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 Reporter:  Ryuta Taniguchi
As a staff of the non-profit child assistance organization, Save the Children Japan (hereafter referred to as SCJ), I went to Afghanistan twice, in March and in July 2002. In March, the SCJ had shifted its program phase for aid for the northern region from emergency to restoration. The political situation of the region had stabilized to a certain degree, and the movement for restoration immediately blossomed with the coming of spring. For public relations activities and preparation of fund raising projects within Japan, I went to inspect area proposed for the program. We visited vocational schools for street children, schools for children with hearing disabilities, and non-formal schools* for girls in Kabul, as well as the suburbs of Kabul. We also visited the destroyed schools in the villages of the Bamiyan region. This region's structure for aid had not yet been developed in March.
In July, I accompanied a reporting team, which included a Japanese celebrity, Ms. Norika Fujiwara, for a television program called "24-hour TV" (by Nippon TV). We visited a non-formal school within Kabul and a village in Bamiyan where SCJ had begun its activities.
In this report, I would like to portray the present situation of Afghanistan, the problems it faces as well as the lives of children who live amidst such circumstances.
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*Non-formal School:
In Afghanistan, for reasons such as age or family environment, some children are unable to receive education through the regular educational system. Non-formal schools give such children opportunities to receive a basic education. |
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# History of the 20 year conflict |
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Afghanistan has faced over 20 years of conflict due to the invasion by the former USSR, internal tribal conflicts, the Taliban rule, and the fierce conflict between the Taliban government and the opposition forces. Such struggles have weakened national power, and many people became refugees and internally displaced persons compelled to live in refugee camps run by international organizations and NGOs.
Furthermore, due to a drought that lasted 3-years since 1998, international organizations announced the necessity for emergency aid, and by the year 2001, various organizations and NGOs began to make aid preparations.
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Destroyed Buildings (Kabul):
As the symbol of political power, the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul, was often the sight of fierce battles during the internal conflict. Kabul used to be a city where one could once find shopping centers and movie theaters along the streets, and there was a well-developed educational system such as universities, but all has been destroyed without a trace.
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Destroyed Historical Monuments (Bamiyan):
The footage of Taliban, who ban idol worship, destroying the historical monument re-known as a world heritage brought sighs of sadness to all those who watched. In the areas where Hazara armed forces rebelled, signs of the conflict remain.
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# Daily lives of the people |
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In March 2002, as I arrived in Kabul and stepped off the plane, the spectacle of numerous wreckage of combat aircrafts and burned remains of gun batteries lying carelessly about the airport leaped into my sight. I certainly felt the presence of the war that took place here.
On the other hand, I also witnessed the return of activity to the city as markets again swarmed with people and buildings in the cities went reconstruction. Yet, at the same time, the strict security inspection at each street junction and numerous military trucks that seem to stand out from the rest of the scenery, and the people's tension were sure signs of the fragileness of the region's "security."
In March 2002, the school system resumed, and children had started to go back to schools. However, in the meantime, there were also children working downtown from morning till night and children who were forced to beg. Various aid organizations including NGOs opened vocational schools and non-formal schools to provide such children with opportunities to education.
In July 2002, it was not as if Kabul was more secure than it was in March. If anything, the tension had increased. The development of people's living foundation facilities had advanced, and the educational environment had improved. However, the sporadic terrorist attacks focused near the UN office and the American Embassy were taking a toll on the people who were getting chronically insecure.
Having said that, children seemed to have regained their vigor compared to March. There were still many children faced with various problems, nevertheless, many children were able to obtain education in some form. Compared to before, they were able to realistically fell their dreams and possibilities.
Adults may be apprehensive about the terrorist attacks, but children, who could realistically feel their hopes, spent their days joyously dreaming of their future.
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Destroyed university:
The old part of the city called the "Cathedral" has been destroyed without a trace of its past prosperity. The photographs depict what used to be an educational university from where in the past, many teachers were assigned to schools all over the country.
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Houses built on steep hillsides:
With the inauguration of the Karzai administration, peace seemed to return, and many people returned from other regions and countries. The existent residential areas did not have the capacity to accommodate all the people, thus, they built new neighborhoods on steep hillsides near the city-center and in the suburbs.
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Reopened market:
With the return of peace, various products began to gather from all over the country, and in the city, markets reopened while people begun to regain their vigor.
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School for children with hearing disabilities:
The local NGOs are involved in various activities, such as establishing a school for children with hearing disabilities, vocational schools for street children, as well as private schools for girls beyond the normal schooling age.
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On the road from Kabul to Bamiyan, we passed through the Shomali Plain, which was the battlefield for fierce combat during the Kabul conflict, as well as the region, which was a battlefield for the Taliban and Hazara guerilla force. This area was infested with unexploded bombs and landmines. Of the 200-kilometer road, only a few kilometers near Kabul had been freed of unexploded bombs and landmines by March, and the rest of the road lay sandwiched between red stones, which marked minefields. When I returned in July, the removal of landmines had only advanced by a few tens of meters. The complete liberation of this area from landmines will take considerable amount of time.
During my visit in March, the relationship between the Karzai Administration and the Hazara guerilla forces was not yet firmly established, and both were still on a tense war footing. The market was reopened in Bamiyan, however, surrounded by soldiers, the people's tenseness was greater than that seen in Kabul.
While I was in Bamiyan, I chanced on an oration by the director of the Hazara guerilla forces, Hariri. The appearance of the soldiers with guns boosting their moral reminded me of "nomadic soldiers surrounding their war chieftain during war times."
The villagers survived through the harsh winters with the aid from international aid organizations and were finally heading towards restoration/recovery. The struggle for supremacy was of no interest to the villagers, who desperately thought of the safety of their daily lives as well as what they could do for the children's happy futures.
When I revisited the village in July, people had just begun to accept that the war was finally over, and the children feeling the adults more at ease, attended school full of smiles. The villagers were steadily rebuilding their living foundations such as their homes..However, believing in safety, when they expanded their living area to the periphery of the village, not having sufficient knowledge about unexploded bombs and landmines, the villagers were increasingly exposed without any awareness to the danger lying near (sometimes within) their habitat.
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The beautiful nature of Bamiyan:
Since the ancient Silk Road era, this region has been called Bamiyan, or heaven on earth, because of its ever-lasting beauty. Soldiers who repeatedly fought in conflicts burned this land to ashes and buried numerous landmines, making this a dead and inhabitable.
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People who have begun to live among the ruins:
With the cease of fire, refugees have begun to return to Bamiyan. Yet, the land they used to inhabit was destroyed or was reserved for military use. Therefore, these refugees with no place to live have begun to live in the enlarged caves among the ruins.
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 The destroyed village:
In the villages where Taliban and Hazara guerilla forces fought, not only were villagers' homes occupied by soldiers, but "schools" with the most number of rooms out of any building in the village were also easily targeted as army barracks of the occupying army. Consequently, fierce combat took place there and schools were often destroyed beyond all recognition.
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2. The Children's "present" |
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# Children could not attend school for a long time |
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<Kabul>
From the religious aspect, girls' activities and behavior were restricted, and thus I had thought that they would naturally be shy, but once you got to know them, they were very affable and friendly, laughing very often, and very energetic.
In Kabul, people have a high awareness for girl's education, and because the city is equipped with educational facilities such as the non-formal schools, girls work hard towards various possibilities. The professions these girls dream of pursuing in the future vary from teachers, doctors, technicians, to politicians.
<Bamiyan>
When I visited Bamiyan in March of 2002, the community was still wary, thus I was not allowed to meet girls, however, in July, girls from all over the village gathered to welcome us with a great sensation. Yet, compared to Kabul, possibilities for girls in Bamiyan are limited. The professions the girls in Bamiyan can dream about today are limited to teaching; nevertheless, I believe their possibilities will continue to grow. I was certain that this would be true when I met a father who, full of pride, introduced his daughter as a "very bright child who will someday accomplish great deeds."
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Girls attending literacy school in Kabul. |
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Girls attending a school in Bamiyan. |
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# They must work to survive |
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In the city of Kabul, there are children who work various types of jobs such as selling bread, polishing pots at the hardware store, transporting tires at the car shop, or selling cigarettes on the roadside. For such children, work has already become part of their lives. They learn their jobs by helping their adults, and they do not question that they are destined to follow their parents' footsteps.
Although it is better for children to stop working and concentrate on learning, they are required to work out of necessity. However, during their work intervals, they can spare time to go to school to study. Moreover, some parents permit their children to attend school if they can acquire the skill and technique to produce products such as carpet and woodwork. Parents are by no means treating their children as tools. Many adults well understand what an important role education plays in broadening the possibilities for children. They are in their own way thinking seriously about their children's future. Nevertheless, because their living environment is so harsh, and because they did not receive education themselves, they do not realize the full importance of education, and cannot allow the children attend schools. Children can not only receive education in official schools, but they also may choose from other educational facilities such as vocational schools or non-formal literary schools that are being established.
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Children attending vocational schools |
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Technical schools in operation |
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# The land used to be a battlefield until recently |
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When I visited the village in Bamiyan in March, many boys bursting with curiosity welcomed us with great bustle. Full of smiles, the children told me many stories, some of which included brutal experiences of war. For children, their experiences of war are still recent and very real. However, as they told their stories, I sensed that I had misunderstood their "strength." Although the children told their stories with smiles, their experiences during the war were unsolved "fearful" memories. It was just that the children, who had return to their daily lives, could not describe well, the immense "fear" they had experienced. It was not that they had become accustomed to the "fear." When I heard several of the children's "fearful" stories, their descriptions were unnaturally depersonalized only amounting to being "fearful and very sad." It seemed as though they were using words they had borrowed from someone else.
When I returned to the same village in July, the children welcomed us with even more vigor than before. Perhaps the children were influenced by adults who were beginning to realize that the war was finally over. This time, girls too welcomed us and the villagers were brimming with energy and vigor. Nevertheless, around the same period, 30 minutes drive away, a bus ran over a landmine, and approximately 20 passengers were killed. The bus driver ignored the warnings of the passengers and entered the dangerous zone infested with landmines causing this tragic accident. Although the war has ended and people are for now freed from terror, the malice of war continues to place the villagers and their children in grave danger. |
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Children from region of Bamiyan |
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3. Everyone has a hand in creating the "future" |
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# Adults think about "What should the future hold?" |
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I saw adults who thought nothing of working desperately hard for their children. People who live in the r egion wish for a peaceful life just as we do, and to obtain this end, they are beginning to do what they themselves are capable of doing.
However, they have never received education, so they cannot imagine how education could expand their children's possibilities. Nevertheless, they do understand that what they know to be true is not all there is to life. They understand that there is a different living, a different world, and different ways of thinking, and more positive things may happen to their children if they are somehow connected to such differences. Therefore, they listen to the stories of the foreign NGO staff, and willingly accept the advice of local Afghanistan staff from completely different regions. The adults seriously think of "what the children really need."
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NGO staff who tackles problems.
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・ Head of the Save the Children Afghanistan Office, Mr. Tanada
"I continue to be involved in this program because I feel displeasure when I see children who are unable to live by expressing their emotions."
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Afghanistan who tackles the problems
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Save the Children Afghanistan Local Staff (construction technician and in charge of liaising with the regional community), Mr. Abdullah
"We should become capable of taking care of ourselves. But we have destroyed too many things."
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The local community who tackle the problems
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Bamiyan region, Shibatou Village, Village Chief
"The villagers are cooperating and moving in a good direction. We will not give up."
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# Children imagine " What will the future hold? What can they become?" |
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When children in Afghanistan are playing and having fun, they are no different from the children we find in Tokyo. However, their memories of the recent frightening war do not go away. The memories remain vividly imprinted in their hearts. That is why these children seriously think about their future.
These children love going to school. At school, they need not worry about landmines, and can spend an enjoyable time with everyone. When I see such animated children studying, I realize anew that "learning" is truly enjoyable. Nevertheless, paper plays educating children on how to avoid landmines form a part of the children's teaching materials. I look forward the betterment of such circumstances. |
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"I want to be an architect and fix my house, the school, and everything in the country that's been destroyed." |
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"I want to become a teacher.
I want to study hard and teach everyone many things." |
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"I want to be a doctor and help people who are hurt or sick." |
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# Those of us who think, "What can we do as individuals?" |
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A large bulk of information flow in daily through media such as television. Nowadays, it is impossible to say that there is a country in the world that we do not know anything about, or that we have no relations with. However, we do not have enough excess energy to help all the problems of the world we are aware of.
In principle, I believe that we should be able to take responsibility for ourselves. If a problem arises, instead of waiting for someone to lend a helping hand, we should strive to solve the problem ourselves. However, it is also true that there are situations we cannot handle ourselves. The power we have as individuals may be insignificantly small, yet if we can all cooperate within our capable fields, - "providing power for aid," "gathering the power provided," and" utilizing the power gathered, on the field" - we can achieve significant results.
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Most of the people from Afghanistan that I met were "good people." They were all very friendly, kind, and social. The stereotype that I had of these people as being "very narrow minded and rather overconfident" only applied to a minority. Then why is this country plagued by endless conflict, and why can they not live in peace?
I thought I understood part of the reason when a very outgoing social man full of smiles profoundly stated his belief that, "I only followed God's will and fought. The enemies of God should be struck down." Unless we receive a proper education and understand that there are different perspectives, it is difficult to doubt our own way of thinking and to find a solution for the problems we face. People who only believe in "one justice" are capable of doing anything for this "one justice."
I do not know if the children of Afghanistan would someday say, "even if it was for God, wars are meaningless and senseless." That is what I personally believe and I do not know if this is truly correct. Nevertheless, I believe that education plays a significant role enabling people to learn that there are different ways of thinking and enabling to them to think for themselves. I believe that what I can do as an individual is to create opportunities for various possibilities such as education for children.
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About Ryuta Taniguchi
After graduating from the International Relations Division of the Third Cluster of Colleges of Tsukuba University, he joined Hakuhodo Inc. (an advertising agency) in 1999.
As the account manager for media and marketing projects, he was in charge of digital entertainment and the financial industry (especially the field of e-commerce).
In 2001, he resigned from Hakuhodo and joined the organization, Save the Children Japan (SCJ).
At the domestic program division of SCJ, he is in charge of domestic public relations and fund raising in regards to planning and operation.
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| Report/photographs: Ryuta Taniguchi |
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Kabul Basic Knowledge
