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Major Geographic and Historic Features
Afghanistan is a landlocked country located in Southwestern Asia. It is bordered on the north by Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, on the extreme northeast by China, on the east and south by Pakistan, and on the west by Iran.
Afghanistan lies across an ancient trade route known as “Silk Route” from Central Asia into India. This position has been the greatest influence on its history and the history of invaders such as Alexander the Great from Greece as well as Britain in 18th century and later on the Soviet Union in 1980′s. The country has a total of 34 provinces each comprising of different districts. Principle cities include Kabul, Herat, Jalalabad, Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif.
Throughout its long, splendid, but also sometimes chaotic history, this area of the world has been known by various names. In ancient times, its inhabitants called the land Aryana. In the medieval era, it was called Khorasan, and in modern times, it has been called Afghanistan.
Demographics
No census has been carried out since 1979 due to the continuity of conflicts and tensions. However, based on most recent estimations, the population of the country is 32,738,376 people. Afghanistan is known as a land of diversities. There are different ethnical groups residing in this country. Major ethnicities include Pashtuns (42 %), Tajiks (27%), Hazaras (9%), Uzbecks (9%), Aimak (4%), Turkmen (3%), Baloch (2%) and some other minor groups (4%).
Languages:
Dari (Farsi) and Pashtu are the two official languages in the country while there are many other smaller languages spoken among ethnicities. An estimated 50% of the population speak Dari, 35 % speak Pashtu, 11 % speak Turkic languages (Uzbecki and Turkmeni) and 4 % of the people speak 30 minor languages including Baluchi and Pashaie.
Religion:
Afghanistan is mainly an Islamic country with Muslims forming 99% of the population. Sunni Muslim are 80% and Shi’a Muslims are forming 19% of the population. The Sikh minority includes nearly 1 % of the population.
Government and Political Institutions
The political regime in Afghanistan as approved by Afghanistan constitution is an Islamic republic. The current head of state is Hamid Karzai who was elected in the first democratic presidential election in Afghanistan in September 18th 2005. The power in the government is centralized. In provinces, the central government is represented by provincial governors who are appointed by the President and are obligated to fully obey the central government. Appointment of all governors and deputy governors falls under the authority of the President while district governors and provincial chiefs of police come under authority of the Minister of Interior.
The present Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was agreed upon by more than 500 delegates representing Afghan men and women from across the country at the Constitutional Loya Jirga (December 13, 2003 – January 4, 2004). The Judiciary in Afghanistan is an independent organ of the State. It is comprised of one Supreme Court, Courts of Appeal as well as Primary Courts whose organization and authority are regulated by law.
The Afghanistan National Assembly consists of the Wolesi Jirga or House of People (249 seats), directly elected for five-year terms, and the Meshrano Jirga or House of Elders (102 seats, one-third elected from provincial councils for four-year terms, one-third elected from local district councils for three-year terms, and one-third nominated by the president for five-year terms).
Economy:
Many years of war and political instability have left the country in ruins, and dependent on foreign aid. The main source of income in the country is agriculture. During its good years, Afghanistan produces enough food and food products to provide for the people, as well as to create a surplus for export. The major food crops produced are: corn, rice, barley, wheat, vegetables, fruits and nuts. In Afghanistan, industry is also based on agriculture, and pastoral raw materials. The major industrial crops are: cotton, tobacco, madder, castor beans, and sugar beets. Sheep farming is also extremely valuable. The major sheep product exports are wool, and highly prized Karakul skins.
Education:
Nearly 28.1 % of the population in Afghanistan are literate (male: 43.1%
female: 12.6%_. Today, nearly 5 million children are enrolled in schools in Afghanistan. School enrollment is 51 percent for boys and 21 percent for girls. This is a vast improvement over the situation under the Taliban in 2000, when only 28.7 percent of boys and less than 1 percent of girls were enrolled in school. Yet, despite a 350 percent increase in enrollment since the fall of the Taliban, half of Afghan children—almost 7 million—are not in school. An estimated 11 million Afghans are still illiterate, many schools lack proper facilities, the number of qualified teachers are still low.
Current Issues
The re-emergence of the Taliban has created tremendous problems in peace restoration process in Afghanistan and has served as an obstacle for implementation of rehabilitation policies in some parts of this country. Increasing poverty, corruption, lack of rule of law in some provinces and cultivation, trafficking and smuggling of narcotic are among other major issues in the country.
International Troops in Afghanistan:
With the new developments after September 11, 2001 which led to the collapse of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan by the US and Coalition Forces, Afghanistan has received tremendous military support from different countries through the UN-mandated International Security Assistance Force, ISAF led by NATO and US and Coalition Forces. This support was provided in the form of combating with the insurgents, peace-keeping, technical and professional training to the Afghan police and army and launching rehabilitation projects. The following is a list of the contributing countries:
ISAF contributing nations
NATO Nations
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxemburg
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Turkey
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Partner Nations
- Albania
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Croatia
- Finland
- former Yougoslov Republic of Macedonia
- Ireland
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Non-NATO / Non-EAPC nations
- New Zealand
Immigrations and Displacements
The past three decades of war has led to many displacements and migrations. Afghans began fleeing their country in April 1978, when the Soviet-backed communist regime overthrew the government of President Dawood. The trickle of refugees accelerated when the Soviet Union invaded in December 1979. During the Afghan-Soviet war which started after the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and lasted for more than a decade over 1 million Afghans were killed. 4.5 million fled to Pakistan and Iran ( 1/3 of the prewar population of the country). Another 2 million Afghans were displaced within the country. Along with fatalities were 1.2 million Afghans disabled (mujahideen, government soldiers and noncombatants) and 3 million maimed or wounded (primarily noncombatants). A massive repatriation was begun in 1992 with the fall of the communist regime but after Kabul descended into armed disorder and civil war, a new wave of people was displaced (possibly up to a million), a majority of whom remained within Afghanistan’s borders as internally displaced people (IDPs). After the Taliban started taking power in different parts of the country in 1996, many Afghans, especially the educated, fled the Taliban’s particularly austere vision of Islamic propriety, with its severe restrictions on women’s activities, education, and social and cultural life. A final wave of refugees numbering 200,000 to 300,000 left Afghanistan during the U.S.-led invasion of October 2001. The consecutive years of droughts added to the number of internally displaced people in different parts of the country in the last 8 years during which thousands of Afghans were made displaced.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has helped 3.69 million Afghan refugees return to Afghanistan since March 2002. In addition, more than 1.11 million refugees have returned to Afghanistan without availing themselves of UNHCR’s assistance, bringing the total number of returnees to at least 4.8 million. With the continuation of instability in Afghanistan, Taliban insurgency and increasing poverty in the country, the displacements and migrations are still continuing and less Afghan refugees are interested to return to Afghanistan. Despite the returns, 3.5 million registered and unregistered Afghans still remain in two neighboring countries of asylum — up to 2.46 million in Pakistan and more than 900,000 in Iran — making Afghans the second-largest refugee population in the world. Because of the fact that there are a lot of unregistered Afghan refugees living in different parts of the world, the total refugee population of Afghanistan is estimated to be much higher than the above figures.
Afghan Orphans:
After nearly three decades of war and violence in Afghanistan, the children of this country remain to be the most innocent victims and suffer from numerous psychological and physical pressures. Afghan children who live with their parents are in a relatively better situation than orphans but the thousands of children orphaned during the years of war, have almost no one to protect them, feed them, and raise them.
According to the estimations made by Afghanistan Department of Orphans, there are nearly 2 million orphans in the country. The estimations by different international aid organizations indicate that nearly 28,000 children live only on the streets of Kabul. A recent Nations Children’s Fund survey found that two out of every three children interviewed had seen someone killed during the fighting in Kabul. Seven in 10 had lost a close relative to the war. These young children are one of the most vulnerable targets of drug-dealers, war lords and terrorist networks. A rapid field assessment report by Afghanistan Department of Orphanages estimates that 8,000 underage soldiers were recruited by all fighting factions in Afghanistan. Many of these children are believed to be orphans.
Although they host over 8,000 children in these orphanages, the living conditions in the very poorly-equipped Afghan orphanages is not satisfactory at all. The Afghan institutions in charge of orphanages, which almost lack any particular budget seem unable in integrating these many orphans back into society. There no plans at all in regards to caring for and educating the children to lead productive lives after they leave the orphanage. Although some of the orphanages have received a relatively better attention in terms of hygiene and nutrition in Kabul, still many of the orphanages are only a place for keeping the children away from streets rather than providing them any services. According to a recent report by UNICEF the orphanages have “an acute lack of livelihood, a paucity of marketable skills, and few job opportunities outside the subsistence and illicit economies. All these orphanages lack the ability to give the children the kind of love, support and self-confidence found within the family unit. Many have never known a family unit. Many more have experienced very traumatic incidents yet they do not have access to mental health counseling.
Afghan Translators
Being a translator for a foreign military unit is among one of the most dangerous tasks one can ever have in Afghanistan. The Taliban insurgents who have started regrouping and launching many attacks on the Afghan and international forces over the past few years have had no mercy on any translators they had arrested. Dozens of Afghan interpreters have been brutally beheaded by the Taliban after these interpreters were arrested unprotected either in their homes or out of the military bases they were working for.
Very little attention has been paid to the protection of these translators outside working environment. Many of these translators and their families who are local residents in Afghanistan are consistently under threats of the insurgents who view the translators as traitors, spies and agents. Experience has shown while all Afghan citizens working for the foreign aid organizations are at risk at different stages, the translators working for the US army are at highest risk. Leaflets warning the Afghan not to join the foreign military troops have always been circulated in different provinces of Afghanistan by the Taliban and local fundamentalist groups. Regardless of where a translator works for in a military base or his function, he is always prone to a possible threat.
Bibliography
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled
MINISTRY STRATEGY FOR THE AFGHANISTAN NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
Agency Coordinating Body For Afghan Relief (ACBAR)
March 2007
http://www.acbar.org/
Margesson, Rhoda (Jan 26, 2007) Afghan Refugees: Current Status and
Future ProspectsCongressional Research Service, Federation of American Scientists
http://www.fas.org
Official Website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
http://www.mfa.gov.af
The World Fact Book, Central Intelligence Agency, page 4
www.cia.gov
International Security Assistance Force
http://www.nato.int/ISAF