If cardboard and paper were edible, the poor of Kabul city could live on the posters and billboards of the parliamentary candidates of 2010 for almost a month. Most of those who voted would agree with me that it wasn’t the posters that influenced their decision to vote. Then why such a huge waste of money? And the cluttering of our own cities? I would argue the fault lies in the system itself.

Democratic institutions have to happen naturally and evolve organically for them to be effective and representative, which is not the case with the Afghan parliamentary system. It has been forced from the beginning, and after a 9 year trial period, clearly isn’t working. In the last parliament, only a handful of the MP’s ever visited their constituencies. For the majority it wasn’t possible as they feared for their lives. This lead to the alienation of the public, especially those in the rural areas, because their voices could not be reached.

The recent parliamentary elections of 2010 were a prime example of the collective failures of the past 9 years of the experiment in Western-style democracy that this country has become. There were 17.5 million eligible voters though only 4 million showed up to vote, most of them the urban population in cities. That is only 23% percent of the eligible voters leaving 77% behind– meaning further alienating them from the current Afghan government. It clearly isn’t working as it is supposed to. It is too forced and doesn’t connect well with the fibres of rural Afghan society.

The alienation of rural Afghans could have been stopped the first time if the parliament was actually a representation of the people. Voting should lead to representation of the people, not just be undertaken as part of the democratic machine. If one part of the machine doesn’t work -- in this case, the voting process and fair representation of the people, then the entire machine is broken!

The 2010 elections saw a huge number of candidates – 2,500 for 249 seats. The extravagant amount of money spent on the campaigns by corrupt candidates made the honest ones disappear as if they never existed. In addition to the money spent by the candidates, it cost the government 150 million USD which the international community paid for. What did we get by the end of it? We got a non-representative parliament full of warlords and the facilitators of corruption. The country is not able to sustain this type of false representation, and for what? It doesn’t even work!

Perhaps a better alternative would be to limit the current elections system to the cities and instead adapt the local system of malaks (informally elected village chieftains) in the rural areas into a formalized process that would result in more actual popular representations. Here’s how it would work: Each village would elect their malak, and the village malaks would collectively form a district body. The malaks of the district would then elect a malak-ul-maluk (chief of the chieftains) from amongst themselves to represent the district as a whole in the parliament. This way the MPs would really be from amongst the people, and would be connected to their constituencies; thus, serving as a direct link back to their constituencies throughout the provinces. Some districts can be coupled together based on their population and geographic size to meet the target of 249 seats in the parliament. The mix of the two systems could produce the best form of representative parliament, one that is from amongst the people, affordable and sustainable for the country, and one that would ensure effective outreach for the government. A real, representative democratic machine, home-grown in Afghanistan.

The last time I wrote something for this blog was November 2008 – almost two years ago. That was just a few months after I moved to Afghanistan. I always thought I had a writer’s block but a recent chat with a couple of my friends in Kabul made me realize it wasn’t.

Most of the people that write about Afghanistan are either not Afghans or those who live abroad. Even the professionals that do see what it is like here are only here for a few days or weeks at a time which is not enough to realize the truth before they can write about it. Their perception is what they import with them and then their experiences later exported back in the form of articles. Almost never do their opinions jotted down are separate from their imported thoughts.

Afghanistan – the empires’ graveyard – is a complex state or what today is called a country under that name. The multi-cultural state is not only diverse in terms of languages, religions and social dynamics but also varies in opinions and perceptions from one village to the other in each one of the ~398 districts of the country. Understanding them all and trying to do the right thing has always been a challenge for the Afghan puppet government no matter whose puppet it was or is.

Every puppet prime minister/president imports their own ideologies from their master state; thinking it is the best for the country. This is of course without conducting an intensive research or even a mere opinion research to understand what the locals want. It is always assumed that what the leaders or the master state thinks is right must be the right approach. Of course, they are the ones pouring money so it should be, shouldn’t it?

Afghanistan is not like anywhere else in the world. Understanding its differences may take decades if not centuries but are the key to peace and stability here. Money cannot buy anything other than the time of temporary pimps of the land. When the money is over those pimps will be the first to turn against their masters.

Anyway, I don’t want to talk about the government or policies of the invading nations. It is a series of topics for the future. All I wanted to point out was that the longer you spend in Afghanistan the more imprisoned you feel; and that feeling make you wonder about the future. However, that feeling is not enough to stop you from writing about the country but it is rather the challenge of trying to stay positive.

Negativity seems to be the trend here amongst the writers without a real analysis, which is just too easy to write about since the majority of the readers want that. However, there is much more to this country – things that are real. It doesn’t matter whether it is sad news or joyful, it needs to be reported as it is! That is all I am asking for – reporting without any biases. Understand the country and its culture first before you write or make comparisons. What may look like backward to you may be a step forward to many for ordinary Afghans.

As I mentioned before most of the people writing about Afghanistan have never lived here for long enough (more than a few weeks/months). They write based on their short term livening experience, their comparison with their childhood experiences if they were born here, their ideology and/or their wishes and that can never be real.

As for the Afghan bloggers; most of the active ones either live abroad where they feel safe and it is most easy to write based on their comfort or are paid to do so by their foreign masters. They are far away from the reality and the sentiment on the ground. Bring them out in to the reality and I promise they will lose their minds (if they have one to start with of course) because all of a sudden they will not be living in the dreamy bubble they built for themselves. A majority of them (the Afghan writers/bloggers) are fascists and for some reason, perhaps for their ignorance, they are proud of that.

It is time we change that! And the way forward would be to write about the realities on the ground without any fear. If we lose our lives doing that then consider it our sacrifice in the effort to rebuild our nation. I am not a proud Afghan but rather ashamed of it! To me it is not important what we were a long time ago but what we are today. Pride will take us nowhere but shame will make us build our country so that one day our children can be proud of it.

Shame on those who destroyed our country! Shame on those who still are! And shame on the greedy pimps that are selling Afghanistan out for their own financial/personal gains!

Let’s build a future we, our children or grandchildren, can all be proud of for real one day!

Long live Afghanistan!

Stop the bombs and talk to the Taliban
On October 7 2009 it will have been eight years since the U.S led invasion of Afghanistan.
despite the presence of international security assistance force and international community the violence and instability has been increased.Why?

Keeping tabs on the events of the war in Afghanistan is not difficult. Press coverage includes daily reports of soldiers dying and killing, elections counts and recounts and even stories from the far flung tribal areas.But there is little about what the ordinary Afghan thinks.
What is his story? How does the war affect him? Does he want President Karzai to stay in power? Does he want more troops, be they from the US or France? Do they make him feel safe? When answered these questions weave the missing thread through the real story of the war. These answers tell a frustrating tale.Look back to May, for example, when US air strikes killed more than 100 civilians.This is when the Afghan people first began to lose faith in President Barack Obama.As protocol required Obama and US secretary of state Hillary Clinton expressed their deep sympathy with the victims, and said sorry for the civilian deaths.But a change occurred. Right at that moment that the ordinary people of Afghanistan lost faith in Obama’s commitments for peace and stability. After the death of yet more non-militants, they began to suspect that Obama could not keep his early promises to protect civilian live in Afghanistan.Karzai, meanwhile, in the US at the time, and travelled back to the devastated area. He sanctioned the award of 100,000 Afghanis (US$2,000) to each of the victim's families.This is the price of an Afghan life.Along with the government 'gift', families were forced to sign a document to say they were happy with the settlement. Happy that the $2,000 should clean up the human mess that bombs leave behind. For those families with little money, their options were limited.In the west, some countries have a law to protect animals. If anyone dares to harm an animal, he or she will face justice. In my country a human life can be taken very easily because there is little justice.Since the war began, mass killing has become part and parcel of everyday life. If any dare to challenge this notion or to call for justice, perhaps, they accused of being insurgents. This is the story of the ordinary Afghan.The ordinary Afghan, who testimonies I have spent years collecting, does not understand why the international forces have not found Osama Bin Laden and Mullah Omar. He does not understand his fellow countrymen and women are paying the price.Three decades of war takes its toll.Some of those ordinary Afghans killed in the bombs on two fuel tankers earlier last month, had survived Russian invasion. They would not be surprised by theirs deaths because of what they had seen once before.When a small group of Taliban hijacked two tankers which carried fuel for NATO forces in northern Kundoz, local people saw it as a chance to get free fuel for their lamps.They remembered a time back in 1980s, when Mujahideen gave out captured equipment seized from the Russian invaders. These included fuel, food, cloths and car spare parts.On pondering further on the Russian invasion, the ordinary Afghan remembers that, despite war, the USSR considered attacks on locals’ haphazard and foolhardy way to conduct their military campaign. Such attacks would only bring retaliation and in turn cause a long drawn out battle.The Russians strategy was to give to the Afghan government at the time. They didn't keep private jails and they tolerated petty looting.But the Americans and Germans decided to frightened local people when the Taliban stole their tanks, heavily bombing them. After World War II it was the first mass killing committed by German troops in the history.Isn't it strange, Afghans are saying to themselves, that while we did not expect peace from the Russian army because, well they were invaders and committed to no international treaty.Yet these Americans and Germans invaded Afghanistan under the cloak of an international treaty committed to peace. But so far, it poses a continuous threat to normal life.Lives in countless Afghan villages have been threatened since 2003, for the lives of perhaps one or two Taliban militants were hidden there. Sometimes they are killed in these deadly air strikes, other times they escape. But what is consistent is that hundreds of ordinary villagers have been killed by wild card strikes.Women rights, democracy, human rights and political stability are the constant battle cry of the invaders. But ordinary Afghans appreciation of such gifts is tampered by heavy bombs, which are damaging all hopes of democracy and justice.Meanwhile, the criminals and sadly comical farce of Karzai's government remains. After allegedly winning the elections last month, and a recount still not complete, hopes of competency governance is vanishing fast.It seems unlikely that my country will be free of its current government, full of drug lords and war criminals, who care little for social justice and democracy and more about lining their already bulging pockets.This is just a snapshot of what my fellow Afghan witnesses day by day. He also sees a resurgent Taliban, offering an alternative.And it is because of this that NATO must talk to the Taliban. There is no option but to negotiate. The Taliban alternative, while distasteful to some, is more palatable than the trekking across Europe sleep on the streets of Calais or to stay at home and hope the bombs do not fall.

تامین و محافظت حقوق بشر و دموکراسی در افغانستان به عنوان یکی از دلایل مهم موجودیت قوای نظامی و موسسات غیر دولتی در این کشور شناخته شده است. برای ممالکی که سربازان شان در افغانستان استند شعار هایی مانند دفاع از حقوق زنان و برابری یگانه وسیله خاموش نمودن تظاهرات افراد ملکی و جلوگیری از فشار برای بیرون کردن قوا از کشور است. مطبوعات خارج از کشور هم به اشکال مختلف کوشیده اند روی دست آورد ها در افغانستان تاکید نمایند تا از نارضایتی مردم جلوگیری کنند اما با گذشت زمان در داخل و بیرون از کشور حمایه از نیرو های خارجی کاهش یافته و بر فشار بالای دولت امریکا و سران ناتو افزوده است طوریکه ایتالیا و آلمان احتمالا به جستجوی راه بیرون رفت استند. تخلف های پی در پی دولت حامد کرزی مسبب بخشی از این نارضایتی ها است. ناتوانی حکومت مرکزی در پیگیری ناقضین حقوق بشر و حمایت آشکارای دولتی از بعضی از این متخلفین باعث دلسردی مردم افغان و جامعه جهانی می شود و باعث می شود که امید اندکی که برای بوجود آمدن ثبات و عدالت به وجود آمده هم از بین برود خصوصا چون حقوق بشر و مردم سالاری برای دولت افغانستان به مثابه شعاری برای جذب حمایت ممالک کمک کننده و ملل متحد است و خود دولت تعهد چندانی نسبت به آن ندارد.

انتخاباتی که گذشت مثالی روشنی بود از راه دوری که افغانستان تا دموکراسی دارد. حدود 1.5 میلیون رای مشکوک که 1.1 میلیون آن به نفع حامد کرزی به صندوق ها افگنده شده بودند نمایانگر این است که دولت افغانستان، که برای محافظت از حق ملت به وجود آمده بود، یکی از بزرگترین ناقضان حقوق بشر در این مملکت نیز هست. بازار گرم تجارت کارت های رای دهی و صندوق ها پر شده قبل از انتخابات که در آن حامد کرزی و طرفدارانش بزرگترین سهم را داشتند نیز نشانه بی توجهی رئیس دولت به نظر و رای مردم و بسته کردن دریچه ها به سوی مردم سالاری است. تخلف های انتخاباتی توسط آقای کرزی و گروه کمپاین انتخباتی اش به صد ها و شاید هم هزاران قضیه می رسد. اما مهم تر از همه این تخلفات استفاده کرزی از سیاست های قومی برای بدست آوردن رای مردم است. انتخاب سران قومی و جنگ سالاران احزاب وحدت، جمعیت و شورای نظار که ناقضان کهنه کار حقوق بشر در افغانستان استند به عنوان معاونین و مشارکین دولت ضربه بزرگی به افغانستان است. این رهبران سالها به نام این قوم و آن قوم با زندگی و سرنوشت مردم بازی کرده اند و نصب دوباره آنها به مقامات بلند پایه دولتی تیغی است که از عقب به افغانان و حقوق بشر زده شده. سیاست های دوگانه و قومی توسط کرزی و بعضی کاندیدا های دیگر باعث به وجود آمدن خلایی بزرگتر میان اقوام مختلف در مملکت شده و باعث می شود مردم ما چند سال دیگر را صرف جنجال با همدیگر کنند تا با استفاده از هرج و مرج جنایتکاران و مافیا افغانی و بین المللی کنترل مملکت را به دست بگیرند و راه به وجود آمدن حکومت مردمی را برای چند دهه دیگر ببندند.

قوم یگانه اسلحه برای به دست آوردن رای در انتخابات نبود حقوق اقلیت ها، حق زنان و آزادی بیان نیز نقشی بزرگی را ایفا نمودند. امضا نمودن قانون شخصیه احوال اهل تشیع افغانستان توسط کرزی را به گونه یک مثال بررسی می کنیم. بعضی از مواد این قانون که چندی پیش از سوی پارلمان تصویب و از سوی حامد کرزی، رئیس جمهوری افغانستان، توشیح گردید به صورت گسترده‌ای مورد انتقاد نهاد‌ های حقوق بشری و روشنفکران در داخل و خارج از کشور قرار گرفت. نقد اصلی این بود که در ساختن مواد این قانون زنان اهل تشیع پارلمان هیچ نقشی نداشتند و قانون آیینه طرز فکر و باور های فیصدی کوچکی از شیعه مذهبان بود. دلیل دیگر مخالفت این بود که کرزی فقط برای به دست آوردن دل بعضی از رهبران مذهبی و رای این قانون را ناخوانده امضا نمود. در حالیکه این حق تمام مذاهب افغانستان است تا قوانین مشخص به خود را داشته باشند اما مواد این قوانین باید مورد قبول اقشار مختلف آن جامعه باشد و قانون اساسی افغانستان را که حقوق مساوی برای زنان و مردان را تضمین می کند زیر پا نگذارد. توشیح این قانون نه تنها توهینی به زنان اهل تشیع افغانستان بلکه به تمام پیروان این مذهب بود و ضربه دیگری بر حقوق بشر در افغانستان بود.

پیگیری نکردن قضایای تجاوز به کودکان در سرپل، هرات و بدخشان، سنگسار یک زن در بدخشان و قتل خبرنگاران متعدد و خاموشی دولت در مقابل از بین رفتن صد ها افغان ملکی توسط قوای ناتو و ایساف در حملات هوایی و دهها جنایت دیگر روز بروز باعث پایین رفتن اعتبار دولت و حمایه کنندگان خارجی آن و بیزاری مردم از آنها می شود. تمام این قضایای و ده ها مثال دیگر از بی توجهی دولت نسبت به حقوق بشر باعث می شود که نه تنها جامعه جهانی از کمک به افغانستان رو بگرداند بلکه مردم افغان نیز نسبت به ملت سازی بی باورتر شده و اگر تا حال چنین نکرده باشند کم کم دوباره به ممالک دیگر پناه ببرند.