Simran's Space

Autumn, glorious autumn ! The temperatures are gorgeous, the skies are blue, leaves are falling, the last insects are squirreling around and the last rose paddles are dropping away.

After a long time I find the time to truly relax.

The past few weeks and months had a lot of tension in them: first and foremost the elections which for us had up-kept the hope of true change in the leadership of this country. My boyfriend was part of the campaign and often worked long hours. Now it has all come to nothing because of a principle-based decision which lead into a dead end. If it had been me I would have just gone along with the 2nd round and if there are again fraud allegations I would have had another investigation rolled out. But Dr. Abdullah decided otherwise. He is taking the long way around – let’s hope it has the desired outcome soon.

Then my boyfriend and I fell out at one point – he accusing me of indiscretions – his full tendency to jealousy surfacing. But we worked it out, we got back together. But the stress I went through is indescribable, particularly because his allegations were totally baseless.

Then we had this major attack on a UN guesthouse – I woke up from the shooting and explosions nearby my house. It was a surreal experience. There is no direct impact and yet one follows the events on TV while it’s happening right around the corner. 8 people died in my neighbourhood and I watched Al Jazeera !

Then – two weeks ago – I moved into a new house after my previous landlord decided to cancel the contract which I had signed with her representatives 6 months prior.for 2 years. When Madam herself then returned from the US she decided that all this wasn’t what she wanted. Ah well, I didn’t wait for any BS to surface and simply moved out. Luckily I found this great house not far from my old one in Shar-e-Now. Enough space for me, my office, another company’s office and two more rooms to rent out in a separate attached apartment.

Today I’m sitting in beautiful Flower Street Cafe enjoying this beautiful Juma.

I have been wanting to go to Panjshir for the longest time. But somehow always something came up. . Now I must go soon – I miss going there, going to Amir Sahib’s tomb. Maybe next week …

In the meantime our Library project has also stalled because of everybody’s involvement with the campaign. But I managed to finalise the website and a couple of other things. But now we need to get kicking – by his 10-years anniversary this institution should be established and running in at least one or two cities. (yes, I haven’t given up hope. How can I – he was the reason why I came here, so if I achieve nothing else but to build a memorial in his honour I have fulfilled my purpose ….)

What just happened?

Did they just make a fraudster the new President of Afghanistan? And it was so swift that it made everybody’s head spin (they can be fast in this country if they want to).

They made someone President whose vote in the first round was 80% rigged* and thus does not enjoy any legitimacy to be in this position.

But nobody of the international community even blinked !! No doubts, no questions – simply pure acceptance hidden behind Ban Ki Moons cheesy diplomatic smile.

Why? Because no one is actually interested in up keeping due process or instilling honest legitimacy which is the underpinning of a strong government – all they are interested in is keeping the country quiet – and that at almost any cost, it seems. Quiet, for the moment, so that they – in their misguided strategies for this country – don’t have more headaches on their hands.

It was the same during the Taliban years – no one really moved to get rid of that regime which suppressed the country because they were the only ones who were able to keep it “quiet”. Western countries made an indirect pact with these forces simply with the goal not to miss out on any mineral wealth and strategic advantages which arise from a good relationship with Afghanistan – regardless of their rulers.

There may be large parts of the population who will be less than happy about that. And even if it doesn’t come to widespread demonstrations the legitimacy of the new President will be questioned at every occasion, as will the quality of democracy in general and local power holders will deduce new opportunities for themselves. This will contribute to further disintegration of the country: in the south and south-east the Taliban is gaining strength, and in the north Abdullah supporters who feel cheated may try to “do their own thing”. Overall not helpful !!

What should have been done instead is this:

A interim President should have been put in place until such time that there is enough time to hold 2nd round elections and remove all tainted people from the process. That way the new president would have gained an honest vote and legitimacy among the people.

But that of course would have given the internationals more uncertainty for a prolonged period of time – this was unacceptable, so they went with the fowl solution – in the name of “keeping the country quiet”

* numbers given by the opposition observers during the recent re-counting of the first-round votes. 30% was the official number later released so as to avoid potential violence and other trouble, I suppose; still and already Karzai was pushed below 50%.

• They will not allow this ridiculous vote rigging to be successful
• They will put Karzai into his place and subject him to the electoral law – to any law for that matter.
• They will not let someone who has no respect for anyone but himself and his bought cronies to play with everyone else
• They will not allow to let Afghanistan slide ever deeper into a crisis
• They will rescue the democratic process so as to give at least a bit of weight to the hollow institutions they installed
• They will rescue themselves

With “They” I mean the international community who has imposed their ways onto this country without much consideration of the circumstance they were meddling with. “They” are the ones who now have to take a stance and not become a culprit in this unprecedented, shameless and in-your-face election fraud.

If they have an ounce of integrity left – that is what they do. But do they?

An anniversary tribute of a different nature

I recently met a French diplomat who felt to comment on Amir Sahib in a pseudo-intellectual manner as follows: “He should continue to be an example for Afghans; he developed from an ignorant village boy into an influential personality”.

??? – I was proud of myself at that moment that I did not engage him in a fundamental argument over who Massoud actually was. But it made me realise once more where the problem lies when it comes to this great leader: as often with such personalities who did not think themselves important enough he did not write books of his ideas and ideals, he did not even appoint a successor as he hoped his struggle to be a temporary one and his leadership to be replaced within his lifetime by a democratically elected government of the whole of Afghanistan.

And now we have ended up with the situation in which only those who worked and lived with him still remember his true personality, his open and great mind and intellect, while all those who didn’t have this fortune put him into a drawer of their liking. And the spectrum is wide:

Some will put him in the drawer of “warlord who destroyed Kabul”, others into the drawer “our hero who ended the cold war”.

Very few nowadays still understand the great intellectual depth and humanity which he incorporated, the physical and mental strain he was in for more than 20 years, the political pulls and pushes he had to balance. But most of all most do not understand anymore his intentions for the whole of Afghanistan – far from being a ethnically motivated warlord. For example he used to say that ‘dividing Afghanistan into ethnic groups is as much of a sin as saying there is more than one God’. True - he himself adjusted his political goal posts and aspirations over the 25 years of his struggle, but always with Afghanistan as a whole at heart and never with narrow ideological or religious focus – whether in is younger or older days.

Already in his early school years in Kabul the teachers attested him with very high intelligence, he never coerced people into following his pious heart.Much rather people and his peers followed him in a very natural manner from youth onward.

So to call him a narrow-minded village boy who set out to defend his little fiefdom or to put him posthumously into any drawer does not do justice to this great mind and demonstrate clearly again that his legacy is at danger of being lost in the fading memory of people, in the abuse of his name for some people’s limited motives.

His values - more necessary in Afghanistan than ever before

Contrasting this we should recall now more than ever what he had in mind for Afghanistan and what he was denied realising.

• He envisioned a truly democratic country, the structures of which had to reflect the culture of the country and its inner workings.
• He advocated federalist structures so as to reflect the regional differences and diversity of Afghanistan and thereby still be able to integrate the country.
• He advocated a moderate Islam to govern Afghanistan but without suppressing other religious minorities or other trains of thought for that matter. Towards the end of his life he even tended towards advocating more secular structures as he had realised that religion in government could also lead to much strive.
• He advocated equal rights for men and women, he encouraged female education and their ability to pursue a carrier outside the home but in public life just like men.
• Generally he was a strong supporter of education as he himself furthered his knowledge throughout his life – whether it was the arts or the sciences. He incorporated talent for both and he tried to instill the thirst for knowledge in both his children and his followers.
• he advocated independence from outside forces. And while he always sought the cooperation of foreign countries in his struggles he always sought the political independence and neutrality of Afghanistan.

All the above now seem to become an alternative to the way things have been handled so far in Afghan politics. With the failure of the current political rulers clearly before us we need to re-think the political and government concepts with which we are approaching the revival and development of this country.

We need to design structures which reflect the current development and education level of this country so as to strengthen governance and rule of law. The moderates in society and politics need to be supported and radicals cut down with decisive force. Massoud should not have died in vain while fighting those evils which are no threatening to engulf this country again. He was a shining light in the darkness spread by these ideologies – and this light must brighten up the whole of Afghanistan – if necessary with strong handed support. But this strong hand is only just that – a support – a support which assists good governance and rule of law. But by itself the strong hand is nothing.

An attempt to preserve his memory

With this in mind we need to preserve for future generations who Amir Sahib was at heart. For this purpose please donate generously to the Ahmad Shah Massoud Library Association. We want to build a Library Centre in each large Afghan city in Massoud’s honour, with the purpose to carry forward his “heart” and his beautiful mind – his democratic values, his cultural appreciation, his views on women’s rights and his educational emphasis.

Our plans, funding and contact details can be reviewed at: www.massoudlibrary.org  We are an Afghan-international effort in the honour of Ahmad Shah Massoud.

What is it with this country - despite all its nonsense - when I  am leaving there is regret in my heart - and if it's only for 10 days.

Singapore has been my home for many years and everything there will be familiar. But now I live here in a country most foreigners living here will never understand. All those details so unique to this part of the world have become familiar and at times I am even finding explanations for them.

Still it seems all modernity that is present here has been forced upon it. Somehow this country is not ready for it.

Like this airport I'm sitting in. It is leaps of progress away from the airport I first landed in in September 2005. Then the wires were hanging off a ceiling which had not seen an attempt to repair it for decades. Now this airport has become the domestic terminal and a new international terminal has been built. And yet - out of three customs counters only one is open, the air conditioners are not switched on, there are no loudspeakers to announce the flights and the toilets are squad toilets (!).

There is no indulgence of convenience - and the faces match this.

It is a strange society with a tremendously strong tap on progress - many young ones want to escape this - but can they cope with what the West will force them to adjust to? Still societal changes are on the surface at best - and only in Kabul - and mostly only because there is financial  pressure from donors. Very few men for example want to see real female liberation, everything else is lip service. Many nowadays advocate girls' education - but  how many husbands will let their wives work? 

So why not stay in Singapore? What keeps me here? Cynics - like my mother - will quickly jump to the conclusion that it's only a guy who keeps me here. Well of sorts that's not wrong - but there are wider reasons why he keeps me here: we share a dream, the dream to realise another man's dream. We are hoping now that Dr. Abduallah can win the elections, because he is the only choice that is even remotely related to Amir Sahib, to his dreams, to his ideals. We want to build his memorial ... it sounds not much to be working for as the tide swells against us, but for us that's most there is.