Oct2010.2 English Final1.Pub

Embassy of Afghanistan in Japan

Afghan News October 2010 October

COP 10 Themed Latest News facts Afghanistan’s plant Peace Jirga lays seeds for success and animal diversity many positive signs that more are ready to 118 – 147 species of enter into talks to facilitate their return to mammals peace. The peace council will play a cru- cial role in this regard. 472 – 510 species of birds Foreign Minister Rassoul Addresses UN Security Council 92 – 112 s pecies of reptiles H.E. Dr. Zalmai Rassoul, Minister of For- eign Affairs of the Afghanistan, addressed 6 – 8 species of an open-debate of the UN Security Council amphibians on the “Situation in Afghanistan.”

101 – 139 species of H.E. Foreign Minister Rassoul first dis- fish As part of H.E. President Hamid Kar- cussed the recent parliamentary elections, zai’s peace and reconciliation plan to noting that millions of Afghans from all 245 species of welcome our unsatisfied brothers back segments of society took part in the elec- butterflies to the political and peace processes, the tions, adding: “The unprecedented number inaugural session of the High Council of young candidates and voters illustrates 3500 – 4000 species of for Peace began on October 7th in Ka- the degree to which democracy is taking vascular plants bul. root in Afghan society. Further, the sig- nificant increase in women’s participation In his opening speech, H.E. the presi- is testament to the further empowerment of Inside this issue: dent spoke of the link between stability women in Afghan political life.” and Afghanistan's reconstruction and Latest News 1-4 development. H.E. discussed Afghanistan’s plans to take on a greater leadership role in all areas in Special 4-5 The 68-member peace council, which Interview the coming years, including security, de- includes past Afghan presidents, civil- velopment, and governance. On security ian and religious leaders, and former he said Afghanistan would strive to build Upcoming 5 Taliban officials, chose former Presi- events the size, capacity, and operational capabil- dent Burhanuddin Rabbani as its chair- ity of its security forces “for taking the man. lead role in combat operations in volatile Afghan 6 Recipe provinces by 2011, and meeting the na- Those rejoining society are called upon tion’s security obligations independently to renounce violence and links with ter- by 2014, with international forces offering Language 7 rorist organizations, and to accept the back-up support.” Lesson constitution. Already thousands have returned to the peace process and over H.E. Foreign Minister Rassoul noted that the past several years, there have been terrorism posed a serious threat to the se- 1 Afghan News, October 2010

curity and stability of the region and Access to health services and imple- Organization (WHO), and the UN beyond, and expressed concern about menting of child vaccination are the Children’s Fund (UNICEF). the “continued presence of safe- main reasons for the improved rates. havens and sanctuaries in our region Nonetheless, these areas will still During the campaign, immuniza- where terrorists receive recruitment, receive dedicated efforts to be fur- tion teams visited bus stops, training and logistical support.” ther reduced. mosques, marketplaces and also made house-to-house stops, to H.E. FM Rassoul meets with the Among the initiatives to further reach the most children possible. “Group of Friends of Afghanistan” bring down these rates, MoPH, UNI- For the first time, a de-worming CEF, and the Alliance for Vaccines initiative was run simultaneously; H.E. Dr. Zalmai Rassoul, Minister of and Immunization, which is a global targeting around 4.6 million chil- Foreign Affairs of the Afghanistan health partnership between the pri- dren aged between two and five. met on October 2nd with the “Group vate and public sectors, agreed to of Friends of Afghanistan,” a collec- implement two rotavirus vaccines Four new petroleum wells open tion of nations that meet periodically within next four years and it will in Sar-e Pul in New York to the exchange views start in 2012 to rescue lives of thou- on Afghanistan’s stabilization efforts. sands children. Four new petroleum wells were Member-states include the United recently opened by the Ministry of States, Australia, France, Japan, Ger- Midwives graduate in Badakhshan Mines in the Angot area of Sar-E many, Denmark, Norway, Italy and Pul province. The wells are ex- the United Kingdom. H.E. the Minis- Twenty-three trained midwives pected to yield about 800 barrels of ter briefed the gathering on the recent graduated on October 11th from the crude oil daily. A preliminary sur- parliamentary elections, Afghani- Badakshan Community Midwifery vey found that there are likely de- stan’s reintegration and reconciliation Education School, at a ceremony posits of up to 1.8 billion barrels of initiative, the transition strategy and that was attended by Government oil in the north of the country. preparation for the up-coming NATO health officials and donor agencies’ Summit in Lisbon, at which Afghani- representatives. This was the fourth Education projects progress stan will be high on the agenda. group of students to complete the 18 -month course. Schools continue to be built na- Child, maternal mortality rate de- tionwide, allowing for ever- creases The object of the program is to train increasing amount of children to and recruit community midwives in receive education. remote and rural areas and to im- prove the skills and competence of The foundations for a school were the midwifery education program in laid in Heart province in a cere- the province. Among the new skills mony attended by local officials, learned were pregnancy period and townspeople, and teachers. post-delivery health care, safe- delivery techniques and how to deal Construction on a new high school with complications, nutrition and in Balkh province, which will have breast feeding, and family planning. over 25 rooms, has begun and The national child and maternal mor- Indicators now show a 50% reduc- looks to be completed in six tality rates have been decreasing tion in the maternal mortality rate in months. since 2001. Dr. Suraya Dalil, acting Badakhshan over previous years Minister of Public Health (MoPH), Work began in Jowzjan for a spa- announced in a joint Press Confer- cious two story girls’ school, com- ence with representatives of WHO Initiative to combat polio and plete with a computer lab. The and UNICEF in Kabul that maternal worm infestation launched school is supported by Turkey. mortality has been reduced from 1,600 out of 100,000 nine years ago Nearly 8 million children were vac- Earlier this month, a school for to 1,400 today, and the children un- cinated against polio during the boys and girls was finished in rd der 5-years of age mortality rate has week of October 3 by more than Kunar. This two story building has been reduced from 257 to 161 annu- 22,000 immunization teams nation- 14 rooms and its electricity is self- ally. wide in a program set up by the Min- sustaining through the use of solar istry of Health, the UN World Health 2

Afghan News, October 2010 panels. ing trade with neighboring Uzbeki- Kabul’s old neighborhood district of stan. Murad Khane, famous for its elegant Marjah's local government also mud-brick mansions, elaborate helped open four new schools in Afghan National Army and Turk- carved-wood lattices, and shady time for the new school year. Among ish defense forces begin joint courtyards is being renovated. Began the four, Marjah High School opened training in 2006 in a project funded largely its doors for the first time in more by private international donors, it is than six years, with about 150 boys As part of a partnership between Af- part of a $25 million effort by the and girls registering on the first day. ghan and Turkish defense forces, Kabul-based Turquoise Mountain about 100 soldiers from the Afghan project founded by Prince Charles of Technical and Professional Learn- National Army arrived in Turkey on Wales and Rory Stewart, author of ing Institute to be built in Jala- September 17th to participate in a the best-selling book "The Places In labad month-long commando basic train- Between." ing course. The course covers ad- Work has begun in Jalalabad on a vanced training in special operations, new 1,200-student Technical and urban warfare tactics, marksmanship Professional Learning Institute and other combat tactics. through the Ministry of Education. The institute will provide students Kandahar power capability to be with technical and vocational train- enhanced ing. The first of two 10-megawatt power Hundreds of thousands to benefit plants being built for Kandahar city from agricultural subsidies is scheduled to be operational by December. The plant is expected to 260,000 small commercial farmers, provide power to up to 15,000 Many of the buildings being reno- of which many are women, will be homes. Provincial officials intend to vated, such as the Peacock House, provided with subsidized access to use the power to expand essential named for the motif of peacocks that 13,000 metric tons of certified wheat services and create jobs in conjunc- appears on its carved wood façade, seed varieties and nearly 40,000 tion with the planned business expo date back to the 1920s. metric tons of basic fertilizer. Cou- there this year. pled with the technical advice to be One aspect of the restoration work provided, forecasts call for a possi- AIB and Citigroup enter into calls for the creation of a fifteen- bility of harvesting more than banking agreement building campus for the Institute of 300,000 metric tons of wheat as a Afghan Arts and Architecture. The result. The project will be operated Afghanistan International Bank institute’s ceramic school is already (AIB) entered into a banking agree- through the Ministry of Agriculture, open. Currently many of the other ment with Citigroup Inc.’s Global Irrigation, and Livestock and be sup- courses the institute offers are taught ported by Japan, the United States, Transaction Services (GTS) business. The arrangement will allow at a temporary campus offsite, but France, and Britain. the school is so popular that it at- increased ability for GTS to execute payment transactions in Afghanistan tracts an average of 800 to 1,200 applicants to fill 30 seats each year. Northern railway project com- and will further increase the ability to attract foreign direct investment, pleted The urban-renewal project has also build core industrial capabilities, and resulted in the building of a now up- The Ministry of Public Works- generate new social and economic supervised 75-kilometer railroad line opportunities. connecting Mazar-e-Sharif and Hairatan in Balkh province has been AIB offers a range of products and completed. Another 25 kilometers services including access to ATMs are being built for side and switching and Internet banking for local and yards; this additional work is sched- foreign customers. uled to be finished in November. The railway will have immediate eco- Restoration work in Kabul's Old nomic benefits, especially concern- City underway, school of arts being built 3 Afghan News, October 2010 and-running primary school, pro- MMA victory for Bahadurzada Special Interview: Toshiaki vided the neighborhood with elec- Sakai of the Academic Alpine tricity, water, sewerage, emergency Club of Kyoto repairs on private houses, and is now is completing a women's community center. All the work has created near The tallest mountain in Afghani- full employment in the neighbor- stan is Mt. Noshaq, in the Hima- hood. laya mountain range. At 7492 me- ters, it is around twice as tall as All-star team to compete in Asian Mt. Fuji. Until 1960, it is believed Games that its peak had never been reached, but in that year, a group Afghanistan will be represented by a On October 16th in Amsterdam at of brave Japanese beat Polish ri- 127-member delegation, 103 of the United Glory Mixed Martial Arts vals to be the first to conquer the which are athletes, to participate in and Kickboxing World Series, Af- mountain. We have interviewed 13 sports in November’s Asian ghan MMA fighter and Shooto Light Mr. Toshiaki Sakai about his ex- Games in Guangzhou, China. Heavyweight World Champion Siyar perience. Bahadurzada defeated Derrick Noble Those sports to be participated in are in the first round via a Technical athletics, basketball, billiards, box- Knock out. With this win, Bahadur- Why did you decide to climb Mt. ing, cricket, golf, judo, karate, shoot- zada improves to 17 wins, 4 losses, Noshaq? ing, taekwondo, weightlifting, wres- and 1 draw. tling and wushu. According to Ghu- Academic Alpine Club of Kyoto lam Ghous Nikbeen, chef of mission Cricket tournament shows mas- (AACK ) was founded in 1931 by of the Afghan sports delegation, the sive popularity, future grounds the mountaineering club in Kyoto team is looking to win two gold to be built University to climb unclimbed ar- medals. Beijing Olympics bronze eas of the Himalayas. Before the medalist Rohullah Nikpai will be In Kabul from September 25th to WWII, we had planned an expedi- representing the nation in taekwondo October 10th, the Afghanistan tion for mountains in the Himalaya category along with Nesar Ahmad Cricket Board (ACB) held a T-20 and Karakoram ranges, but were Bahave, who won the silver medal in inter-provincial tournament to scout unable to go through with the the lightweight at the 2007 World potential players for the national age plans. In 1950, we sent our first Taekwondo Championships. group and under-19 teams. expeditionary force to Nepal’s Hi- malayas but were unable to climb International karate event win The tournament attracted teams from Annapurna’s peak II and peak IV. 24 of 34 provinces, each of those Next we tried Mt. Chogolisa The Afghan national karate team provinces having had thousands of (7654m )of the Karakoram range took first place an international event young people try out for spots on the in 1958, and we were the first party in South Africa involving teams team. The final match saw Nan- from 35 different countries; Zambia garhar emerge victorious over Logar. took second and South Africa third. Speaking at the prize ceremony, Individually, Afghan competitors Minister of Finance Omar Zakhiwal Wahid Joya, Farid Agha Doorandish, said that by 2013 every province in the country will have a cricket Mubariz Hakimzada, Ezatullah ground. This two-year project to en- Kalakani and Ali Asghar Muddaris courage youth to engage in the sport won gold medals. The team also cap- will be supported by the United tured four silver and six bronze med- States Agency for International De- als. velopment (USAID). The victorious team was welcomed upon their return at the airport by fans, members of parliament, 2 gov- ernors, and a delegation from the National Olympic Committee.

Afghan News, October 2010 ever to successfully reach the peak. the Polish group too was surprised Our third aim was the Mt. Noshaq and disappointed to find us. （7492 ｍ）, the second tallest mountain in the Hindu Kush. British Our small group had just 3 climbers India had produced a map of Noshaq as the AACK had actually planned to in the 1930s, but it was not precise. send the real force the next year after Besides that, as there had not been our initial study. That plan was any explorers up the mountain, there changed by their arrival. Fortunately were no clear images of it. We first the climate was consistently good sent a small group of scouts to find a and we didn’t find the climb to be so possible climbing rout. difficult, so we decided to continue with just the two healthy climbers. Tell us about the climbing team. We heard that the Polish group had some experts who had successfully AACK sent 6 experts, including a climbed the Alpines or the Caucusus biologist, an agronomist, and a ge- Mountains, and we were sure that ologist, to study the Wakhan area, they would reach the top once they became used to the altitude. We had where Noshaq is. The three scien- th tists, one of which was our captain priority, but we could not ignore Celebrating the 50 anniversary of Mr. Yajiro Sakato, were dedicated to their arrival and just keep climbing. this climb, I visited Poland with 15 doing studies. The other three, Mr. We talked with Polish group about other members of AACK. In War- Koji Hirose, Mr. Goro Iwatsubo, and possibly climbing together, as we saw and Krakow, we met many me, were mainly dedicated to the felt bad about possibly taking away climbers including two who were climbing. After leaving Kabul, it their dream to become the first to at Noshaq 50 years ago. We were took us half a month to reach the climb the mountain. happy to have had the opportunity area and we established our camp at to see them, renew our old friend- the foot of the mountain. At the out- We suggested to the captain of the ship, and strengthen our bond. set, Mr. Hirose unfortunately was in Polish group to organize a team together and said we could wait 2-3 Upcoming Events & poor condition, so Mr. Iwatsubo and Important Dates I took the main climbing duties. days while they adapted to the altitude. The captain appreciated the What was your impression of Af- offer, but said that it would take his 11/5-6 ghanistan in the 1960s? team take longer than that to prepare. The 3rd Minato City Fair of In the end, they said that we should Manufacturing, Commerce, and Afghanistan in 1960 was a country go ahead, offered any assistance we Tourism in Akasaka Sacas may need, and prayed for our suc- This festival is aimed at increasing with kind people and peaceful cities th and villages. The Badakhshan re- cess. On August 17 , two of us from international exchange and pro- gion, where we visited, did not have AACK left the last base, C IV, at 6 moting better understanding adequate roads or places to get gas, a.m., and reached the top at 6 p.m.. It among residents and visitors from but people’s life there looked quite got dark on our way back, so we all countries. The Embassy will set peaceful. camped in a crevasse at the 7300m up a booth and sell Afghan jewelry mark. We reached the C IV base by and clothing. For information call th noon on the 18 , stayed one day, and 03-3578-2553 reunited with our other four mem- Did you have any challenges or sur- th prised on the climb? bers at C II base on the 19 . December 7 (11:30 – 15:30) Ikebana International Fair 2010 The most surprising thing was meet- After coming back from Kabul, we The Embassy will have a table at ing another group of climbers also reported of our successful ascent Ikebana International’s annual trying to reach Noshaq’s peak at the and thanked the Afghan government. event. There will be an exhibition, same time. The group was from Po- The Minister of Education held a a bake sale, and entertainment. The land and was made up of 10 climbers party for us. I remember the Minister Embassy will join other Embassies and 2 film makers. We started climb- kindly made a speech in front of the and organizations in the bazaar ing half a month ahead of them … foreign press and welcomed us as area, selling jewelry, antiques, and We never imagined that we would be brave men. other items. Tickets cost 2000 yen faced with a strong rival group, and and can be acquired by contacting Mr. Pratt at 03-5574-7611.

5 Afghan News, October 2010

Recipe of the Month Mantu (Ground Meat Dumplings)

Ingredients: 500g Ground Beef or Lamb 1 Large Onion 3 Cloves of Garlic 1 tsp. (5g) Salt and Pepper 1 Tbsp (15g) Ground Coriander 2 tsp (10g) Cumin 30-40 Gyoza or Wonton Skins 2 Tbsp (30mL) Cooking Oil 3/4 Cup (150cc) Water

Instructions: Heat the cooking oil in a large frying pan at medium heat till hot. Add the minced onion and garlic. Cook till just slightly translucent and add the ground meat. Be sure to break up the meat into small bits as it browns. Once browned, add all of the spices and the water. Stir the meat to evenly distribute the spices and allow it to simmer until the water has evaporated, stirring occasionally. Allow the mixture to cool. Once cool, fill the wonton or gyoza wraps with just enough meat (about 1 tbsp, but varies with size of wrap). Wet a finger and run it along the inside of the wrap, fold and seal by pinching the edges together making a square or rectangle shape. Place the sealed mantu in a steamer and cook until the skin becomes clear (about 10-15 minutes). Serve immediately with a yogurt garlic sauce or cream tomato sauce.

Afghan News, October 2010 Language & Culture Of the many languages spoken in Afghanistan, Pashto and Dari are designated as the official languages. Let’s learn how to welcome people to Japan in Pashto and Dari!

英語(English) 日本語 (Japanese) パシュトー語 (Pashto) ダリー語 (Dari)

Welcome to Japan. 日本へようこそ。。。

ハララストジャパンタバジャパンホシュアマディド Khalalast Japan ta . Ba Japan khosh amadid I’m very happy to be here. ここにいることができて、、、とても、とても嬉嬉嬉しいです嬉しいです。。。

ゾホシャレムチェデルタエムマンビセョルホシャルハスタンカイインジャハスタン Zo khoshalem che delta em . Man bisyar khoshal hastam kai i nj a hastam . How was your flight? フライトはいかがでしたか？？？

スタラソサファルテセンゲサファールシュマチトルボド Stara so safar tsenge ? Safar shoma chitor bood ? Very good. Thank you. とても元気です。。。ありがとうございます。ありがとうございます。。。

レドハオビセョルホブボド Red khao . Bisyar khob bood . Are you tired? 疲疲疲れていますか疲れていますか？？？

タソステリアスシュママンダハステド Taso steri ast ? Shuma manda hasted ? Yes. はい。。。

ハイイェムバレ Khayem . Bale . No. いいえ、、、疲、疲疲疲れていませんれていません。。。

レックストゥマナネーハイル Lek stumana . Nei Khair . Is this your first time to Japan? 日本ににに来に来来来るのはるのは初初初めてですか初めてですか？？？

ダスタルムレザルデチェジャパンタラジーインバルアワルシュマダル Dasta rumuray zalday che Japan tarazee ? Ein bar awal shoma dar Japan hast? Yes, it is. はい、、、そうです、そうです。。。ホルムレザルデバレバルアワルハスト Kho rumuray zalday . Bale bar awal hast . No. I've been here before. いいえ、、、前、前前前にここににここに来来来たことはありません来たことはありません。。。

ナドゥハムザルダイネーマンカブランバジャパン Na . Du ham zardai . Nei . Man qablan ba Japan amada boodam.

Embassy of Afghanistan in Tokyo Thank you for reading the September 2-2-1 Azabudai, edition of our newsletter. Visit our fre- Minato ward, Tokyo quently-updated website for even more 106-0041 news: www. afghanembassyjp.org Domestic Tel: 03-5574-7611 Fax: 03-5574-0195 If you have any comments, questions or suggestions regard- ing this newsletter or the Embassy, please send an e-mail to Overseas the embassy’s Public Affairs Officer, Jason Pratt: Tel: +81-3-5574-7611 Fax: +81-3-5574-0195 [email protected]