CELEBRATING A HARVEST OF HOPE
The Embassy of Afghanistan
11/02/2005
Washington, D.C. – As we celebrate Thanksgiving,
Ambassador and Mrs. Said Tayeb Jawad of The Embassy of Afghanistan
and Heidi Kuhn, Founder and CEO of Roots of Peace, will host
a special celebration of a harvest of hope where Roots of Peace,
a US-based nonprofit organization, has turned Mines into Vines
by replacing the deadly scourge of landmines with bountiful
vineyards of grapes in Afghanistan. Famous Afghan pomegranates,
grapes, pistachios, almonds and vegetables—some recently
harvested on former minefields and delivered fresh from Kandahar
and Kabul—will be shared at a reception at 6:00 p.m. Over
two hundred guests including members of the US Congress and
Administration, friends of Afghanistan, media, and Washingtonians
are anticipated to attend the event in solidarity with the people
of Afghanistan.
Although Afghanistan is rapidly rebounding after
years of conflict, it remains one of the most severely landmine
affected countries in the world. The rural and agricultural
areas of Afghanistan have been the hardest hit. Landmines and
unexploded ordnances (UXO) are still scattered throughout the
country’s agricultural land, water ways, residential areas,
roads, footpaths, and commercial areas. Over one million Afghans
are disabled by the anti-personal mines planted throughout the
country at various times over the course of the past two and
a half decades of conflict.
Shortly after September 11th, 2001, Roots of Peace
began its innovative demine-replant program in Afghanistan to
revitalize the grape and raisin industry that was devastated
by the years of war. Roots of Peace efforts have focused on
demining over 100,000 landmines and UXOs from 40 vineyards in
the Shomali Plain region which once produced over 70 varietals
of table grapes. As a result of Roots of Peace’s programs,
Afghan farmers celebrated a bountiful harvest of over 500 tons
of grapes on former minefields in Afghanistan this fall.
Commenting on the event, Ambassador Jawad
said: “I am very delighted to share Afghanistan’s
fresh fruits with the supporters of demining agricultural lands
in my country. Let us hope that the unique taste of these fruits
opens up market opportunities for Afghanistan’s horticultural
products in the US. I am very grateful to the Roots of Peace
for its effective recovery work helping revitalize Afghanistan’s
agricultural economy, as well as to many individuals who made
the fresh delivery to Washington possible for the first time”
For more information, please visit www.rootsofpeace.org or www.embassyofafghanistan.org.
Contact:
M. Ashraf Haidari
(202) 483-6410, (Ex-811)
Haidari@embassyofafghanistan.org
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