THE HANDSTAND

THE HANDSTAND

MAY 2003

ELEVEN Afghan children have been wiped out

Yvonne Ridley

ELEVEN Afghan children have been wiped out in an air strike on their home by blundering Americans looking for Osama bin Laden.

One grieving mother, who has lost all of her nine children, has been given less than 10,000 dollars in blood and hush money and an apology from the United States.

Sawara and Mawes Khan had put their nine children to bed after evening prayers in the family home they shared with Mawes brother Sardar, his wife and their seven children . . . hours later their lives changed forever when a laser-guided missile demolished the house. American Special Forces operating in the Paktika district of southern Afghanistan were convinced they had hit a Taliban stronghold.

The US soldiers were on the scene within minutes and beat back would be Afghan rescuers saying there were Taliban inside. But by day break, as the corpses of 11 children lay in a neat row in the demolished courtyard, the Americans began to realise the full extent of their mistake.
After removing twisted chunks of metal from the missile, the soldiers apologised to the villagers of Bermil and took away evidence of the bomb to their base three miles away, near the Pakistan border at Shkin.

Sawara said: "Some say I am a lucky to be alive but I am not a survivor. I can't count myself blessed. I am also a dead person now. "I am dead inside. All my children have gone. My two-year-old boy Hazrat was crushed to death as he lay in my arms. "It is like hell has visited our home. I heard a jet flying low and thought there was too much noise, and then there was nothing.
"The next thing I knew I was buried in wood, soil and stone. My nephew was shouting at me and digging around me. Then the Americans arrived. "They pulled everyone away until sunrise then they removed what was left of their missile, said sorry and left. On Tuesday I had a family and by Wednesday I had nothing."

Swara, a stunning-looking woman with high cheek bones and emerald eyes, pulled her red cloak over her braided head to cover her face. She said she hadn't cried yet, but it was obvious her pain and grief are ready to erupt. Her anger at America forces is understandable. ''I heard cries from my daughter Irana and if the rescuers had been let in may be she could have been saved. I will never know. ''The pain I have will never go away.''

Local Afghans in Bermil are outraged by the blunder and as news of it spread through the Paktika region, a senior delegation from the Afghan Interim Government arrived by helicopter with US military.

After landing at the US base in Shkin, a 15-vehicle convoy including 50 armed guards rolled up to Bermil with the delegation including the Governor of Paktika Mohammed Ali Jalali and Shahzada Masoon, the personal adviser to Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's interim leader.
The officials asked to see the Khan brothers who had lost 11 children between them. Mawes and Sardar Ali were then given an apology and 500,000 Afghanis worth around 10,000 US dollars.
Four of the injured received the equivalent of 250 US dollars each before the delegation departed with a promise to rebuild the Khan Brothers' home.

'The Americans said 'we did a wrong and we mis-targetted'. What good are their words? I have lost everything. My nine children, my home and my animals,'' said Mawes, aged 45. He added: "Nothing will ever be able to compensate me for the loss of my family. How can you put a price on a human body? Please tell the world what has happened here. We can do nothing for ourselves; we are very poor, simple people. "All I know is that the Americans make mistakes and then apologise. But they can not buy our silence. An Afghan life is worth just the same as an American life, the same as any life," said Mawes. He was working through the night at a nearby hostel when he heard an explosion. He had no idea that it was the sound of his home taking a direct hit. "There has been a lot of fighting around here between the Taliban and the Americans. They are searching for Osama bin Laden but everyone knows he is not here. "When I heard the bomb drop I had no idea my home had been hit until I arrived in the morning and it was gone. "The Americans were removing their missile bits and said sorry, then they left."

When he walked in to the demolished courtyard Mawes saw the corpses of nine of his children lying next to two of their dead cousins. His daughters Irana, 6, Fatima, 7, Hassana, 10, Bakhmala, 15, Marama, 20, and Bibi 25, were buried last Thursday with their brothers Hazrat, aged two, Noor Wali, five and Sheer Wali, aged 11. Their cousins Syed, two, and 20-year-old Marama, children of Sardar Ali and Zarbakhta Khan were buried in the same service at Bermil village cemetery.

Huge sobs and wails could be heard from many of the 2000 men who arrived for the Muslim service as the 11 bodies, covered in white shrouds were placed in separate graves.

The areas police commander Gul Mohammed, said he and his men helped the family dig the graves because there were so many. Policing in his district has become increasingly difficult in recent weeks because of the American Special Forces presence, and this bombing has increased the tension.

The Khan's nephew also called Gul Mohammed, stood at the graves and said: "They are all Shahids (martyrs), every one of them. They are all innocents, victims of US bombs. "Before they were buried I looked at their faces and they seemed so normal. Their bodies were intact and they looked as though they were sleeping. "The bodies of my cousins are now lying here and I still can not believe it."

In Bermil Village, which is less than a stone's throw from the Pakistan border, many of the families are suffering from shell shock and side effects of the bombing. Neighbouring homes have also been structurally damaged.

Orphan Rahim Ullah, 14, who was taken in by the Khan's five years ago, nursed a badly injured amr which was still bleeding when we arrived on Thursday. His cousin, Izatullah, 12, had suffered a head injury. Both were still numb and dazed by the air strike. The injuries of other victims, including pensioners Mohammed Amir Khan and Khan Zaman are less obvious. Both men are now deaf and blind from the blast. "They have received nothing, not even an apology," said Mawes who, despite his own loss, took time to comfort the two elders who were sitting hunched, sobbing and shaking. Scores of others are clearly traumatised by the bombing but the nearest hospital is in the neighbouring province of Gazny, a 12 hour drive away. Any practical medical help and long-term counselling is unlikely. Few aid agencies work in the area which is regarded as extremely dangerous and the UN recently suspended all operations because of "deteriorating security" following the murder of an International Red cross delegate in nearby Oruzgan last month.

Westerners are thought to be particularly vulnerable as pockets of Taliban fighters and Al Qaeda cells are still active. So-called 'night letters' have been distributed offering $100,000 US dollars for the death of a Westerner. Death threats have also been issued to any Afghans helping foreigners in the region. A pirate radio station called Radio Resistance, also issues similar threats during illegal broadcasts in the southern part of Afghanistan.

The presence of American Special Forces in the district is clearly unwelcome. One villager said: "They come and go and ignore us as though we are animals underneath their feet. "If they left so would the fighters who only come here because they want to kill Americans. The Americans say they want to get Bin Laden but instead they kill us. "The Americans have made too many mistakes. They are not welcome. "Tell the world what they are doing here. They are trying to keep us silent and keep their mistakes quiet so no one will find out. Please let someone knows."

Another villager, who also asked to remain anonymous, added: "Everyone is afraid of the Americans. We just wish they would go. They have done nothing to improve our lives. They openly cause us pain and sadness. "We need Peace Keepers here, not Americans who pay more for their bombs than they do their mistakes."

KABUL, Afghanistan: Apr 10 (PNS) - In Afghanistan, more then 85 percent of the population of 25 million depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. With hundreds of thousands of people returning to the country seeking work, the revival of such a key sector in this drought-plagued nation depends on the rehabilitation of irrigation systems - both traditional and modern - which were destroyed by years of fighting and neglect.

That is by itself a formidable task, but the new Afghan minister for irrigation and environment, Yusuf Nuristani, also faces ecological challenges such as diminishing wetlands, forests and
wildlife.

In an interview with IRIN Nuristani said that irrigation in Afghanistan is among the top six priorities of the government. "I think the drought which has affected this country has had a negative impact on other countries in the region. There are six priorities at a national level, and irrigation is included in that."

"Also capacity building in terms of training, equipment and other organisations who are interested in supporting us. So this is our number-one priority and we hope to be able to implement it in the field," he said.

Regarding the response of international community in terms of Afghanistan's needs the Minister said that there has been a good response, and many countries have come forward and are interested in supporting us with water issues to alleviate these problems.

Answering a question he said that Afghanistan is an agrarian society, 80 percent of the economy belongs to agriculture and up to 85 percent of people are living in rural areas. "So 80 percent of our irrigation system or fields are being irrigated by our traditional canal system, and only 12 percent by modern canals/reservoirs."

"During the war, most of these traditional irrigation systems were destroyed, and people left the country, abandoning [their] land. The irrigation systems have fallen [victim] to erosion. There has been lack of maintenance and upkeep, so we need complete rehabilitation. Last year, we had 1.5 million Afghan refugees returning from neighbouring countries back to their land. We need to get these systems up and running again so that farmers can start business," he said.

He that returnees will be a burden on the water system in the urban areas. Some people are unable to return to their land because there are mines there. We are working on this too. But once they return, they need to have systems which are working, and rehabilitation is urgently needed in order to ease the burden on water resources. We have over 150 projects in the pipeline to reconstruct systems to accommodate everyone, Nuristani said.

The Afghan Irrigation Minster said that 20 percent Afghans have access to safe drinking water. "When it comes to statistics in Afghanistan, we have to be careful and take them cautiously. Based on these statistics, 20 percent of Afghan people across the country have access to safe drinking water in cities and villages."

"The plan is to provide potable water to the people, and we will continue the digging of deep wells - after proper exploration so that we don't deprive groups of their resource. Afghanistan has suffered from war and drought for the past two decades, and would appreciate the continued inputs and financial, technical contributions to overcome these environmental problems, and restore this country to its former glory," he said.

He said that the environment has been damaged to a great extent. The UNEP completed the environmental assessment of Afghanistan, with Afghan experts showing that there were adverse effects. The problem was compounded by droughts. The most recent one has severely devastated land, particularly in the south, in Nimruz, Farah, and provinces in the north. Some 40 percent of the
forests have been cut down. Desertification is another problem. Pollution of underground water is another one, he said. Nuristani said most of the degradation of forests has been caused by the timber mafias and not by the average poor Afghan. Our plan is to work with UNEP on projects to prevent increased environmental disaster in years to come," he added.

USA, India, Israel Working Together in Afghanistan

Balochistan Post
Monday, April 28, 2003

KABUL: While attention is focused on the US-engineered Iraq crisis, the world's real axis of evil, comprised of the US, Israel and India, is getting more involved in Afghanistan. Although the Americans have in effect occupied Afghanistan, they have failed to subdue the Afghans; the Indians have sneaked in by such ruses as reconstruction projects and consulates in cities such as Qandahar, Jalalabad and Herat. Now the Israelis have also got a foothold in the country.

Several hundred Israeli commandos and Mossad agents are reportedly operating in Afghanistan, having arrived in Kabul at the end of November. The Israelis arrived after Hamid Karzai, the US-installed president of Afghanistan, requested additional security during a visit to the US in September. Nearly a year after Karzai was appointed Afghanistan's "ruler", the situation is far from satisfactory for the Americans. Both Usama bin Ladin and Mullah Umar seem to have survived US attacks and, according to recent reports, are beginning to reassert their influence. American and other foreign forces come under attack almost daily from fighters who appear out of nowhere and then disappear just as suddenly and completely. Even the western media, which had largely ignored such incidents, are now forced to concede that the American forces are having serious problems.

There is speculation about the Israelis' involvement in Afghanistan, whose people do not take kindly to foreigners, let alone the occupiers of Palestine. The Israelis have considerable experience in dealing with Arab mujahideen; they also speak Arabic, a distinct advantage in monitoring radio communications. The Arab mujahideen continue to make frequent attacks on American forces, despite claims by the US that their bases and ability to operate have been destroyed. So are the Israelis positioning themselves for a possible strike on Pakistan's nuclear installation? Neither India nor Israel has made any secret of its desire to destroy Pakistan's nuclear facilities. General Pervez Musharraf continues to delude himself that he has secured Pakistan's nuclear assets by supporting the US's policies in Afghanistan, but the Americans are notorious for itching "trusted allies" once those allies have outlived their usefulness.

Musharraf and his advisors feel cornered since the elections in October, which led to the emergence of a strong Islamic opposition. An Islamic alliance-led government in the NWFP was cited as proof of
Musharraf's predicament. Yet Americans are not likely to lose any sleep over his discomfiture if they can neutralise Pakistan by eliminating its nuclear potential. As a result of the Israelis' involvement in Afghanistan, Karzai will now also be expected to recognize Israel.

Afghanistan today is in the grip of numerous warlords. The country is divided into various fiefdoms: in the northeast Tajik warlords, linked to defence minister general Fahim, hold sway; in the north Uzbek warlord Abdul-Rashid Dostum continues unchecked in his murderous ways; Ismail Khan dominates Herat. The south and southeast have become battlegrounds where resistance to foreign occupation is strongest. It is also in this region that the Americans have suffered their worst casualties. When Pakistani newspapers report such incidents their websites are immediately blocked; access to the story is denied within hours of its appearing on the internet. Many civilian and military officials in Pakistan have confirmed that bodies of dead American soldiers, stored in freezers, are kept at military bases in Pakistan before being shipped quietly to the US. The exact number of American casualties is not known, but it is certainly far greater than the figures the Americans have admitted so far.

The much-trumpeted western aid to Afghanistan has not materialized, making life even more difficult for Karzai. This makes his position untenable among a people known for their fierce independence. He misses no opportunity to beg for more aid at international forums, but his pleas have so far fallen on deaf ears. Heavily armed American bodyguards, rather than Afghans, protect him, revealing deep divisions within the ruling coalition. In fact, Tajik soldiers of the Northern Alliance act as de facto rulers, if there is indeed any such thing as an Afghan ruler these days.

Nor is life any better for the Afghans than it was, as Christina Lamb of the Sunday Telegraph (London) wrote on December 8: "a year after the overthrow of the Taliban and imposition of a Western-backed government, there has been little improvement in the lives of most Afghans, few of whom possess televisions or fine clothes or care about the luxury of free speech. These people spend their days struggling to feed their children on an average annual income of [US]$75." Despite the miserable condition of the dilapidated hospitals, where some have died on the operating table because of a lack of backup generators when the power goes, the $1.8 billion in foreign aid in 2002 "seems to have gone toward gleaming new offices and air-conditioned jeeps for the 1,025 United Nations agencies and international aid groups that have taken over many of the villas in the Wazir Akbar Khan suburb".

The only jobs available in Kabul are as translators, drivers and so forth, serving the occupiers; people who own property rent it to foreign aid-agencies that pay exorbitant rents. One other occupation is a roaring success: mercenary in a warlord's army. In addition to being a job with a steady income, it also ensures security from other warlords and their thugs. For the rest, the only way to survive is to head back to Pakistan. Peshawar, capital of the NWFP, has again become a city of refugees, with tens of thousands forced to live by the roadside because their mud-walled villages were bulldozed earlier this year when they headed home under a UN-sponsored programme that promised them money and jobs. Nothing materialized, of course.

Even the maligned burqa is still very much part of customary women's dress. It is part of Afghan culture; the Taliban merely enforced it with greater vigor, but women wear it willingly to protect themselves from the taunts of men. The women in Kabul who wear skirts, blouses and heavy make-up are not typical Afghan women; in fact, most Afghans regard them almost as prostitutes: this may be a harsh judgement, but it is the common perception in a deeply conservative society. Since the Taliban left, rape of women has become widespread.

If the Afghans thought that, by allowing the Americans in, they would get some respite from two decades of fighting, they have had a rude awakening: for ordinary peoplelife is getting even worse. They did not want to listen to music or to shave their beards; without food and security their misery has been compounded. Indeed, Afghanistan today is not only under American military occupation but also Indian and Israeli occupation. So much for the "liberation" of Afghanistan.