The Hindu Business Line : The daily battleground

Nothing warms the heart more in a war-ravaged country like Afghanistan than the sight of a school in the middle of nowhere. Driving on the tortuous and virtually non-existent road from Kabul to Bamiyan, the historic town northwest of Kabul where the Taliban had barbarically destroyed centuries-old Buddhas barely seven months before the US-led coalition's attack on Afghanistan in 2001, one comes across quite a few schools.

The buildings in the picture — separate schools for boys and girls — are grand structures when compared to the unpretentious and sometimes roofless mud hovels that serve as one-room schools in many provinces of Afghanistan. But whether a pucca brick-and-stone structure or a crumbling mud hovel, all schools are priceless to a country that has seen its educational institutions and systems crumble before its eyes in the 20-odd years of conflict.

While countries like Japan, France and Germany, and of course India, are doing a lot to put Afghanistan's tottering education system back on its feet, the problem is getting qualified teachers. As Wali Mohammed, Director of Lycee Esteqlal High School in Kabul, rebuilt and financed by the French, points out, Afghanistan's schools have a peculiar problem... of both scarcity and plenty. "Students we have plenty, but there is a shortage of teachers to teach them."

The transportation scene is not much better either. Forget the interior provinces, even big cities don't have much of a public transport system. Chandu Singh, the only Sardarji who lives in Bamiyan and runs a Unani medicine store, has his wife and children in Kabul. Every month he forks out 350 Afghanis (about $7) to buy a ride to Kabul in a battered Toyota van, which is packed with over 20-30 people. But this is a princely sum that the majority of Afghans cannot afford.

So to get from one village to another, the mule and the cycle are the most common forms of transport. Picture shows 30-year-old Mehrab and her one-year-old son on the mule, while her husband pushes along his cycle. The smart man worked out a quick deal in his mind when we sought his permission to photograph his unveiled wife. After the click of the cameras he requested a lift for his wife and child in our Toyota HiAce, something that was willingly given, even as we wondered at his confidence in entrusting his wife and child to total strangers. But then in the provinces you find most Afghans to be warm, hospitable... and trusting.

But while there is a dearth of schools for the Afghan children and lack of vehicles to meet the transportation needs of the bulk of Afghanistan's 24 million people, the one commodity we found at frequent intervals, during a drive to the Panjsheir valley — home of the Afghan hero Ahmed Shah Massoud — and Bamiyan, were abandoned Soviet tanks and other armoured vehicles. In the backdrop of the rugged mountains and stark cliffs on the one side, and the gushing Bamiyan River on the other, this abandoned Soviet tank continues to serve as a convenient perch for the children and men alike, as a harsh winter ended to usher in a gentle spring.

Pictures by Rasheeda Bhagat

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Two and two make...

Heard it on my radio...

Let's be fair to ourselves

A window of opportunity

The daily battleground

Street smart

Dear Ekta...

To fetch a pail of water...

Good in patches!