State Department Pamphlet Highlights International Reconstruction Efforts in Afghanistan

“Afghanistan: Seeds of Hope,” an electronic and print pamphlet published June 10 by the State Department’s Bureau of International Information Programs, combines photo essays of international reconstruction projects in Afghanistan and profiles of individual Afghans discussing the remarkable changes in their lives in the two years since the defeat of the Taliban. The 24-page, full color publication is the work of an IIP writer/photographer team that spent three weeks in Afghanistan.

The pamphlet examines the international character of reconstruction projects in Afghanistan in the areas of education, rebuilding the infrastructure, demining, sports, creating a professional national army, reclaiming Afghan culture, caring for refugees, sponsoring free media, and improving the economy.

Among the first-person testimonies featured in the pamphlet are Abdel Kamaal, training to be a minesweeper with Bosnian experts using Italian equipment; merchant Ahmad Shah, who says “business has been about 50% better” this year thanks to an improved economic outlook and the introduction of the new Afghan currency; Nadira Ayoubi and Karima Ghaznawi, two young women eager to practice photojournalism and medicine, respectively; and civil engineer Ahmad Kabir, delighted with his new job restoring the restaurant in Kabul’s Babur Gardens.

The text includes quotes from world leaders, including President Bush, Afghan President Karzai and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, reiterating the international community’s pledge to support Afghanistan’s transformation. Ambassador David Johnson, U.S. Coordinator for Afghanistan, notes in his introduction “President Bush has made it clear that the United States will stay the course. We are committed to working with the Afghan government and our international partners in cultivating the seeds of hope that have now been planted in Afghanistan.”

The Bureau of International Information Programs will distribute “Afghanistan: Seeds of Hope” overseas in English and in other world languages, including Farsi and Arabic.