06 February 2002

Lawmaker Says Security Is Primary Need in Afghanistan

One of the leading human rights supporters in the Congress has told fellow lawmakers that after his trip to Afghanistan he believes that country needs a large and continued infusions of humanitarian aid, strong support for the interim government, and security assistance in order to overcome years of Taliban misrule.

Representative Joseph Pitts (Republican of Pennsylvania) gave a report of his January trip to Afghanistan to the House of Representatives February 6.

Pitts said it was vitally important that the United States and the international community continue to support Afghanistan's interim administration, led by Chairman Hamid Karzai.

Pitts, a member of the Helsinki Commission, warned that it was "vital that the international community ensure that the Bonn Agreement is fully implemented" and that the Loya Jirga, or traditional Grand Assembly, be constituted in June 2002.

Humanitarian aid for Afghanistan is critical, he added.

Pitts, a member of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, told fellow lawmakers that the United Nations has estimated the international organization would be feeding "8 million people within Afghanistan, not to mention refugees in neighboring countries, in the next three months to help avert" a humanitarian crisis there.

Security is the primary need in Afghanistan, he told fellow lawmakers. "Unless there is security, no amount of effort will ensure that the new government leaders can implement the very necessary changes in the country," Pitts said.

Economic development for the war-ravaged nation must come about "primarily through developing the agricultural sector of society," he said.

"There are tremendous needs in Afghanistan, but there also is a tremendous amount of hope and an expectation that this time will be different," said the Pennsylvania Republican.

Pitts, who is a member of the House International Relations Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, went on a trip to Afghanistan in January with Representative Frank Wolf (Republican of Virginia), the co-chairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, and Representative Tony Hall (Democrat of Ohio), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus Task Force on Hunger and founder of the Congressional Friends of Human Rights Monitors.

Pitts, a veteran of the Vietnam War, is the founder of the Religious Prisoners Congressional Task Force, which has advocated for prisoners of conscience in various countries.

Following is the text of Pitts' February 6 speech from the Congressional Record:

Afghanistan Trip Report January 2002 Hon. Joseph R. Pitts

Hon. Joseph R. Pitts Of Pennsylvania In The House Of Representatives Wednesday, February 6, 2002

Mr. Pitts: Mr. Speaker, I recently returned from a visit to Afghanistan with Congressman FRANK WOLF and Congressman TONY HALL. We were greeted with warm, friendly smiles wherever we went, from meetings with Interim Administration officials to hospitals, schools and orphanages. There is a hope in Afghanistan that the country will be different and new opportunities and life will emerge out of the terrible suffering the Afghan people have endured.

The visit was a highlight, but it was also sobering. The best children's hospital in the nation, the Indira Ghandi Pediatric Hospital, lacked basic medicines to treat the children, two children and their mothers shared each bed, one of three children in the malnutrition ward died each night, there is a lack of basic medical equipment, and no hospital employees have been paid for six months. Yet, the doctors and nurses worked valiantly to save the lives of the children in their care.

We visited a girls school, the Dorkhanai High School, that had re-opened one week earlier after being shut down for over five years. The concrete building was full of bullet holes from the Soviet invasion, one room had no roof, and no rooms had glass in the windows. The girls sat on blankets on the concrete or dirt floor as there were no desks or chairs. Yet, the students were so motivated to learn they raised the money from the meager earnings of their families to buy thick plastic to cover the window holes and pay for kerosene heat to keep out some of the biting cold in the schoolrooms. The girls greeted us with big smiles and chants of ``Welcome, welcome.'' They were delighted to be back in school. Teachers need to be re-hired, 80 percent of the teachers were women, and the government needs assistance with providing basic supplies such as paper, pens, chalk and books.

The Allauddin Center Orphanage has 900 children in their care--800 boys and 100 girls. The children, many obviously suffering from malnutrition and trauma from the violence of the war and the loss of their loved ones, gave us huge smiles and recited and sang for us. A delegation of firefighters from New York City had visited recently and donated enough food for the children for the next three months, but after that, it will again be a struggle to feed these young children. The firefighters also provided warm blankets for these children who, in the winter due to lack of adequate heating facilities, sleep three to a bed with three rooms of children crowding into one room--this way they can all be in rooms in which there are heat sources.

We also visited a women's bakery with the United Nations World Food Program Women's Bakery Project that has been vital in helping women, particularly widows, support and feed their families. During our visit, we learned that one woman had been a doctor at the hospital, but she left to work at the bakery so that she could earn money to actually support her family.

There is an almost overwhelming humanitarian crisis that continues today. Food, medicine and shelter are lacking for much of the country's population. Yet, there is hope--hope that the American people will cement their friendship with the Afghan people by remaining engaged in their country through various avenues. Government aid to Afghanistan is vital, but people to people diplomacy, sister relationships between schools and hospitals in the US. partnering with schools and hospitals in Afghanistan, will be invaluable in helping to rebuild the nation and the historic friendship between our nations.

Our meetings with government officials also gave us hope. The Chairman of the Interim Administration, H.E. Hamid Karzai, is an impressive, capable, straightforward man who has the capacity to lead his country to establish a coalition that will last through the historic transitions the nation is experiencing. The Loya Jirga (Grand Assembly) in June will mark a key transition for the people of Afghanistan and Hamid Karzai appears to be the one who can lead the people through that transition.

In response to our visit, there are several key points that must be addressed as our nation, government and people remain engaged with the people of Afghanistan:

• The United States and the international community must continue to support Chairman Karzai and the Interim Administration in Kabul as well as the Administration's clarifying to the various regions of Afghanistan that federal authority rests in Kabul. In addition, it is vital that the international community ensure that the Bonn Agreement is fully implemented and culminated in the Loya Jirga to be held on June 22, 2002. The Loya Jirga is the traditionally accepted Afghan method of solving problems and reaching consensus. We must continue our support for the new government, otherwise lack of stability could create the opportunity for another pre-September 11 environment of factional fighting, violence and upheaval, and a central power vacuum that would have severe implications for our national security.

• Humanitarian Aid must continue. The UN World Food Programme and U.S. and other NGOs serving the people there are doing a great job. But the need remains high. The UN estimated that they would be feeding 8 million people within Afghanistan, not to mention refugees in neighboring countries, in the next three months to help avert an even greater crisis. Food aid is needed, as is medical and educational assistance. People to people diplomacy can be conducted through Chairman Karzai's office in Kabul.

• U.S. assistance must be deliberate. Security is the primary need, mentioned in every meeting and site visit we had. Unless there is security, no amount of effort will ensure that the new government leaders can implement the very necessary changes in the country. Second, the economy must be developed, primarily through developing the agricultural sector of society.

Prior to the 1979 Soviet invasion, Afghanistan was self-sufficient and even exported agricultural products to neighboring countries. Studies show that before 1979, 80 percent of the society was in farming. The skills are there, but the opportunity needs to be developed. Unfortunately, the four-year drought in the country has drastically affected the output of farms and the ability of animal herders to keep animals alive. Irrigation systems and drought assistance need to be constructed and provided as soon as possible. In addition, development of the agricultural sector with alternative crops is a proactive avenue of fighting against narcotics production.

Third, development of the education system is one of the primary needs. An overwhelming portion of the population has been affected by lack of access to education. As reflected in our visit to the girls' school, the people have a desire to pursue an education as they view this as the primary avenue for bettering their lives. Studies from around the world support this: the development of educational systems changes nations. The Afghan people may lack the basic materials for education, but not the desire to learn.

Mr. Speaker, there are tremendous needs in Afghanistan, but there also is a tremendous amount of hope and an expectation that this time will be different. I look forward to visiting Afghanistan in the future and seeing these hopes and expectations lived out. As Chairman Hamid Karzai said during our meeting together, ``Think of the help as help to our children. The families will do well if the children do well.'' As we look forward to the hopes and expectations of a new Afghanistan, I will be working with the generous people of Pennsylvania and others across this nation to extend a hand of friendship, partnership and care through practical projects that will help build up the Afghan people.