issues which lie ahead.

The Independent and Accuracy

2010-05-24T23:55:00.011-04:00

Unbelievably, The Independent has changed and deleted most parts of the article after my critic about its exaggeration and almost lying about Afghanistan's administration position towards David Bekham's visit to Helmand. That is good sign, that means it was a telling criticism that made The Independent to rectify that errors.

That shows the tolerance of criticism and believing in accuracy of The Independent. We often come across some news that are published in some newspaper that is pure hogwash but still believed true. I occasionally find them in Afghan newspapers that reading them haunts me.

The point I criticized was not only on exaggerating but more it was humiliating to Afghan people. I personally can not tolerate any kinds of contemptuous comments against anyone, especially, my country. Bekham, went to Afghanistan for a goodwill visit to meet British troops in Helmand and support them. That is a great job and I am happy for that too.

But, I wished Bekham could come with a tiny plan that he could make donation for making a soccer field to those children who lost their parents in war and for those adults that wandering around in the field of poppy in Helmand that can be easily hired by Taliban.

Beckham visits Helmand

2010-05-21T20:46:00.009-04:00

This news is on the Independent website that says David Beckham flies out to visit British troops in Helmand. But this part must be a joke:

The Afghan government was keen for Beckham to also travel north to spend time in the capital Kabul – which would have been a considerable coup for the administration, given that his celebrity extends to the Islamic Republic. However, the plan was vetoed at an early stage.

I found it a bit snobbish and naive. Everyone knows that Afghanistan is grappling with its insecurity and series of other problems and his visit as a soccer player have nothing to do with Afghan situation. Bechkahm is famous in UK and other European countries that soccer is considered a major sport in their lives but not in Afghanistan. I'm having doubts that if you could find a few people knowing Beckham in Afghanistan, let alone the government.

It is funny that the writer insistingly says that it would have been a considerable coup for the administration that his celebrity extends to the Islamic Republic. What a funny joke I ever heard of. Sometime, lying to make things important is too hard, like this one that brings a disgusting feeling to you.

Anyway, my cousin and I were a big fun of him in 2002 World Cup when we were in Dubai but when we moved to Afghanistan, due to lack of electricity that we had to light a candle at night, it was hard to remain a fan of Beckham, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos and other Brazlian soccer players.

Thank You All

2010-05-19T22:22:00.003-04:00

Where to begin, what to say... I can't remember anything right now for writing. I just come here to say:
I deeply appreciate your kind expression of sympathy in my time of great sorrow. I know my pain will decrease and what will remain will always be. Your words definitely consoled my heart. Thank to all of you; those of you who left condolence words on my blog and those of you who sent by e-mail. Thank you for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers.

Eulogy For My Mom

2010-05-11T22:16:00.010-04:00

Please, someone should stop the clocks, someone should ask the dog in the alley not to bark tonight. Someone should go to the street and ask drivers not blow their horns and to drive slowly. I don’t want to hear screeching tires’ sounds. I don’t want birds singing tonight. I don’t want to hear any noises tonight. Please turn off the lights, I want it dark. Dark so that I can’t see myself or around me or nor the windows. My hands are numb, I can’t find my feet. Something is going wrong with my eyes; they seem to burn with acid. I can’t search nor see the windows. I want tonight darkened, I don’t want to see the stars gleaming up there, and someone should be out there to prevent the whiteness of the damn moon too. The moon and the stars are not wanted tonight. Someone should pull them down and pack them and put in the trash. I want everything silent like darkness, like tonight.

Let the wind stop blowing on the trees. If the autumn arrives, let its dead leaves shed on the moon to make it blind. I want tonight dark like a grave. I don’t want to see trees blowing in the wind tonight. Someone should answer my question, why is it so long tonight? Why can’t I see my feet? Someone comes by accident, leaves by accident, and is that all that life means?

For more than a week or so, I have had nightmare. Doesn’t matter day or night, even taking a nap was full of fighting and bloodshed. Amidst tough exam days, I received a short message from Qasem, my younger brother in Kabul. He had written: “mom is not feeling well; it has been more than 13 days, she didn’t eat.”

I wrote him back and begged him to connect me with my mom and dad. I wanted to talk to my mom, I wanted to hear her laughter and I wanted to hear her words asking me, when I am going home and telling me that she missed me. I promised her last year to go home and visit her. A week passed. Qasem wrote back to me:

“Nasim Jan, Dad called today, after greeting I asked him how is mom, he became quiet. I asked him again and again: “Dad, please tell me how is mom?” He answered with a broken voice: “My son, your mom left us, she is no longer among us.”

My fingers are numb on the keyboard, I can’t write him back. What should I write? I feel chilly and lethargic. It seems like I am steeped in a mountain of sorrow. No news was ever more devastating to me. I lost my mom, my beloved one; I lost my big supporter who always supported and saved me from dangers.

It is damn college exams days, it is silence instead of smile. Because you are not here. Because you are not calling me and I don’t hear your laugher anymore. You are not asking me over the phone: “my son, come home, I miss you.” Because you left this world. Because life is over, it ends my happiness too and starts a new season, which is sorrow and crying a river.

Because you didn’t wait to see your farmer son come back to you from college. Mom! You could wait to listen to my stories. Damn this life when I found myself, I left you and dad in search of food to survive. I remember those days on the farm, when we worked together to feed our herds, you told me: “my son, one day, I want you be a man for yourself.” You could wait and I wanted to demonstrate how I fulfilled your wishes.

I remember last year, I came to visit you. The road was closed because of fighting. I took different paths, stretching to mountains and desert and finally to reach you. After four days, I was there with you. I was there once again to refresh my commitments and to tell you I am a man on my own now. Last year, once again, I felt your thick and strong hands which one day held me, caressed me, pulled me up from the ground, left my arms and gave me wings to fly.

My friends were asking me: “how is your mom?” I had only one answer: “she is fine and using her medicine regularly.” In 2004, my mom was suffering from an unknown illness. Finally, in 2005, doctors found out that she had diabetes. Although diabetes is possible to treat, in Afghanistan it is hard and even to some extent it is impossible to cure diabetes. It was last year in June; to visit her, I went by motorbike after four days and driving 16 hours every day in the mountains, I reached her. No one knew when I arrived in the village. I parked my motorbike in the corner of our old house, started searching from room to room for my mom. I found her sleeping. After taking a few breaths, hesitantly I said: “salam mom, this is Nasim.” She woke up, jumped up and hugged me. She was a strong woman, still young, just 60 years old. I released myself in her arms, just like a baby does. We both wept until everyone noticed of my arrival. I didn’t see her a lot since I was 12 or 13. I moved out of the village and went to the city. Later I left to Pakistan, Iran and the U.A.E. She was a young and strong woman who worked on the farm. Her dream was that I become a cleric. She was a generous woman and always telling me: “Nasim, if a panhandler knocks on the door, offer him tea, feed him, and don’t let him go away without help.” It is her lesson that I remember in the Philadelphia or D.C train stations, when I see homeless or poor people, her words resonate: “help poor people, what goes around, comes around.” She never heard the words of human rights, but by instinct she knew and she taught me to be humanistic.

In 2006, your son “Hadi” took you to Iran for a pilgrimage to the Imam Reza shrine. Later, when you returned back home, I came home to visit you and I congratulated that for you. Still, you wished to go to Hajj. In 2008, you went with your eldest son “Zahir” to Saudi Arabia for a Mecca pilgrimage. You visited the house of God. Zahir told me that he had doubt about your energy and your ability to move around God’s house. But he was surprised of your energy and your ability. He said: “When mom started walking towards Mecca, I called her a lot but she didn’t hear me.” You were freed of yourself, you were with your God, and you were Godly in that moment. He said that he lost you and searched you for hours and hours. But miraculously, finally, you meet each other. This is was your heavenly sign.

Last year, you asked me to take care of “Qasem,” your smallest and beloved son. I remember I promised you to go back this summer but you are not there anymore! You are not there to position before the wall and look down from the hill when I arrive. You are not there anymore to cook for me and tell me: “I want my son to be strong and to become my hero.”

Mom! You didn’t wait for me. I want your demure smile now, your scent and your looks. I want your strong hands to cover my face, I want you telling me your fairy tales like you did in my childhood, I want your encouragement and your support. I feel so weak and unproductive.

No no, she is not here anymore. I want her now. I want to go back to her and find her at the corner of the room, sitting and sewing socks and gloves for her children. I want her telling me: Nasim, bring me a glass of water from the small stream which is few meters away from our house. I want her asking me go to the farm and collect grass for sheep, goats and cows.

No no, she is not there anymore. No one is there to listen to my words; no one is there that I can share my stories and my pains. She was that only friend that I could share everything with. I lost her. No one will be as worried about me as she was. No one will call me constantly that there is a season of fresh milk and yogurt.

Mom! You could wait for me to see your son. You could wait to see how much I am changed and have become a man for my own. That was your dream and your wish that I become an independent and wise man. You could wait to see the result of your hard working during my childhood that you have taken care of me and spent your life to grow me up.

Mom! You could wait to see your son, the son of your hardships, painful days and distress. You could wait until I finish my education and come back from the U.S. I remember how much you and dad were happy last year when I told you: “mom, I am going to the U.S for higher education.” You were about to burst of happiness. You could wait and see your Nasim is no longer a naughty boy, he has traveled around the world and shaken hands with great people. You could wait until I come back and I would tell you the stories, but now to whom I share my stories after you? You could wait, you were just 60 years old. Mom! Right now, I want to find myself with you in those days that followed the grasslands; steep pastures that I was collecting hay for the cattle.

Mom! No one would call me champion of mom anymore and no one would admire me as you did. I was your hero, because I used to work with you on the farm, because I carried your baskets and your grass loads in the field. We together fed the cattle and cows. Mom, when you were milking the cows and sheep, I was taking the bucket, I was providing you fresh water from a small stream which seemed as a vein in the village. I remember those days in soft summer, that wind blowing on the tree in front of our muddy house and the leaves and the little branches were trembling over. I remember those moments we were all sitting and having our breakfast and lunch in a hot summer under the shadow of trees. I remember those days I was collecting wood for your oven. When you were making bread, I was making tea for us. I remember that when the first bread was out of the oven, you were giving me that with a glass of milk insisting: "Go to your school before its going to be too late."

Mom! I remember the days that you told me when I had just been born, due to Soviet Helicopter patrol over the village, you had taken me to the mountains to protect me. I remember you told me how it was hard to hide from Soviet helicopter’s patrol. Although I do not know anything about those days, all the pain and suffering from those days, I have with me today. I bow down before you and your pain.

Mom! You were different to others. As far as I remember, when your sons were coming back from their journeys and bringing gifts for you, you were giving them to your daughters “Nikbakht” and “Aqila”. You had a pair of silver bracelets. Every kind of jewelry, you gave to your daughters. But instead of jewelry you had a heavenly love and I found you always praying.

But no no, she is not here anymore. I would like to hear her voice now. I want to find myself in her arms. Mom! My beloved! In all my life I learned from you. I am everything because of you. You have taught me to have perseverance.

When I close my eyes, I can image you. You are holding me between your arms and tap on my back and say: “Don’t be lazy, look around, move fast, learn from others, be honest, don’t lose your self-confidence, and keep the path of perseverance.” These are the lessons I have learned from you.

I heard, after you everything went to silence. No one talks loudly to each other, they dress in black, walk slowly, your place at the corner of our old house is empty. Near the furnace, where in winter was the warmest place. Where you were sitting and making socks, jerseys, gloves for your children.

After you, we all became wanderers. Your smallest, tender and beloved son, Qasem, is studying in Kabul. Juma Khan went to Iran. Zahir and Hadi are in Dubai. After you, all are scattered in different countries and cities. I heard all this from Qasem. I am unaware of everything in this corner of the world. If you remember, last year when we talked on the phone, you asked me, where am I living? I said in America. You asked me where that is. I answered that it is in this corner of the world. You asked me to come home. But now, I ask myself who will worry for me after you?

But mom! You are like a sun shining in my life, like a moon lighting my nights. You are alive in me forever. Please forgive me if I was far from you, forgive me if I couldn’t take care of you, and forgive me if I had to run after food to survive.

But mom! You are my strength when I feel weak, your memory gives me energy. You are giving me power to pursue my success and happiness, although, these nights have no stars in the sky and my days are rainy. But these stormy days will end soon and I will no longer be lost on the way back to my room, because I have you with me.

Mom! It was a great honor for me that you lived with me, took care of me and gave me wings. Thanks for all your efforts, thanks for all your love and the kindness you had for me.
It is our trajectory that we all will return back toward him. With the beauty and glory of God that is bestowed on you, may God rest your soul in peace. Rest peacefully, Hawa, my beloved mom!

Your son,
Nasim

Honor Gang Rape

2010-05-05T16:37:00.001-04:00

We often hear of “honor killing” in the mass media, a practice that exists in some Muslim countries including Afghanistan. An honor killing is the murder of a family or clan member in which the perpetrators are motivated by a belief that the victim has brought dishonor upon the family, clan or community. A comparable, yet less widely publicized form of honour punishment, is gang rape. While honor gang rapes are usually carried out against women, an incident that took place two weeks in Northern Afghanistan involved the gang rape of two young men.

According to a local report, a dozen farmers and shepherds raped two young men as a punishment for engaging in sexual relations with two young women. The incident occured in the Dasht-e Laili (Laili desert) of Jawzjan province, an area famed for being the site of a Taliban massacre in the aftermath of September 11. Both young men are related to high-ranking government officials, one being the son of the provincial governor and the other the son of a police chief. Prior to the rape the two young men were disarmed and saw their belongings, including a few thousand US dollars, confiscated by the farmers and shepherds. The perpetrators of the rape explained that the punishment was meted out as an act of revenge for the sexual acts undertaken by the young men. Continue reading...

Public sexual harassment in Kabul

2010-04-25T02:15:00.010-04:00

A woman who recently went to Kabul for the first time has often posted on her facebook about public sexual harassment on the streets of Kabul. To be honest, sexual harassment is quiet common in Muslim countries where women are restricted not to have public appearance. But, specifically, in the Afghan culture and society which is extremely religious and traditional, public sexual harassment is not only common but people enjoy if they harass women either by their looks or words. Even in less conservative city like Kabul, women are facing intimidation and regular sexual assault on a daily bases . But when it comes to school girls they are often victimized by male carrying knifes and acid.

In 2009, the Ministry of Education has reported that within eight months, 138 students and teachers have died and 172 have been wounded in criminal and terror attacks. About 651 schools have closed and another 122 school buildings have been blown up or burned down. Based on United Nations Population Fund in Afghanistan (UNFPA), about 31% of Afghan women suffer physical violence and another 30% suffer from psychological violence.

Nevertheless, she (who requested that her name to be removed) has written this sentence on her facebook wall that made me to laugh:
“I called a harasser on a motorbike "mordagow" and he almost crashed into a sewer. AWESOME.”

It is uncommon to respond back to a harasser on the streets of Kabul. First, Afghan women don’t have that courage to call on harasser “mordagow” because of predominantly male oppression. Second, because public harassment is so pervasive in Afghan society that women are used to it.

The word “mordagow” is Farsi (Dari/persian) word which is only used among Afghan Farsi speakers. The word that panicked the harasser means “cuckold”; a married man with an adulterous wife.

Translations into Afghan languages: Dari and Pashto

2010-04-17T18:34:00.013-04:00

Since a long time ago, I had this in my mind to speak up publicly that I enjoy translation in Afghan languages. I used to work as translator for various publications and publishers in Afghanistan. As you might be aware, it is important for a translator to be well-versed in origin language, grammatical and verbal aspects. I tried to find some of my friends who have been working different NGOs and who have proficiency in at least two foreign languages.

So, for several weeks I talked to my friends in Kabul and outside, we made a small group of translation that work as freelancer. I am the director and responsible for any kinds of inquiries. Therefore, if you guys need translator please contact me and what we are doing is as following:

Dari/Farsi/Persian translations
Translating from Dari* (Farsi) to English or English to Dari (Farsi) is the core strength of our smart team, who have unfathomed capacity to translate any kinds of text. Most of our translators are working with the United Nations and international organizations.

Our Farsi team can deal with articles, books, letters, brochures, handbooks, manuals, websites, guides, contracts, and any kinds of documents.
Technical translation include user manuals, training manuals, instructions, scientific reports, and machinery, engineering, catalogs, software, multimedia presentations, installation procedures, and proposals..
We are flexible, and this is why we accepts and deliver the documents to the clients in compatible and readily usable formats, such as MS-Office, Unicode and PDF.

Pashto translations.
Also we deal with English to Pashto (Pashu or Pushtu) and Pashto to English translation. All our translators are qualified and working with the United Nations and International organizations. The Pashto translators are all native speakers.
The Pashto translation team can deal with letters, brochures, handbooks, articles, manuals, websites, guides, contracts, novels and much more. Our team also specializes in the translation of legal, engineering, marketing, business, IT and academic documents.

Please contact me at fekrat AT Gmail DOT com
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*Dari is the same as Farsi (like British English and American English) spoken in Iran and Tajikistan. In fact, the term Dari is recognized and promoted by the Afghan government for the language. Dari is also the religious language of Zoroastrianism, but Dari of Afghanistan and the Dari of Zoroastrianism are completely different and unrelated.

Afghanistan grapples with drug problem

2010-04-09T21:13:00.009-04:00

Last year, President Obama reconsidered some of the assumptions of the counterinsurgency strategy but he forgot to reconsider fighting against drugs. He conceded the perilousness of Taliban and insurgency but he neglected to consider that Afghanistan has a silent and devastating enemy which is drug.

According to the Christian Science Monitor, until March 2008, about 1 million of Afghanistan's 34 million people were drug users, and the majority of these lived in the country's principal cities, based on UNODC estimation.

Map of Afghanistan showing major poppy fields and intensity of conflict 2007-08

Today, with an estimation, two million Afghans struggling with drug addiction. Even different source offers that there are more than two million drug users in the country. Just in two years, the number of dug users doubled.

It is important for for the US and the world communities to reconsider the assumption of the counter-narcotic as a pivotal Afghan problem . Today, most of young Afghans don't have job and they suffering from different kinds of mental pressures. Needless to say, some of those youngsters join to Taliban.

The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime just announced that in 2010 Afghanistan is leading hashish producer. UN suggests that "it estimates that 10,000 to 24,000 hectares (24,700 to 59,300 acres) of cannabis are grown in Afghanistan every year and that this is used to make an estimated 1,500 to 3,500 tons of hashish annually." This is another double problem. Anyway, recently, I made a short interview with a website called "All Treatment." Read the interview on this link...

Drugs: Afghanistan's Silent Enemy

2010-04-07T18:08:00.002-04:00

I just published a picture of an addict on my Photography website who I met in the abandoned Russian Cultural Center in Kabul. In the winter of 2008, I was assigned by UNAMA to picture the life of drug addicts in Kabul. I lived two streets away from the area where the addicts congregated during the cold winter. I passed by the wreckage of the building every day. One day, as I walked through the snow, mud and debris adjacent to the building, I found a dead body lying in the snow. Read more...

Anti-American outburst continues

2010-04-05T15:01:00.009-04:00

Interestingly enough, the U.S is now deeply in trouble with Karzai, I was thinking that Karzai made April fool's joke but it seems Karzai is very serious and he once again slammed the United States. On Monday, April 4, President Karzai, who was talking to Pashton tribal elders in Kandahar, once again attacked US and said that the Taliban insurgency would become a legitimate resistance movement if the meddling doesn't stop.

According to Wall Street Journal, at one point, Karzai suggested that

He himself would be compelled to join the other side —that is, the Taliban—if the parliament didn't back his controversial attempt to take control of the country's electoral watchdog from the United Nations, according to three people who attended the meeting, including an ally of the president.

His remarks are widely reflected in Afghan media but all founded naive and destructive for the country. A few of them called upon Karzai that there are two options for him: "joining with the Taliban or resign if he doesn't find a better option."

Also NATO has admitted that its forces were responsible for the deaths of three women during a botched night-time raid in eastern Afghanistan in February.

How to justify Karzai's words?

2010-04-02T19:35:00.007-04:00

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I just published a post on my Farsi blog regarding to Karzai’s caustic comments that recently said: "No doubt, there was huge fraud, there was vast fraud," Karzai said Thursday in a speech before the Independent Election Commission. "The fraud is not by the Afghans. This fraud has been done by the foreigners."

Also the most toxic part is the one that he provocatively addressed the West that they shouldn't do something against his willing otherwise all Afghans will stand against foreign forces.

In the meantime, Abdullah Abdullah, who lost to him in the disputed election, accused Karzai of undermining the morale of the Afghan military by implying that the country was under foreign occupation.

"It was extraordinary … this is treason to the national interest. What is the message to the thousands of soldiers and national police defending the country?" he said."[Karzai] thinks that by taking that message he has delivered a populist stance, an anti-foreigner message … he tried to blur the line between national resistance to terrorism and the insurgency."

The troubling and disturbing speech of Karzai left the authorities in the White House in shock and awe. I personally can’t belief and don’t understand what is going on through his mind. Does he lose his consciousness and wisdom?

If anyone would ask my opinion with regards to this, honestly, I can’t find the right answer and I can’t really justify Karzai’s ignorance and undiplomatic manner. I would timidly say: “ I am sorry for my country and I am sorry that such an ignorant and stupid man is leading the country, I am sorry for billions of dollars pouring in my country that is not appreciated and Karzai is not the right person who can use that money well.”

"Fearless Blogger"

2010-04-01T13:33:00.003-04:00

When he was a child, Nasim Fekrat ’13 stood by a boulder at his parents’ farm in Afghanistan and watched other children heading off to school. His father, taking a break from tending to wheat, cows and sheep, walked over and asked, “Do you want to go to school with those children or do you want to be a shepherd? If you want to be a student, you might have a bright future, but you still have to work hard.” Read more...

There is an article written by Bill Sulon one my college's extra features' writers about humble me. I appreciate Bill who actually done a nice job. Briefly, I have talked to him about blogging and the impacts of blog on my life and its impacts on the society as a new tool for freedom of speech.

As internet is soaring in Afghanistan, the ministry of information and culture has recently announced that they are going to enact restrictions on web usage. This issue turned into a big concern now and it raising fears of censorship. Anyway, I will specifically write on this issue later but now you now can read my interview on my college website.

It's a new year in Afghanistan

2010-03-22T17:14:00.004-04:00

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This year, the Nowruz festival holds even more significance and importance in the lives of Afghans since the United Nation’s General Assembly recognized March 21 as International Day of Nowruz.

Nowruz, banned under Taliban rule, begins on the day of the vernal equinox (the first day of spring) and marks the beginning of the new year. Every year, three days before Nowruz, tens of thousands of people travel to the northern Afghanistan city of Mazar-e Sharif to watch the elaborate ceremony.

Nowruz is celebrated for two weeks throughout Afghanistan. People wear new clothes, refurbish their house, paint the buildings and henna their hands. Young girls go with their mothers to holy shrines and pray to have a good future, a good life and a good husband and be fortunate while the boys have an eye on their parents to decide who is fair and suitable for him. Continued on...

The US did not "invade" Afghanistan

2010-03-17T09:34:00.002-04:00

The western media has always framed the presence of US and other international forces in Afghanistan negatively. We constantly read and hear from the media the word “invasion” to articulate the presence of US forces in Afghanistan.

It is true that US forces are using the territory of Afghanistan in the war against terrorism, but does that mean that the US invaded Afghanistan? Simply put, the answer is no. This is because the United States was invited by the Northern Alliance, and the two united to stand against the Taliban, who at the time had seized almost 95% of the country.

Nine years of US presence in Afghanistan have passed. There are about 36,000 US troops who are not part of ISAF serving in the east of Afghanistan. As of October 2009, the ISAF had 67,700 personnel from 42 different countries including the US, European countries, Australia, Jordan and New Zealand. Now, does that mean that 42 countries invaded Afghanistan? Continue reading...

The National Constitution Center and Nasim Fekrat

2010-03-05T00:06:00.002-05:00

The National Constitution Center's own International Engagement Manager, Jeffrey Stern met Fekrat while working a two-year stint as a freelance journalist in Afghanistan. Stern saw the power of citizen journalism first hand, and upon returning to Philadelphia joined with the Center to further projects like Fekrat's to burgeoning democracies around the world. It was in keeping with this pursuit that the Being We the People at the Center and Beyond project came into being. Continue reading...

The legacy of the London Conference: the UN and Taliban impunity

2010-02-24T23:14:00.001-05:00

On January 28, 2010, during the London Conference on Afghanistan—which was intended to focus on security issues—President Hamid Karzai presented a list of top Taliban figures who are on the UN’s black list. For the last few years, Karzai has been pleading with the UN and the US to remove these Taliban leaders' names from the list in order to pave the way for negotiations. Karzai's position has led to widespread criticism from civil society and human rights organizations inside Afghanistan, and has raised concern globally. Continue reading...

Warlord Carries out Brutal Public Flogging in Ghor Province

2010-02-19T22:55:00.015-05:00

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Do you remember last year in April 2009, the Guardian published a video of a 17-year-old girl's flogging by the Taliban in Swat Valley? Another incident just happened a few days ago in Dolina district in Ghor province, central Afghanistan. Ghor is one of the poorest provinces in central Afghanistan, and Dolina district has been a safe haven for illegal armed groups, which have committed these kinds of brutal acts before. The video, released on February 18, shows a man with a white turban flogging a woman who is submissively standing against 40 lashes. Continue reading...

Can a military draft work in Afghanistan?

2010-02-16T16:50:00.001-05:00

During his visit to Germany, Hamid Karzai has stated that his government will consider instituting mandatory national military service. Afghanistan lacks a strong national apparatus for nation building where people from different ethnic background can share and learn from each other. Such an institution has been one of Afghanistan’s most fundamental needs over the last few years. Despite this, compulsory military service would be impossible to implement. Continue reading...

The Last Nail In The Coffin For Taliban

2010-02-14T01:53:00.004-05:00

Today, there is a huge operation going on in Marjah in Helmand. There is some good news from Helmand that NATO and ANA have been successful in their mission. Until now more than 20 members of Taliban have been killed and two NATO soldiers also have been killed.

One thing makes me concern that civilians have been prevented by Taliban to evacuate the city. Marjah is the last and the most important stronghold of the Taliban in southern Afghansitan. Most of the insurgency activities were directed from Marjah. Unlike the previous operation this will be affective. NATO and ANA forces will stay there to secure the area after the Taliban whipped out. The Operation Moshtrak (together) is a good answer to those Taliban who rejected to negotiate with government. However, there is nothing has been left to be done by the US and Afghan government. Hopefully this operation will be the last nail in coffin for Taliban.

Also, today is a Valentine Day, a decent day in which people exchange flowers, cards and loving sentiment to a beloved one. I assume there are many others like me a dateless man. However, being a dateless on this day can evoke loneliness feeling for many but unlike others for me as a newcomer in this country, it is different. But I hope the oasis for lonely will be end soon for everyone.

Is God a Perpetrator?

2010-02-09T17:33:00.007-05:00

Disaster always goes after the most vulnerable population in our planet. A recent earthquake in Haiti that killed 150,000 and still Haiti’s government says that the figure could double. Afghanistan has been always exposed to various natural disasters. Yesterday, after a heavy snow fall, there have been a series of avalanches on highways between Kabul and Mazar-e Sharif. According to local news at the scene, 60 bodies are discovered and number of death is increasing. According to New York Times, "NATO and Afghan National Army helicopters joined in the rescue effort. Some 2,500 people were recovered from their stranded cars and 1.5 miles of roadway were cleared Tuesday, leaving another mile still buried when work finished Tuesday night."

Now, you might think about it for a while. Is it a human rights issue? Is earthquake in Haiti a human rights issue? Human rights are defined as someone commits and perpetrates a crime against humanity. If this is a human rights issue, who is the perpetrator? If God is the perpetrator, can we bring him to justice and jail him because of his savagery and cruelty?

I want to come back and probe deep into this question later but let me know what you think.
Religious people have different answer to it.

It is time to listen to the Afghan people

2010-02-08T10:26:00.000-05:00

A few hours before the start of the Afghanistan summit in London on January 28^th five former senior members of the Taliban who occupied key positions in the Taliban government between 1996 and 2001, were removed from the UN blacklist. This move spurred widespread criticism inside Afghanistan that was barely acknowledged in the western media. Prior to the London conference, several Afghan civil society organizations and intellectuals protested against the action. They warned that by removing the names from the list, they were effectively forgiving them for their crimes. Continue reading...

JS-Kit Misuses Haloscan Reputation

2010-01-31T14:31:00.001-05:00

Michael left a few comments on my previous post about Haloscan. I understand him and his position that why he is anxious. He has abhorrence of feeling in his words rather than convincing unfortunately. I didn’t determine to undermine the accuracy or lest attacking personal level at JS-Kit, I was simply raised this question that why JS-Kit is manipulating the reputation of Haloscan in order to make money? I didn’t say it is a dirty job.

Whatever Michael expressed is close to what I believe. Somehow we are in the same track but we have different looks over the horizon. I respect what the JS-Kit is doing and it is not my business to challenge Michael and JS-Kit’s willingness. However, i simply meant, Haloscan is quite well-known now, it is very obvious that JS-Kit can make business out of it but there are some moral issues that lie there. Morality is something that we are all obsessed with it. I have no idea that how Haloscan survived for the last years and finally why in 2010 they failed to continue.

The JS-Kit is simply limiting this window, the window that i personally endowed my time to right to outsiders that what is going on in my country, in what problems the inhabitants grappling with. The JS-Kit is doing good job - earning money - but I wonder if Michael and his colleagues can put themselves in a blogger’s position and feel differently for a while. I am sure they can understand that what means limiting the diffusion of free thoughts. Now you can evaluate this notion with a brutal and dictatorial regime that limits its citizens to criticize and to talk freely. I don’t find the JS-Kit in this position but I hail everyone to look in their action from different angles.

It is time for JS-Kit to think with dept about it. I applaud their efforts but unfortunately they are manipulating the virtue and reputation of a platform which used to be a supportive tool for free thoughts. This action is not acceptable morally. It is misusing and it is undermining the value and virtue of a software tool that has been used for free over the past years.

The JS-Kit should remember this that they can’t sell words and one's thought. It is time for JS-Kit to announce and give opportunity for free thoughts in order to spread them towards enlightenment in this small planet. They can earn the same through ads. We bloggers can help with click. Later JS-Kit can talk about it proudly. We are all human and we need to share our feeling otherwise we are all will remain aliens to each others and can not be understood.

Goodbye Haloscan

2010-01-29T23:45:00.008-05:00

Since 2004, I am using Haloscan platform in my blog which is quite easy tool that enable the readers to leave comments under the posts. Recently i learned that Haloscan has been purchased by JS-Kit. It is time to appreciate Haloscan that gave us free service and supported free speech. It is time to appreciate those who invented this platform and made it public with no commercial purpose - at least for blogger like me. But alas that JS-Kit is determined to make money out of it. The JS-Kit has made it a paid system. I don't know how a blogger who is receiving not a penny how he/she can pay $12 per year?

For the last years, I kept blogging and my readers were giving me their feedback which was joyful for me to read their thoughts. For the last years, no one paid me for blogging, so this raised a question in my mind that if i never paid for blogging why i should pay? I think it is unfair that JS-Kit has decided to use Hasloscan platform for commercial purpose which was used for supporting free speech. It turned out to be a holey platform through sharing inspirational thoughts and words. But why JS-Kit is misusing its decentness and popularity?

Now, I am pleading for your (those who are technical) assistance to move my comments from Haloscan into Blogger. I just looked around the web to find a useful tool to import the comments but i was not successful. It is rather complicated and I am not good in technical matters.

Please let me know if any of you can help me to migrate Haloscan comments into blogger otherwise I am losing more than 1500 comments which are recorded since 2004.

A Nightmare Scenario for The London Conference

2010-01-28T12:27:00.001-05:00

The London Conference will be held today -- Thursday, January 28, 2010. At this conference, the international community is coming together to fully align military and civilian resources behind an Afghan-led political strategy. It is a crucial moment for the Afghan government, which still has not fielded a full cabinet, after many of President Karzai’s second set of cabinet picks were rejected by the Afghan parliament just two weeks ago. This is not the only conundrum that Karzai is grappling with – he is also facing intense criticism from civil society NGOs inside Afghanistan who are advocating for women’s rights. Continue reading...

Naive BBC Persian Over Afghanistan and Tajikistan

2010-01-21T00:35:00.009-05:00

I wrote this post on my Farsi blog a few days before. It had wide reaction from Farsi readers in Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Iran. A new blogger friend of mine Jad Iqbal has already translated this post on his blog for his readers. I just did little changes and added to it and thought it would be good to share it with my English readers here too. I wrote a number of posts about BBC Persian, specifically about BBC Afghan service. As a permanent visitor for BBC websites, I would like to share my understandings and critics on BBC works in Afghanistan, especially after September 11 that BBC Radio had a dramatic decrease in the number of listeners. As a member of Afghan media family, it has always been important to observe how the media reflect the events in my country. As media was my favorite field for the past years, i would like to write more about Afghan media and its current condition.

BBC Persian TV, on its first anniversary has asked viewers for their feedback on the service over the past year. There were many who praised and spook highly of BBC Persian TV, but for me this is surprising when BBC Persian has said:

With 8 hours of varied programs a day, including news, analysis, documentaries and general entertainment from the very start, BBC Persian has attracted many viewers in Persian speaking countries.

BBC Persian is referring to Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Iran. But here are some initial circumstances that BBC Persian has provocatively and naively spoken about it.

First, the people of Afghanistan are mostly living under the poverty line and they don’t have the ability to buy a TV set, let alone to buy a satellite so that they can watch BBC Persian TV. It’s possible that offices in major cities such as Herat and Kabul, and maybe Mazar-e Sharif watch their channel, and there may even be a small number of people who incidentally flick onto the channel. But this does not at all mean that BBC Persian has won over the country to its TV service.

Second, BBC Persian TV doesn’t have any entertainment programs made for Afghans, and nor is anyone interested in watching the programs that BBC Persian TV produces and airs for its Iranian audience. There are more than 20 private channels all over Afghanistan that are broadcasting which have both interesting and entertaining programs, and also they have a direct relationship with their local audience. They have live programs on which they get feedback on from their viewers, who are also sometimes participate in debates and other activities lively. For a one-sided channel whose direct audience is only Iran, it is naive and not wise for the BBC to pat themselves on the back and say that they have attracted for lots of viewers in Afghanistan. As far as I’m concerned, such a simplistic belief on the BBC’s part is just laughable.

Also about Tajikistan, for the last year, there has been only one reporter who contributed once a month. With this belief that they targeted big audience in Tajikistan they must joked. The people of Tajikistan have enough to access to different channels in old Soviet States. They have better access because they speak Russian. However, they speak Farsi but they use for their writing the Cyrillic alphabets. In addition to this, people don’t have enough to spend their money buying a satellite dish in order to watch BBC Persian TV which its programs don’t relate to the country, its people, its culture and its history.

Thus, BBC Persian TV exaggerates and naively deludes not only its viewers but also itself. Since 2002, with the birth of more than hundreds local radio stations, BBC Afghan service has lost its listeners. Not only this reason but BBC Persian service didn’t improve its programs for Afghan listeners. As a matter of fact, BBC Persian Afghan service remained as a traditional radio that lagging behind.

Please vote for my pictures in the contest "Why Afghanistan is matter?." You don't need registration, just click on stars.
1- Child Street Worker (Egg Seller)
2- Colored Beard
3- Shoe Polisher in Kabul
4- Band-e Amir Lake
5- Feeding these birds brings good fortune (Mazar-e-Sharif)
6- Afghan National Army

Haiti and Afghanistan With Cataclysmic Events

2010-01-17T21:57:00.007-05:00

In Farsi there is a phrase “har ja sang ast ba payee lang ast,” literally it means helpless is always left in the storm. For years and years people of Haiti were grappling with difficulties. This time the biggest earthquake, since 200 years, brought a human disaster for this country that awakened the world. For the last days, I was watching the news, I felt sick to my stomach. Last year, in the Clinton Global Initiative conference in New York City, I met a journalist from Haiti. He told me that he was going to run for presidential election in 2011. He was telling me that if he becomes a president of Haiti I should be proud that I have met him. Since earthquake happened, I immediately sent him an e-mail but unfortunately I have no news of my Haitian friend “George.”

At the Clinton conference we talked about politics. He liked Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai who has written a book about fixing failed states and he was saying me, Afghanistan shouldn’t have problem with having such considerable expertise.

Haitians were suffering from unrest, turmoil and political tragedy just like Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, the issue of tribalism and racism sparked a long political tragedy and in Haiti there are community problems. The populations of both countries live below poverty line. Both were forgotten by world for a while.

According to the United Nations’ estimation, the earthquake may affect some 3 million people in the country. Haiti’s problems never have solved but I hope that this unforgettable disaster that now attracted the world’s attention may end to years of human suffering. It is regrettable that the world was not aware of grinding constant poverty, it is regrettable that no one pays attention that people in Afghanistan and Haiti suffer from lack of education, food and suffer unless there is a cataclysmic event. A question pops up in my mind that why should we always wait until something happen like earthquake in Haiti and Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan?

In 1990s, Afghanistan has the same situation. Millions of people were facing death because of poverty and tens of thousands led to deaths by Taliban. In a span of 30 days, around 6,000 Hazaras have been killed by Taliban in ethnic cleansing drive in Mazar-e Sharif but the world never heard of it until the September 11 happened and millions of people survived of a potential genocide. It was the first time that people around the world heard of Afghanistan and were looking to find it on the map.

Anyway, it is not late if you want to donate, please go to Larry King’s page and select different NGO. May the souls those departed rest in peace.

Vote for "Why Afghanistan Matters"

2010-01-15T00:38:00.012-05:00

I am kindly asking you to vote for my pictures which I submitted to a photographic competition entitled: "Why Afghanistan Matters". This conctest is hosted by NATO's Joint Forces Command HQ Brunssum. There are a total of six pictures entered into three categories:

1- People of Afghanistan
2- Beautiful Afghanistan
3- ANSF in action

All pictures are trying to articulate the beauty of the Afghanistan, its people, its culture, its love and humanity and its sacrifice for national security and for a prosperous future for Afghanistan. Your vote will be so valuable and will allow me to enhance my work in photography and empower me with a better vision. I am competing to be the winner in this contest and I promise to take nice pictures if I win the nice camera. That’s why I plead for your vote dear readers.

Please go to the following links, when the page is fully opened, look below the picture and move your mouse on the stars and click, your vote will be saved in one second. You can vote 6 times for 6 pictures. Pictures are in categories:

People of Afghanistan:
1- Child Street Worker (Egg Seller)
2- Colored Beard
3- Shoe Polisher in Kabul

Beautiful Afghanistan
4- Band-e Amir Lake
5- Feeding these birds brings good fortune (Mazar-e-Sharif)

ANSF in action
6- Afghan National Army

The profiling issue from an Afghan traveling to the U.S.

2010-01-06T19:19:00.005-05:00

Note: Already published on CNN

After the unsuccessful terror attack on an American jetliner by suspect Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, a 23 year-old Nigerian, security at international airports is getting tighter. In the days after the incident, President Obama vowed to “disrupt and dismantle” every possible threat against the U.S. and ordered enhanced screening and security procedures for all flights, domestic and international. These measures are smart, but they increase the concerns for those travelers who might be suspected by their nationality or religion.

Last week, a viewer called into CNN, to say that anyone who has a Muslim name should not be allowed to fly into the U.S. I have been profiled just because I am coming from Afghanistan, have a Muslim name and identify myself as an Afghan. I personally believe that judging travelers on their ethnicity and religion is not fair. Psychologically, it is disturbing and annoying to be interrogated just because of your nationality. Instead, the security should be reformed and new technology should be developed and used to determine who is actually dangerous.

After the recent incident, there is much discussion in the media about profiling, security screening and issuing special security checks for people coming from mostly Muslim countries. The new order for an extra security check for bag and pat down includes 14 countries. Afghanistan is one of them.

I personally feel comfortable with any kind of security measures that take place at the airports, and I do not find it offensive even to be strip-searched as long as security is the reason. I am from Afghanistan, and I have always experienced tight security at international airports and it doesn’t bother me. But the only thing that concerns me is profiling. As an Afghan, I have faced lots of difficulties at international airports. The security personnel at the airports asked me questions I have never heard, and inquired repeatedly about my destination.

For example, this past August when I got my visa from the U.S. embassy in Kabul to come to the U.S. to attend college, I was stopped at the Dubai airport and questioned more than ever before even though I have traveled to the U.S. before. The security at Dubai international airport was not honestly to check my bags but instead the security worker interrogated me about what I have been doing all my life, questioning me as if I were a member of al Qaeda or the Taliban. Even though I had already passed through security, my bags had been checked and the security personal had stuck a special security sticker on my passport - the security personnel didn’t let me on board while I was in line. He kept me until all passengers were boarded. While he was holding my passport in his hand, he moved around and finally found a camera and a scanner to take my picture and scan my passport. I got on the plane only five minutes before the boarding gate closed. It made me upset and annoyed just because I was profiled based on my nationality. The effect didn’t leave me until I reached my destination.

It is true that most of terrorist attacks have targeted Westerners, and that most terrorists are Muslim. But it is bigoted to judge people according to their religion or nationality. Such extreme measures would be profiling people based on their race, not evaluating them as individuals.

Since September 11, 2001, the security at airports has been effective enough to prevent terrorists from entering the United States, but the case of AbdulMutallab proved that the U.S. intelligence was not capable or failed to conduct a pre-emptive action.

Thus, as the U.S. admitted that its security failed to prevent the Christmas Day attack, al Qaeda has proven itself to not be confined to Afghanistan and Pakistan, but that it is also in Gulf countries like Yemen. The security was not smart enough to track down a 23-year-old man wandering around and boarding at an Amsterdam airport.

It is good to have to be checked to ensure security but it is devastating to be treated and interrogated the same manner as a suspected person, just because I am sharing the same type nationality. In August 2007, a 7-year-old Muslim boy was stopped in the U.S. three times on suspicion of being a terrorist. Also, in August 2009, the Bollywood star, Shahrukh Khan, was stopped for questioning at Newark Liberty International Airport which enraged his fans in India.

Finally, it would be good to investigate and recognize the suspected person before issuing him/her a visa and before traveling to the United States. Profiling is wholly inappropriate and will enrage people who are innocent. Looking for Muslim names and names similar to al Qaeda members that are blacklisted is not smart. Profiling based on nationality breeds anger only. Instead there should be effective and aggressive plans to track down the threats from those who are truly dangerous.

Please go to CNN crossroad blog page and read the critics at the bottom of this post

'Finish the job' but not so hastily

2009-12-02T10:19:00.011-05:00

Already published on CNN

After a long debate over increasing troops in Afghanistan, finally, President Obama said that he has decided to send around 30,000 extra troops to Afghanistan. Now, deploying 30,000 troops to Afghanistan is a good idea but I’m doubtful that this will work as a long-term strategy to “finish the job.” A long-term strategy to mitigate the violence and end the war in Afghanistan is to train and equip the Afghan National Army.

No so long ago in July 2009, around 4,000 U.S. Marines alongside 650 Afghan police and soldiers took a massive operation called Khanjar (dagger) in Helmand in southern Afghanistan. It was supposed to wipe the Taliban out of the area but ultimately nothing remarkably happened. The Taliban mobilized their insurgency against international forces, Afghan Army and police in different areas and especially started moving to the northern Afghanistan. Northern Afghanistan, which has been quite peaceful since 2002, in the spring 2009 became insecure and unstable - hindering the peaceful life of every Afghan. More troops will be unhelpful unless there is an explicit strategy towards the future. If the Obama administration does not plan a clear strategy for the next four or five years, sending triple number of these troops will not be helpful.

One of the reasons for failing in southern Afghanistan is that after the NATO troops cleaned the area of Taliban, they didn’t stay in there and the ANA (Afghan National Army) was not capable to take the security. Ultimately, the Taliban returned to the area. Horribly, the poor villagers who helped NATO forces and the ANA were targeted or killed by the Taliban. Musa Qala is one of the districts in Helmand that the most intensive operation took place. In 2006, it was turned into a terror university for Taliban and deemed to be influenced by Al Qaeda. The British troops fought against the Taliban and cleaned the area but they left the region for elder leaders and villagers that promised keep their own security. But a few months later, the Taliban attacked those whom worked and helped NATO forces and some were beheaded by the Taliban.

Unfortunately, since then, the locals lost trust towards foreign forces. This created a lack of confidence between foreign forces and Afghan locals because the locals are 100 percent sure that foreign forces will leave the area sooner or later but the Taliban will be back. The locals do not have interest in Taliban but they have no choice, they are exposed from both sides and ultimately they prefer the Taliban. It will take time for the Afghan government and its supporters to reshuffle its relationship among locals but still it is possible to regain.

It is imperative to plan a clear strategy alongside of extra troops in Afghanistan. Specifically, if the United States and its allies help and train the Afghan National Army they will be able to handle the task well. For the last eight years this was not taken serious and less money spent on training the army and more money spent on foreign forces. On November 12, the ministry of defense said that if the world communities fulfill their commitment to train and equip the ANA, within four years they will be capable of taking responsibility of security across the country.

Since 2002, especially when the insurgency increased in the southern region, training ANA wasn’t so much in demand. But within the next four years, if the Afghan government with the support of the United States and its allies focus on increasing the capability of ANA, soon we will witness that they will triumph over the enemy. And finally, by increasing the ANA capabilities, the United States and its allies will be able to finish the job, but not so hastily.

Reflecting on Clinton Global Initiatives

2009-10-30T18:25:00.010-04:00

Note: I wrote this piece for my college paper here

“It was a great and exciting meeting because I saw Brad Pitt and Ricky Martin.” After a few interactions with my classmates and friends at Dickinson, I discovered how to describe my trip to New York at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Conference. Apparently no one has interest in hearing that I came from a conference where world leaders came from across the world, no matter what political affiliations they have, no matter what religious beliefs they have and even no matter what languages they were speaking. They came together to commit to bringing changes in human life, like seeking solutions for climate change, eliminating human trafficking, alleviating poverty and making education accessible.

The Fifth Annual Clinton Initiative started on Sept. 22 and continued until Sept. 25. Every year at this time the CGI brings famous non-government organizations (NGOs), world leaders, business leaders and individual human rights activists to discuss some serious issues that exist today.

On the third day, in a special plenary, members talked mainly about access to education, jobs and health care. Due to a statistic that shows that almost 180 million children work instead of attending school, this year the CGI members made several commitments to create jobs and access to education, especially for children. In the plenary, which was moderated by The New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof, the panelists talked about universal education, its quality and the role of youth in the modern world. In particular, the Queen of Jordan, Rania Abdulla, stressed the importance of children’s education on the primary level. She compared the $11 billion cost of sending all children to primary school, the same amount of money that Americans spend on pets in three months and that Europeans spend on ice cream in a year. This amount is equivalent to 10 percent of NATO’s military budget.

Carlos Slim, a Mexican businessman and philanthropist, was also there. Kristof asked him a question regarding poverty. Kristof pointed to his recent interview with The New York Times in which he said the long term solution for poverty is jobs, and asked if this can be possible in developing country where there are no jobs and children are facing miserable limitations. Kristof gave him an example that he heard from a Kenyan girl who asked if she should continue to sleep with a man who is paying her school fees: should she continue the risk of getting AIDS or should she drop out of the school? This remains a nightmare situation for the girl, an example of thousands.

Slim said that education is important today and that it should happen in early childhood. Once again he emphasized that there is no way out of poverty but education.

The panelists talked more on other important issues, such as youth’s education and increasing the quality of education in developing world.

Human trafficking was one of the serious worldwide issues in this conference. Every year CGI gives awards to a number of people who achieve great success in education and the alleviation of human trafficking and slavery. This year, Ruchira Gupta, a woman from India who is the founder of the Aapne Aap organization, received the CGI annual award. She combat against human trafficking and so far through her organization she has saved 854 children from sexual exploitation and enabled them to access education. Gupta, while receiving the award from actress Demi Moore, said, “I receive this award on behalf of people who want a world in which it is unacceptable to buy or sell another human being and to imagine an economy in which one is not forced to sell oneself.”

According to the United Nations, 161 countries out of 192 are involved with human trafficking. Only in 2007, 27 million people were smuggled around the world for different forms of exploitation like slavery, commercial labor and sexual purposes. Children comprise 50 percent of human trafficking and mostly they are aged of 12 to 14 and most likely they are subjected to sexual exploitation.

In a separate session about strengthening infrastructure, Kofi Anan, the former Secretary General of the United Nations, emphasized that we not only need physical infrastructure but also soft infrastructure like education, global economy and exchanging global ideas.

One of the most interesting sessions was on human dignity. Wangari Muta Maathai, founder of The Green Belt Movement in Kenya and Noble Prize winner, stressed that dignity comes from giving women opportunities to work, giving education to children and having a land on which they can build their houses. This year there was a special focus on women as a vulnerable body of the society; they are disproportionately affected by poverty. According to statistics released at the meeting, more than 1.4 billon people live in extreme poverty, on $1.25 a day or less, and the vast majority of them are women.

At the Clinton Global Initiative, many well-known people, including Hollywood actors and actresses and singers, participated. Ricky Martin also took opportunity to raise awareness of human trafficking. Through his organization, the Ricky Martin Foundation, he advocates for children's rights and combats human trafficking.

Shortly after Ricky Martin, Brad Pitt took to the podium to discuss rebuilding New Orleans. Pitt started a foundation in 2007 that focuses on home construction in a section of New Orleans that was heavily damaged when Hurricane Katrina struck in Aug. 2005.

The fourth and final day, the closing plenary featured the progress achieved over the past five years. Former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton closed the meeting.

Former President Clinton announced that CGI members at the conference in 2009 have made 284 new commitments, valued at more than $9.4 billion dollars. In total, these commitments are projected to improve more than 200 million lives. Since 2005, members of the Clinton Global Initiative have made nearly 1,700 commitments valued at $57 billion dollars. Eighty million people will generate sustainable income through self-employment or new job opportunities through these commitments. At the end of the day when the conference ended, I walked out from the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers, and as I was walking in the crowd of multi-ethnic people, many questions rushed into my mind but of one them stuck: How we can bring changes in our own community as individuals?

Homage To Mahatma Gandhi

2009-10-01T21:31:00.002-04:00

Google opened my clotted mind with its logo that paid tribute to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi on the 140th anniversary of his birth today. Google replaced its first ‘G’ with his picture. I have already written on my Farsi blog and ask my Farsi readers to pay homage to this wise man who devoted his time freeing millions of people in his country. I write these words to honor his wisdom, greatness and as an emancipator of humanity. I write these lines to pay special homage to him when he stood against imperialism and smiled at them while saying these words:

"I would like you to lay down the arms you have as being useless for saving you or humanity. You will invite Herr Hitler and Signor Mussolini to take what they want of the countries you call your possessions...If these gentlemen choose to occupy your homes, you will vacate them. If they do not give you free passage out, you will allow yourselves, man, woman, and child, to be slaughtered, but you will refuse to owe allegiance to them."

Nothing stops Gandhi in his quest for truth ‘Satyagraha’. This is what Gandhi believed so strongly that he prepared to die for it. What a great desire is moved him towards reaching his goal. He didn’t dream this truth but he managed to reach it and ended the injustice and inequality. He believed every human being is born free and should live freely. He took long way from London to South Africa and from South Africa to India, he carried a precious gift and ultimately he gave it to millions of people who were suffering. It was their freedom. Finally this is what Gandhi telling us to do:

I cannot teach you violence, as I do not myself believe in it. I can only teach you not to bow your heads before any one even at the cost of your life.

Meet Afghanistan's Biggest Blogger

2009-09-04T23:13:00.003-04:00

BY ANNIE LOWREY
From:

At this point, the litany of contemporary Afghanistan's problems is well known. The country has few paved roads, let alone computers; its population is poor and illiterate; it is blighted with poverty, disease, and violence. For the past 30 years, Kabul has been under the control of radicals, strongmen, foreigners, or some combination of the three. Only rarely can the foreign reporters who describe these conditions leave the safe bubble of Kabul or the back seat of an armored vehicle. As a result, Afghanistan's people, culture, and traditions remain woefully unknown to the world, or reduced to crude stereotypes.

"People outside of Afghanistan have no idea what really exists here," a deep-voiced 26-year-old blogger named Nasim Fekrat says. "I was searching for Helmand [on the Internet] the other day. The only things that came up were about terrorists and suicide and bombs. But there is another side to Helmand, another face. There is agriculture, art, museums, culture."

On his groundbreaking blog, Afghan Lord, Fekrat hopes to tell that to the world. Writing in Farsi as well as self-taught English, he has taken it upon himself to show Afghanistan's softer, more genuine face. Until recently, he feels, this face was nearly impossible to find.

"In 2004, a journalist friend of mine told me that he was using the Internet to search for an Afghan word. He kept on coming up with this picture of a dog -- an Afghan hound!" Fekrat says, laughing ruefully. "We didn't even know there was such a dog in Afghanistan."

Although he passionately hopes to bring Afghan art, culture, and music -- life, really -- to readers around the world with his blog, Fekrat certainly does not downplay the trauma of Afghanistan's recent history. Indeed, his life and his blog are very much a product of it.

Fekrat grew up in a religious family in a village in Ghazni province. His childhood, he recalls, was defined by hardship and alienation. In particular, the young Fekrat strained under the strictures of his father, who once raised his hands to the heavens and called on God to kill his son when he would not pray one evening. Fekrat was 11.

But Fekrat has always been strikingly intelligent, erudite, and resourceful. When he was a teenager, he fled to Kabul, then under the control of the Taliban. A local family took in the refugee and gave him shelter. Soon after, he found life there too onerous -- he gives no clear reason why -- and joined the peripatetic community of Afghan refugees moving from country to country. Along the way, he spent time in Pakistan, Iran, Pakistan again, and the United Arab Emirates.

While living abroad, Fekrat became a member of this literate and engaged, if disaffected, Afghan expatriate community. He discovered a profound love for poetry and classical music in spite of his lack of higher education -- he delightedly describes how he pulled together money to buy compact discs of sonatas, concertos, and religious music in the record stores of Islamabad.

Around this time, Fekrat also discovered the online Afghan diaspora. People applying for political asylum in the West, Fekrat says, started to find one another on the Web in Farsi and Pashto chat rooms starting around 1998. Fekrat was swept up by the virtual community.

"For me, the Internet became a portal not just for information" about Afghanistan and its people, but "literature, poetry, and music," Fekrat says. "And it did not just become a way to communicate. As much as I learned, I became more uninformed," he says, pausing to struggle with his English. "No -- that's not how you say it. When I'm online, I realize I'm not informed enough," he says, and chuckles.

In 2000, the year before the United States invaded Afghanistan, Fekrat contacted two people he found writing articles online in Farsi. They were both native Afghans applying for asylum and living abroad. In their online correspondence, Fekrat -- who had by then returned to his native country -- discovered blogging. It was a revelation. "I asked them how they were publishing online," he says. "And they said, 'No, no, it's a blog!' I went online and found the ready-made template. It was so easy. For me, it was amazing."

Soon after, Fekrat joined the nascent Afghan blogosphere. His first blog, founded in 2002, was an anonymous and sophomoric effort on poetry and music. Reading what he wrote, he felt dissatisfied with his work and changed his subject and pseudonym several times. Nevertheless, Fekrat delighted in expressing his own thoughts and feelings with a level of freedom virtually impossible to find in Taliban- or even U.S.-controlled Afghanistan.

Fekrat moved around between a few jobs in journalism, but it wasn't until 2004 that he decided to make blogging his vocation. Afghan Lord was born.

His first post reads, typos and all: "Who can believe that Afghanistan got its peace after an awful situation more than two ddecades war. The situation that human was killing human, brother killing brother, war lords were killing innocents people and lots of difficulties occurred in Afghan land. What was the reason? Who was responsible for all these? Who is guilty? Who was supporting them and armed them to kill each other for nothing? And what is going on now? To all these categories I will put my pen. I will try regularly post daily from Afghanistan."

It spoke to the trauma of the Taliban takeover, and the shock of the U.S. invasion. And it allowed Fekrat to begin speaking to the world.

Over the past five years, not only has his English improved in leaps and bounds, but Fekrat has found his voice as a writer -- aching with wonder at the beauty of his culture and the horrors of war. He posts mostly on breaking news events, interspersed with commentary on politics. But he also includes reflections on the joy of riding a motorbike, or a poem. As with so many blogs, it reads like an upload of the author's thoughts -- unadulterated, emotional, and sometimes contradictory.

Committed to life as a professional blogger, Fekrat became a more professional journalist as well -- and his profile quickly grew. In 2005, readers around the world voted for his blog for Reporters Without Borders' "Freedom of Expression" blog awards. His writing on occupied Kabul became internationally known; he bought partner URLs and expanded his Web presence. He started working for the BBC's Farsi edition and other journalistic outlets, including for international organizations such as NATO.

His career as a blogger has not come without danger, though. A few years ago, someone stole his pseudonym to post pro-Taliban comments. With his Internet persona and reputation compromised, he had no choice but to reveal his true identity. Since then, he has received numerous death threats in comments on his blog, and in text messages, phone calls, and e-mails. When I spoke with him in May, he was living on friends' couches, moving every few days to avoid men he believed to be following him.

Last year, a journalist he knew in northern Afghanistan was sentenced to death for allegedly making anti-religious comments on a Web site. But Fekrat thinks the security situation and the nascent community of those speaking truth to power is improving.

In 2006, Fekrat decided to take his blog community offline as well, and he created the Afghan Association of Blog Writers to aid the country's community of about 20,000. (An absurdly high number if one considers that there are only a few hundred-thousand computers in Afghanistan, most brought in by the United States or aid groups.)

As the head of the organization, Fekrat started meeting up regularly with other bloggers in Internet cafes. He decided to start teaching blogging as well, as those expatriate Afghan journalists had taught him. "I would ask people to donate just a few dollars," he says. "We would hire a generator so that we could run the computers at night. And then we'd turn on the Internet."

Now, he runs a blog school, teaching young Afghans about digital media, blogging, photography, and videography. It is his proudest achievement. "I show young, talented Afghans the Web. And now they have powerful tools to write about the situation, the society."

About a year ago, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul began funding Fekrat's blog school -- before then, he had sought donations on his Web site. The new-media guru now travels all over Afghanistan (usually on a motorbike) teaching remote communities about the power of the Internet and blogging. When I spoke with him last week, he had just finished stints in Helmand and Bamiyan.

This spring, he came to the United States for the first time, on the invitation of Joe Torsella, then the chief executive of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Fekrat ended up staying in the United States to learn more about digital media and culture on a three-month fellowship at the DeWitt Wallace Center for Media and Democracy at Duke University. (He has a great video post of himself riding around the North Carolina campus on a pink bicycle.) And he may return to the United States to attend Dickinson College in Pennsylvania.

Now, Fekrat sees an opportunity for Afghanistan to leapfrog the United States into the age of digital media. "Afghanistan is not in an era to experience print media," he says. "In the United States, [newspapers] are in a state of crisis. In Afghanistan, we shouldn't repeat those mistakes. The world is going digital. I found the world online. And I want to put Afghanistan online. Why wait? Why spend the money to fund a newspaper?" His dream is to continue blogging and running his small-scale media shop -- and, eventually, to find funding for a "for-Afghans, by-Afghans" think tank.

Although he welcomes all the funding and support he can get, Fekrat doesn't just blog for the NGO crowd; he is most encouraged that his writing is finally catching on with literate Kabulis and rural Afghans alike. "It used to be, when you talked with someone and said you were a blogger, people thought you're not doing something responsible," he says. "Because of the religions and minorities, you are always offending someone." But now people are much more open to user-produced media, and much more open to blogs and political commentary.

This growing acceptance has a lot to do with what has been happening next door in Iran and the role online media played in the recent disputed election there. "Our neighbor, in Iran, it is a big country for writing blogs. And that has impacted here in Afghanistan, because Farsi is a language spoken here," Fekrat explains. "People have realized that there is an audience, and there is a way to [disperse] information. Everybody here knows about what happened in the Iran election, and they know how the Internet and blogs changed it."

Of course, Afghanistan is facing an election of its own, and the growing Afghan blogosphere will have a role to play, however small in a country where only one in 30 has Internet access. "Before, people always had to ask 'What is a blog?', and that is changing," Fekrat says.

In the meantime, Fekrat's mission remains showing Afghanistan to the world -- and spurring Afghanistan to put itself online. I asked him what he hopes to achieve with his journalism and community-building in the next year. "We are people and we need connection. For you, Annie, to understand me as a human being, as an Afghan, as a human being who has feelings, love, hatred, and culture, is listening to the same music as Annie listens to."

That is Fekrat's goal. And to achieve it, all that needs to happen is for readers to visit his blog.

Learning Online Journalism and Writing Blogs in Helmand Province

2009-08-02T13:21:00.005-04:00

Note that this article was first published in the America.gov (direct link of this interview)and if you reproduce this article you must retain this notice.
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Introduction: A surprising number of Afghans blog on the Internet and even more want to learn how. Nasim Fekrat has been at the forefront of helping Afghans use modern technology to communicate with each other and the rest of the world – but it can be a dangerous business. America.gov’s Jane Morse talked with him earlier this year while he was in United States on a fellowship (see: Eager to Learn About the World, Tech Savy Afghans Turn to Blogs.) In a new guest post, Nasim talks about his latest efforts to teach blogging in Helmand province, the largest in Afghanistan and the world’s top opium-producing region. The province is the site of ongoing deadly fighting between the Taliban and American, British and other NATO troops.

This is the sixth day that I am in the war-torn province of Helmand. My friends in other provinces do not know what I am here for, and before I explain it to them, they ask me, “What the heck are you doing there?”

I am in Helmand province to conduct a training session on online journalism and blog writing. We had planned for owners of 20 media outlets to participate in this two-day training session, but we received more applications than we expected. We were unaware that we would get 28 people for the training session, including reporters, poets and writers.

You may think that we had everything we needed for the training class, but we did not have everything. We had just two computers that connected to the Internet and we had 28 journalists. Every one of them required the Internet during the training. It may be unbelievable for readers or funny to them, but we did it. Every one of the participants had a blog entry by the end of the training session and had posted two subjects on their blogs. Almost all of the blogs were written in Pashto (one of the official and most common languages in Afghanistan) and discussed subjects such as culture, literature, community, politics and agriculture in Helmand province.

When I asked the participants what made them participate in the training, our discussion taught me something new. One of them, who was familiar with Wikipedia, told me: “I want to inform people about Helmand province.”

He said that whenever he goes to the Internet site to search Lashkargah (the capital city of Helmand province) and Helmand province, he only finds results that center on drugs, war and violence.

Therefore, he is learning to utilize blogging in order to inform the world that Helmand is not a place of drugs and war but has agriculture, culture and literary works which have not been widely publicized.

One of the participants told me that he wants to discuss the security challenges in Helmand province using blogging, and he wants to hear opinions from other bloggers concerning the operation in Helmand province and find solutions for the conflict in this province.

The enthusiasm for the training was more than expected and the reason for that is clear: This is a war-torn province and nobody is willing to put himself in danger in order to conduct training for journalists. But for me, as a young Afghan from the generation of war victims and refugees, I love to serve my country and my fellow citizens. I want to teach them the things that I have learned. I like to spread the culture of blogs and online journalism in Afghanistan among the younger generations.

This was the third workshop on blogging and online journalism which was conducted with the support of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul and the blogging Institution of Afghanistan in Helmand province. This program has been scheduled in other provinces and the next workshop will be in Bamyan province.

Read more about Nasim’s efforts at his English language blog, Afghan Lord at http://www.afghanlord.org/

You can see his photo gallery The World Through My Eyes at http://www.fekrat.org/

Additional photo galleries by Nasim can be found on NATO’s website, as well as at PreventHate.org:
http://www.nato.int/docu/review/2008/02/PHOTO/EN/index.htm
http://preventhate.org/gallery.asp

Eager to Learn About the World, Tech Savvy Afghans Turn to Blogs

2009-08-01T13:12:00.000-04:00

Note that this article was first published in the America.gov (direct link of this interview)and if you reproduce this article you must retain this notice.

Afghan blogger teaches others his craft
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By Jane Morse
Staff Writer

Washington — Tech-savvy Afghans increasingly are turning to blogs for information about their country and the world. They also use blogs as a platform for telling their stories about Afghanistan to the world, says Nasim Fekrat, one of Afghanistan’s trailblazing bloggers.

Although Internet penetration is not high in Afghanistan compared with other countries, since 2002, some 20,000 Afghans have started blogging, Fekrat told America.gov. Fekrat, who blogs under the moniker “Afghan Lord,” estimates that at least 1 million Afghans access the Internet through Internet cafes and at local schools and universities.

Fekrat discovered blogs in 2000, when only two Afghan expatriates — one in Canada and one in the United States — were blogging in Farsi. He e-mailed them requesting more information and then taught himself how to use the medium. In late 2002, he launched his first blogs featuring his poetry and discussions of classical music. Later, he included discussions about events in Afghanistan as well as philosophical issues.

In 2008, Fekrat taught blogging workshops in Kabul and Bamyan. Approximately 40 people attended the three-day workshops. They shared 10 computers Fekrat was able to rent with funds he raised from donors over the Internet. He hopes to raise enough money to repeat the classes again this year, sharing what he learned during his recently completed three-month fellowship at the DeWitt Wallace Center for Media and Democracy at Duke University in North Carolina.

Barack Obama’s deft use of Internet tools to send his message to voters, raise money and ultimately win the U.S. presidential elections profoundly impressed Fekrat. “This can be a model, a lesson to Afghanistan for presidential elections which are coming in a few months,” he said.

Afghanistan’s presidential elections are set for August 20. According to NATO officials, nearly 16 million voters have registered to vote — about half the country’s population.

That an African American won the U.S. presidential elections is “a big lesson” for Afghans,” Fekrat said. Afghans, he said, “should build up the determination to end inequality and hatred toward each other.”

“When I go back [to Afghanistan],” Fekrat said, “I will tell [my blogging students] about the media and morality. I’ll tell them how we can’t have exactly the same thing [as in the United States]; but with what we’re able to learn, to transform in [an] Afghan way; not in a very traditional way.

“We can change,” he said. “We can bring a picture of different models of Afghanistan.”

Many Afghans never learned about democracy, according to Fekrat. “Rather they heard communism, socialism, equality, Marxism, those ideas based on Marxist theory.” Compounding the problem, he said, is widespread illiteracy. “Those people, who never heard democracy, freedom, freedom of speech and human rights … they have to have an idea, a description of democracy that they never had,” he said.

“The meaning of democracy was not transformed in the context of Afghan meaning, Afghan knowledge, Afghan language,” he said. For many of the uneducated people, he said, democracy means little more than women discarding their head scarves.

AFGHANISTAN’S NEW GENERATION: GENERATING CHANGE

“The new generation is not the generation of Taliban,” Fekrat said. “The new generation — they are simply about learning. … They want to connect themselves to the world.”

Blogging and the Internet won’t reach Afghanistan’s illiterate poor, and Afghan society, Fekrat acknowledged, is highly controlled by tradition, religion, differing tribal customs and fear of retribution. Even so, there is a core population of young people interested in change, according to Fekrat.

Afghans who blog enjoy a lively forum for discussion, Fekrat said. “They’re talking about elections, presidential elections. Hundreds of articles are published in Web sites. There is debate among them. They’re discussing the issues,” he said.

“I’m sure there are lots of misunderstandings, misconceptions and biased information from Afghanistan,” Fekrat said. If given the proper tools, young Afghans could provide a more accurate picture of their country, Fekrat said.

Although Fekrat blogs in both English and Farsi, the vast majority of Afghans blog in Farsi. But Fekrat would like to see the viewpoints of the Afghan people reach a wider non-Farsi speaking audience. His plan is to teach Afghans to do video interviews and podcast interviews with subtitles in English. Once again, he’s hoping to raise the funds for the video camcorders by soliciting donations online.

“You can find lots of Nasims like me in Afghanistan; lots of people will contact you and talk to you. You can learn a lot from Afghan society,” Fekrat said.

For more, see Fekrat’s Web sites in Farsi and English.

Sunset in Helmand

2009-07-27T05:11:00.002-04:00

Trip to Helmand

2009-07-11T06:22:00.000-04:00

As we were about to land, suddenly the aircraft whirling round up and down in the sky, panic spreading through the passengers, an Indian who is sitting in front of me grabbed the backseat and looking on the right side.

A fighter jet was moving close to us. Brad who has called me in the plane that we are going together in media center told me this later when we were in the car towards PRT media center.

I never had this experience before, my mood was changing, almost nauseate. The aircraft bent to the right and start landing immediately.

After we got briefing and asked our blood types, we were asked to wear body armor and get into the car. The car drove in dust among several other cars that were divided to different directions.

I met Ben in PRT, who was my only contact. I had chance to check my e-mail and brows the news websites. Write you more here.

Shifting Into Neutral and Risking

2009-06-12T09:29:00.002-04:00

Tired tired and badly tired. The engine has got a problem, it becomes hot so hot. It seems the fan in front of the engine is broken. It stopped in the middle of Sheebar Pass, thanks god; the shepherds helped me to reach the top of the mountain. I had no option but shifting into neutral and driving down to the bottom which was a big risk. If i was remained at that top of the mountain at night, probably the wolves would bite me.

I am in Bamyian right now, if you have ever been in a dream to see a scene of paradise, come to Bamyian. The blue sky, the cool weather, the greenish nature, all these bring you joyful moments. The villagers smile at you and invite you for a cup of tea, and then they share their stories with you which is untold and unheard yet.

It happened to me yesterday, I was almost broken in to pieces if the woman of the village wouldn’t give me a cup tea and bread. I was so hungry, my legs were almost paralyzed. When I had tea, there were another two women; they asked me if I am doctor to give them medicine for her sick child. It is really hard to get close to the villagers, especially women but if you respectfully talk to them and call them mother and sister they behave you so kindly.

Tomorrow I am going to Tob Chi School which is linked to a North Carolina friend school in the United States.

My Insanity

2009-06-10T14:32:00.000-04:00

I am excited and impatient as well. I bought a Kawasaki motorbike 250cc offroad just a few days ago. With this I am going to travel to Bamyan and in central Afghanistan. It is a Japanese used dirt bike which currently is in a good condition. I am going to do a tour, passing through several districts and province to reach my village. My mother is sick and i promised to see her weeks ago. This time I am doing a quick tour with this motorbike and I hope to do it again but with a friend of mine who is still trying to make his mind.

In spite of everything i love to drive motorbike, it is my love and part of my insanity which drove me so far. My friends advised me not do to this tour because of security and distance but what we should do if we shouldn’t do what we want?

More, through this tour, I am trying to reunion my mind, my memories and recall them. I will update here more.

Walking into the Wind

2009-04-28T12:57:00.006-04:00

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A man in Mazar-e Sharif (northern Afghanistan) who walks into the wind with his son, suddenly a powerful wind tugged him and fell down on the ground, then stood and started to spit blood on his son when he was suffering from pain. I took this picture when they were walking farther down the street.
He is one of those warriors who lost one of his legs in war against Soviet Invasion, today he is begging on the streets alongside of hundreds of others who are effected by war.

The ANA soldiers in front of them shown, are taking care of security measurements of the Nawrooz festival, the fist day of the year.

Nawrooz is historically cheerfully celebrated by Afghan people and also popular in Iran. Actually Nawrooz is a Zoroastian holiday and it originated in northern Afghanistan then spread across the continent by Afghans. Nawrooz is celebrated in a very special way in Afghanistan which tells a lot about its history and Zorosastian, especially about the people while in Iran it is just turned into a cultural event.

The Bush Legacy - Afghanistan & Iraq war

2009-04-05T23:29:00.000-04:00

On Thursday evening, March 26, while everyone was getting ready for watching Duke Basketball game at Duke Campus, in the social science building there was a very interesting discussion on US National Security in the 21st century with the former national security adviser Stephen Hadley. Hadley was working as national security adviser from 2005 to 2009 under Bush administration.

More than 60 students and faculty member attended this discussion and sponsored by Duke and the Triangle institute for Security Studies. Peter Feaver, who worked under Hadley from 2005 to 2007 as special adviser for strategic planning and international reform on the National Security Council interviewed Hadely and then opened the floor for the audience.

The war in Iraq and Afghanistan is the Bush legacy and today the new administration has to carry out to defeat the enemy. The United Sates was quite successful to overcome the terrible situation in Iraq but not in Afghanistan. This was an issue I had chance to ask Hadely personally.

He believes, the Bush administration was unsuccessful on war against terror in Afghanistan, not only Hadely but a numbers of politicians whom I met, they sated that the United Sates went to Afghanistan to prevent another September11 which was successful. The interpretation is; Taliban, war in Afghanistan is an Afghan issue, they should solve their problem by their own.

Cycling and Exploring

2009-03-31T11:39:00.005-04:00

I made this video for my Farsi blog readers but i thought posting this video would be interesting in afghanlord too. The pink bicycle helped me to explore the Duke Campus, the city and do some shopping but at the end of the day both my knees feel stiff when i bend or walking.

Time to Hip Hop and Rock

2009-03-28T15:30:00.001-04:00

It is regretful since I came to the United Sates, I never wrote about my adventure on my blog. Henceforth, I promise myself at lest to write a few posts per week about the events that leave impression directly or indirectly on me. This also has to be described what those are directly and indirectly impressions. Shortly to say directly when I am involved and indirectly when I hear from others or read.

By accident I went to MTV channel, the people exploding with joy and moving their bodies. In their website says, it is the spring Panama City Beach, where thousands of bathing beauties rock it all day long to Lil Wayne, Flo Rida, Kid Cudi, 3OH!3 and more.

The other fellows are left for weekend at the beach, I can’t remember exactly to which one but they will spend two nights there. I remain in my apartment and stick around Duke Campus. People are so kind here especially Ty who take care of me and today he took me to his parent’s house.

By the way, today I got a pink bicycle from our office at Sanford institute to use it and as transportation for going around and may be far from campus. I am enjoying of hard metal, hard rock and hip hop which are rocking really. Sometimes I am tired of reading news especially about my country but it is time to rock with these music.

Buzkashi

2009-03-15T21:39:00.005-04:00

Afghan National Sport
Buzkashi, which literally translated means "goat grabbing" is the national sport of Afghanistan. Many historians believe that Buzkashi began with the Turkic-Mongol people, and it is indigenously shared by the people of Northern Afghanistan. There are two main types of Buzkashi, Tudabarai and Qarajai. Tudabarai is relatively simple compared with Qarajai, even though they share similar objectives.

At Duke University

2009-02-15T11:10:00.002-05:00

It is almost a week I am in US at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina on a fellowship program about media.
As a Duke Media Fellow, we attend special seminars about media and democracy, led by Duke University faculty, leading journalists and guest lecturers. We are also be able to attend regular Duke University classes and work with faculty and staff to pursue independent projects.

It is great opportunity to learn from other fellows about media challenges in US, France, Germany, South Africa and Georgia. For more information about this program, please visit this website for this program.

In The Berlin Prison

2009-01-27T14:29:00.002-05:00

The title may a little surprise you, but that what happened with Nasim is that he is Berlin prison now. May be you will think that he is suspected, because he comes from the country which provides 95% of opium to the world.

I am in Kabul now, this post had to be posted already, but it was missing somewhere in between of the data. I was invited by the GTZ as a photographer for a photography workshop on November 7 to 14. There were six other photographers from other countries; Jodi Bieber from South Africa, Dörthe Boxberg from Germany, Stefan Erber from Germany, Elena Koktanek from Germany, Michael Tsegaye from Ethiopia, Leonel Vasquez from Colombia and two workshop leaders: Ralf Bäcker and Jörn Neumann from Germany.

Before going to the workshop in Berlin I had been in Italy where i received my freedom of expression award from Information Safety and Freedom (ISF) in Siena.
The workshop subject was “Developing security and security development” the central theme of for 2009 of the GTZ. For one day I was shooting in the main Berlin prison “Justizvollzugsanstalt Tegel”, which contains 1580 prisoners from 62 countries right now. Around 32% of them are foreigners.

It was early morning, when we arrived at the prison. The security guards at the main gate got our passports and in return a coarse card, not easy to bend, was given to us and we were demanded to not lose it, otherwise we couldn’t get out of the prison afterwards.

The doors and windows are built out of rigid steel and concrete structures, strong glasses are used for the windows and soundproofed rooms. Inside the control room are many monitors that show the area where the staff and prisoners are moving around. A burly security man suited in a dark blue suit, with written on his arm and back “Justiz” guided us around inside the prison. We were told not to photograph the prisoners or security guards, nor locks and keys. And we had to empty our pockets from money and electronic devices.

The buildings inside are surrounded by a barbed wire fence and in each corner cameras are controlling your steps. We were given two hours inside the prison, by the security guard who was with us. Me and my German colleague Elena definitely had to be clever to use our time as well as possible. Elena was excited to see the inside of the prison, me too. It was very important for me to see the prison in Berlin and to compare it to the Pul-e-Charkhi prison in Kabul. It's a large prison in Afghanistan. I visited Pul-e-Charkhi prison and remember pretty well how horrible it was.

Now, I found myself in the biggest prison in Germany. I was looking for the meaning of Sicherheit inside the prison, in the Berlin streets, in the city with its skyscrapers and well dressed people with luxurious cars moving and people 'petting' with their best friends, which is not normal in Afghanistan and other Islamic states.

I had to find out now what Sicherheit means in this country, for the Berliners, for the people who work and earn money to live, for those who hope to have a shelter where to spend the night, for the many who survive.

This time Berlin became very interesting for me, but how to figure out its looks? I like this city, but how can I find myself if I would live there for a day? With this workshop I learned a lot, and also from the people who I met in the streets, at their work, and also the beggars who smiled at us.

The 44 years old security guard Rafael Galejew, who originally comes from Georgia, accompanied us. He works in the Justizvollzugsanstalt Tegel prison since 1994. Rafael carried a bunch of large keys. One was bigger than the others and I joked by calling it “the king key”. Yes it was a real special one, because he could open any door with it.

Entering the first building of the prison, and looking up to the walls painted yellow doesn’t give a sense of being be happy. "But for a prisoner" said Rafel, "yellow is a happy color". Doors are numbered together with their prisoner names. The stairs, door, and windows are netted with steel girders. While I tried to take pictures Rafael told me to not picture the prisoners. To have him trust me I showed my pictures to him every now and then and told him to do so as well after our tour. That made him happy and he told me he trusted me.

Time was running and we had to go to the next building, moving from the short term punishment prison to the lifelong imprisonments building. The 8 floors building contains over 300 prisoners who committed murder or similar crimes.

Another security guard joined us when we came on the fifth floor. We entered a cell of 2x3 meters wide, with a bed, tv, tape recorder, a toilet and lots of pictures of family, children, and relatives hanging on the wall of the prisoner who himself is outside and waving to us. But we can’t respond to him nor take pictures because we had been asked not to talk or get close to the prisoners.

In the entry hall of the building hangs a picture of a priest, the writings on it say that he was killed by the Nazis. Rafael commented, "The Nazis were the enemy of human kind, not only Jews."
I asked Rafael if there are any Afghans in the prison, and he told me that a couple of years ago there were a few, but now they are all released.

They have special meals for the Muslim prisoners, and however, "since 2000 the numbers of prisoners are decreasing" as Rafael described.

The reason for being in the prison and to look for the word of “Sicherheit” was because in the German concept, Sicherheit has no specific meaning. Many use it as 'security' and 'safety' which are not right translations in German.
As photographers from various backgrounds, but all coming from post-war countries, we had to find out the meaning of security in Berlin, where I don’t see police, or military convoys in the streets.

So, what does security really mean for Berliners here? But it is the question and the theme of our workshop photography.
We had to explore the city to find the meaning of security in the German context among Berliners and foreigners living in Berlin.
It was very interesting hearing the meaning of security in so different ways. For some, security is about money, or trust, love, or sex, profession, or travel, while for others it means to find shelter, to be safe.

My Interview with the Rai News 24

2009-01-06T04:56:00.008-05:00

It is a bit funny to see myself in this clip. It just made me to laugh, I can't believe what I was telling to Mario Forenza, the Interviewer.

By the way, i am trying to do video podcasting but I still challenge with myself how to overcome on my shyness.
By the way, you can also download the movie from here.

The Fight of Nasim Fekrat in Afghanistan

2008-12-25T04:55:00.006-05:00

This post is written Philippe R. in Courrier International, you can read this in original version in French language. My friend Jean-Baptiste Perrin translated into English.
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With his personal blog Afghan Lord, Nasim Fekrat, 25, is a real fighter. His country Afghanistan has been on the front page of Western and foreign media for so many years, at the heart of what is called "the fight against international terrorism." In Kabul, Nasim fights too. With his own weapons and for a cause much braver and more difficult: freedom of expression.

Nasim Fekrat is an Afghan journalist, internationally recognized for his blog Afghan Lord that exists in English and Farsi. In 2005 already, Reporters Without Borders has awarded him its first prize to reward his work, his courage, his commitment. Afghan Lord is currently competing for the best South Asia blog 2008 awarded by the Brass Crescent Awards, oriented towards the Muslim world's blogosphere. Most recently, Nasim Fekrat won the 2008 Information Safety Freedom (ISF), received in Siena in Italy.

Nasim Fekrat has more than deserved his "trophies" of defender of the freedom of expression. This very freedom, he conquered it thanks to the Internet. He is an Afghan proselyte for blogging: he created the Afghan Press online journal and founded the Association of Afghan bloggers. Both in two versions, English and Farsi.

In its latest post dated December 14, Nasim Fekrat explains better than anyone why he won the 2008 ISF prize, as a militant for an Afghanistan open to the outside world.

"Digital Afghanistan was in my plan to foster an interest in digital media among young people in the Universities, schools, institutes and journalists. Digital Afghanistan was very important for me because I believe this is the only way we can tell our story to the world. Presenting Afghanistan through digital world is a job for new generation, not for those were involved in war, for those who were involved in massacres, those who plant opium but this the new generation that can tell to the world the reality what they believe and streaming in their live daily. They are the sources of truth and honest, they are tired of war, they are not the generation of suicide anymore."

Nasim Fekrat was awarded the ISF prize jointly with Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh, an Afghan boy whose death sentence was commuted to 20 years in prison. His crime? Having read an article on the Internet.

Afghan LORD received Honorable Metion

2008-12-21T13:34:00.006-05:00

I appreciate you a lot for supporting me to receive Honorable Mention in the Fifth Annual of the Brass Crescent Awards in 2008. I received this prize in the category of Best South Asian Blog as Honorable Mention and it means a lot for me.

I would like to thank Jeffrey Stern and Javaid Zirak who supported me and thank from all of you.
This really give me hope and encourage to be updated.

I salute Brass Crescent people and their spirit and innovation.

Just to add this that i think you all have seen that I tend to gravitate toward enlightening and more a voice from inside a wounded land, a forgotten land and horror land (for many), of course there is always not only horror but also love, trust, honesty and culture which i like to write you. I don’t like to be too negative but also remember that i don't born optimistic too. My childhood story is scaring, i born in the time of war and you can understand what means that.

Oh, and by the way, i owe you much!

Dance with Burqa

2008-12-20T13:59:00.003-05:00

The video is taken by Pino Scaccia from the Award Ceremony in Siena. At the end of the video you can see me at the corner.
The women in the Burqa are a group who perform widely in Italy.

Why I am the Freedom of Expression Award Winner?

2008-12-14T07:25:00.016-05:00

I had to write and publish this piece sooner but I couldn't because of hectic schedule. Now, I have to tell you to everyone why I became an award winner for the freedom of expression by ISF (Information Safety and Freedom) in Siana, Italy.

On Friday morning, November 28 in Siena, in Tuscany region, the award for the freedom of expression given to two Afghan journalists. I also got Kambakhsh's award. It was painful for me to receive my award while the other winner Sayed Parwiz Kambakhsh is still in prison only for reading an article in the internet.

Many of you may ask me that why you became the award winner while there were many journalists who were fighting for the freedom of speech, even some of them lost their lives, some of them exiled and some of them beaten and harassed by local warlords and drug lords. I am awarded because my satire/cartoon magazine was shot down in 2004, I am awarded because I got several death threats and exiled for seven months. I am award for my hard work on developing and teaching Blogging and online journalism in my country.
I have been running many workshops for teaching blogging in different cities.

Beside this I made an electronic online newspaper “Afghan Press” in two languages, Dari (farsi) and English, we are trying to get funds and hire a few journalist to write for us. The main idea is to provide a “narration from inside” about culture, media, politics, political parties, economics, and higher educations for whom are wise and interested in Afghanistan’s affairs, and especially local compatriots.

Simultaneously i built up the Association of Afghan Blog Writers in two languages which now it changed to a powerful online community of Afghan young bloggers, they share ideas and discus situation inside the county. These were the works and beside this I had to work to feed myself and my family.As a freelancer I sold photos to AP, wrote for BBC, Pajamasmedia.org, NATO, UNAMA and local papers in Kabul. My efforts were a give a better image from my country out to the world. Blogging was my plan to teach to young people in the Universities, schools, institutes and journalists. Blogging is important for me because I believe this is the only way we can tell our story to the world. Presenting Afghanistan through blog world is a job for new generation, not for those were involved in war, for those who were involved in massacres, those who plant opium but the new generation that can tell to the world the reality of what happening in their country.

I dedicate this award to my fellow journalists in Afghanistan; I dedicate this award to those journalists who lost their lives fighting for freedom of speech, to Shaima Rezayee, Abdul Samad Rohani, Shekiba Sanga Amaaj, Zakia Zaki and Ajmal Naqshbandi.This award not only belongs to me but to my people, to Pashtun, Tajek, Hazara and Uzbek. This award belongs to my country, to my entire countryman especially for those journalists whom were jailed, harassed, and exiled. This award is belongs to Sayed Parwiz Kambakhsh who is in prison now, he was convicted to death but later reduced to 20 years in prison. Right now, he is in one cell with four criminals and murders, Sayed Parwiz Kambakhsh is teaching them literacy how to read and write.

Interview with Pino Scaccia from TG1

This award belongs to journalists and writers of my country who can’t bring out their voice in public, for those who are isolated. This award belongs to those families who lost a member, to the children who lost their fathers. This award belongs to those journalists who don’t have enough to eat but can’t stop writing the truth.

I dedicate this award to my fellow bloggers, journalists and writers in Iran who are in prison now and some of them are sentenced to death only because of telling the truth to others.

This is an alert to Karzai's government which appointed Abdul Karim Khoram an ex-member of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar party in the Ministry of Information and Culture who said to media "freedom of speech is a western product and it is meaningless in Afghan society." This award is a warning to irresponsibility of foreign countries that apparently support but don’t look after where the money goes.

This award by ISF is an alert to those organizations and institutes who are working for the freedom of speech but they are not aware that journalists are receiving threats from different channels, like religious parties, fanatic fundamentalist figures, political parties, warlords, drug lords and Karzai government authorities. This is an alert to them to accelerate their efforts for supporting freedom of expression in Afghanistan which is in danger now.

And finally this award by ISF is encouragement for me and for my fellow journalist in my country to fight for freedom of expression. This award means I have to continue my works in the future.

I salute to freedom of expression, I salute those to thinks and says freely and support freedom.

Related materials:
Afghan Journalists Awarded for their hard work towards free speech
Free Kambakhsh!
Eventi a cui ha partecipato Nasim Fekrat - Audio
Nasim in Val di Susa
Una mattina a Siena per la libertà in Afghanistan- Video+picture
Tactic: Afghan blogger wins free speech award

Bush, Chirac and Karzai in Hell

2008-12-10T15:34:00.003-05:00

George Bush, Jacques René Chirac, and Hamed Karzia the president of Afghanistan die and they all go to hell. The devil sees their faces and asks: 'why are you so depressed?'
Bush says 'I left USA so fast, I did not have time to kiss my family and say good bye, I wish I could call home in Texas.
The devil gives him a phone, Bush calls home, talks with his family.
Bus gives a couple of instructions to Condoleza Rice...
When he's finished, the devil asks for 2 million USD, Bush says: 'What? 2 million bucks? I only spoke for 10 minutes that's insane'.

The devil answers 'but you are in hell man, that's some distance call!'
Chirac then tells the devil: if Bush could call the USA, I want to call
France! And so he did.
When he is finished, devil asks for 3 million
Euros. Chirac is shocked: 'what? 3 million Euros for 15 minutes talk?',
'well you call from hell...' answers the devil.

Finally Karzai asks for the telephone to call Afghanistan, he starts to
speak and speak and speak for 5 hours. When he is finished, he asks: 'how
much do I pay?'
Devil says '5 Afghanis'.
'Only five Afghanis for 5 hours?' protest Bush and Chirac.
'Well'... says the Devil, 'that's local call...

Strong Action Is a Joke

2008-12-07T16:36:00.010-05:00

Today, on the way coming to Berlin, I was reading USA-Today in plane from 5 December about Condolleza Rice’s meeting in Islamabad about Mumbai case.
This report was saying, Rice satisfied with Pakistan’s readiness to peruse lead in the attacks in India that have sharply raised tensions between the two nuclear power.

It is really funny to hear that after her talks with Islamabad, Pakistani leaders is committed to the war on terror and does not want to be associated with terrorism.
The funniest part is that when Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari told to Rice that the attack were a chance to strengthen efforts against terrorism in his country and promised to take “strong action”.

Once again, look at this sentence: “Asif Ali Zardari told to Rice that the attack were a chance to strengthen efforts against terrorism in his country and promised to take “strong action”.

As Afghan who is living in Pakistan neighborhood which is directly affected by its extremism and radicals Muslim groups, for me it is a joke. Pakistan supported Taliban and Islamic militants in the past and present and I am sure this will be turn to an internal enemy inside the country which may lead Pakistan to a civil war. Taliban was born in the time of Benazir Bhutto and ISI generals committed to support them; they look for their regional political benefits after Taliban still and after.

When Zardari says to Rice “this is a chance to wake up and to strengthen efforts against terrorist”, this means the attacks and several violent for the last two years which increasing caused lot of casualties inside Pakistan is nothing and this is the one he was struck that the Pakistan government should take “strong action”.

For the last years, Pakistan was lying that terrorism does not exists there but now the United States realized where the terrorism and Taliban are getting supports and equipped. If Pakistan government doesn’t support Afghan government and US, the only way to get ride of these Islamic extremism in Pakistan is i think American missile could wipe them off.

I hope Obama administration comes up with a better strategy towards liberating Afghanistan from the current situation.

Traveling to Germany

2008-12-06T02:54:00.000-05:00

I just came back from L'Aquila, the capital of Abruzzo region. Today, there was a photo exhibition and one of my Photos was also exhibited among 50 photos from different photographers there. The association which called themselves “the Cultural Association “L’Idea di Clèves” was born and developed in the provincial reality of L’Aquila” organizes this competition every year.

This year they had two categories, prize for online competition and the one which jury had to choose among 200 pictures. The photo which was selected by the jury was a red lip and with white face and side red colored. I didn’t understand why the jury selected this picture as the winner as I found lot of great shots there. I have doubt nepotism is so strong and influenced here in Italy.

I am tired, my domain kabuli.net is expired and my kabuli.org is still not working, it was hacked before and a few days before the data moved to a new server but the DNS is not fixed I don’t know why. I wrote several times to the host and technician who is helping me but there is no positive answer. It is not complicated but now it turned to an exigent problem.

Tomorrow, I am traveling to Berlin for a workshop which is organized by GTZ, I will write more about this later.

My Farsi Blog Hacked Again

2008-12-03T02:18:00.001-05:00

My Farsi blog was hacked once by someone who called himself Aljera7, Saudi hacker but this time it is worse. I don't know what is going wrong with the host and my blog. The only thing i have access is the domain kabuli.org which is registered with aplus.net but my blog which was hosted with Hostiran.net, since five days i don't have access to it nor i have the info login.

Just a few days before this happen, i was receiving the below message periodically but i ignored because i was thinking that they want to steal my password. But when i saw my account was suspended and the host gave me this reason which they received similar e-mail that i did.
I don't know who should feel responsible, the host instead to solve the problem and feel responsible to provide security, they blocked my account. Please let me know if you can help me with this i am getting mad. Read the below message which caused to block my account.

HIS IS AN URGENT MATTER
Hello,
I work for and represent Westpac Banking Corporation.

Please be advised that we have received reports of Phishing website(s) at
the following URL(s) being used to illegally obtain the login details of
Westpac Internet Banking customers:

http://kabuli.org/UserFiles/Image/secure.htm

As at 06:50 29/11/2008 (AEST) these URLs resolved to the IP address(es) of
208.64.230.251
for which you are listed as an abuse/support contact. We would greatly
appreciate your prompt assistance in:

1. Zipping any relevant files from the folders below and forwarding these
to cdar@westpac.com.au for investigation
http://kabuli.org/UserFiles/Image/
2. Immediately shutting these sites down or removing the phishing related
material
3. Checking for other compromised web accounts on your servers which may
also contain the same files
4. Checking for and fixing any security vulnerabilities which may have
contributed to the creation of these phishing pages

We believe the purpose of this webpage is solely to commit fraud against
Internet Banking customers and in the absence of any response we reserve
the right to take this matter further. In case of the need for further
investigation the Australian Federal Police and AusCERT have also been
notified.

Please contact me as soon as possible via the email address
cdar@westpac.com.au to let me know when this site has been removed.

If you are not the correct person(s) to deal with this incident, please
forward this request to the appropriate person(s).

For tracking purposes please include "[CDAR #9580]" in the subject line of
any correspondence.

Afghan LORD In Competition

2008-12-01T16:18:00.004-05:00

Afghan LORD has been nominated under the “BEST SOUTH ASIAN BLOG” category for the Fifth Annual Brass Crescent Awards in 2008. It would be great if you vote for your humble Afghan blogger.

How to vote?
Please browse the Brass Crescent page and go to the bottom of the page, look at the second category from down, there you can find Afghan Lord, you have to click where to select the blog then go to the lowest page, enter your e-mail address, before you have to tick mark this option: "
I certify that I am only voting once for the Brass Crescent Awards". Finally click to submit your vote.
Check your inbox, an approval will be send to your e-mail address with a link, in order to complete and your vote submitted please click on the link.

Voting Directions: Use the form below to select one nominee from each category. We will ask you for your email address to confirm your vote, but don't worry - we will discard your email address after votes have been tallied.

What is the Brass Crescent Awards?
The Brass Crescent Awards, a joint project of altmuslim and City of Brass, is an annual awards ceremony that honors the best writers and thinkers of the emerging Muslim blogosphere (aka the Islamsphere). Nominations are taken from blog readers, who then vote for the winners.

My Farsi blog is back oline

2008-11-30T14:48:00.003-05:00

I was really worry for the last 48 hours because the hosting blocked my account and the host service was Iranian. I am always afraid of reality and this time i had doubt would have my data back. Thanks for your supporting and thanks for my friend Roohollah who was enthusiastically striving to revive back my Farsi blog.

Thanks for Esra and all friends of who had concern on this issue.

I will be the prize winner today

2008-11-28T01:28:00.002-05:00

I am quiet excited now, the prize for freedom of expression will be given to me today in Siena, it is early morning and i am in Athena Hotel in Siena.

The ceremony will be started at 11, so I should get ready sooner. Last night i slept at 2:00AM, it is 6:30am now but I have to shave and have my breakfast very soon. Last night we were invited by ISF (Information and Safety for Freedom). I was excited to hug my great friend Pino Scaccia last night. There are 6 Afghan students, five female and one male who are also invited to this ceremony. Emal Naqshband the brother of Ajmal Naqshbandi who was beheaded by Taliban in 2006 is also in the group.

Will write you more about this in next posts

Drug Addiction in Afghanistan

2008-11-26T01:54:00.007-05:00

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A young man who was repatriated from Turkey while he was intend to cross the border to reach Europe. After spending several months in prison in Turkey he repatriated to Iran border and Iranian police border caught him and put him jail. After 6 months he repatriated to Afghanistan. He became addicted in Iran and now he is in Russian Cultural Palace among hundreds of other addicts who wriggling with their wounded bodies in the darkness of corridors. These addicts who are staying inside the Russian Cultural Palace told that they became addict while they were in Iran and working.

According to the most recent UN figures in 2005, there are about one million addicts in a country of about 30 million people, one in 30 Afghans are addicts.

Meeting Sayed Parwiz Kambakhsh in Prison

2008-11-23T07:57:00.003-05:00

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It is not easy to meet Sayed Parwiz Kambakhsh in prison. He is condemned because of blasphemy and any one who dares to meet him, has the perspective of being questioned or followed by police man, inside the prison. "Visitors who are visiting Kambakhsh will be followed by police because they are controlling Kambakhsh's relations outside of the prison". I was already told that by a friend of mine, who is a police officer.

It was almost 11:00AM, at least one hour left to meet the prisoners; I had to meet Parwiz Kambakhsh to let him know that he is the winner of the Freedom of Expression award in Italy. Standing in line for minutes where hundreds of people waited just the same to meet their relatives, imprisoned. At the gate of the prison a police man with a board marker signed visitor's hands, next door the visitors have to deliver their mobiles phones and knives. Before approaching the meeting room for the prisoners, there are two check points, one where stamps were put on the visitors hands and the last one is the control to make sure the visitor doesn't carry something that can be dangerous or suspicious. My right hand was signed by a big marker and stamped at the last check point before entering into the prison.

The salon is terribly noisy, you can't hear even your own voice. Visitors are shouting to the prisoners and prisoners shout to visitors. The guy who called the prisoners is called "Jarchi" (Farsi). It was the second time I asked him to call Sayed Parwiz Kambakhsh, and then immediately he appeared. I waved to him and went a step closer behind the bars but the reticulated wall of metals didn't allow me to touch his fingers.

He seemed disappointed and desperately waved at me. Only for a few seconds I got closer to him, closer to hear him, which was difficult because of the noise. Suddenly my left shoulder was pulled back roughly and I saw two policemen who asked me what I was telling to Kambakhsh.

The police men didn't allow me to get closer to him anymore. But I had a chance to tell Mr.Kambakhsh about the prize, that he become a winner by the Information Safety and Freedom award (ISF) in Italy. He expressed his feeling to be happy to hear that, but the final words I heard from him were: "I need help to get out of the prison."

The police men didn't give me another chance to talk with him anymore, so I waved to him and promised to spread his message outside.

The Italian version already published here.

From Turin, northern Italy

2008-11-16T05:00:00.002-05:00

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As some of you may know that I came in Italy. Right now I am in Turin and last night was one of the first programs which were scheduled, the rests are in coming week.
Last night’s program was organized by the mayor of Almese “Bruno” and Valeria, Ignazio, Silvia and Meri who doesn’t like her name appear here. I appreciate them deeply for the efforts they did.

Lots of questions rose, among the questions a teenage girl asked me: “Why Taliban don’t allow children to go to school”.
This is question that even Afghans couldn’t find the answer; it’s like unanswerable question for us because we can’t find the reason why Taliban burn the schools, killing the teachers, burning the books, very recently men squirted the acid from water bottles onto three groups of students and teachers walking to school in Kandahar.

The only thing I remember to answer to this teenage girl “Francesca” was they don’t like the children go to school to study science but religious school to train the new generation of Taliban.

It was a wonderful night with lovely people. During few days of my stay, I realized there are many things in common between Italian and Afghan. The people here are so friendly and welcome the guests and visitors; the people here showed me great hospitality.