Rebuilding Afghanistan
To understand any culture or country it is necessary to look at its history. Afghan written history can be traced back to the Achaemenid Empire ca. 500 BCE. Alexander the Great arrived with his army in 330 BCE. He famously failed to conquer the country and instead sued for peace as he was intent on moving down the Indus Valley to the Gangetic plains to India.
Afghanistan was chosen by several powerful empires as their capital. Such empires include Greco-Bactrians, Kushans, Indo-Sassanids, Kabul Shahi, Saffarids, Samanids, Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Kartids, Timurids, Mughals, Hotakis, and Durranis. The reason Afghanistan was favored was because it was seen as the ‘Central Asian roundabout’. Several trade routes converge in the area: the Tigris-Euphrates Basin via the Iranian Plateau, the Indus Valley through the passes over the Hindu Kush, from the Far East via the Tarim Basin, and from the adjacent Eurasian Steppe.
Two things are apparent from this history so far. First is that the people of Afghanistan are ethnically diverse. The Central Asian people (who arrived in the late 20th Century BCE) left the Pashto and Dari languages. Middle Eastern invasions have also influenced the culture of Afghanistan bringing first Zoroastrianism and Buddhism and then Islam. The Ghaznavids, Ghurids and Timurids made Afghanistan an important center of power in medieval times. It was during this time that Afghanistan’s famous scholar Avicenna lived. With so such a mix of cultural influences and different races, it is not so surprising that Afghanistan is a fractured country.
Even though America and its allies since 2001 have tried to unite Afghanistan, and the Soviets tried to make the country a socialist satellite, no one has really managed to make Afghanistan a cohesive and united state with a strong centralized government. It has always been the case that the country has been held together by a series of alliances between autonomous fiefdoms. The Taliban also made the mistake of trying to bring the country under its yoke. The resentment lead people like General Dostum (an Uzbek) to side with the Americans against the Taliban.
This is the first point about what history shows us about re-building Afghanistan: reconstruction must take account of regional differences and ethnic differences. Autonomy must be given to the provinces and the different ethnic peoples must not be made to feel hard done by.
The second point about Afghanistan that can be drawn from its history is the importance of its geographical location. There are those who say America was keen to conquer the country not in retaliation for 9/11 or to catch Osama bin Ladin (which they didn’t manage during the war for control of the country) but for the strategic importance of the country.
During the Cold War Afghanistan was the buffer between the Soviets in the north and the non-aligned countries of Pakistan and India in the south. Before that Russia and Britain saw Afghanistan as the dividing line between their interests. Much of the ‘Great Game’ between Russia and the British Empire focused on Afghanistan. Eventually a treaty was signed between the two superpowers of the day to treat the country as the de facto border to their respective interests. It is instructive to note that there were two Anglo-Afghan wars both of which ended in ignominy for The British Empire.
Afghanistan is vital to trade routes and oil routes. Much of the income of the country comes from its opium harvest which can be moved overland easily into China, Pakistan, India and Iran. The opium business could not be curtailed by either the Taliban or the Americans who are presently trying to negotiate an ordered retreat.
The nation has been militarized and heavily armed ever since the Soviet Invasion. The CIA trained the Mujahedeen. A military solution does not exist for Afghanistan. Its mountainous terrain and its fiercely independent and militarily gifted people make total control of the country impossible. All outside influences are greatly resented.
The solution to rebuilding Afghanistan must involve replacing the opium trade with food agriculture and by making the effort of reconstruction Afghan led. Both foreign governments and NGOs should tread very lightly to avoid patronizing the Afghanis and giving the impression that foreigners ‘run the show’.
Education and other aid initiatives are essential to rebuilding Afghanistan. It is hoped that farming initiatives as well as a certain amount of industrialization will improve the fortunes of the people and create a middle-class that cuts through ethnic and regional differences. The West will have to accept a certain amount of fundamental Islamic activities in the country. It is only when the Afghanistan people decide to address this matter themselves and collectively that the likes of the Taliban will feel their influence wane.
What Alexander failed to do, and Russia, Britain and America have all failed to do is conquer Afghanistan. This is the lesson from history. We can only respond to the requests of the various regions of the country and aid them in building the society that they want, not what the West wants. At the same time more must be done in tightening the borders of Afghanistan to take the heroin dollar out of the equation. Only then can Afghanistan hope to rebuild itself.
America is the World’s only superpower. Since the collapse of the Soviet block (partly caused by the ruinous, costly and demoralizing military campaign in Afghanistan), America has stood unchallenged as the leader in the world in terms of its armed forces and its huge economy. China is quickly emerging as a threat to America’s hegemony in these two fields. While the world is aware of China’s economic might, its leaders are keeping the true extent of its miltary might and ambitions very much under wraps. It is a good thing for the world that at least ostensibly America and China are friends and only economic rivals not miltary rivals.
One of the challenges for America at pressent is to gain some dignity and some lasting good from going into Afghanistan in 2001. They have caught their man – namely Osama bin Laden, who is credited with masterminding the 9/11 attacks on New York and elsewhere in the US; but, what else can they achieve?
The answer is to successfully and permanently improve the lives of ordinary Afghanis, especially Aghanis living in rural situations. A lot is talked about winning the hearts and minds of the occupied people. One way this can be achieved is by developing relevant technologies to help everyday people. A good example of this is Amy Smith’s invention to turn farm waste into fuel to prevent children dying of acute respiratory infection.
If the battle to stop poppy production in Afghanistan is going to have any lasting impact, then new forms of agriculture in the country need to be developed, and that means new and suitable technology to make it work.
It is no use just pouring money into the country. What Afghanistan needs is good design and suitable technology to help establish itself as a credible and stable state rather than a place of continual conflict and drug production.
The country of Afghanistan is a real challenge when it comes to the norms of modern development. Having never been fully conquered by a foreign power, and having been without the benefits of a strong central government for many centuries, in many ways it is a relic of history.
Due to a combination of mountainous terrain, strong tribal groups, and a tradition of fierce independence; Afghanistan is – and likely always be – a patchwork country. Overlaying a centralized administration over a nation like this is never going to be easy.
Efforts to establish schools, roads and hospitals require a certain amount of stability if they are to succeed. In the absence of a strong state they are all subject to failure any time that a group with some power takes offence at what is being done.
Whether it is religious objections to Western style educations, or simply resentment of foreign do-gooders, there are unfortunately many people who have a vested interest in rolling back attempt at progress in order to preserve traditions that are considered backwards in most nations.
Even more troubling, some groups will simply see development as an opportunity for pillage. Consider the construction of a new hospital for example. A building like this will have all sorts of valuable equipment – from beds to refrigerators – that a warlord or tribal chief might think would be more appropriately located in the home of himself or one of his supporters. In the absence of a strong government they are quite likely to simply take possession of these items by force.
While in most places development considerations might take into account factors such as what refrigerator reviews say to determine the best models for a particular application, in Afghanistan the chief development goal must be how to make sure the refrigerator doesn’t get stolen. For this reason NGO’s have their work cut out for them!
Myanmar formerly known as Burma has not suffered from a war of aggression from outside influences. Rather it has struggled for several years from a military junta that has sought to imprison opponents of the regime and has waged an unofficial war with minority peoples who have been suing for independence. At the same time the junta is no doubt partly behind a huge meta-amphitamin business that is smuggled over borders to neighboring countries. It is a drug that is cheap, addictive and that has ruined many lives in South East Asia.
For 15 years the Nobel laurate Aung San Suu Kyi was under house arrest. Her father is credited as being the father of modern day Burma as he negotiated the independence of Burma from Britain. She had won the last free and open election in Burma but was immediately arrested. She was released in 2010. Although the military junta has allowed new elections to be held they are careful to keep hold of the reins of power. Although many Burmese remain wary of the junta’s interntions there is a new cautious note of optimisim in the country.
The result of the military dicatorship in Myanmar has been to deny the people of basic human rights. It has also impoverished the people. One of the main results of a broken country is mass emigration. Young and old leave the country both legally and illegally to find a better life in a new country. This causes a brain drain and holds back the re-building of a country.
In 2004 the Thai ministry of labor estimated there were over 1 million illegal Burmese workers in Thailand. That figure has probably nearly doubled by 2012. Many Thais have a very discriminatory attitude to illegal Burmese workers. They are regularly beaten and murdered and the authorities make little effort to investigate.
As with other countries, illegal workers are advantageous to business because they work for minimum wages and don’t require any type of social benefits to be paid into the system on their behalf. The tourist industry in Thailand from Chaweng on Samui Island to Phuket to Changmai employ a large amount of Burmese as waiters, cleaners, cooks and drivers. The booming construction industry also takes advantage of the cheap labor offered by Burmese.
It is time to re-build Burma by getting Aung San Suu Kyi in power and rebuilding the economy of the country so that the Burmese can come home.
