Good job, Christians.
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washingtonpost.com
Afghan Crime Wave Breeds Nostalgia for Taliban
Child Abductions in Kandahar Crystallize Discontent With Governing
Ex-Warlords
By N.C. Aizenman
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, March 18, 2005; Page A01
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- "We are savage, cruel people," the kidnappers
warned in a note sent to Abdul Qader, demanding $15,000 to spare the
life of his son Mohammed, 11. The construction contractor quickly
borrowed the money and left it at the agreed spot. But the next
morning, a shopkeeper found the boy's bruised corpse lying in a muddy
street.
A wave of crime in this southern Afghan city -- including Mohammed's
killing two months ago and a bombing Thursday that killed at least
five people -- has evoked a growing local nostalgia for the Taliban
era of 1996 to 2001, when the extremist Islamic militia imposed law
and order by draconian means.
Residents reached their boiling point last week, after a second
kidnapped boy was killed. Hundreds of men poured into the streets,
demanding that President Hamid Karzai fire the provincial governor and
police chief. Some threw rocks at military vehicles and chanted, "Down
with the warlords!" Witnesses recalled some adding, "Bring back the
Taliban!"
Both provincial officials are former militia leaders -- commonly
called warlords in Afghanistan -- whose fighters reportedly preyed on
residents before they were driven out by the Taliban. They regained
power, like a number of other current officials, by joining the
U.S.-led military forces that defeated the Taliban in late 2001.
In response to the protest, Karzai dispatched a top security aide to
Kandahar and promises were made to bolster the local police force with
reinforcements from the capital. There were also reports that Karzai
might transfer the police chief to another province. But residents are
demanding more action by Karzai, who was elected in October after
making campaign pledges to remove the warlords from power.
"We don't want any more promises on paper," said a landowner and
tribal leader who, like many residents, spoke on condition of
anonymity for fear of retaliation by the government. "We want Mr.
Karzai to keep his word."
The Kandaharis' complaints echo those of Afghans across the country.
Last Monday, demonstrators in the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif
called for the resignation of Gen. Attah Mohammad, the strongman who
governs their province, complaining that he had stolen people's land.
Human Rights Watch, a U.S.-based advocacy group, charged last week
that numerous former warlords, who hold many provincial governorships
and top police jobs, "have been implicated in widespread rape of women
and children, murder, illegal detention, forced displacement, human
trafficking and forced marriage." There are also allegations that some
militia leaders and civilian officials are involved in drug
trafficking.
The rising discontent in Kandahar could prove particularly problematic
for Karzai, who was born here and has drawn much support from the
region's Pashtun ethnic group to which he belongs. Many Kandaharis,
once alienated by the harsh rule of the Taliban, say their early
support for Karzai is now giving way to a grudging nostalgia for the
Taliban era.
At that time, many said, a person could walk around the city carrying
quantities of cash and drive roads long after dark without fear. Today
holdups are common, few people venture out after sunset, and many are
haunted by a sense of vulnerability.
Nazar Khan, who sells television sets in a bazaar, said that as a
teenager, he hated the Taliban for banning music and forcing him to
listen in secret to his favorite singers. "But at least under the
Taliban we had security," Khan said.
Because of the kidnappings, Khan now drives his four older children to
school and takes them to his stall afterward to keep a close watch on
them. The 2-year-old stays with him all day.
"One moment I'm making a sale," he said. "The next minute I'm turning
around and wondering: Where did my son go?"
There is much about Kandahar that underscores how far it has
progressed since the Taliban's ouster. Bazaars are filled with
merchandise, from photos to VCRs, that would have been unthinkable
during the Taliban era. Picking through the wares are scores of women
-- most of them veiled because of tribal custom, but far more numerous
than they would have been in the days when the Taliban morals police
prowled markets with leather whips.
Above the streets, satellite dishes peek out from rooftops. At the
soccer stadium where the Taliban once staged public stonings of
alleged adulterers, painters prepare the grounds for a youth
tournament.
Still, residents say, the outward trappings mask entrenched problems,
from lack of jobs to street crime. Many said they personally knew
someone whose motorbike, car or other property had been stolen, often
at gunpoint. Zahir Jan, 35, a stadium painter, said he longed to find
a better job but would be satisfied with the government if it weren't
for the kidnappings.
"Imagine how things are, that we are wishing for the Taliban again,"
he muttered.
Khalid Pashtoon, a spokesman for Gov. Gul Agha Shirzai, said reports
of kidnappings were greatly exaggerated. In most cases, he said,
children reported missing had merely wandered off.
"Sometimes people in Kandahar get confused," Pashtoon said. "They've
been raised amid continuous fighting, and they have a very pessimistic
mindset. . . . But most of this is just rumor." As for the street
protest last week, Pashtoon said there were signs that members of a
Taliban splinter group were involved.
Khan Mohammed, the police chief, said that since he took office six
months ago, the number of robberies in Kandahar has dropped
dramatically. "If before we had five to 10 robberies a week, now
that's what we have in a month," he said.
Mohammed said that apart from the two boys killed recently, the police
had received "no reports of kidnappings at all" and had made no
arrests. But several residents said they personally knew of other
children who had been kidnapped for ransom.
Members of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission noted that
many kidnappings may not be reported to police. The logbooks at
Kandahar's independent radio station indicated that it had received 10
to 15 requests per month to broadcast reports of missing persons, most
of them children. But the station does not keep track of the
circumstances of each child's disappearance or whether they are found.
Whatever the facts may be, there is a widespread perception here that
children are frequently kidnapped. Furthermore, some people suggested
that instead of tracking down the culprits, the police themselves may
be involved. Mohammed, the chief, categorically denied the accusation,
and no residents could provide hard evidence. Instead, they pointed to
suspicious circumstances.
Abdul Qader, for example, said a friend's young son had been kidnapped
several months ago and then released. "Now, every time that boy sees
men in uniform, he becomes afraid," Qader said. "Why would he act that
way unless some officials were involved?"
Then there was Qader's own experience with the police. He did not
report his son's disappearance, he said, because he believed the
police would not help him. Instead, he broadcast appeals for
information on television and radio.
After news of his son's death became public, Qader said, the governor
called him in for a meeting. Qader said Shirzai promised to track down
those responsible. Instead, he said, national intelligence police
arrested one of Qader's cousins and two of his brothers.
Pashtoon said police had obtained evidence that one of the brothers,
who remained in custody, was a member of an organized crime gang from
Pakistan. Qader said that the charges were baseless and that, after
two weeks, he finally persuaded the police to release his brother.
"The governor said he would help me, but instead he caused me even
more pain," Qader said.
© 2005 The Washington Post Company
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