Adonis Diaries

What do we know of the people in Afghanistan?

According to the UN reports, death from land mines in Afghanistan resulted in 200,000 civilian casualties.

This country is infected with 10 million antipersonnel mines. Over 30% of the victims are children.

Everyday, 20 civilians are victims of mines, half of them die within the next couple of days.

Over 20% of the cluster bombs have not detonated and millions have been dropped on Afghanistan since 1981, first by the Soviet troops and then by the NATO forces, lead by the USA after 1992. Every “mother cluster bomb” that explodes before reaching the ground releases 202 tiny can-sized bombs, which children likes to collect…

Over 12 States manufacture cluster bombs and phosphorous bombs such as the US, Russia, China, France, England, Turkey, Israel, Pakistan…

The US has over 50 military bases in Afghanistan. The base in Kandahar hosts 40,000 US soldiers, living the US life-style in a temperature crossing 40 degrees Celsius: Air conditioned rooms, sauna, swimming pools,  all food products imported from the US, military hospitals…

The base in Bagram has 25,000 soldiers.  Most of these bases, particularly in the north will remain after the US withdrawal in 2014: Central Asia is rich in oil and raw materials.

Everyday, dozens of huge convoys of over 50 huge transport trucks deliver all the necessary subsistence.  The convoys cross thousands of miles, coming mostly from Pakistan.

When Pakistan closes its borders due to drones harvesting Pakistani civilians, each container cost $5,000 or 30 folds its normal price.  The US likes to maintain the US life-style in its military bases, whatever is the cost.

In 2011, the US moved 35,000 containers via Pakistan

Private US security companies are paid $2,000 per delivered container. Although the main groups securing the routes are the Taliban and warlords.

For example, the HQ of the 450 logistics battalion reported that the Taliban militias and warlords cash in:

1. $500 per truck from Kandahar to Herat

2. $50 from Kabul to Ghazni

3. $100 from Ghazni to Orgun…

In order to aceed to the military bases of Paktika, a Taliban leader is paid $150,000 per month

Afghanistan has 30 million “citizens” grouped in tribes.

9 million live under an absolute poverty level of a single dollar per day, 37% live with two dollars, even after injecting $35 billion between 2002 and 2009.

Only 13% have access to potable water and 6% enjoy some form of electricity

The UN human development indicators places Afghanistan in the rank of 188 among the UN recognized States

Life expectancy is 45 years

Rate of alphabetization is less than 30%

50% of children below the age of 5 suffer chronic malnutrition

Note 1: Funds invested in military operations is 15 times what has been spent on development in Afghanistan. Afghanistan produces 80% of the world opium, under the watch and agreement of the US administration. This production supports the warlords and the Taliban cash requirement.

Note 2: Iran is the only border country to have effectively stopped the infiltration of the opium mafia and warlords through its borders, at huge cost in manpower and soldiers who were not better equipped as the mafia mercenaries a few years ago.

Note 3: Most of the hospitals in Kabul are privately owned after the Afghan government decided for hospitals to be administered by the higher education ministry, instead of the health ministry. The physicians and surgeons visit the public hospitals just to select the patients who can afford to pay in their private clinics.

Note 4: Many of the information were taken from “The devastation” by the French/Afghan neurosurgeon Ahmad Ashraf