Resources

Further reading

Reporting and analysis that Dr. G. Rauf Roashan shared alongside his Country Corner essays. Each entry gives the source and a short excerpt; follow the link to read the full piece where its publisher has it.

18 entries2009–2013

2013

Despite billions in aid, Afghans can’t find work (opens the original publication in a new tab)

The Associated PressKathy GannonOctober 24, 2013

Hundreds of men, some on crutches, all wearing tattered clothing, gather shortly before dawn at major intersections throughout Kabul and other Afghan cities. Displaying primitive tools such as a level or a trowel, they seek labor that is often backbreaking, always temporary and will earn…

Note posted with this article

Feelings of a first hand observer of the situations in Afghanistan:

Facts that you read below, come out of the work of courageous and fearless journalists who are strong enough to stand up in the middle of a large crowd of job seekers in Kabul, friends and enemies alike, to get a job. I personally have been in the middle of a large group, I know how stressful and dangerous that can be.

As it has been mentioned in this article none of the involved parties thought of what the world did to this growing problem of Afghan people.

This has been also known to those of us who went to the aid of Afghan people not through business sector or contracts but solely and consciously for the betterment of Afghanistan and Afghan people.

In my job in Kabul I occasionally had a chance to bring up, some of the obvious issues- issues that had been brought up by those Afghans that I had associated with, to the notice of the authorities involved, just to find that I too were being brushed off.

None of us involved or not cognizant of the affairs of Afghanistan would know what is the big picture. Where loyalty of Afghan leaders and those who came to their aid lies. But it is a fact that all of those years of help and support to Afghanistan and its people, have not led to a level of trust among ordinary Afghans, nor has it brought any change in order to get them out of poverty.

2011

State and Non-State Justice Systems in Afghanistan: The Need for Synergy (opens the original publication in a new tab)

University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law, vol. 32, no. 5Ali Wardak2011

The long Afghan conflict has resulted in an extensive destruction of Afghanistan’s state justice institutions that existed prior to the former USSR invasion of the country in December 1979. The destruction has not only included extensive damage to buildings, office furniture, official records, legal resources…

2010

Suicide bomber strikes Afghan border police

The Associated PressMirwais KhanMay 2010

A suicide bomber detonated his cache of explosives late Sunday near the gate of an Afghan Border Police residence in Kandahar where insurgents are waging a campaign of targeted killings.

No link to the original is available.

5.7 magnitude quake hits Afghanistan

News brief, source not recordedApril 2010

An earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale has struck an area in central Afghanistan about 67 miles (107 km) southeast of Mazar-i-Sharif.

No link to the original is available.

US-led soldiers killed in Afghanistan

News brief, source not recordedApril 2010

As Afghanistan continues to struggle with militancy, NATO says a roadside bomb has killed two more US-led soldiers in the country’s volatile south.

No link to the original is available.

Karzai appoints new election chief

News brief, source not recordedApril 2010

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has appointed a new election commission chief, ahead of the upcoming parliamentary vote in the war-weary country.

No link to the original is available.

NATO doubts Afghan forces ability

News brief, source not recordedApril 2010

The commander of NATO-led operations in Afghanistan says he has doubts about Afghan forces ability to secure the war-weary country by 2015.

No link to the original is available.

120 Afghans die in a week of carnage

News brief, source not recordedApril 2010

The war in Afghanistan has claimed the lives of 120 people and injured over 100 more over the past week.

No link to the original is available.

A Taliban-Kabul Deal Must Protect Women’s Rights – U.N.

ReutersStephanie NebehayFebruary 5, 2010

GENEVA (Reuters) - Any future peace deal between the Afghan government and the Taliban should include a clear commitment to respecting women’s rights, a United Nations women’s rights body said on Friday.

No link to the original is available.

2009

Afghan Lobby Scam (opens the original publication in a new tab)

The NationAram RostonDecember 22, 2009

As President Obama prepares a massive military buildup in Afghanistan, a House subcommittee has launched an investigation into whether Defense Department contractors are paying off the Taliban to protect American supply lines. The investigation was triggered by a Nation cover story [see Roston, “How the…

UK army ‘providing’ Taliban with air transport

Press TVOctober 17, 2009

The British army has been relocating Taliban insurgents from southern Afghanistan to the north by providing transportation means, diplomats say.

No link to the original is available.