ZIMBABWEAN YOUTH OVERVIEW

(Download Zimbabwean Youth overview as PDF)

 

(Zimbabwean Flag)

 

 

BASIC STATISTICS

• Total population: 11, 365,366 (Ranked 66 in the world by the US Census Bureau).

National GDP: $26.2 billion (1998).

GDP per capital: $2,400.

Median Age: 18.9.

Infant Mortality: 60.68/1000.

 

GEOGRAPHY

• Location: Southern Africa.

Borders: Zambia on the north, Botswana on the west, South Africa on the south, and Mozambique on the East.

Capital: Harare.

Area: 150,800 square miles.

Major city and population: Harare, 1,752,000.

Topography: Mountains in the east slope down to a large plateau, which comprises most of the country.

 

DEMOGRAPHY

• Total population: 11, 365,366 (Ranked 66 in the world by the US Census Bureau).

Population density: 75 per square mile.

Children 0-14: 38.7%—4,395,811.

Teenage 10-19: 28.6%—3,251,667.

Youth between 15-24: 25.2%—2,865,131.

Seniors Over 70: 2.2%—252,907.

Male to female ratio: 102.5/100.

Birth rate: 25/1000.

Life expectancy at birth: 38.43 for males and 38.7 for females.

Infant mortality rate: 60.68/1000 births.

Rate of the HIV/AIDS epidemic: Approximately 1/4th of the adult population.

Official Language: English.

Other primary languages: Shona and Sindebele.

Ethno-linguistic Groups: 71% Shona, 16% Ndebele, and 3% Nyanja.

Religious affiliations: Syncretic (Christian-indigenous mix) 50%, Christian 25%, Indigenous beliefs 24%.

Religious group representation: 67.5% Christian (7,870,379), 30.1% Ethno-religionist (3,516,949), and 1% Nonreligious (112,474). Less than one percent are Muslim, Baha’i, Hindu, Atheist, Jew, Buddhist, Spiritist, or other.

Education: Compulsory for ages 6-13.

Literacy rate: 85%.

 

ECONOMY

• Currency: Dollar.

GDP per capita: $2,400.

National GDP: $26.2 billion.

Major Industries: Clothing, mining, steel, chemicals.

Chief crops: Tobacco, sugar, cotton, wheat, corn.

Electricity production: (1998) 6.970 billion kWh.

TV Sets: 12 per 1000 people.

Radios: 113 per 1000 people.

Telephones: (1997) 212,000 main lines.

Daily newspaper circulation: 17 per 1000 people.

 

POLITICS

• Government type: Republic.

Head of state and government: President Robert Mugabe.

International organization memberships: United Nations (UN), the Commonwealth, Organization of African Unity (OAU).

Historical Background: Rock paintings found in the higher elevations of modern Zimbabwe date back to the prehistoric San hunters. Around 2,000 years ago, the ancestors of the Shona people migrated to the area and developed unique pottery, herded cattle, and mined gold and copper, and traded with those on the coast. From the 11th to the 15th century, small village communities were organized and ruled by chief dynasties known as Karanga. By the early 17th century, the Portuguese with locally recruited armies, defeated the Karaga chieftains. The Portuguese dominance did not last, however. In 1693, the Rozwi chieftain of Changamire forced the Portuguese from the central plateau, and dominated the area until the early 1830s, when the last Rozwi ruler was killed. Soon after, the Ndebele people migrated from the southwest and took control, but by 1850 had granted the Shona peoples of the Karanga chieftains their independence. European ivory hunters’ and gold seekers began to take notice of the area beginning in the 1860s and by the 1880s the coastline was divided between Germany, Portugal, and Britan. Tensions increased between African and European interests. By 1893, the British took control from the Ndebele, and named the area Rhodesia in 1895. In 1897, the colonial leadership split it into Northern and Southern Rhodesia. Once the British South Africa charter expired in 1923, the country chose not to join South Africa and instead became a self-governing British colony. During this time, racial tensions progressed between the white controlled government and blacks. After guerilla war and political jousting, Southern Rhodesia officially achieved independence on April 18th, 1979, named itself Zimbabwe, and held elections. During the 1980s, Zimbabwe faced regional tensions involving South Africa’s and Mozambique’s racial power imbalance, and an revolt in Metabeleand where Ndebele dissidents questioned the elections of 1980. In the 1990s, the government rhetoric increasingly evolved from a Marxist philosophy to a capitalist free market. In 1997, the government caused quite a stir by attempting to to take large farmlands from the white owners and redistribute the land among the people. Facing strong opposition, the government backed down from this position. In February 2000, the people voted down a referendum designed to increase Mugabe’s power, which would have given him the impetus to enforce the controversial policy regardless of opposing pressure.

 

TRENDS AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Understanding the trends and social issues of a particular country should always take into consideration the opinions of persons within the country. The Center for Youth Studies is looking for contributors from each country to add to our appreciation and understanding of its culture, potential, trends and critical issues. If you have insight as to what is important to Zimbabweans, please contact us.

We look forward to hearing the insights of native Zimbabweans on what they consider the most important issues facing them. From an outsider’s perspective, current issues would include the AIDS epidemic, the governmental leadership, economic development, race relations, and the development of the tourism industry. What are the most important issues for Zimbabwe today? This will be added as we receive this information.

 

SOURCES

TEXT

Barrett, D., Kurian, G., & Johnson, T. (2001). World Christian Encyclopedia 2^nd Edition: A Comparative Survey of Churches and Religions in the Modern World. Oxford: University Press.

Turner, Barry. (2000). The World Today: Essential Facts in an Ever Changing World 2000. New York, NY: St. Marten’s Press.

McGeveran, Jr., W. (Ed.). (2001). The World Almanac and Book of Facts. Mahwah, NJ: World Almanac Books.

WEB

US Census Bureau, International Database.

US Central Intelligence Agency.

World Factbook.

United Nation Statistics Division.

"Zimbabwe," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001 (http://encarta.msn.com) © 1997-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

 

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. How important do you see Zimbabwe’s role in Africa and in the world?
2. What most impresses you about the above information?
3. Do you take issue with any of the above? If so, how would you express it differently?
4. What strikes you most about the population of Zimbabwe and rate of HIV/AIDS? Why?
5. What do you see as the historical and cultural contributions of Zimbabwe to the world?
6. How has Zimbabwe handled its part in African HIV/AIDS crisis?
7. What can we learn from Zimbabwe and its people?

Morgan, R.J. (2000, February 6). Salving the pain of the streets, Honduran youth go to glue. The Boston Globe, p. A15.

OVERVIEW

In cities around the world, poor children hang out, begging, ready to do simple tasks, committing petty crimes…and often sniffing glue. They are called street children, parking boys, dump kids, and other local names. There are 1,500 children living on the streets of Comayaguela, Honduras, and an estimated 5,000 nationwide. This article describes three years in the life of one of them, Charlie Reyes, as "incredibly simple but dangerous."

 

He would wake up on the hilly traffic-congested, smoke-filled streets of Tegucigalpa, and he would begin begging for money. "I would accumulate around 40 lampiras" or $2.70, said Reyes, who is now 7. The money would go for baby-food jars filled with Resistol, a shoe-solvent glue.

His day would be spent in the cloud of a glue high, his eyes glazed over and unfocused. It killed the hunger pains, erased the cold at night, and made the blows of the other children easier to withstand.

Those blows would come, sooner or later, every day. ‘It was a very ugly life,’ he said. ‘The big people would always beat me. There were a lot of thieves.’

When he needed food, Charlie could scrounge a few scraps at a Burger King. ‘I never spent money on food,’ he said. The glue demanded every cent he could get.

Six months ago, Charlie walked into the medical clinic at the Casa Alianza—the Latin American branch of New York-based Covenant House. He was soon out of his glue stupor and safe from street predators. Now his eyes are shiny and clear, and Charlie mixes schooling and athletics in a home-like environment at an Alianza shelter.

 

The article goes on to tell how Charlie’s place on the streets will be replaced by one or two incoming kids a day. Many come as victims to Hurricane Mitch, which devastated the country—killing 6000 and leaving 1.5 million homeless. There is a 15% increase in the number of street children in Tegucigalpa and Comayaguela since then.

Another young person who found hope in a shelter is Marvin Matute Martinez, 15.

 

‘My family life wasn’t bad. I was beat at times, but I knew how to handle it. I got drawn to the streets by my friends. But really they weren’t my friends. They were nothing.’

 

Marvin was on the streets from age 6 to 9—when he was accepted into a shelter where he can stay until the age of 18.

 

‘Thank God it happened, because I have learned a lot about getting ahead. I’m studying now, and I’m going to try for a profession. If I had stayed on the streets I probably would have died. Who knows what would have happened.’

 

Marijuana and crack cocaine are also a problem among—especially the—older street kids. Ones Italia Garcia, head psychologist at Casa Alanza explains:

 

‘The youths that mention use of this drug (crack cocaine) are between 16 and 18 years old. And they are youths that usually have gone to other countries, especially Guatemala. The children from the streets of Tegucigalpa talk more of glue and marijuana.’

 

The glue business is run by adults or older youth. It is bought for about 100 lempiras ($7) per gallon, and then sold in baby-food jars for 10 lempiras ($.70). Dealers thus make about $35 a gallon. Even though selling glue to children was made criminal in 1996, the business still goes on near market places or under bridges clearly visible to those interested. Most street children (an estimated 95%) sniff glue—most going through one to five jars in a day.

Along with crime and drugs, prostitution is always present among homeless youth. According to Garcia:

 

‘Seventy to eighty percent of the (young people) we see have been involved in prostitution. The boys don’t like to talk about it. But over times it comes out.’

 

The pressures upon girls to become involved in prostitution are overwhelming. Misaela Mejia is an outreach worker for Casa Alianza. Twice a day, she and a male coworker visit 42 areas of the city where street kids hang out. " ‘Most of the girls don’t sleep on the street,’ " she said. " ‘Prostitution gives them money for a room, food, and drugs.’ "

A real danger for street children are the police. Goaded by merchants, they are tempted to scare or even kill those seen to be public nuisances. Fifty unsolved murders of street children occurred in 1998. Casa Alianza is not only serving kids; they are advocates on their behalf. They are working for the prosecution of those exploiting them sexually in bars or selling them glue. Along with the United Nations, they have pushed for a new kind of training for police officers. Mejia describes the difference that has made:

 

They (the police) would do things to the kids like take their glue and pour it over their head and hurt them. Now we have more police sending kids to Casa Alianza.

 

There is also a campaign to get manufacturers of Resistol to create a nontoxic, water-based glue—and to add mustard oil making it more difficult to inhale.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. Have you seen the use of inhalents? Do you understand what leads kids to do something that causes pain and harms the brain?
2. On several occasions I have talked to young people sniffing glue—often after they have asked me for money. What would you say to them?
3. Is it clear to you from this article that glue sniffing does not exist as a problem by itself and therefore cannot be legislated away or treated without attention to other issues?
4. How important is this issue in your situation? What would you like to see done about it?

IMPLICATIONS

1. Inhalents are among the cheapest and most available of drugs. They are used especially by the very young, poor, and homeless. But occasionally, you will hear of well-to-do young people using them out of curiosity or desperation.
2. The pain and anger that some young people feel makes them disregard or welcome the destruction of their own bodies.
3. The presence of poor and homeless youth ought to be of concern to any society. These vulnerable human beings need our advocacy and action.

Dean Borgman cCYS

 

AFGHANISTAN OVERVIEW

 

 

(Download Afghanistan overview as a PDF)

 

THE BASICS

• Country name: Afghanistan (Afghanestan).
  • Convention long form: Islamic State of Afghanistan (Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan).
  • Taliban refers to it as: Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

• Nationality: Afghan(s) as a noun and Afghan for adjective.

 

GEOGRAPHY

• Location: Southwest Asia, northwest of the Indian subcontinent.
• Borders: Pakistan to the south and east; Iran to the west; Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan to the north; and China at the northeast tip.
• Area: 647,500 sq km and 250,000 square miles.
• Climate: Dry arid to semiarid with extreme temperatures that vary from the cold of the mountain highlands to extreme heat of the vast desert areas.
• Topography: Mountainous region with large plains to the north and southwest. In the large desert regions, the mountain rivers produce intermittent fertile valleys.
• Capital and population: Kabul-2,590,000.30 Provinces (velayat, singular-velayat): Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Bamian, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Ghowr, Helmand, Herat, Jowzjan, Kabol, Kandahar, Kapisa, Konar, Kondoz, Laghman, Lowgar, Nangarhar, Nimruz, Oruzgan, Paktia, Paktika, Parvan, Samangan, Sar-e Pol, Takhar, Vardak, Zabol; note-there may be two new provinces of Nurestan (Nuristan) and Khowst.

 

DEMOGRAPHY

• Total population: 26,813,057 (July 2001 est.).
• Population density: 104 per square mile.
• Median Age: 18.7.
• Children 0-14: 42.2%-5,538,836.
• Teenage 10-19: 22.9%-3,002,190.
• Youth between 15-24: 19.8%-2,573,953.
• Seniors Over 70: 1.5%-190,245.
• Male to female ratio: 106.3 males per 100 females.
• Birth rate: 41.42 births/1,000 population (2001 est.).
• Life expectancy at birth: 46.97 years for males and 45.47 years for females (2001 est.).
• Infant mortality rate: 147.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.).
• Official languages: 35% Pashtu, 50% Afghan Persian (Dari or Farsi), 11% Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen), and 4% are speak a variety of about 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai). Many are bilingual.
• Ethnic groups: 38% Pashtun, 25% Tajik, 19% Hazara, 12% are comprised by similar minorities including the Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others, and 6% Uzbek.
• Religious affiliations: Sunni Muslim 84%, Shi'ite Muslim 15%, other 1%.
• Christian denominations: N/A.
• Education: Compulsory from 7-13.
• Literacy rate: 31.5% among the total population, which breaks down as 47.2% for males and 15% for females. (1999 est.)

 

ECONOMY

• Currency: Afghani (AFA)
• GDP per capita: Purchasing power parity-$800 (2000 est.).
• National GDP: Purchasing power parity-$21 billion (2000 est.).
• Major Industries: Small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, and cement; hand-woven carpets; natural gas, oil, coal, copper.
• Chief crops: Opium poppies, wheat, fruits, nuts; wool, mutton, karakul pelts.
• Natural resources: Natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones.
• Electricity production: 420 million kWh (1999).
• TV Sets (illegal under Taliban rule): 100,000 (1999).
• Radios: 167,000 (1999).
• Telephones: 29,000 (1998) In 1998, there were 21,000 main lines in service in Kabul.
• Daily newspaper circulation: 11 per 1,000 people.
• Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000).

 

POLITICS

• Government type: No functioning central government, administered by factions.
• Head of state and government: The government of the Islamic State of Afghanistan has not been able to implement a universally functioning government. The country remains divided among fighting factions. In 1996, the ruling members of the Afghan Government were overthrown by of the Islamic Taliban movement.
  • The Taliban declared itself the legitimate government of Afghanistan, but the UN still recognizes the government of Burhanuddin Rabbani.
  • The Organization of the Islamic Conference has left the Afghan seat vacant until legitimacy can be determined through negotiations among and with the warring factions.
  • The country is divided along ethnic lines. The Taliban controls the capital of Kabul and approximately two-thirds of the country including the predominately ethnic Pashtun areas in southern Afghanistan. Opposing factions have their stronghold in the ethnically diverse north.
  • Afghan leaders to watch in the struggle for power:

• King Mohammad Zahir Shah. Member of the Durrani Dynasty who fled to Italy in 1973 after his cousin staged a military coup. Has asked the UN to prepare a peacekeeping force to Afghanistan should the Taliban fall.
• Abdurrashid Dostum. Vice chairman of the Northern Alliance. A former Soviet General, who is a secularist.
• Mullah Mohammed Omar. Self-declared leader of the Muslim faithful and head of the Taliban. Former mujahideen.
• Ismail Khan. Former anti-Soviet mujahideen and governor of Herat. Only opposition leader who has made any progress with the Northern Alliance. Has asked for the US to send "military aid" instead of troops.
• Burhanuddin Rabbani. President of Afghanistan from 1992-96 who was driven from Kabul by the Taliban. Ethnic Tajik and the first non-Pashtun leader of Afghanistan in 250 years.
• Pir Syed Ahmad Gailani. Head of the Sufi Muslim sect and relatively moderate leader. Chief of the National Islamic Front of Afghanistan party.
• Legal system: A uniform system is not in place at this time, however, all factions loosely agree to follow Shari'a (Islamic Law).
• International organization memberships: United Nations (UN) but because the majority of the world does not recognize the Taliban the UN still recognizes Rabbani's government.

 

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

 

Afghanistan's history is long and peppered with turmoil. By examining it, one begins to understand the conflicts of modern Afghanistan and the diversity of the organizations that lay claim to this part of the world. Around 2000 BC, the area was populated by peoples from Central Asia and was called Aryana, the Land of the Aryans. By the 6th century BC, the Persian Empire controlled the region, until Alexander the Great took control around 330 BC. After Alexander the Great, the region became divided into kingdoms. In the 1st century AD, the Kushans, a central Asian people, won control of the area, and Buddhism became the dominant religion from the 3rd century until the 8th century AD. In the 7th century AD, Arab armies brought Islam to the area and by 998 AD, Islam was the established religion under the Ghaznavid king, Muhmud. As the Ghaznavid state grew weaker, the Ghurid kingdom rose to power in the central west. The early 13th century brought another central Asian dynasty, the Khwarizm Shahs, to power, which in turn was devastated by the Mongol emperor, Genghis Khan, around 1220 AD. Then in the 14th century, the Asian military leader, known to the West as Tamerlane, conquered Afghanistan and pressed on into India. Under Tamerlane's descendents, the Timurids, the empire became fragmented until October of 1504, when the Mughal Empire was established. During the 16th and 17th centuries, Afghanistan was torn between the Mughal Empire, centered in India, and the Safavid dynasty, in Persia. The Mughals generally controlled Kabul and the Persians hailed from Herat. The Mughals and Persians fought for Kandahar and control of if vacillated between them. During this time, the Pashtun people gained momentum but were not to gain power.

 

After the assassination of the Persian king, Nadir Shah, in the 18th century, the Pashtun, Ahmad Shah, rose to power with the support of an assembly of tribal chiefs. His rule stretched from Kashmir and Delhi in the east, to Amu Darya in the north, and to Persia in the west. By the 19th century, however, the Afghan borders shrank to roughly the land area of modern Afghanistan. During this time, the British and the Russians began to compete for control of the area, and this resulted in the First Anglo-Afghan War from 1838-1842 and the Second Anglo-Afghan War from 1878-1880. By the century's end, the Brits had gained control of Afghanistan's foreign relations. Afghanistan became a buffer between the Russian and British Empires. In the Third Anglo-Afghan War of 1919, the Afghans achieved complete independence.

 

From 1880 until 1929, the line of Abd-ar-Rahman Khan led the Afghan people in educational reforms, modernization, and independence. In 1926, King Amanullah began to force reforms, encouraging women to give up wearing the burka and men to wear Western clothing. This sparked internal revolts that forced Amanullah to flee the country. Four brothers, who were relatives of Amanullah, restored order. One of these became King, and his son Muhammad Zahir Shah established his family as heir to the throne. In 1946, Afghanistan joined the United Nations.

 

In 1953, Muhammad Daud, nephew of Nadir Shah, became prime minister and began a program of rapid modernization with economic and military aid from the USSR. These actions began to alienate Afghanistan from its neighbor Pakistan. 10 years later, Zahir Shah removed Daud from office, hoping to improve relations with Pakistan and limit Soviet influence. In 1964, Afghanistan restructured their government from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional one. The 1970s brought a severe drought, economic hardship, and the end of the regime. Daud exiled the king in 1973 and declared himself president. By April of 1978, Daud was overthrown by Noor Muhammad Taraki, a leader of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). Taraki announced a revolutionary campaign including land reform, emancipation of women, and education literacy. Later in that same year, Islamic traditionalists objected, led an armed revolt, and killed Taraki.

 

On December 25, 1979, Soviet forces invaded and installed Babrak Karmal as president. Karmal promised to combine social and economic reform with respect for Islam, but rebellion intensified against the Soviet dependent government. Millions fled to Pakistan and Iran. The United States, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and China sustained anti-Soviet rebels with weapons and money. In the mid-1980s, the U.S. supported the rebels with hundreds of millions of dollars each year and Stinger missiles for shooting down Soviet helicopters. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev resolved to remove Soviet troops from the devastating and hopeless war. In 1988, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the USSR, and the United States signed an agreement to end foreign intervention and Soviet occupation.

 

In the last decade of the twentieth century, Afghanistan continued to face the horrors of civil war. Rebels, who had not signed the peace treaty, refused to participate with a central government that included Communists. The rebels were still supported by the United States and Pakistan, while Najibullah's government continued to receive support from the Soviets. In 1991, the U.S.S.R. and U.S. signed an agreement to end military aid to those in Afghanistan. In 1992, Najibullah's government fell to Peshawar groups. Burhanuddin Rabbani, an ethnic Tajik, became president and the government sought to keep Pashtun leaders from important government positions. Various factions and eventually the Pashtun-dominated Taliban besieged Kabul. Identifying themselves as religious students, the Taliban emerged in 1994 as a strong guerrilla faction. The Taliban stated their purpose to disarm the warring factions and to impose strict Islamic law. Though Rabbani's government ceased to exist in 1994, he still held office until the Taliban took Kabul in September of 1996. Rabbani and his prime minister, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, fled north to join the alliance against the Taliban. In 1997, the alliance became known as the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan, known to the West as the Northern Alliance, and appointed Dostum as chief military commander. By the year 2000, only Pakistan and Iraq recognized the legitimacy of the Taliban, though it controlled most of Afghanistan territory.

 

TRENDS AND SOCIAL ISSUES

 

 Understanding the trends and social issues of a particular country should always take into consideration the opinions of persons within the country. The Center for Youth Studies is looking for contributors from each country to add to our appreciation and understanding of the Afghan culture, potential, trends, and critical issues. From our perspective, here are some of the issues facing the Afghan public.

 

Afghanistan was thrust on to the world stage after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Since 1996, the Taliban has provided a safe harbor for the primary suspect in the attacks, Osama bin Laden, and his Al Quaeda network of terrorist cells. The U.S. interpreted these attacks as an act of war and then issued an ultimatum to the Taliban to turn over Osama bin Laden. The Taliban refused and portrays the United States as Islam's enemy, threatening Holy War. Beginning September 30, 2001, the U.S. and its allies began military attacks on Taliban strongholds and Al Quaeda installations in Afghanistan, while simultaneously dropping food aide packages in civilian areas.

 

Once the Taliban established their leadership, they began to enforce a strict interpretation of Islamic law. They refused women the opportunities of education and employment, made it mandatory for a woman to where the traditional burka, diminished women's access to medical assistance, and made it illegal for a women to appear in public without a male escort. The international community has voiced great outrage at these oppressive policies, which are enforced by public beatings and executions.

 

What is next for Afghanistan? In light of the past, who will rise up to lead such a divided nation? Ethnic and religious alliances have defined themselves in opposition to others. Many years of bloodshed and civil war have deepened the wounds of betrayal, hate, and fear. As mentioned above, a variety of leaders have some interest in the future of Afghanistan. Can the West have a positive influence in the development of a new Afghanistan? If so, how much can the West force the country to adopt democratic ideals and policies? Should the West force the Afghan people to adopt policies of religious freedom or equality for women?kqphere

 

SOURCES

Turner, B. (2000). The World Today, 2000: Essential Facts in an Ever Changing World.

New York, NY: St. Marten's Press.

McGeveran, Jr., W. (Ed.). (2001).

The World Almanac and Book of Facts. Mahwah, NJ: World Almanac Books.

(2001, January 19). A Tale of Betrayal and Revenge. British Broadcasting,

BBC. 

(2001, September 24). Fighting Escalates Between Taliban Troops and Afghan Opposition.

Fox News Channel, Associated Press. 

Afghanistan.

Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001. ©1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

 

US Census Bureau, International Database

 

US Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook

(2001, October 16). Washington Says UN Should Direct Afghan Rebuilding.

Boston Globe, (260)108.

 

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. Afghanistan has been involved in war for the past 3 decades. Boys are recruited to fight at an early age. What are the implications for the youth in Afghanistan?
2. What is the outlook for Afghanistan's female population? Is there anything the United Nations can do to help Afghan women? Develop a United Nations program that would help these women. As you do, be sure to think through the range of religious sensibilities and morality in the area.
3. The country seems to be torn between secularism, Islam, and militant Islam. How could a young person returning home after studying abroad help reconcile these issues?
4. Describe some possible future scenarios for Afghanistan. What role does your country have in helping this country to establish itself?
5. The Taliban uses the Koran and Islam to support its brutally imposed law and the protection of Osama Bin Laden. Others leaders of Islam have denounced the terrorist actions as anti-Islam. What do you know about Islam? How do you know whom to believe?