Reply #11: "and now they live under freedom"

[Athame]

This just happened to come into my inbox this morning from RAWA (Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan). I attended a conference on the plight of Afghan women here in Santa Barbara two months ago where Tahmeena Faryal was the keynote speaker. She was educated by RAWA and is now a refugee in Pakistan, but is on a speaking tour to gain support for RAWA's efforts. This is from her speech in Adelaide, Australia last week.


http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2003/s900126.htm

The World Today - Activist pleads for more help in Afghanistan

Our reporter Nance Haxton spoke to Ms Faryal in Adelaide.


NANCE HAXTON: Does that reflect the lack of stability still in Afghanistan? (referring to women still feeling the need to wear the burka)

TAHMEENA FARYAL: Absolutely. Yes, yes. The security situation is quite bad, especially in the parts, in most of the parts of the country that we do not have the UN peacekeepers. In Kabul, probably is the best because of the presence of the ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) forces, and even with that there have been explosions and assassinations, assassination threats, abductions, rape.

NANCE HAXTON: So, unfortunately the situation really hasn't improved since the days of the Taliban?

TAHMEENA FARYAL: Not much in any radical sense.

>>snip<<

NANCE HAXTON: Do you think Afghanistan has fallen off the global radar to a degree? Have people forgotten this country since that blaze of publicity when the war was in full swing?

TAHMEENA FARYAL: Absolutely, and that's one of the fears of our people – that Afghanistan has become a forgotten story once again and worse, and it's thought as a liberated country now things are fixed there and, you know, it probably doesn't need attention and support of international community as much as it really does and people…

The other worse thing is that a lot was promised, a lot was promised by the United States and allied countries. A lot was promised by the Government of Afghanistan, which of course, is based on the support of the United States. Nothing was done.

People do not see any reconstruction happening. If there are some it's basically some buildings, houses of the commanders, of the jihadi, I mean, fundamentalist leaders, or some NGOs, ah, not for the ordinary people.