Afghanistan

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Afghanistan
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Country Profile

• GEOGRAPHY
• Slightly smaller than Texas
• Southern Asia north and west of Pakistan and
  east of Iran
• Central Asia Bordered on the north by
  Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan as well
  as on the northeast a tiny border with China
• High snow-capped mountainsHindu Kush, also
  called the Roof of the World and is traversed
  by deep valleys

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People and Language

• ETHNICITIES
• About 30 million
• Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, Aimaqs,
  Baluchs and others
• Live in urban and rural areas
• Rural Tribal system Jirga or Council

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• LANGUAGE
• Over 70 languages and dialects
• Pashto and Dari (Afghan Persian) are the two main
  official languages
• Share some languages with neighboring countries

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• FOOD
• Nice and delicious food
• Usually eat on the floor using Toshak
• Nan, Qabuli Palaw, Kabab, Manto, Ashaq and Piraki
  are the Afghan traditional food
• The best fruit in the region Afghan apples,
  grapes, pomegranate, melon, watermelon, raisins,
  pistachio and almonds are the most famous ones.

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Short History

• 5,000 years of history
• Independence day, August 19, 1919 from U.K.
• The Soviet invasion 1979
• The Mujahideen takes over and the civil war
  starts 1992
• The Taliban (students) takes over 1996
• The U.S. and International Coalition overthrow
  the Taliban in 2001
• Presidential and parliament election in 2004 and
  2005 Hamid Karzai was elected as a first
  democratic president of Afghanistan.

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Life Under the Taliban, 1996-2001

• Brutally oppressed the Afghan people (specially
  women)
• Prevention of girls from going to school and
  women from working outside
• Pakistan, Iran and other neighbor's intervention
• Dictatorship
• Fear
• Terror and countrys isolationism

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Post Taliban Afghanistan, 2001-2005

• About 6.5 million children who were banned from
  attending schools are now going back to school
  after 5 years
• Establishment of the Ministry of Women Affairs
  for the first time in its history
• More than 6 million Afghan refugees who were
  living in Pakistan and Iran are now returning
  home and half of them already returned.
• Building the infrastructure of the country

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Afghan Kids

• Struggling to find a loaf of bread
• Helping their mom or dad to earn some money--
  average 6 per month
• Carpentry is most common in the north
• Feeding animals in nomadic lives
• Moreover, asking for one Afghani, 2 cents, on the
  streets
• No electricity at night, no heat in winter, no
  shelter in summer

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Hope for Tomorrow!

• In addition to all these problems, poverty and
  inconvenience, BUT, they still go to school
• They still struggle for learning and earning
  something
• They still do not feel tiered walking hours to
  get to school under the burning sunshine and
  freezing cold, bare feet

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