To Be or Not To Be
This gets tougher by the day. Should Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces be involved in Afghanistan? Depends, I think, how you look at it. Do we have an obligation as a free and democratic country, a wealthy first-world country to involve ourselves in the affairs of one of the world's poorest and in many ways most backward countries? Yes, I think.Especially given the recent background of the intolerable imposition of strict Sharia law by the Taliban which victimized women and children, particularly girl children. But under the Taliban men too suffered if they weren't deemed to be sufficiently Islamicized, although as Muslims they too were practising their faith as they deemed fit.
Women who were widows were particularly in dire straits, since under the type of Sharia law practised with Taliban rule, women were not permitted to earn a living, however meagre, to feed their children. Starvation, utter privation was visited on these families. Families in which three generations of females were left to their own helpless devices to survive - or not. Girl children were denied the opportunity to gain even the most elementary of educations; school was not for girls.
Those schools which did exist were meant for boys only, and the kind of education they received revolved solely around that dictated by the Islamist mentality of complete immersion in religious studies; the kind of religious studies which garnered approval by the Taliban governing authorities; boys reciting entire passages from the Koran in Arabic, taking on faith anything and everything that was transcribed for them by the Mullahs.
Of course there was also the connection - tenuous some might aver - with Osama bin Laden and his redoubtable crew, all of whom were given succour and encouragement by the Taliban. The palpable hostility related to any interference with strict Muslim rule and interaction in any manner with the West and western values should have cautioned NATO and the UN, especially given Russia's rude awakening on their venture into Afghanistan, especially given the long past history of Afghani aversion to any kind of intervention in their country.
Muslim countries in general do not take kindly to incursions into their territory, and why, after all should they? Wouldn't we cringe at the very thought of a Muslim empire making a military incursion into a Western, Christian-heritage country? Isn't this, after all, human nature, to nurture and value what is one's own, to disown and hold in low esteem that which is natural to and accepted by other cultures?
Conundrum upon conundrum. The harder NATO troops push the insurgents, the more determined the insurgents become, the more casualties result on both sides. And it's true that an occupying force from abroad hasn't the same depth of need, the same vested interest as the country's indigenous population who fight for their homeland, their vision of their right to complete autonomy, allegiance to the religion that is a fundamental mainspring of their culture.
Yes, an Afghan government has requested NATO assist it in fighting and overcoming resistance to their more moderate, Western-friendly rule. Pity that the new government has invested so heavily in bringing former war lords and human-rights abusers (including some who had no problems dealing as war lords with the former Taliban government) into the makeup of the current government. Corruption is known to be rife in this new government.
And it is charitable funds from Western countries raised through tax dollars and conveyed to the Afghani people directly through their new government that are used to supposedly assist in building new infrastructure. CIDA assists Afghanis through direct funding of the Afghan government. It is true, for the time being, that schools have been erected under the auspices of friendly, charitable Western countries determined to help this country, and children, all children, now are able to attend school.
It is also true that health clinics are operating now which give medical help to a far larger proportion of the population than were formerly able to access medical assistance. To a large degree the economy of the country was beginning to reawaken and renew itself. Sad that there has been a recent downtown and a return to insecurity in the country because the Taliban and their supporters have re-grouped when it was thought soon after the NATO invasion that they had been defeated.
The population of Afghanistan is troubled, they're frustrated beyond endurance, they want a life of safety and security, the opportunity to educate their children, treat medical emergencies, enjoy a level of economic advancement for the country and for its citizens hitherto denied them. But they also resent the presence of foreign troops and it is becoming harder every day for them to appreciate that the troops are there for their protection, since so many of them are now dying as a result of suicide bombings that target them as well as foreign troops.
Afghans want stability, they want an assurance of a decent future for themselves, for their children. They want to embrace their country for themselves. They would like to see Afghans controlling every facet of their country from government infrastructure to civil emplacements and services. They want an end to war and strife and insecurity. Don't we all deserve that at the very least?
We're sacrificing our young men with the thought and the sincere belief that we're doing a true service to an impoverished and brutalized country and its citizens. It yet remains to be seen whether this sacrifice will turn out to have been a futile effort.
We hope not. The signs are not encouraging.
posted by Pieface @ Wednesday, October 18, 2006
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