"Indifference is the lowest form of freedom."-Descartes

We Should Not Forget...

...the importance of cultural and scientific heritage and contribution of Afghanistan throughout crucial centuries of global development. The great poets and mystics of Afghanistan, whether from Balkh, Ghazni, Herat or Kandahar, have left their remarkable impacts beyond words. Being a crossroad between a Hindo-Buddhist world on one hand and the Muslim world on the other, Afghanistan devoted itself to discover the new perspectives on human wisdom. Due to this devotion and the cultural settings, the great masters, such as Hakim Sanaii, Jami, Nasir Khusru, Khajeh Abdullah Ansari and young Rumi were produced.

In addition, being the heart of world trade once upon a time, the Silk Road trade without Afghanistan would have been unlucrative. Thus, we may ignore the importance of Afghanistan and its historical role in the family of culturally eminent nations, but only at our own risk.

The austere situation of Afghanistan in our modern times needs closer attention, care, help, and certainly NOT a media-based renunciation. Often times the public (in general) gets upset, angry, scared or even laughs at what they read or hear about Afghanistan. This reflection and ridiculing has made the public slowly withdraw from such "chaos". This withdrawal of support combined with a condemning attitude in addition to the country's nearly 20 year long civil war has resulted in the Afghan population becoming repressed victims. In this connection, we have to remind ourselves the story in the Bible when Mary Magdalene was going to be stoned for her sins and Jesus said, "he who has not committed sins may cast the first stone…" (John 8:1-12). Is there an innocent country in the world? The fact of the matter is, people are always the victims of any political mistake; therefore the folks should not be punished and sanctioned. We should not forget, whatever the sources of their problems, they are human beings; they are still with us and are part of us. "The children of humans are members in a body who related, for of a single essence are they each and all created." (Sa'di, d. 1291) Today Afghanistan should be one of our top priorities and is a serious emergency on a human scale, regardless of what type of government they have.

Here are two recommendations in general that enables us to help ourselves and the world at large:
1. Caring individuals should compassionately devote energy to raising awareness through regular discussions in giving attention to the sufferings of the "forgotten folks." Oftentimes human awareness and moral support prove to be more penetrating than just the actual physical/material help. We must also humanize our neighbors' sociopolitical crises, in this case, Afghanistan's crisis.

2. The critical masses may be in small minority, but they have a burden on their shoulders to not only bring some balance to a society in which they live, but also to call the shots for boycotts and civil disobedience on a mass and global scale against the threatening, harmful and abusive corporations and even governments. In simple terms, we PEOPLE call for the sanctions and boycotts against governments, and not vice versa. The condition for exercising this authority on behalf of people in general is AWARENESS and SELFLESSNESS. Make sure to be consistent with the affairs of nature…

"Be strong as a leopard, light as an eagle, swift as a deer, and brave as a lion,
when carrying out tasks of righteousness." --Jundab Ben Tema (Jewish wisdom)

Mostafa Vaziri, Coordinator

MEPO'S MEDICAL AND EDUCATIONAL MISSION IN AFGHANISTAN AND IN AFGHAN REFUGEE CAMPS IN PAKISTAN

MEPO has been predominantly involved in charity work in Nepal. But late this spring, we made our approach to the Afghan crisis, first in Peshawar, Pakistan (where most of the Afghan Refugee camps are concentrated) then later inside Afghanistan. We tried, for a period of two and a half months, to provide our services to seriously needy Afghans in both zones. MEPO provided both medical and educational assistance through the mediations of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) and International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGO) working directly with the Afghan population. MEPO was successful in reaching and treating 1430 patients, giving them free medicine. Three schools were also established by MEPO, two for girls and one mixed, for boys and girls.

MEDICAL ASSISTANCE

Medical Assistance in Afghanistan

MEPO's medical contribution took place in five provinces:

1) Nangrahar: Bangau, Jalalabad, Chabrehar, Baro/Rudat
2) Laghman: Mehterlan, Bibi Hajar
3) Kabul: Kabul City, Chinar
4) Paktia: Zurmat
5) Ghazni: Ghazni City, Arezoo, Mirai (Andar district)

This contribution materialized in three forms:

1) Directly checking patients in existing clinics, in a tent, or at somebody's house and giving them free medicine and vitamins. The number of patients checked in this way reached 600.
2) A) Providing health education dealing with topics such as dental care, importance and use of soap, clean water and treatment of severe diarrhea, particularly in children.
B) Participation in seminars/lectures for the health workers in two provinces of Nangrahar and Laghman.

3) Donation of some commonly used medicines to:
-HEWAD Clinic for mother and child care in Jalalabad (Nangrahar, Afghanistan)
-Woman Development Program for Afghanistan (WDPA) in Peshawar (Pakistan)

Medical Assistance in Afghan Refugee Camps in Pakistan

There are more than 20 refugee camps in Pakistan; and MEPO was able to serve in four of them, namely: Kachagary, Nasir Bagh, Kohat and Shamshatu. The total number of patients checked whom also received free medicine and vitamins reached 830. This service was made possible through the mediation of the few existing NGO's active in refugee camps (They are acknowledged at the end of this brochure).

EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE

Since girls are in the unserved category of the present Afghan educational system, MEPO worked to provide three primary schools for girls:

1. IN AFGHANISTAN...

MEPO organized in Jalalabad a home school for the girls, since they are not allowed to attend any formal schooling. The home school takes place in the home of the female teacher where the 60 girls gather and sit on the carpeted floor for their lessons.

MEPO PROVIDED:-A year of salary for two female teachers
-Blackboards, chalk, world map and carpets
Dr. Abdulsalam provided:- books, pencils, misc.

*Supervised and managed by HEWAD (NGO) and Dr. Abdulsalam in Jalalabad.

2. AT THE BORDER OF AFGHANISTAN/PAKISTAN...

Torkham is a border city where in its periphery, the 150 girls and boys studying at Dur Baba School always gathered in the morning shade of a mountain sitting on rough ground in sometimes-unbearable extreme temperatures for lessons. Once the hot summer sun or harsh weather took over, classes were called off. The conditions for these children were unimagineable. After MEPO's intervention, the school was able to conduct classes all day, with more protection from the elements.

MEPO PROVIDED: 6 large tents, carpets, blackboards and 150 toothpastes/toothbrushes

*Supervised and managed by: ECO, Peshawar

3. IN KOHAT... REFUGEE CAMP (PAKISTAN)

In one of the refugee camps of Kohat region, 2 hours from Peshawar, live no less than 30,000 Afghans. In this camp there is only one primary school of 450 students, but only for boys. MEPO was successful in obtaining permission from the camp's leaders to establish a girl's school.

MEPO PROVIDED:-Funds to purchase a house with 4 rooms and a yard with a toilet
-A year of salary for 3 female teachers and one maintenance person/guard
-Carpets, benches, chairs, blackboards

ECO PROVIDED: Books, pencils, notebooks, misc.
*Supervised and managed by: ECO, Peshawar

NOTE: The fundraising for this crucial and speedy project was carried out by a very caring lady, Ms. Lida Ghaemi (Berkeley, California)
The name of this school was agreed upon to be KHATEREH ("Remembrance/sweet memory"). Khatereh was the name of the first girl patient in Afghanistan checked by MEPO's doctor.

THE MESSAGE OF PEACE

It is probably appropriate to strongly consider what Dalai Lama, the Tibetan leader and the winner of Noble Peace Prize once said: "Peace is not the absence of war, it is the absence of hatred." We human beings have left the ruins of many wars behind and whether certain countries are at war now or not, we have yet a transcendental dimension to cover to find grace and peace within and among us. Afghanistan is not uniquely a separate and odd entity to bring about a socio-political crisis on a national and international level. All countries with almost no exception have done wrong one way or another. In Afghanistan it is as much as a war for power, without doubt manipulated by external forces, as it is at the same time a war to settle old scores by religious, ethnic and tribal groupings. Therefore, Afghanistan, at the cost of Afghan lives and through the sufferings of millions of innocent people, at its own turn, suffers from discrimination of all sorts.

Without having become entangled in political and religious polemics, MEPO's philosophy and message of peace was conveyed and discussed with some NGO activists, students, intellectuals and even with certain accessible and tolerant Talibans. The content of this message was that we are no longer alone and detached from one another in this dynamic world. Human beings and their sets of beliefs and subcultures stand higher than any transitory political and ideological interpretation for which endless lives have to sacrifice each time. All wars of the past with the undignified behavior of certain power-intoxicated individuals have been settled at the end. Why not then a decent and peaceful behavior in the beginning? Rumi, the mystic poet born in Balkh, Afghanistan says, why can't we make up and love each other in this world, why breaking, burning and disrespecting ourselves? Once we leave this world, then many shed tears and feel sorry for their own and our foolishness, and pray for our reunion in the next world when we have destroyed and violated every principle in this one. To depart from violence and temporary and impulsive self-righteousness, we must commit ourselves to broader views of what and who we are in relation to the power of nature and the pace of the cosmos. And to be present in serving the needy ones in this world.

AN UPDATE ON NEPAL

In addition to what was reported in the issue #3 brochure released in June 2000, we paid two visits in May to a primary school in the village of Sumara (1.5 hours by bus from Kathmandu and one hour by foot from the bus stop in Banepa). In this school we spent most of the time educating children in how to brush their teeth, use soap, keep their clothes and body well-kept. We then distributed 120 toothbrushes and toothpaste as well as various clothes, toys, soaps and pencils among the students. We also donated five blackboards to the school.

September 2000

We have resumed our health camps again. We have already carried out two camps: one in Newakot, serving 110 patients, and the second in Lamjung , serving 250 patients (including dental cases).
MEPO also held two dental camps in the men's and women's prisons in Kathmandu. MEPO has been carrying out several dental camps in the countrysides thanks to Dr. Jacques/Francine Peret (France).

A RETURN TO BANGLADESH

In August of 1999, MEPO paid a short visit to the country's capital, Dhaka ,and its suburbs. In this visit, a village by the name of Ashuliya was explored (2 hours by bus outside of Dhaka). In this village several poor families live together in an extremely humid, swamp-like and unhealthy environment. We managed to check some sick children who were suffering from different infections and bought their medicines for them.

In August of 2000, a stop over of two days in Dhaka made it possible to check on those children in Ashuliya. As the parents were surprised to have our news, it was a thrilling experience to see those children having gained some weight and looking much healthier.

Note: If any volunteer is interested in serving in Bangladesh, we may be able to organize a suitable and helpful position since Bangladesh is one of the Asian countries which needs many caring volunteers.

FUTURE PLANS AND NEEDS OF MEPO

-To maintain and sustain the established girls' schools (pay the salary of the teachers) in Afghanistan and Pakistan

-To establish a mother/child care center both in Afghanistan and Nepal

-To finance, manage and run a health post in the village of Chinar (2 hours from Kabul, Afghanistan).

-Establish more schools for girls in Afghanistan and in Afghan Refugee camps in Pakistan.

-Provide health care, vitamins and medicines to needy Afghans.

-Provide financial assistance for desperate families in Afghanistan.

-Need volunteer medical doctors, especially gynecologists and pediatricians.

-Need monthly financial help to maintain our humanitarian aid work.

-To establish MEPO-IRAN in order to help Afghan Refugees in that country.

- For Nepal, our needs remain the same as before (refer to brochure of June 2000)

A VERY SPECIAL THANKS…

To these individuals who not only provided us financial assistance, but also spiritual support and inspiration and to the very many NGO's who directly and indirectly gave us their support to make our projects to become reality.

FINANCIAL DONORS FOR AFGHANISTAN

Ms. Lida Ghaemi (the fundraiser for a girl's school in Kohat)
Mrs. Mag. Ensieh Edinger-Taheri
The family of Ghaemi
Mr. Jamshid Agaii
Mr. Koroush Taghavi
Mr. Taghi Ahmadi
Dr. Mona Afari
Mr. Hasan Amiri
Ms. Doris Saberi
Ms. Taraneh Hamami
Mr. Ali Rashidi
Mrs. Shahrzad Esfarjani
Mr. Morteza Vaziri
Mr. Rene Veldt
Miss Lucie Penninck
Dr. Asghar Feizi

DONATION OF EQUIPMENTS & MEDICINES

Ordre de Malte (France)
Dr. Virginia Barber (USA)
Dr. Ramin Bayat (Iran/Austria)
Dr. Marton Szell (Austria)
Miss Catherine Joriot (France/Nepal)

DONORS FOR MEPO (General)

Dr. Renate Larndorfer
Mrs. Mag. Ensieh Edinger-Taheri
Ms. Mitra Samak-Abedi
Dr. Uta Maley
Mr. Morteza Vaziri
Mr. Andreas Stoermer
Ms. Lisbeth Bachmann
Dr. Peter Barth
Dr. Gunda Scalmani-Barth
Mrs. Hiltrud Barth
Ms. Allison Lide
Dr. Zia Taheri
Ms. Andrea Jessenig
Ms. Maya Shanks
Dr. Murle Mordy
Ms. Assieh Ghassemi
Ms. Carol Schoffmann
Everette MRI, Diagnostic Center (Washington)
Mr. Nader Massali
Dr. Ramin/Shadi Bayat
Mr. Alain Laville
Ms. Paula Perliss
Ms. Kate Armstrong
Mr. Schwarzenberger
Ms. Betsy Barnard
The Searchlight Club (Sunbury, Ohio)
National Honor Sciety (Lincoln International School, Kathmandu)
Anna Slabert Group (South Africa)
Dr. Parvin Mohtat
Mrs. Margot Rangger
Eng. Mohammad Kiafar
Eng. Wolfgang Holzer
Anonymous Donors

VOLUNTEERS WHO DONATED TIME AND SERVICES
Special thanks to Dr. Jacques/Francine Peret (France) who have been making the dental camps possible.
Ms. Laura Ruben (USA) for administrative assistance
Ms. Claudia Boschke(Germany), volunteer medical student

NGO SUPPORT IN PAKISTAN AND AFGHANISTAN
Afghan NGO's Coordination Bureau (ANCB), Peshawar
Education Coordination Organization (ECO), Peshawar
-HEWAD, Peshawar and Jalalabad
-Norwegian Afghanistan Committee (NAC), Ghazni, Laghman, Jalalabad, Paktia
-Ariana Construction and Rehabilitation Unit (ACRU), Kabul
-Agency Coordination Body for Afghan Relief (ACBAR), Kabul
-High Commissionerate of Afghan Refugees N.W.F.P., Peshawar
-International Red Cross (MEPO is grateful for the flight from Kabul to Peshawar)

INDIVIDUALS TO THANK BOTH IN PAKISTAN AND AFGHANISTAN WHO HELPED HEARTFULLY

-Mr. Said Amir Tahseen (Peshawar)
-Dr. Nasim Jamalzai (Peshawar)
-Dr. Talib Abdulsalam (Jalalabad)
-Eng. Mohammad Shah Bariz (Peshawar)
-Mr. Amanullah Nasrat (Jalalabad, Peshawar)
-Eng. Omarzai Baryalai (Kabul)
-Mr. Andrew Johanson (Kabul)
-Eng. Ghulam Jailany-Khamoush (Kabul, Ghazni)
-Mr. Haji Sarwar (Ghazni)
-Mr. Abdulkarim Azizi (Ghazni)
-Maulavi Sahib (Laghman)
-Lt. Col. Abdulhafeez (Peshawar)
-Dr. Zahidullah (Paktia, Ghazni)
-Dr. Z.A. Mumtaz (Peshawar)
-Dr. Mohammad Siddig (Kohat)
-Mr. Shal Pasha (Kohat)
-Mr. Shams (Kohat)

SOME OBSERVATIONS MADE ON THE SURFACE OF AFGHANISTAN
By Mostafa Vaziri, August, 2000

To enter Afghanistan requires a visa, a plan for charity work, a positive attitude, preparation for some adventures and more importantly a polite and flexible attitude. Almost all entries to Afghanistan are overland, although the UN and Red Cross maintain their flights in and out of Afghanistan. (Exiting Afghanistan, I took a Red Cross flight from Kabul to Peshawar.) At the point of entry into Afghanistan from Pakistan (Torkham is the border town), everything begins to change for the traveller. The first noticeable element is the roads, which are seriously damaged due to a long-standing war in that country. The severely damaged road condition remains true almost all over Afghanistan. A well-built vehicle can only travel at the speed between 5 to 20 km/hr. While traveling, one's head, arms legs and body are not immune from being hit against the walls and the ceiling of the vehicle in which one travels. Certainly there are areas and villages that are more difficult to reach, due to either a rudimentary road or war-damaged roads.

On the roads, old men, girls, boys, even handicapped people work to fill the potholes with dirt, hoping to get some donation from drivers. They look dusted from head to toes, dust covering their faces, eyelashes and hair. As they see a car coming, they outstretch their arms to gather donations, if any, from passing drivers.

Out in the fields, one encounters shepherds and their herds of camels, goats, and sheep. A colony of tents of nomad families is placed in the middle of "nowhere" in an incredible landscape of vast valleys and the most exotic looking intertwined mountains surrounding them.

In passing by, one observes villages which have been partly or completely destroyed or deserted due to 20- year-long war. Along the roads, one cannot fail to see the exploded and deserted tanks (usually Russian made). Bullet holes and heavy artillery damage on the walls of schools, factories, buildings and other infrastructures, whether inside or outside of cities are the reminders of the war's intensity during these past 20 years.

The city of itself is reminiscent of those European cities damaged in WW II, like those seen in war documentaries. Two-thirds of Kabul has been destroyed. And this is one of many reasons that Afghanis have fled their homes towards neighboring countries since they no longer have a home, or the security to lead their lives.

As one enters today's Afghan society, one realizes that all Afghan men, with no exceptions, wear long beards, a cap or traditional turban (lungi), and a long Afghan dress. No western style clothing is allowed except for visiting and working foreigners inside Afghanistan. All women (again with no exception) must wear a burka, a sky-blue or dark green cloak that covers them completely from head to toe.

One sees very few women at all outside, and those who are out on the streets walk very slowly, since the burka has only a small window of loosely woven fabric in front of the woman's eyes; they simply can't see clearly.

When men greet each other is a ritual of high importance. First they hug each other, then they shake hands and then exchange many, at times repetitive greeting words.

Hospitality is one of the most remarkable Afghan cultural and social features. Due to the unemployment, high cost of living, economic stagnation and the current drought, Afghans by and large have a very tough life and eat very modestly (if any, due to this year's drought). But once the guest appears on their doorstep they make sure they prepare the best food, usually chicken, lamb, vegetable, rice and salad, even though this one-night dinner may cost the budget of the week or even a whole month. These gestures of Afghan people make one feel so wholesome. As one Afghan man puts it, "For Afghans, two things are highly valued: first family, next, guests."

One other important observation is the group or community prayers . This community prayer in the mosque is an important duty for everyone, 5 times a day. During these group prayers, shop owners must close for 15 minutes and attend the prayers at the closest mosque, otherwise they may be fined or their shop closed down for a week or two.

SHOPS & MARKETS
Shops and markets in major towns sell all kinds of daily needed products, from washing powder to cooking oil, mostly imported from Iran and Pakistan. Seasonal fruits are the real delicacies and treats. In the summer, watermelon, grapes, apricots, cherries, peaches and figs are the favorites of those who can afford to buy them.

The money exchange market in the major cities is an important business. Pakistani rupees, Iranian rials, Gulf dinars, US dollars and German marks are all exchanged against the heavily devalued Afghani. It is interesting to note that fruit juice, ice cream, and kabab shops are still the mainstream hangout places for those who have the time and the money. To order a fruit juice, since electricity is either rationed or not available, the waiter first has to go outside and start up the small kerosene generator and then return to the shop to get the juicer going.

Having said all this we should remember that extremely low salaries for those who work, a high unemployment rate and massive inflation have made it very difficult for an average Afghan to use any of these products on a casual basis.

EDUCATION
Afghanistan has always had a very high illiteracy rate compared to other Asian countries. This situation has been exacerbated even more by the existing political and social turmoil. The new circumstances and rules and regulations in regard to educational programs has made Afghanistan a completely inadequate system. A great many schools have either been shelled or destroyed due to the war, or they have been closed down either due to the lack of available funds or due to being accused of having maintained a secular western-style schooling. Only a few universities are still functioning, with faculties primarily in medicine, engineering, jurisprudence, theology and a few other subjects.

The true educational frustration must be discovered in the absence of females in the entire educational system. The government authorities in Kabul and Kandahar have made it clear that today's Afghan society is not ready to open rooms for girls to study. They justify this policy by saying they are protecting women from sexual abuse, secular yoke and contamination by modern norms. Some parties in the government have made suggestions (officially and unofficially) for foreign NGO's which are interested in establishing schools for girls. These conditions are: separate transportation to and from school (no walking in the streets by girls), being in a closed compound only with female teachers and teaching only subjects that the department of education chooses. Of course, this is an extremely costly undertaking to cover these conditions for all the girls in Afghanistan. Due to these limitations for the girls, some wealthy or well off families have a tutoring program for their girls at home. Some NGO's have unofficially started what are known as "home schools", but only on a very small scale. Therefore, the tragic situation for Afghan girls as it stands now is that girls are living in darkness and isolation from one another, society and the world at large.

MEDICAL CONDITIONS
One may divide the medical problems in Afghanistan into two major categories: One is the lack of adequate medical facilities, labs, doctors, pharmacies and at times, long and rough distances that some villages have to cover to make it to the nearest health center. Second is the fundamental problem of hygiene, malnutrition, unclean water and sanitation, which are all most difficult to tackle due to the lack of medical infrastructure.

The government run hospitals and facilities are few and insufficient. The major medical campaign is under local and international NGO's coordination and operation. The difficulty of covering over 20 million peoples' medical needs, especially the ones in remote and harsh areas, yet remains to be dealt with.

To provide one example in the sea of disasterous examples of peoples' lives is when a sick woman and a child in the village of Chinar (a place with no medical facilities whatsoever) came to us at a one-day health camp for a check up and treatment. The 1-1/2 year old child was terribly sick as we asked the mother if the girl had received her vaccines. She said ,"No." We asked again, "None at all?" She again said, "No." We told her, "Do you know that many of the available vaccines are free of charge? Why have you not gotten them for your daughter? " She replied, "I don't have enough money for the bus fare to Kabul." We certainly had not thought about that. Then I found out that there was only one bus to Kabul per week. That meant if there were any medical/maternal, emergencies, they simply had to wait for the next bus to Kabul. It may be days to wait or perish as people have had to adapt to these harsh conditions of life in today's difficult Afghanistan.

The toll is on the rise for all diseases in Afghanistan especially tuburculosis, 70%of whose victims are women.( 15,000 people die annually from TB). Malaria, hepititis, leishmeniasis, rabies, vitamin/mineral deficiencies ( especially A, iron, thiamine and iodine), diarrhea and vomiting, kidney and gallstones, anemia, all kinds of infections (especially giardia), insomnia, psychosomatic problems and neurosis (especially among the youth) are the most common medical problems among Afghan population in urban and rural areas. Certainly this year's drought, malnutrition and hunger have added more fuel to the existing problems.

REFUGEE CAMPS
Afghans fled their country due to the destruction of their homes and serious threat to their lives. The two neighboring countries, Iran and Pakistan received nearly 1-1/2 million Afghan refugees each. In and around the city of Peshawar, Pakistan (near the Afghanistan border) there are about 20 Afghan Refugee camps ranging from 20,000 to 200,000 settlers in each camp. The settlers of the camps vary in their social categories from teachers to army officers to farmers to tribesmen to intellectuals, along with their families and children.

Having lived in tents in their early years of settlement, due to the prolongation of crisis and war in Afghanistan, the settlers decided to gradually build townships: houses and shops out of mud and wood. Bakeries, tailor shops, fruit stands, butcher shops, carpentering, etc. began to emerge in order to create a sense of community and togetherness in a foreign land. Today these communities living in refugee camps have no economic backbone, no privileged legal status, no government, no known future nor sustainable cultural destiny.

The misery of these refugee camps goes one step further by having few, if any schools or health centers. The lack of adequate schools in those camps in the last 20 years has hurt the growing generation of today, especially the girls. Lack of proper sanitation sewage system, clean water and hygiene, have made the residents vulnerable to most types of infectious diseases. The financial affordability of anything in those camps is minimal due to the survival level incomes of most people. There are some services made available to the Afghans by international agencies; but these are drastically insufficient.

To alleviate human sufferings in Afghanistan and in refugee camps requires not only combatting problems on the food, medical and educational fronts, but also to have a deeper understanding of their profound psychological sufferings. These deteriorating factors in Afghan society have put this desperate population on the top of the agenda of our conscience, forcing us to re-evaluate what human rights and human dignity mean for them and for us. At this point, we may conclude that due to extremely powerful spiritual and cultural elements, the back of Afghanistan has been bent, but not broken.