Forgotten on the Roof of the World - The Kyrgyz of Afghanistan’s Pamir mountains
By Matthieu Paley.
(via afghanistaninphotos)
IWPR documentary on war crimes committed in Afghanistan over two decades.
By IWPR - Afghanistan 30 Mar 12
“The Forgotten Victims”, a new documentary produced by IWPR, sheds light on the war crimes and other human rights abuses committed in Afghanistan over two decades of serial conflict. The film raises difficult issues about accountability in a country where the victims of crimes against humanity are sidelined, while the perpetrators walk free and in some cases continue to hold political power.
“The Forgotten Victims” covers the period from just before the 1979 Soviet invasion and the ensuing war with the mujahedin, through the brutal civil war of the early 1990s, to the Taleban’s rule from 1996 to 2001.
Because of this wide historical sweep, the film focuses on selected incidents, such as a massacre of civilians in Yakawlang, central Afghanistan, committed by Taleban forces at the beginning of 2001.
At public screenings around Afghanistan, audiences praised the filmmakers for telling the victims’ stories and opening up a debate on justice and accountability.
“Making a film like this in the current climate requires a lot of courage. It’s a great step towards seeking justice,” Mohammad Nader Atash, a defence lawyer in Nangarhar.
(via leptiir)
Dar ul-Amân
While we save these women we’ll kill their husbands, brothers, fathers, and.. Oh wait, them too.
- Micha Balon
First-ever women’s library opens in Ghazni
A new-established library for woman, the first of its kind, was inaugurated in southern Ghazni province on Tuesday, an official said.
Women Affairs Director Shkuria Wali told the inaugural ceremony the library had eight rooms and cost six million afghanis ($119,570), provided by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.
“I request women to come to this library and increase their knowledge,” she said, adding that currently 200 books on different topic were available and more would be provided soon. “It is important to encourage women in Ghazni to focus on reading and education.”
Governor Mohammad Musa Khan Akbarzada, happy with the inauguration of the library, said women could play a key role in the country’s development and promoting peace. “This is possible when we have a high literacy rate among them.”
But some women expressed concerns that the library had been established in a volatile area. “Women can’t go to the library because of insecurity,” Farzana, a resident, told Pajhwok Afghan News.
“The library has been set up in Ali Lala area, where the security situation is not good,” she said, urging the government to set up a check-post to ensure the protection of visitors.
Females avoid visiting a women’s park constructed five years ago east of Ghazni City because of security concerns.
There wont be much updates for sometime as I’ll be on a long leave for Afghanistan.
Recently there hasn’t been much posts around here, just my queue posting random pictures. Unfortunately there wont be much posting going on here for a while longer since I’m leaving for Afghanistan in few days and I’m not sure when I will return. I’ll try to update from time to time though.
Your prayers and support is much appreciated. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask.
Wakhis outside in Sarhad, the first village coming down from the Little Pamir. .Winter expedition through the Wakhan Corridor and into the Afghan Pamir mountains, to document the life of the Afghan Kyrgyz tribe. January/February 2008. Afghanistan
Drone strike in Afghanistan kills five children. Greenwald: "If one of the relatives of the children just killed in Afghanistan decided to attack the U.S., what would they be called by the U.S. media? Terrorists. Primitive, irrational, religious fanatics beyond human decency."
This happens over and over and over again, and there are several points worth making here beyond the obvious horror:
1) To the extent these type of incidents are discussed at all — and in American establishment media venues, they are most typically ignored — there are certain unbending rules that must be observed in order to retain Seriousness credentials. No matter how many times the U.S. kills innocent people in the world, it never reflects on our national character or that of our leaders. Indeed, none of these incidents convey any meaning at all. They are mere accidents, quasi-acts of nature which contain no moral information (in fact, the NYT article on these civilian deaths, out of nowhere, weirdly mentioned that “in northern Afghanistan, 23 members of a wedding celebration drowned in severe flash flooding” — as though that’s comparable to the U.S.’s dropping bombs on innocent people). We’ve all been trained, like good little soldiers, that the phrase “collateral damage” cleanses and justifies this and washes it all way: yes, it’s quite terrible, but innocent people die in wars; that’s just how it is. It’s all grounded in America’s central religious belief that the country has the right to commit violence anywhere in the world, at any time, for any cause.
At some point — and more than a decade would certainly qualify — the act of continuously killing innocent people, countless children, in the Muslim world most certainly does reflect upon, and even alters, the moral character of a country, especially its leaders. You can’t just spend year after year piling up the corpses of children and credibly insist that it has no bearing on who you are.
Continued here
Sardar Khan and Khan Jon (Mookie). Winter expedition through the Wakhan Corridor and into the Afghan Pamir mountains, to document the life of the Afghan Kyrgyz tribe. January/February 2008. Afghanistan
Paktia Afghanistan
Young Afghan miners take a rest at a coal mine in Samangan province, north of Kabul on April 3, 2012. Afghanistan is believed to have mineral reserves worth as much as 3 trillion USD which could theoretically generate billions of dollars in tax revenue for the troubled country.
Outsiders blamed for attacks on schools
Education ministry officials on Wednesday said elements outside the country were behind attacks on schools and staff in several Afghan provinces.
Reports say 40 schools have been closed in Ghazni, Nangarhar and Maidan Wardak provinces over the past 20 days due to threats . Another four schools were torched in Nangarhar.
On Tuesday, unknown gunmen killed six education department officials in southeastern Paktia province. Currently 528 schools remain closed in several provinces.
The ministry’s spokesman, Amanullah Iman, said outsiders were behind the closure of schools and that night letters had been circulated to several schools since the start of the current academic year.
Speaking to Pajhwok Afghan News, he said the Taliban denied circulating the night letters and blamed foreign intelligence workers. He said foreign elements had agents in the country who threatened teachers and students.
In some provinces, the official acknowledged, the Taliban were cooperating with the government and they even checked teachers’ attendance registers.
About the nature of the threats, he said they included closure of girls’ schools, introducing Taliban-era teaching methods and banning English subjects.
Iman said the schools closed in Ghazni and Nangarhar had been reopened with the help of locals and efforts to reopen another six schools in Maidan Wardak were ongoing.
A security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Pakistani intelligence operatives had held a meeting with Taliban commander Qayyum Zakir, who had been told to attack schools across Afghanistan.
But political analyst, Wadir Safi, rejected the claim as unfounded. Another analyst, Mohammad Hassan Haqyar, accused Westerners of involvement in closing schools
He believed neighbouring countries did not want to see a developed Afghanistan, but Westerners wanted to show the world that security was yet to be restored in the country.
A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said they were not against education, arguing a large number of schools were operational in areas controlled by the Taliban fighters.
Farzana, 9 is one of the 14 children of farmer Azam Khan, who lives in the village of Qala Patay . She recalls mortar shells falling everywhere, killing their cattle. The family fled to the otehr side of the hill, but the shadows of the conflict linger long on the children’s minds.- Afghanistan
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