Intellectual contribution to build Afghan civil service

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Theodora Skinner
5 years ago
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1 Intellectual contribution to build Afghan civil service Her passion for volunteerism drives her to sacrifice her successful career in the banking industry. Despite forgoing a hefty monthly paycheck, Ms Patsian Low, feels very much at ease, because life, according to Ms Low, is not about the accumulation of money. Aside from her consultancy firm, Serenity Associates LLP, Ms Low spends the rest of her time dispensing intellectual advice through the volunteers website, Volunteer work does not require one to go anywhere far. In fact you can do it online, Ms Low, 34, said. Ms Low s experience in volunteer work has made the Singapore International Foundation (SIF) to select her as one of three Singaporean facilitators to conduct a series of seminars in human resource development and management for a group of civil servants from Afghanistan. The three facilitators will be volunteering their expertise and giving advice to 31 Afghani civil servants at the 2008 Hiroshima Fellowship for Afghanistan conference that was just concluded in Tokyo. Other mentors at the conference are Ms Chin Hooi Yen, director of Corporate and Commercial Department of Gateway Law Corporation, and Mr Ernest Lee Kian Meng, Director of Training & Knowledge Management at the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS). The seminar, endorsed by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) as well as the Afghan Consultancy, Training and Research Association (ACTRA) is a part of the conference that was aimed at providing leadership skills as well as administration and management to the participants in support of efforts to rebuild Afghanistan. This is the second year Ms Low is involved in the fellowship that began in 2004.

2 When I was told about this, I asked myself, what was it that they need from me? However, after interacting with them, I felt that I needed to learn from them, in their indomitable spirit in rebuilding their nation, and in being steadfast in the face of challenges. For example, a car bombing and disturbance on the Internet are things that seem unreal to us here, are very real for them, Ms Low reflected. Other than through , Ms Low keeps in touch with the Afghani civil servants through voice conferencing every two months, which also involves UNITAR. I need to keep an open mind when faced with these civil servants. They are clearer in airing their views and demand quick answers to their questions. It shows that they need aid and they need it quick, in terms of building expertise as war has robbed them of everything, Ms Low said. *The Singapore International Foundation (SIF) has recently worked together with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) in endorsing the 2008 Hiroshima Fellowship for Afghanistan. It hopes to train Afghani civil servants in the fields of management as well as administration. * Photo caption 1 MS LOW: Among three Singaporean volunteers who are facilitators at the conference about human resource development and management for Afghani civil servants. Photo caption 2: FOR THE COUNTRY: (From left) Mr Mohd Akbar and Mr Musa, with their colleagues discussing with Ms Low about the brighter future ahead for Afghanistan.

4 Let it rain in gold in other countries. After years living as a Pakistani refugee, Mr Musa Kamawi, Mr Mohd Akbar Hamidi and Ms Najla Sabri all feel that time has come for them to return to their homeland after the war subsides. However, with over 70 per cent of Afghanistan destroyed, 10 per cent of its population killed and almost all of its elites having fled the country, they are looking at a country with an uncertain future. When I return to the capital, Kabul, I couldn t believe it. Our 10-bedroom home was reduced to a pile of earth. I was heartbroken, Ms Najla, 30, reflected. Ms Najla, who is now the personal assistant to the special envoy of the European Union (EU) to Afghanistan, had fled to Pakistan with her family in 1994 during the rise of the Taleban. When in Pakistan, I worked full-time to support my family while studying part-time. Thankfully I was accepted into university. But it wasn t that easy as we needed to move here and there to get letters of authenticity from the Pakistani government, she said. Nonetheless, herself, together with Mr. Musa and Mr. Mohd Akbar reseoved to rebuild Afghanistan and are confident that the nation will return to its glory days before the Soviet occupation in I believe even though we are faced with many challenges ahead, with the help of the international community we will overcome them, Mr Musa, 27, said, who is a manager at the labour union agency in Afghanistan. We cannot warm the hearts of Afghanis with a military operation. It can only be done through bringing re-building projects and restoring public operations that will improve the quality of lives of the Afghanistan people, he added. Mr Musa, the youngest of a famile of 10, feld to Pakistan with his family immediately after he was born, in Kabul. He received his university degree in Pakistan despite facing daily hardships. A tough life also did not stop Mr Mohd Akbar, 36, from attaining a good education. I was given a scholarship to further my studies in Maghribi and after that, work in a trading company in Dubai, said the director of the Canadian Programme Support Unit for Afghanistan. He is a father to a 3-year-old son. A stable job and the chance to live a better life overseas did not stop them from returning to their motherland. As the saying goes, even as it rains rocks in your country, while it rains gold in others, it is still better in your own country. Life in your own country is different. We have lived the life of a refugee and it is not something that s nice. We felt that we weren t wanted there, Mr Akbar said. Ambassador confident Afghan will stabilize by Afghanistan is projected to achieve economic stability and security by 2015.

5 Seven years is how long it takes for the government of the war-torn nation to rebuild itself, together with infrastructure that will pave the way for the nation s elite to return home. That is the optimistic view of the Afghanistan Ambassador to Japan, Mr Haron Amin. The 2015 prediction is a good year. It is realistic and is in line with global expectations. All domestic needs will be met, and Afghanistan will rise again, Mr Haron said in an interview with the Singapore media at the Afghanistan embassy in Tokyo. Afghanistan has undergone many positive transformation since the fall of the Taleban in 2001, he said, as one of the lecturers at the round table discussions of the 2008 Hiroshima Fellowship for Afghanistan. Among the changes seen is the fact the more of its population can now afford basic medical necessities, up from 9 per cent to 85 per cent. Also the number of children going to school has increased from less than one million, to seven million today. With 75 per cent of its population now exposed to telecommunications facilities, mobile phone users have increased from zero, to five million users today. Now, there are more than 80 radio stations, with 30 television stations, and almost half of them private stations, while 28 per cent of parliament seats are occupied by women. All of this was unheard of eight years ago. With the desire of its people, the government of Afghanistan together with the international community, we can do it. Young people today want renewal, and we need to keep up with that need, Mr Haron said. Regarding the co-operation with the international community in the rebuilding effort, Mr Haron appreciates the help Singapore has given, be it through troops support to Bamiyan, through scholarships to the Afghan public undergoing training and short-term education in Singapore. Born in Kabul in 1969, Mr Harun, together with his family, fled to the United States a year after Afghanistan was taken over by the Soviet Union. I am proud to be a warrior for I believe in a free world and globalisation. Right after the fall of Afghanistan, I lost three of my friends. Their fathers were elites who opposed the Communist ideology, Mr Haron said. He does not deny that there are still weaknesses in the administration that has hampered the country s recovery. The first issue we are facing is corruption. That needs to be addressed as soon as possible, he stated. Photo caption: MR HARON: Stresses that corruption is the first issue that needs to be dealt with quickly.

AFGHANISTAN: TRANSITION UNDER THREAT WORKSHOP REPORT

AFGHANISTAN: TRANSITION UNDER THREAT WORKSHOP REPORT On December 17-18, 2006, a workshop was held near Waterloo, Ontario Canada to assess Afghanistan s progress since the end of the Taliban regime. Among