Ambassador: Afghanistan Needs More Security
By Ryan Cole
The Daily Californian
04.18.2007
Stressing the need to build up his country’s infrastructure and establish security, Afghanistan’s ambassador to the United States Said Tayeb Jawad addressed an audience of about 200 people in Wheeler Hall yesterday.
Jawad gave a 45-minute PowerPoint presentation during which he discussed both the opportunities and challenges currently faced by the Middle Eastern country.
The event was organized by the campus Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the international and area studies and peace and conflict studies departments, and the California nonprofit organization Roots of Peace, among other groups.
Jawad began by stressing the need for international aid and cooperation in rebuilding Afghanistan.
“The Afghan people have come to the realization that without the support and partnership of international community, we will not be able to rebuild our country,” Jawad said.
Jawad said that international aid has fallen short of Afghanistan’s needs, as the Afghan government has received only $3.2 billion of the $30 billion the international community pledged.
“The majority of aid projects are enacted outside of the Afghan framework,” Jawad said, pointing to Afghanistan’s lack of control over and involvement in the allocation of funds.
The state of Afghanistan’s security was an overarching theme in Jawad’s presentation. He cited a 600 percent increase in suicide attacks from 2005 to 2006, which he attributed to increased Taliban presence and public support for the Taliban.
“The Taliban are able to capitalize on the frustration of Afghan people for not seeing an improvement in their lives,” Jawad said.
In order to counteract the trend of violence, Jawad stressed the importance of building Afghanistan’s infrastructure, including connecting its population of 25 million by building roads.
Jawad also expressed his pride for Afghanistan’s accomplishments since the fall of the Taliban, citing democratic elections, an increase in civil rights and improved access to health care.
“Today, Afghans enjoy more political, economic and social rights than at any other time in its history,” Jawad said.
The audience applauded Jawad warmly at the conclusion of his speech.
“The event was very informative and I thought he did a wonderful job explaining the conflict in Afghanistan,” said junior Melissa Bohl, a political science major.
Before Jawad’s speech, Roots of Peace, a California-based organization that raises money to eradicate mine fields, presented Jawad with the money it raised from a week-long fundraising campaign on campus called Pennies for Peace.
Heidi Kuhn, founder of Roots of Peace, estimated the money raised to be around $300.
A group of about 30 gathered in the Faculty Hall after the presentation to eat traditional Afghan cuisine and watch an Afghan dance put on by the Afghan Student Association.
President of the International and Area Studies Student Association Kelly Dunleavy, who invited the Afghan Student Association, said the event wasn’t just about politics.
“We wanted to celebrate Afghan culture,” she said.
