Reporter: A long march to progress in Afghanistan
1,284 views · Published 12 November 2012 · 5:19 · Indexed 10 November 2026
Channel: European Parliament · 2012 · News & Politics
The future of Afghanistan shifts up the agenda. As European and international troops prepare to scale back in under two years, the question now is, can Afghans manage security, clean government and basic services for the people by themselves, even as the Taliban try to bomb their way back to power? What we don't want, with withdrawal and disengagement of military intervention by the international community in Afghanistan, is a disengagement from long-term problems of development. In Kabul, a group of amputees throw themselves into sport. Medical therapy to restore confidence to victims of Afghanistan's long years of violence. A triumph of adaptation in a country with few social resources, still at war against extremists. Ghulam Mohammed knows that well. He was protecting workers on a road-building project near the Pakistani border when they were overrun by insurgents. They were hidden, waiting in ambush. When we arrived they held us for five days. One evening I fled. We have to come together as a country, because no one person can reunite our country alone. How to do that? Each day brings new victims of a war which 11 years ago Western powers declared must be won, but which some are admitting now may actually be lost. Security is not good and is challenging the country. I hope that one day peace will come and I'm sure people can do a lot and the development will be much better than at any other time. I first came to Afghanistan in 1998. The Taliban had almost total control over the country. Three years later they were history, or so everyone assumed after the American-led invasion and hundreds of billions of euros invested in building the country's infrastructure. Basic services - clean water, education for boys and girls, health - are the red-line priorities for humanitarian organisations in countries caught in or emerging from conflict. It's the fabric for renewal. It's a modest enough investment here, but the returns are much bigger. Access to clean water, plus health and sanitation, for thousands of people across the generations. It's not headline stuff, but it still transforms lives. People used to come down from the hill to get water. They used to wash their clothes in the river of Kabul down there. The river is very dirty and it created a lot of problems for people's health Now, they use clean water and we can see the benefits in their health. However, much of the billions spent in Afghanistan has gone into building its own security backbone, the Afghan National Army. It stands at 200,000 troops. But although its competence is growing, it's not seen as ready yet to defend the country alone. The hole left by the withdrawal of foreign troops and their equipment will be big and the only ones to benefit, say some Afghan leaders, will be extremists. People are uncertain. They believe that if the international community withdraws we either go to civil war or accept the Taliban regime. So we'd better find an alternative right now. It's a mistake by the Afghan government and the international community to declare an early withdrawal in 2014. She's not alone in her belief. Mònica Bernabé runs a small NGO and is a freelance journalist and writer. Her book 'Afghanistan: Chronicle of a Myth' is the culmination of 10 years' work in the country, mapping some advances, but many more setbacks. What they haven't done is to create a sustainable country. Afghanistan currently depends 100% on international aid. What will happen when this aid is reduced or almost disappears? When international troops leave what will happen in a country whose government doesn't function? It's not that the Afghan forces can't deal with the Taliban, but that the government is completely dysfunctional and controlled by warlords. What then for the people with the biggest stake in it all? They struggle on, hoping and welcoming opportunity. Farzana Alidze represents better than most a spirit of entrepreneurship, often overlooked here. Maimed by a mine explosion when she was three, she got artificial limbs at 14 and a year later a small loan to start a sewing business. She earns about six euros a day and passes on her expertise to other girls. I work. I have students and work for the women. I am happy with what I have but as for what the future holds, no-one knows. EuroparlTV video ID: 7f16bdea-2ba4-4b6e-ae68-a0e400bc408b
