SUBJECT: Jobs for
Afghans Applauds Reconciliation Program, Says Does not Go Far Enough
Hailing as
historic the Karzai government's new focus on jobs and reintegration
for ideologically uncommitted insurgents, Jobs for Afghans today
applauded the Afghan Reintegration programs, but said it does not go
far enough. It is now widely known that the vast majority of
insurgents are lured to the Taliban by its wage of approximately $10
per day, in a country where unemployment is 40 percent. However,
Jobs for Afghans says the plan should be expanded to provide jobs to
young Afghans who have not joined the Taliban, and that the additional
cost would be minimal compared to the continuing cost of military
operations.
Ralph Lopez,
co-founder of Jobs for Afghans, said:
"This is a solid
start, but for a little more, why stop there? First, it sends the
message that we are rewarding those who have joined the Taliban, but
what about Afghans who haven't? They should have a stake in their
country too. Second, we need a good economic "shock and awe" to
convince Afghans things are going in a better direction. It is
not a time for half-measures."
Jobs for Afghans
has been lobbying for an appropriation of about $4 billion to reverse
the economically-driven insurgency. They point out that this is
the equivalent of what the US spends on military operations in 2 weeks.
General Barry McCaffrey put the military "burn rate" in Afghanistan at
$9 billion per month.
The Jobs for
Afghans proposed legislation is at this link: http://jobsforafghans.org/Legislation.html.
There is no
shortage of work to be done in any part of the country, using mostly
unskilled labor, digging irrigation waterways, clearing canals of
rubble, and improving roads, all mostly requiring little more than hand
tools.
The UN estimates
that 35 percent of Afghans are malnourished, and starvation is still
common in the country. Previous development efforts emphasized
structures like schools and clinics but provided few sources of income.
An AFP report
states:
"Despite
initial reluctance to back the project, Karzai said the United States
had now come round to the idea and would offer support. Asked about
American support for the scheme, he said: "We have been talking about
this issue of reconciliation for a long time. Now they actually are
backing it."
Jobs for Afghans
has been lobbying in Washington DC for an appropriation for a
cash-for-work, stabilization program run by Afghans, for the benefit of
Afghan communities, utilizing the highly regarded National Solidarity
Plan of the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development as the
conduit.
"Afghans are not our enemies," said Lopez.
Jobs for Afghans
maintains that this is the last chance to bring disaffected Taliban
fighters into the fold, and to prevent more from joining..
"Otherwise,
civilian casualties go up even further and the cycle of revenge takes
on a tragic life of its own" says Lopez. "Give them cash for the
work of clearing the rubble of their communities, and digging
irrigation ways, so they can go back to the traditional water and
agricultural systems which have been sustaining these societies for
centuries."
For more
information, contact: Sue Serpa, 617-599-5195, sueserpa@gmail.com
Jobs for Afghans 68 Pearl St. Cambridge, MA 02139 http://jobsforafghans.org
Website and
resources:
JOBS FOR AFGHANS
PROPOSED LEGISLATION http://jobsforafghans.org/Legislation.html
White Paper:
"Stabilizing Afghanistan Through a Cash-for-Work Initiative" http://jobsforafghans.org/WhitePaper.pdf
Quotes and sources:
“Joining the
Taleban gave Mahmud a chance to save up enough money to start his own
small business. Nowadays, he buys goods in the provincial capital
Lashkar Gah and sells them in the districts at weekly "mila" or
markets. "Now that I have work, I am not with the Taleban any
more."” – Few Choices for Helmand’s Troubled Youth, Institute for War
and Peace Reporting, Nov. 9, 2007 http://www.iwpr.net/?p=arr&s=f&o=340496&apc_state=henh
"There is a
low percentage of the total Taliban force who we would call ideologically
driven. We refer to them as Tier 1 people who believe their
ideology, that what they're doing is right. The vast majority of
Taliban fighters are essentially economically disadvantaged
young men." --Col. Tom Collins, PBS Frontline, April 2,,, 2007, http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/afghanistan604/interview_collins.html
“19-year-old Jaan
Agha in Helmund Province told the Institute for War and Reporting in
November of 2007 that it was either the Taliban or watch his family
starve. "I couldn't find a job anywhere. So I had to join the
Taliban. They give me money for my family expenditures. If I left the
Taliban, what else could I do?" --“Few Choices for Helmand’s Troubled
Youth,” Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Nov. 9, 2007 http://www.iwpr.net/?p=arr&s=f&o=340496&apc_state=henh
“Children Eating
Grass, Ghazni,” IRIN News, March 10, 2008 http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=77195
Other resources: http://jobsforafghans.org/resources.html
A Better Strategy
for Afghanistan By Dr. Jeffrey
Sachs http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/obamas-nobel-lecture-and_b_390820.html?show_comment_id=36321185
The Truth Behind
Afghan Insurgency, (Boston Globe) http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/08/17/the_truth_behind_afghan_insurgency/
