that'll teach me not to play silly games with words like 'racist'
Try "elitest".. :0)
And I think what my friend was trying to state is that Afghanistan has lost much of the educated and talented entrepreneurial class that once were the backbone of their economy. (And I don't count opium smuggling as "entrepreneurial... :0)
Educated Afghan families left decades ago and have no desire to return, or were slain in the years of warfare, both with the Russians, and between various tribal warlords.
So he believes that the youth of Afghanistan, which represent it future, have been terribly scarred having grown up in such poverty and death (not to ignore the religious brainwashing) and won't be able to properly adjust until after many years have passed by, and they have received an education that does't focus on military science and survival.
The current adult generation is what he feels is truly "wasted", since they also have known nothing but war all of their lives, but are the ones more responsible for creating the peace and rebuilding the nation.
They lack the skills, and like the cliche goes, "it's tough to teach an old dog new tricks".... These people are already socially and morally indoctinated, already having been steered off-course by their dsyfunctional "moral and ethical compasses" and illiteracy.
It's going to take MASSIVE EFFORTS to change this. And there are many forces out there who would prefer to keep the Afghani people ignorant and submissive so they can be more easily controlled.
That's why I believe the longer the UN dilly dallies around about committing to become involved, the more the ball is moving permanently out of their court.
I will add, that due to the confusion in Pashtun ranks, their support for the Taliban, and their lack of a clear-cut representative, they are definitely screwing themselves out of receiving a fair share of power in any future government.
And that's not something they are going to take kindly too, when they finally decide to get their act together.
Hawk |
