Embassy of Afghanistan in Japan November 2009 …...1 Afghan News November 2009 Embassy of...

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Afghan NewsAfghan NewsAfghan News November 2009 Embassy of Afghanistan in Japan

In a critical moment in Afghanistan’s his-tory, and a testament to the strengthening of the democratic process, on Thursday, November 19th H.E. Hamid Karzai was sworn in for a second term as President of Afghanistan. About 800 guests, including President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Were in attendance at the presidential pal-ace in Kabul. President Karzai thanked Afghanistan’s international partners, vowed to tackle corruption and drug traf-ficking, and to increase the Afghanization of the national security in his five years of presidency. Read his Excellency’s speech in English here: http://president.gov.af/Contents/72/Documents/960/Presi-dent_Karzai_s_Inaugural_Speech_Nov.pdf

Inside this issue:

Latest News Highlighted

Achievements

UNSC expresses optimism in working

with President Karzai

United Nations Security Council mem-bers hailed the conclusion of the elec-toral process following the decision of the Independent Electoral Commission to declare H.E. Hamid Karzai as the new president and said they were looking forward to working with His Excellency and his team. The council members con-gratulated the people of Afghanistan on their determined active engagement in their country and the members welcome the continued commitment of the United Nations and the United Nations Assis-tance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) to support the people and the govern-ment in their quest for peace, security, and stability. Final round of anti-polio drive started

November 15th

Health Minister H.E. Dr. Muhammad Amin Fatimie stated that the sixth and final round of vaccinations combating polio was launched on November 15th and targeted more than 7.7 million 5-

and-under children across the country .

Speaking at a press conference, H.E. Minister Fatimie made an appeal to the locals, elders, religious scholars, and prayer leaders to help provide security to the volunteers during the three day cam-

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Latest News 1-5

Upcoming Events & Important Dates

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NGO Spot-light

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Omar’s Kitchen

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Language Lesson

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• 90% of children

under 5 years old have been vaccinated against Polio.

• 200,000 hectares

of land is bene-fitting from irri-gation schemes.

• More than 5 mil-

lion refugees have returned since 2002.

President Karzai Inaugurated on Thursday,

November 19th

President Karzai holding his speech during the

inauguration ceremony on Thursday the 19th.

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Afghan News, November 2009

and the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund has established develop-ment-focused governance structures at the community level through de-mocratic elections. NSP has empow-ered men and women, and communi-ties have united around a common, nationally oriented development and governance agenda. H.E. Minister Zia has dedicated the award to the Community Development Councils and the rural population. Teachers, education officials hon-

ored in Parwan

The education department of Parwan province have honored hundreds of school teachers and some education officials for their outstanding per-formance during the current aca-demic year. A ceremony was organ-ized in the provincial capital of Charikar on November 1st. Speaking on the occasion, the Education De-partment Director said the depart-ment honored the teachers and edu-cation officials for their excellent performance. Four teachers were decorated with medals and 480 teachers and some education department officials were awarded with first, second, and third grade appreciation letters at the cere-mony. Zakia, principal of a girl's middle school in the province, who received a medal, praised the educa-tion department and added: "It is an honor for me that I won a medal." Last year, 300 teachers were awarded with appreciation letters. 200 girls complete training courses

in Kandahar

As many as 200 girls completed training courses in different skills and were awarded course completion certificates during a ceremony in Kandahar on November 3rd. The training program, organized by the Afghan-Canadian Social Centre in collaboration with Canada's lead-ing polytechnic institute, SAIT, in-

cluded online courses in manage-ment sciences, business, English language, and Information & Com-munication Technology. The centre was established in Kandahar in 2007, with 600 students graduating since. More than 300 female gradu-ates have moved on working on senior positions in various fields.

30 new buildings for schools in

Ghazni

New buildings for 30 schools will be constructed in Ghazni with fi-nancial support from the World Bank. This is an emergency project under which the schools having no proper buildings have been priori-tized. The new buildings will con-sist of four to eight rooms in order to lessen the housing problems of students and will also help more girls attend school . Currently, there are 55 schools in Ghazni and more than half of them do not have buildings. 96 uplift schemes executed in

Faryab

Ninety-six development schemes have been completed in the Pakhtun Kot district of northern Faryab province under the National Solidarity Programme (NSP) of the Ministry of Rehabilitation and Ru-ral Development (MRRD). Nearly 22,000 families from 76 villages in the district would bene-fit from the projects. The projects, which took one year to finish, in-cluded the digging of 50 wells with hand pumps and the laying of five kilometers of water supply pipe-lines, the construction of two water reservoirs; the instillation of eight water tanks; the repairing of 16 kilometers water supply pipeline, 143 meters of canal, and 16 water reservoirs for irrigation; the con-struction of 68 meters of water head; the building for a school and


paign. He said capsules that prevent respiratory diseases in children six months to five years old would be also provided during the campaign. The final anti-polio vaccination

campaign this year lasted three days.

H.E. Minister Stanekzai and a

delegation from Kabul visit Tokyo

November 24, 2009: Embassy staff and friends gathered at the Embassy to welcome a delegation from Ka-bul. Members of the delegation pic-tured include H.E. Mr. Shaida Mohammad Abdali, Deputy Na-tional Security Advisor (fourth from the left); H.E. Minister Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai, Advisor to President Karzai (fifth from the left); Dr. Davood Moradian, Senior Policy Advisor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (seventh from the left); and H.E. Mr. Wais Ahmad Barmak, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (eigth from the left).

Minister receives an award in Co-

lombia

Rural Rehabilitation and Develop-ment Minister Mohammed Ehsan Zia was awarded for showing exem-plary leadership in successful imple-mentation of National Solidarity Programme. The recognition of H.E. Minster Zia for the prestigious award was made at the first Joint Meeting of Communities of Practice on Managing for Development Re-sults in Medellin, Columbia. Established in 2003, NSP with con-tinued assistance of the World Bank

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Goi Peace Foundation awards

Mr. Parwiz Ahmad Abrahimion

for outstanding essay on Af-

ghanistan

November 10th, 2009 - Ambassa-dor Hakimi and Mr. Azimi met with members of the Goi Peace Foundation and Mr. Parwiz Ahmad Abrahimi (center). The Goi Foun-dation awarded Mr. Parwiz the 1st prize in its International Essay Contest for Young People for his essay on Afghanistan. The com-plete essay can be read at the fol-lowing link: www.goipeace.or.jp/english/ activities/programs/2009/

winners/winner02.html


a community centre; the graveling of 122 kilometers of road, and 61 small bridges; and the construction of 1830 meters retaining wall. The project also conducted literacy and tailoring courses for women during the proc-ess.

29 uplift schemes completed in the

north Twenty-nine different developmental schemes have been completed in two northern provinces under the National Solidarity Programme (NSP) of the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD). Twenty of the projects will take place in Takhar and nine in Baghlan. Around 5,000 families will benefit from the pro-jects.

Road asphalted and water project

launched in Helmand and Lagh-

man

Asphalting work on a road 1.5 kilo-meters long and 30 meters width was completed in Lashkargah, the capital Helmand province. Additionally, con-struction work on a water supply pro-ject was launched in Karta Lagan on November 7th. At the same time, as-phalting work on a sixteen kilometer road was launched in Laghman prov-ince, which will link the capital, Me-hterlam, with Shahr-e-Naw. An extension of 5,000 telephone lines and the establishment of fax and internet facilities were carried out in Khost province, making the province the 7th in the country with fax and internet services.

Mangal launches Food Zone Pro-

gramme

A newly introduced 'Food Zone Pro-gramme' which distributes seeds, fer-tilizer and equipment to farmers growing wheat and other food crops rather than poppy was launched on November 1st in Helmand.

At the inauguration ceremony of the programme, Governor Gulab Mangal said that farmers and gar-deners from eight districts of the province and the capital would be provided with improved seeds and fertilizers. He said over 12,000 farmers in the capital alone would be given the assistance which would help considerably bring down the poppy cultivation in the region. Seeds distribution implemented

in Logar

Agriculture in central Logar prov-ince was improved by a huge distri-bution of high-quality seeds for local farmers including 50 tons of wheat seeds, 70 tons of urea, and 25 tons of DAP fertilizer by the provincial Directorate of Agricul-ture, Irrigation and Livestock (DAIL). The assistance is focused on poor cooperative members in the province, which are not able to af-ford enough seeds. Thanks to these improved seeds, the yields will be two times higher this year com-pared to previous years and, conse-quently, dependence on imported materials will decrease.

H.E. Ambassador Hakimi spoke at the Roundtable "Prospect for Peacebuilding and Democratic Governance in Afghanistan" at Hosei University on November 14th. H.E. Ambassador Hakimi's presentation focused on Afghani-stan's history, successes, and chal-lenges. Other speakers represented the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the United Nations, and Academia.

H.E. Ambassador Hakimi speaks

at the roundtable “Prospect for

Peace building and Democracy”

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Afghan News, September 2009

Japan donates $5 billion in aid for

Afghan reconstruction

H.E. Prime Minister Yukio Hato-yama of Japan spoke with President Karzai and announced that Japan will spend as much as US$5 billion over the next five years to support the reconstruction process in Af-ghanistan. H.E. Prime Minister Ha-toyama also congratulated the peo-ple of Afghanistan on the successful electoral process and the re-election of H.E. President Hamid Karzai. H.E. President Karzai thanked H.E. Prime Minister Hatoyama for Ja-pan’s support during the past seven years and the new Japanese pledge, and said that he appreciated any ef-fort by Japan towards the peace process. H.E. President Karzai and H.E. Prime Minister Hatoyama agreed to work on establishing an effective mechanism for allocating the Japa-nese funds. This is the first consider-able sum of financial assistance to be announced by a donor country following the August 20th elections in Afghanistan.

Japanese government provides

$4.6 million to support women

and children survivors in Af-

ghanistan

The Japanese government and UNI-CEF signed an agreement to further immunization-programmes for chil-dren in Afghanistan. Thanks to the generous contribution of US$4.6 million from Japan, more than 7.7 million children will benefit from improved infectious disease preven-tion and control. The signing of the agreement by the Ambassador of Japan HE, Mr. Shi-geyuki Hiroki and UNICEF Repre-sentative for Afghanistan Ms. Cath-erine Mbengue took place in the presence of Afghanistan's Minister of Public Health, H.E. Dr. S. M. Amin Fatimie and Mr. Peter Graaff, Representative of the World Health

(Continued from page 3) Organization (WHO) for Afghani-stan during a special ceremony at the Ministry of Public Health in Kabul (MoPH). Systematic immunization of chil-dren against potential diseases such as polio, measles, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, hepatitis, influenza, and tuberculosis is essen-tial to achieve long-term improve-ments in child health and a reduc-tion of child mortality. The new Japanese grant will allow the pro-curement of essential supplies, in-cluding vaccines necessary for Na-tional Immunization Days (NIDs) and routine immunizations. It will help the country to meet the Mil-lennium Development Goals 4 and 5 (MDG) related to child and ma-ternal mortality reduction. H.E. The Minister of Public Health appreciated the generous contribu-tion from the Japanese government as the Afghan government is deeply committed to eradicating childhood diseases.

Interview With Mr. Soichiro Yamada*,

former volunteer at the Af-

ghanistan Embassy in Tokyo,

now working for a NGO in

Afghanistan

Q: How did you become inter-

ested in Afghanistan?

First of all, I am very interested in the history of Afghanistan as many religions have crossed Afghanistan throughout history. In particular, Buddhism was strongly developed in Afghanistan with the interaction with Hellenism brought by Alexan-der the Great. Also, Afghanistan is full of different cultures due to its many ethnic groups and it is very interesting to know and to under-stand their traditions and cultures.


Q: Why did you want to work in

Afghanistan?

In addition to what I’ve already said, I wanted to put into practice what I learned in university as a student of Persian language and agricultural development. There are less opportunities in Japan to try to make a difference in society and daily life, but I noticed that it is also very difficult to do so in Afghanistan. However, I want to see people's smiles or to know that people become happier through the results of my work, so my chal-

lenges have just begun.

Q: What are you doing in Af-

ghanistan?

Our organization has been dedi-cated to 1) the rehabilitation and construction of feeder roads for mountainous remote areas and to transport potable water for commu-nities which have difficulties in accessing drinking water; 2) pro-viding hygiene education and con-structing latrines to reduce water-borne diseases; 3) formulating fe-male groups to encourage them in improving their livelihoods, which addresses saving money, food processing, and gardening;. 4) helping with bee keeping opera-tions; and other tasks. My main duties are to support our workers shifting from relief work, such as the construction of infrastructure, to development work, such as sus-tainable development for liveli-hood and income generation. In the future, development work should be done by the hands of the Af-ghan people, not by foreigners and therefore I am helping building local workers' capacity in project management and other areas.

Q: Have you changed through

the involvement with Afghans

and Afghanistan?

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Well, one new thought has emerged. I believed that you learn from your mistakes (“shippai wa seikou no moto” in japanese). However, in Afghanistan, if you make one mis-take, then people will not count on you and also, I feel mistakes have larger consequences in this stage of Afghanistan’s his-tory. Therfore, I have become very cautious in regards to security infor-mation. Q: What is the most fascinating

aspect about working in Afghani-

stan? Everyday is full of new and surpris-ing discoveries, there are beautiful natural sights such as high moun-tains or green fields amidst dry, desolate surroundings. I also like the dry weather more than the humid environment of home.

Q: How is the mood after the elec-

tion? Nothing has changed, just as after the election in Japan. People are busy working and going about their day to day lives. Q: Are people optimistic about the

future? People are indeed optimistic about the future as there is a lot of poten-tial for economic development such as underground mineral resources

(Continued from page 4)

Afghan News, September 2009

and water resources for hydro-energy.

Q: Do you have any message for

the Japanese people?

Please be interested in the people of Afghanistan as Afghanistan is an independent country, like Japan. Historically, since the Japan-Russian war, and even before it, Japan has regarded Afghanistan as an important partner. In fact, during the early 20th century, people in Afghanistan extended financial support to people in Japan when there was a series of big earth-quakes. Recently, the Government of Japan decided to provide vaccine for chil-dren and financial support for de-velopment in Afghanistan. Many Afghans recognized Japan as a peaceful friend because of actions like this and I did not have any troubles with Government red-tape procedure. Everyone is very kind to Japanese people and the aid pro-vided by Japanese taxpayers will be used properly and effectively. If your interest has been whet, please study the languages of Afghanistan and gain special skills to come here to work together with the Afghan people. * Name of interviewee has been changed upon request.

Upcoming Events

& Important

December 10-16: “Afghan ni

Midori no Daichi wo” photo

exhibition

Photographs from Kazuya Ito, the brave Japanese man who dedicated himself to helping Afghanistan’s agricultural sector, will be shown in his memory in Shibuya at the Mont Belle Shibuya Building (8 minutes from Shibuya station). Open from 11 AM to 7 PM, except the 16th which is open until 5 PM. For more information call 03-5784-4005.


November 2-December 19

Photo exhibition with Poto-

grapher Mr. Nagakura Hi-

romi Renowned Japanese photographer Hiromi Nagakura will present and talk about his photos from the exhi-bition ‘Silk Road—the human fig-ure.’ The gallery will be open only on weekdays and Saturdays between 10am and 5:30pm; it will be closed on Sundays and holidays. The conference will take place in Canon Hall S, 3rd floor of Canon S Tower from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm on November 28th. The venue holds up to 300 people. Reservations are needed. For more information and reservation, please log on to canon.jp/event. The photographer will also have Gallery talks on November 6th, 13th, 21st and December 5th, 11th, 12th and 19th from 1.30 pm each day in Canon Gallery S. For more information, call. 03-6719-9021

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Omar’s Kitchen Each month, the Embassy’s Chef, Omar, will offer a recipe for authentic Afghan food.

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. Pistachios or almonds (blanched)

• 12 oz. Vegetable oil

• 12 oz. Coarse wheat flour

• 24 oz. Water

• 12 oz. Dark brown sugar

• 1 Tbsp. Ground cardamom seeds

• 1 Tbsp. Rosewater

Halwah

(dessert)

Put the nuts in a small saucepan and cover with water.

Bring to a boil and simmer 3 minutes.

Drain and run under cold water until skins can be comfortable removed with your fingers.

In another saucepan, make syrup by simmering the water and the sugar until thickened.

In a heavy pot, heat the vegetable oil and mix in the wheat flour.

Cook five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the syrup and mix well.

Cook till all the water is evaporated.

Add the nuts, cardamom and rosewater.

Cover and place in a 300 degree F oven for 10 minutes.

Serve slightly warm or completely cold.

To cook:

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Language Lesson

There are many languages spoken in Afghanistan, but two are designated as the nation’s official languages: Pashto and Dari. For audio samples of the vocabulary and phrases, please go to: http://www.afghanembassyjp.org/en/life/?pn=210

English Pashto Dari

How can I help you? Sa raqam kaveli shom ta so sara

marasta rakrum?

Aya shoma ra komak karda met-wanam?

I’d like ... Za gwarm ... Man mekhaham …

Anything to drink? Chesolo lapara? Chezy brahy noshedan?

… please … lotfan … lotfan

Bread Doday Nan

Chicken Kebab Da cherk Kabab Kabab-e-murgh

Beef Kebab Da gowa Kabab Kabab-e-gosht gaow

Water Obu Ahb

Tea Chai Chai

Coffee Coffee Coffee

Embassy of Afghanistan in Tokyo 2-2-1 Azabudai, Minato ward, Tokyo 106-0041

Domestic Tel: 03-5574-7611

Fax: 03-5574-0195

Overseas Tel: +81-3-5574-7611

Fax: +81-3-5574-0195

Website

www.afghanembassyjp.org

Contact Us

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions regarding this newsletter or the Embassy, please send an e-mail to the embassy’s Public Affairs Officer, Jason Pratt:

[email protected]


Hello, Can I help you? Salaam, kaveli shom ta so sara

marasta rakrum?

Salaam, man metawanam shoma ra komak konam?

Yes, Id like a chicken kebab and bread.

Ho, za da cherk kabab gharm hao

doday.

Balay. Man mekhwaham kabab-e-murgh ham ambroi nan.

Anything to drink? Chesolo lapara? Chezy brahy noshedan?

Yes, Tea please. Ho. Chai lotfan. Balay. Chai lotfan.

Thank you. Manana. Tashakor.

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