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The Coyne Column: Love and War in Afghanistan
The Coyne Column: Love and War in Afghanistan
John P. Coyne
Husband and wife team, Alex Klaits and Gulchin Gulmamadova-Klaits present a unique collection of true stories of Love and War in Afghanistan.
Husband and wife team, Alex Klaits (Kyrgyz Republic 1995-97) and Gulchin Gulmamadova-Klaits have just published Love and War in Afghanistan, (Seven Stories Press) a unique collection of true stories of fourteen ordinary men and women living in Northern Afghanistan. These are tales of young lovers who elope against the wishes of their kin; a mullah whose wit is his only defense against his armed captors; a defector from the Soviet army; a woman who is forced to stand up to gangsters in Tajikistan.
Among the praises for the book, Haleh Esfandiari, Director Middle East Program, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, writes on the blurb, "Alex Klaits and Gulchin Gulmamadova-Klaits have woven a beautiful, moving and haunting tapestry of individual lives in war-torn Afghanistan?. This is a must read for anyone who cares about and wants to grasp present-day Afghanistan."
Klaits knows Afghanistan and the problems of development there. Back in May of 2003 he spoke at an event sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the U.S. Institute of Peace, and said that nongovernmental relief organizations such as Child Fund Afghanistan (where he was program manager) oppose the provisional reconstruction teams, which were established in several Afghan regions earlier this year, because they put military forces in charge of relief work.
"Many of the NGOs are going bankrupt but the military has lots of funds," he said. "We believe the NGOs are capable of doing this work." More practically, Klaits said that the military teams, which are made up of Army special operations soldiers, regular ground troops and Army personnel trained in reconstruction, have failed to tap local resources and have botched construction projects. The teams have hired Afghan construction companies to rebuild schools and hospitals, he said, but don’t have engineers on staff capable of overseeing the work. "The schools being built are already falling down."
In addition, he said, the teams have wasted money by failing to call for community volunteers and for allowing the Afghan construction firms to overcharge for their services."
Spoke like a true RPCV.
When this story was posted in May 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:Read the stories and leave your comments.
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May 7, 2005: Special Events
"Iowa in Ghana" on exhibit in Waterloo through June 30
"American Taboo" author Phil Weiss in Maryland on June 18
Leland Foerster opens photo exhibition at Cal State
RPCV Writers scholarship in Baltimore - deadline June 1
Gary Edwards' music performed in Idaho on May 24
RPCVs: Post your stories or press releases here for inclusion next week.
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By raul peralta (c-66-177-4-178.hsd1.fl.comcast.net - 66.177.4.178) on Thursday, June 30, 2005 - 10:10 pm: Edit Post |
I am looking for Joel horton (orton) he is fron Oregon. He was in Panama 20 years ago.
thanks
raul