What Plagues Afghanistan?

What plagues Afghanistan ? Well a simple answer would be to say everything under the sun. But understanding the issues plaguing the nation is not that simple. From the problems created by the insurgency to the destroyed social structure, the Afghan society is struggling with host of problems.

September 2, 2006 the UN's news agency published a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC) saying that opium production is fast growing in Afghanistan , providing money to the local insurgents. The report says that there has been a 59% rise in opium cultivation area and 162% rise in the cultivation itself. The opium produced this year in Afghanistan will make about 92% of the world's supply. Infact that supply is stated to outgrow the demand by about 32%.

The present Afghan government has been largely in affective in controlling the opium cultivation. The farmers are forced to grow the drug because they have no other options. They have no help from the government in growing other crops like rice or beans or the famed Afghan oranges and nuts. Also the farmers are lured by the quick cash opium brings.

Taliban which is on a rebound is using the drug trade to fund its militia, other insurgents groups in the region are also benefiting from the drug trade.

It is very important to stop the farmers from growing opium but then with the government held up by the resurgent Taliban, mounting domestic problem and very little help from the donors, the task is looking like impossible.

Let us look at the present situation in Afghanistan . Apart from the growing opium production, there is a growing insurgency threat all over the country, especially in the South. United Nations Assistance Mission to opened a new regional office in Zabul, in the south to help people deal with rising insurgency. It aims to provide support to the local agencies to work on establishing peace and working on improving the economy. Then there is the question of women. Afghan women's problems have not been solved even years after the end of Taliban rule. Domestic violence is on a rise, education is still a distant dream, so is health care and personal freedom. They may not be forced to cover themselves but the insecurity in villages and cities forces them to stay indoor most of the time, venturing out only while fully covered.

Christian Aid, a British aid agency has said that millions in face starvation s because of a sever drought this year. Worst hit wares are
Herat
, Badghis, Ghor and rthe Faryab province. The agency has urged the world community to pay attention to the non military problems facing and provide aid immediately.

Security is another issue. With the insurgency on a rise, number of American and soldiers from allied nations being killed in incidents has risen sharply, number of IED explosions is growing and so are the attacks against the civilians, journalists and aid workers. On 30 May, 2006 IRIN reported that seven aid workers killed in the

province
of
Jawzjan

by gunmen who ambushed their vehicles.

Growing drug trade, lack of security, resurgent violence and no economic restructuring plan are one of the many issues plaguing Afghanistan but the biggest one is indifference. It is our indifference and lack of understanding of the Afghan society and its needs is what plagues the nation .