"Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear"
CBC TV documentary on at 2000 EDT, March 22 (h/t to NL_engineer):
Canada has poured millions of dollars and thousands of soldiers into Afghanistan to help rebuild. But are we really making a difference to the lives of Afghans? Our cameras travel to remote and forbidden places in search of answers.Update: Much more on the programme here, with video of the segments. See my comment for an implicit comparison with another country NATO is trying to help.
posted by Mark, Ottawa at 12:46 p.m.
3 Comments:
There was a very good article in Saturdays' Globe and Mail re Afghanistan and the Taliban.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/talking
tothetaliban
It was interesting reading and will continue in installments all week.
I don't think in the end we will make any difference. As soon as we leave things will revert back...ciao
Sorry rositta - I disagree.
Every child who survives infancy learns to read and learns trade skills makes a permanent differance.
To paraphrase the CBC documentary,
We are at war with ignorance povery corruption disease and anarchy.
rositta: As for the Globe series, we've been there, done that, and covered things the Globe does not--read this post and expand your horizons;
'Talking to the Taliban"/Singing to the people'
As for reverting: back to Taliban bad, back to King Zahir Shah good (check the link).
It was odd that amidst the droning doom and gloom of the CBC program that no mention was made of the progress in training the Afghan National Army. The fight is not really between "us" (the West) and the Taliban; it's ultimately between the Afghans themselves and we're simply trying to give the rather better (though far from perfect side) side a good chance of coming out on top.
As for the doom and gloom about the general situation in the country, I'm awaiting the CBC documentary implying strongly that helping this country (guess which) is futile:
"...
For years the electricity grid has been so unreliable that just keeping the lights on in his retail stores has been a daily struggle...
Even if...can overcome those political hurdles, its economy has been so devastated by war that it imports even staples like milk and meat. It is ranked by Transparency International, the Berlin-based anticorruption watchdog, as the world’s fourth most corrupt economy, after Cameroon, Cambodia and Albania. Whether...can build a successful economy will help determine whether it can become a full-fledged country...or will remain a poor adopted orphan of the West...
For the foreseeable future, Western analysts say,...'s economy will remain dependent on generous aid, its security assured by 16,000 NATO troops...
Scrap metal from old cars is ....’s biggest export. Infrastructure is creaky, businesspeople complain that bribery is commonplace and unemployment is about 50 percent, government officials say..."
Mark
Ottawa
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