|
Maya Evans peace delegation to Afghanistan
2 January 2012: Tea for Peace
We were lucky enough to receive an
invitation to visit a self run community on the edge of Kabul,
Chelsitun in Wasalabad; it’s a mixed Tajik and Pashtun community
split into 8 sections, consisting of 2,000 households each having
its own representative which implements Government initiatives
and also manages security in the area.
We were told that the community practices
religious and ethnic tolerance and has one of the only Mosques
which welcomes joint worship by both Sunni’s and Shia’s
with the two Muslim groups sharing funerals and ceremonies. When
we arrived in Chelsitun the pathway were unusually set with concrete;
an independent initiative by the community (paid for by the people
within the area) as a move towards installing proper infrastructure.
Our group was directed into a compound and
then into the office of the community elders. It was like stepping
back in time into what I imagined pre-war Afghanistan to be like;
exquisite prayer mats hung on the war, the traditional ornate
Afghan rugs; a greenhouse conservatory made of improvised plastic
sheeting with the lushest greenery I have seen since leaving the
UK.
We were warmly greeted by an assembly of
community elders clad in the traditional Afghan turbans, long
white beards; many were wrapped in the classic camel coloured
Afghan blanket. Once the greetings had been administered the elders
took their seats cross legged on the floor. I was amused to see
pinned up on the wall a very familiar poster which every co-op
in the UK has displayed somewhere- the image of two donkeys tied
with a rope heading in different directions trying to reach separate
piles of hay, then a picture of the donkeys going towards the
same pile of hay and both getting a share. The message: co-operation
is better than conflict.
Once we sat down in the nicest of Afghan
hospitality the secretary of the group “Tea for Peace”
outlined the ethos of their work: “We want to control corruption
in the area and the abuse of power especially among the marginalised
of the community”. It was interesting to observe that a
group of traditional Afghans had taken on ideas and practices
you wouldn’t necessarily associate with such a culture,
he continued to consult his written notes and explain the group
further: “If there is a conflict in the community they bring
the two parties together, have tea and aim towards bringing those
parties together”.
It quickly struck me that this community
was practicing strong elements of Anarchy. The middle aged secretary
with round Ghandi style glasses went to explain that their aim
is to bring national unity, to get rid of discrimination whether
religious of ethnic, that everyone is free and that no one should
be discriminated against. He also emphasised that when interacting
with one another they make sure there is no discrimination and
that democracy and human rights are practiced within the community,
they even have a letter of praise from the Human Rights Commission.
They are all working in a voluntary way, and they do not take
funds from the government.
One of the other elders chipped in to explain
some of the result of their community focus: a concrete pathway,
schools and piping for the whole area. This was all brought about
as people want control of their area and in affect they’re
freed from difficulties with the authorities and the massive current
corruption problem of land grabbing. The Land Mafia is a massive
problem in Afghanistan, land is being snatched away from the people
by force, it is very evident that Afghans need a government which
is just so they can explain laws and behave in a proper way.
Another elder with a long white beard and
intense eyes stated with passion:
“The people want peace so much, they
take their lessons from the Qu’ran which says that peace
comes from a place of well being, they have no problems with any
human being- all people deserve respect”.
He went on to explain:
“Peace can begin to be built in this
country if interference in the region stops and also interference
by foreign forces- there has been a betrayal by international
communities, especially when the killing of Afghans is silent.”
He went onto to explain that the people are
under so much pressure with 44 NATO countries who are supporting
the land Mafia and government , there are no honest people who
work for the government, if the people rise they will face guns,
the US are behaving like a dictator and that’s not what
the people want.
I learnt that for their work within “Tea
for Peace” they very much believe in empowering people,
they feel it’s important for the people to get together
and form a group, to work from the foundations addressing the
root problem. To bring reconciliation where there is conflict
they also use their faith.
Their words made be remember a teaching in
the Quran which Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers Roz Mohammed had
shared with us only the day before, it roughly translates that
god made lots of tribes on the earth so people can get to know
one other (apparently it is written in the prayer room at Kabul
Airport).
There was strong consensus in the group of
elders that involvement of international forces has been extremely
unhelpful and detrimental on various levels ranging from the bombing
of civilians on the one hand by international forces against the
people- better for both sides to sit down together, no party left
out of resolution process. Internationals need to support the
people, if they don’t support the people they wont solve
the problem.
I was interested to hear about how they
would deal with the Taliban, especially as international forces
use the Taliban as one of the main justifications for being in
Afghanistan. The elder with the big white turban addressed the
question:
“The Taliban themselves have been nurtured
by foreign elements, the Mujahudeen had been armed by the US,
the people of Afghanistan are trapped in a game which is hard
to get out of, if there was no foreign interference then the Taliban
could sit down with other Afghans and deal with their own problems,
but with foreign interference there is always a condition which
they will find impossible to accept. Afghans themselves can sit
down together however it is impossible with foreign interference.”
Kathy Kelly asked a question relating to
the planned Silk Road Path running through the country which will
allow the transportation of raw materials mined within Afghanistan
and will also act as a central trading route for the countries
surrounding Afghanistan. A cross legged elder immediately jumped
in:
“It is very clear to Afghans that any
minerals taken away from the country will not benefit the people.
If in an ideal situation the pipeline and minerals went to helping
the people of Afghanistan then that is acceptable, Afghan’s
will not accept these initiatives, they can not accept if this
mining is being owned by foreigners, foreign businesses must realise
that they will not be able to exploit these natural resources
unless the conflict is resolved.”
Another elder then chipped in:
“The people US/ NATO have placed in
power are thieves and murderers, they need to be taken out of
power and placed somewhere else. If they could fill the parliament
with 100 members of the people then peace would come to the country.”
The meeting ended with the message that unity
is the key to uniting the people of Afghanistan, with the elite
in power they do not understand how the common people live, foreign
money to the government disappears before it gets to them, if
we want change then you can’t expect the current people
in Parliament to bring it, we need representatives from the people.
It was very exciting for me to hear these
viewpoints, I got the impression that their opinions hadn’t
been formed by reading political books but from their first hand
experience, their wisdom and intelligence.
We were then shown round the lush greenhouse
warmed by the traditional Afghan wood stove. I got to duck into
the living quarters of an elder (to use the restroom) whereby
I was fortunate enough to meet children playing in the yard and
some of the women. It was explained to me that an extended family
of around 45 people lived in the homes surrounding the yard and
there was a communal water well where those in the area without
running water come for supplies. I was very impressed by the organization
of the community and radical ethos of the “Tea for Peace”
group, definitely not what I or most westerners would necessarily
accept.
Next
post
Back to
Maya Delegation homepage
|
