OMEID INTERNATIONAL

NEWS / COUNTRY

EMBASSY OF AFGHANISTAN: Embassy of Afghanistan's 2009 Annual Repor
BBC WORLD: "Developing Hope in Afghanistan" "Unfulfilled Promises Haunt Afghanistan"
ASIA TIMES: "The Weapons No One Can Stop Afghanistan: 'Two Feet and a lot of Skin"

STATISTICS: Department of Orphanages in Afghanistan:
>> 50% of the Afghan population is less than 18 years of age with almost no education
>> 1 out of 4 Afghan children dies before the age of 5
>> Over 400,000 children are maimed, because of land mines
>> Over one million Afghan children are suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome.

UNOCHA 1999:
>> More than 250,000 children are reported dying every year of malnutrition alone in Afghanistan.
>> Every three hours or so, a child is blown up as a result of more than ten million landmines planted all over Afghanistan.
>> One-third of Afghanistan's landmine victims are estimated to be childre

UNESCO 1997:
>> More than one quarter of Afghan babies do not see their fifth birthday
>> According to UNICEF's State of the World's Children Report, Afghanistan has the fourth worst record inunderfive-child mortality, the infant mortality rate being 152 per 1,000 live births.

WORLD BANK COUNTRY STUDY: The World Bank recently released the first country study done on Afghanistan in more than a quarter century. The report analyses state building, economy and reducing poverty. Here are a few of the findings:

OPIUM:
The impact of the drug industry on Afghanistan’s economy,polity, and society is profound, with major adverse effects on security, political normalization, regional relations and state building. Responding effectively to the drug economy will be essential for Afghanistan’s future development. In 2003, overall the opium economy comprised more than 1/3 of total national income. By 2004 opium had spread to all of Afghanistan’s provinces and accounted for an estimated 87% of global illicit opium production. After two years of "strong" economic growth, GDP wasestimated at $7 billion, $2.3 billion of this resulting from illicit opium receipts. With an estimated population of 22 million, per capita GDP is $310 (including the opium economy) and remains one of the lowest in the world.

SOCIAL INDICATORS:
Social indicators are amongst the worst in the world.
The 1996 UN Human Development Index ranked Afghanistan as the 169th out of 174 countries. Meaning, only 5 countries in the world are worse off. Infant Mortality remains amongst the highest in the world, with 115 deaths per every 1,000 live births, that’s over 10% !In rural areas one out of every five
children dies before the age of five.
Morbidity rates are extremely high:
>> 30% of children under five years of age suffer from dysentery
>> 19% have severe respiratory diseases
Malnutrition also remains critical:
>> 70% of children do not receive "timely, complimentary" feeding: they are starving
>> 3% of children are disabled
>> 6% of children are orphans
>> 60% do not have access to clean water.
Illiteracy is extremely high:
>> 57% of men over 15 years of age are illiterate
>> 86% of women over age 15 are illiterate
>> National enrollment in school is only 40% for girls and 67% for boys

SECURITY AND THE RULE OF LAW:
Insecurity in all its forms is an extremely serious problem in Afghanistan.The almost total absence of well-trained and accountable police and judiciary services has led to a culture of security violations and impunity.The existence of tribal militias, security forces loyal to regional power brokers, drug mafias and terrorist bands fosters insecurity and leads to tensions between these forces and the modest security forces loyal to the government. Lack of loyalty to Kabul by some provincial Governors and regional powerbrokers, whose militia forces maintain only a semblance of security while being involved at least indirectly in permitting extortion, criminal activities, and drug smuggling has asignificant impact on all segments of society-rich and poor. In the past year alone, thousands of security incidents have taken place across the country, claiming the lives of nearly 1,000 civilians, peacekeepers and aid workers. Human rights abuses, including rape and human trafficking (women and children), have gone unpunished. Criminal acts do not reach the courts. This is a brief snap shot of the 2005 World Bank Country Study on Afghanistan. For more in depth info, strategies and solutions check out the complete study from your local library or online. http://www.worldbank.org/

HISTORY

Given Afghanistan’s famously brutal and far-reaching history it is difficult to offer a brief encounter of this tortured landscape.
Borders, like leaders have changed with great frequency and loss of life. Given the country’s strategic geopolitical location, it sits at a crucial and unavoidable crossroads, known in ancient times as the Silk Route, bridging Western Europe and the Middle East to the Far East and to South and Central Asia. Despite the countless invasions, Coup d’etat’s, revolutions, uprisings and occupations none have ever been able to formallyhold Afghanistan or its people. Each and every invader throughout time has been brutally expelled,creating a warrior culture of resistance, fierce pride and willingness to use force by any means necessary. Afghanistan has famously been referred to as the “graveyard of empires,” and remains reluctantly bound by its bloody history. Below, we offer a brief historical timeline available. Keep in mind that each entry on this timeline offers a deepand complicated story within itself. We urge you to explore each period at great depth. Understanding the agonizing roots that have spawned this modern day culture defined by political conflict, pride and tradition can help us to identify and treat the current socio-political plague that has destroyed this land and its people. Part I (50,000 BCE - 652) Part II (652 - 1747) Part III (1747 - 1978) Part IV (1978 - Present) Timeline courtesy of Afghanistan Online: http://www.afghan-web.com/history/

ARTS & CULTURE

Presently, Afghanistan is recognized predominantly in the contexts of war, terrorism and state building. Although its long history has been defined by the savagery of resistance and the cruelty of conflict,this ancient civilization continued to flourish and advance, both in times of peace and conflict; life went on. This reality is reflected in the often-overlooked ancient arts, cultures, crafts and traditions of this land and its beautifully diverse people. While invasion does bring with it the horrors of warfare, there still lingers a beautiful by-product, which is the marriage of cultures, symbolized in fashion, arts, crafts, cuisine and even the people. The diverse legacy of Afghanistan’s people, languages, arts and history is scarred by combat, but should always be celebrated as a reflection of life and survival against all odds.

Hidden Treasures of Afghanistan
Carpets and Rugs of Afghanistan
Selection of Poems (Various Afghan Poets)
Proverbs Kabul Museum (Ancient Art)
From Ruins of Afghan Buddhas, A History Grows

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