Seeds

Seeds of Peace in South Asia: Strengthening national & regional strategies

Part I: Strategic Framework Part II: Context Analysis Samuel Hall. (www.samuelhall.org) is a research and consulting company with headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan. We specialize in socio-economic surveys, private and public sector studies, monitoring and evaluation and impact assessments for governmental, non-governmental and international organizations. Our teams of field practitioners, academic experts and local interviewers have years of experience leading research in Afghanistan. We use our expertise to balance needs of beneficiaries with the requirements of development actors. This has enabled us to acquire a firm grasp of the political and socio-cultural context in the country; design data collection methods and statistical analyses for monitoring, evaluating, and planning sustainable programs and to apply cross- disciplinary knowledge in providing integrated solutions for efficient and effective interventions.

Photography © Saagarika Dadu (Ladakh, India)

This report should be cited using the following reference:

Samuel Hall Consulting, 2013. “Seeds of Peace in South Asia: Strengthening national and regional strategies”, commissioned by Seeds of Peace, NY, USA.

Samuel Hall encourages dissemination of its work and will normally grant permission to reproduce portions of the work promptly. For permission to photocopy or reprint any part of this work, please send a request with complete information to [email protected].

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION 5 OBJECTIVES OF THE REPORT 9 ABOUT SEEDS OF PEACE 10 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 11 STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT 12

PART I – STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK 13 1. SEEDS OF PEACE AND THE SOUTH ASIA CONTEXT 14 1.1. REGIONAL CONTEXT ANALYSIS 14 1.2. DOMESTIC CONFLICT IN SOUTH ASIA 19 1.3. LEADERSHIP AND INFLUENCE OF THE YOUTH IN SOUTH ASIA 24 1.4. IMPACT AND POTENTIAL TO CHANGE 27 2. SEEDS OF PEACE PROGRAMMING IN SOUTH ASIA: A SWOT ANALYSIS 34 2.1. SEEDS OF PEACE IMAGE AND OUTREACH IN SOUTH ASIA 35 2.2 SEEDS OF PEACE PROGRAMMING 36 2.3. SOUTH ASIA PROGRAM MANAGEMENT 44 2.4. SWOT ANALYSIS OF SOP PROGRAMMING 46 3. A SOUTH ASIA STRATEGY FOR SEEDS OF PEACE 51 3.1. THE SOP STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK APPLIED TO SOUTH ASIA? 51 3.2. CHALLENGING ASSUMPTIONS 56 3.3. THREE STRATEGIC OPTIONS: 2014 - 2017 58

PART II – CONTEXT ANALYSIS 66

1. SEEDS OF PEACE AND THE SOUTH ASIA CONTEXT 59 2. SEEDS OF PEACE PROGRAMMING IN SOUTH ASIA: A SWOT ANALYSIS 86 3. AFGHANISTAN COUNTRY CONTEXT 128

3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Our greatest need hinges on the contextual and situational analysis. From there, we need to align our strategy and programming in accordance with the contextual analysis – not just what is happening in the political, economic and social context in each country/regionally, but the particular dynamics within each country that are specifically relevant to Seeds of Peace – e.g. paths to leadership (particularly across the sectors most pivotal to peace and conflict), valued or necessary capacities for leadership in peace building. – Eva Gordon Armour, Director of Strategy and Programs, Seeds of Peace

A changing organization and changing political, social and economic context lead to a main research question: how can Seeds of Peace adapt its theory of change to the regional, national and local dynamics? To help answer this question, the research team at Samuel Hall has taken a two-fold approach – 1) Understand the national and regional contexts (outlined as three separate papers under ‘Part II – Context Analysis’ and 2) Understanding the process and aligning Seeds of Peace program (under ‘Part I – Strategic Framework’). The key findings of this research – undertaken between the months of February and June 2013 – are now presented in a summary format below.

1. Defining Key Concepts What is ‘conflict’ for youth in South Asia?

A key finding of this research study is the importance of two conflicts that exist side-by-side and that impact one another – the conflict within and the conflict between. The latter has been the focus of Seeds of Peace programming – from the International Camp to follow-up programming, the cross- border component of SOP programming in South Asia. However, during the fieldwork for this study in Mumbai, Kabul and Lahore, it became apparent that the youth are increasingly focused on the conflict within their societies.

There are two important issues of relevance to Seeds of Peace programming. First, the issue of distance or proximity to the regional conflict (distance from Lahore to Kashmir, from Lahore and Mumbai to Kabul, and the intrinsically intangible impact of the regional conflicts); second, the issue of relevance and impact: how can youth relate to a regional conflict that does not, in appearance, affect their daily lives, and for which they cannot bring an immediate solution? Both of these issues – proximity to the conflict and relevance of the conflict in daily lives – matter to the youth.

As a result, one of the key recommendations of this study is to encourage Seeds of Peace to focus equally on the conflict within societies and the conflict between societies and governments – through an equally balanced domestic and regional follow-up program, and an immediate effort to branch out, systematically, efforts outside of Lahore, for Pakistan, and Mumbai, for India. Based on the understanding that what motivates and concerns youth in their daily lives are the socio- economic impact they can have on domestic issues, and recognizing the fact that many of these issues (poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, sectarian conflict) are common to all 3 South Asia countries under review, this strategic orientation will allow for Seeds of Peace to have clear strategy to communicate: Seeds of Peace is working for the improvement of conflict within and between societies in South Asia from its International Camp in Maine to its follow-up programming in the region. Detailed recommendations – such as a regional camp initiative, and a network of schools in main urban centers in each country – are provided in Part I of this report.

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2. Going a Step Further What is Leadership for youth in South Asia?

After a review, in both Parts I and II, of the conflicts that matter to youth, the report addresses what leadership can mean for the youth in South Asia, in both political and non political forms. Is the youth a silent category? Do they easily identify current leaders? Have they been able to find a niche for themselves?

Although the report acknowledges that youth in South Asia remains overall a silent category, as leadership is often seen a monopoly of the elderly, there are signs of this status quo changing or being able to change. The three countries showcase a common cultural norm that tends to silence the youth – putting age and experience first. However, Pakistan and India point to openings and a potential shift – albeit economic and social rather than cultural – towards a greater role for the youth. Afghanistan presents a different picture – one still enshrined in the political choices to be made to open up space for youth.

In India, youth seem more positive about the niche that they can carve out for themselves in the private sector – a shift motivated by economic interests that now broadly encourage entrepreneurship in the country, to support the rise of Indian markets as global competitors, has meant that the desire amongst the youth has been met with concrete hopes in the corporate sector. In Pakistan, parts of the urban youth interviewed showed a willingness to take matters in their own hands – whether the youth of Next Generation Pakistan who advocate for the civic responsibility of youth during elections, and for the right to education of the marginalized, or youth from RABTT, Seeds who have now set up their own association, providing summer camps to educate young Pakistanis from Lahore and its nearby surroundings. The Lawyers’ Movement is another example of how the youth are using technology and media – Facebook, Twitter, etc. – to get their messages across. The 2009 British Council report sees “the birth of a new kind of civil society” in Pakistan, led by its youth.

Whether political as in Afghanistan, economic as in India and social as in Pakistan, the voices of youth in each country differs – and so do the solutions or platforms for supporting them. A cultural shift is most tangible in urban Pakistan – Lahore in this research – than in either of the two other contexts. However, opportunities are present in Mumbai as well – through particular skills targeted to addressing the private sector potential of youth. Through corporate social responsibility, the private sector can be linked to more social youth-led initiatives in India as well. These suggestions can help strengthen Seeds of Peace programming.

What does leadership represent for youth in South Asia? The timing of this research was of particular relevance. Right before the Pakistani elections, the focus was on political leaders – discussions referred to Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Benazir Bhutto, and Imran Khan. However, Malala Yousafzai’s name was mentioned as well, holding symbolic importance both in terms of new faces of leaders and momentum to seize in Pakistan, and the lack of leaders to protect civilians, girls and boys, and basic rights to education. Overall, when the question of identifying leaders was raised in the three countries, youth had a difficult time answering who their leaders were. All interviews confirmed one common denominator for leadership: leaders of tomorrow need to replace the age- old and often corrupt political dynasties, inspire hope and confidence, bridge religious and ethnic divides within societies, and alleviate social problems that affect conflict on a local, national, and regional level. At a very local level, providing social services where the government cannot is the responsibility of citizens, in the view of today’s youth. A community mobilization approach is close to their convictions, rather than 1 specific leader solving all problems.

5 3. Practical Implementation What can be done to support the youth?

First, the infrastructure and “space” for leadership needs to be carved out further in the countries surveyed. In this research focusing on Seeds of Peace, the issue of space became literally one of physical space. Where can the youth meet to discuss peace building initiatives? Seeds in Kabul, Lahore, and Mumbai, mentioned the lack of space for them to convene as a significant obstacle to fulfilling their leadership potential and goals. At Camp, they learn that debating is not the priority, and instead that dialogue and spending time together, even non-verbal dialogue, is crucial. After Camp, they crave for moments where they can reunite. At the moment, their only options are their homes (where their parents are), their schools (where their teachers are), or coffee shops (a least likely option for Kabul Seeds given the security and prevailing norms). As a result, with time, they meet less frequently, or they keep contact with only a few. In Lahore, the contradiction is that an office space does exist. Pakistan is the only program of Seeds of Peace to have a permanent office based in Lahore. However, this office space is not seen as welcoming for Seeds. They see it as too corporate, and not conducive to their schedules – but rather adapted to the part-time schedule of the SoP staff in Lahore. They crave for a space where they can sit on the floor, read books, do research online, participate in forums and continue the dialogues that matter to them. This type of brainstorming, the research team was told repeatedly, is the key to developing creative initiatives.

Second, supporting a cultural shift that can place greater value for the need and the role of youth as not only tomorrow’s leaders, but today’s leaders as well. This brings us to the issue of the market for youth leadership in South Asia. The current “market” is characterized by low competition and low funds. Most initiatives are volunteer initiatives and are few; yet, even being few, the competition between them is present. The focus of Seeds of Peace – a relatively better funded NGO – can be to help support movements that call for greater networking and coalition building of like-minded peace building NGOs. Organizations and initiatives are currently detached. As a result, none have sufficient visibility and all struggle with the difficult reputation of NGOs. Together, they can fight these obstacles and support the youth more strategically in an environment of limited funds for peace building initiatives.

Third, is the question and remaining gap of skills training for youth. Many feel the will and ambition to contribute but do not know how. What are the valued skills of new leaders? The research provided insight into the skills that youth are seeking build – outside of schools – to better prepare themselves for leadership positions. In Pakistan, youth interviewed mentioned the importance of being able to manage projects, to make their ideas a reality. At the organizational level, although many of the Seeds interviewed did not necessarily see a future for themselves in the non-profit sector (not in line with the cultural paradigm at home), they saw an opportunity to lead operational activities at Seeds of Peace to prepare them for leadership in the future. For that, they explained they would want the following hands-on training in budgets and accounting, project management, networking and communications. In India, the skills mentioned were sectoral, skills that could be adapted to a local as well as global economy relating to specific sectors: energy, banking and finance, technology and information, and services sectors. In Afghanistan, youth were interested in volunteer opportunities. Whether Seeds or non-Seeds, the majority of those interviewed wanted to do voluntary work but that such opportunities were not available to them.

6 4. The Potential for Seeds of Peace

The potential for Seeds of Peace in South Asia is clear – although this research urges caution in terms of capacity, requiring the need for a proper institutional capacity assessment, the report highlights three priority areas:

First, the potential for Seeds of Peace to be better known. In countries like Pakistan and India, where Seeds of Peace has had a decade-long presence, organizational and management presence, its visibility can be greater. The organization is known of other like-minded organizations but misperceptions still prevail. Even within the network of partner schools and parents, certain misconceptions remain. Greater collaboration and outreach – through the existing network of schools, through new partnerships with a variety of public schools, through additional parent meetings and parent programming – can help increase the visibility and improve the reputation of Seeds of Peace.

Second, programmatically, this report argues for a multi-year strategy (with defined activities Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 after camp, including defined responsibilities for leadership within the organization for Senior and Graduate Seeds), that needs to keep a careful balance between the participation of Seeds and Non Seeds. It recommends inclusion of Seeds in all countries on leading creative programming – while country directors and coordinators take the lead on office and program management. Furthermore, the report calls for more public reporting and M&E processes – including audit reports to be shared with Seeds, parents and schools, and an increased commitment to measure the impact of change. The equal focus on domestic conflict can help the organization in bringing about some quantifiable results in terms of impact at a local level, which will in turn help it gain greater credibility and legitimacy, not only with Seeds but with donors alike. Lastly, advocacy and outreach remain weak. The report recommends putting in place a partnership strategy built on a thorough mapping of peace building initiatives in each country, and possible linkages.

Thirdly, the report calls for Seeds of Peace to not lose the momentum after camp – to continue staying relevant for Seeds. After camp, without the proper space to convene, without sufficient cross-border initiatives, and with their busy school lives, Seeds can get sidetracked from the organization. The attendance rate of events, although not an end in itself for the organization, is an indicator of such trend. Allowing for practical achievements – through summer internship programs in all three countries, mentoring programs year-long, and practical community actions, in a reactive manner and on a needs-basis – can allow Seeds of Peace to be seen as a timely and relevant organization for all.

7 INTRODUCTION The necessity of an external review of the fears across all segments of society as South Asia Regional Programming Strategy is Taliban and anti-government clear for reasons inherent to the development presence is expanding in all provinces, of Seeds of Peace, to the functioning of any and with coping strategies ranging responsible NGO, and in the evolving context from migration abroad to internal of the South Asia region. displacement;  Pakistan has won a seat on the UN First, Seeds of Peace has undertaken – for the rights council, and recently held its first time in its history – in 2010-2011 a General Elections in May 2013 with a strategic planning process aimed at a more flurry of political activity and new defined programming framework and alliances being formed, notably to structure with a vision for the next 3-5 years. rule fragile areas like the Khyber Taking this programming framework, applying Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and SWAT close to and adapting it at the regional level is the Afghanistan. Pakistan has been facing logical and required next step, one that increasing local and internal conflicts requires the support of staff and external – whether political, religious or tribal consultants. At this particular time, the – and the geopolitical context is tense regional staffing structure is undergoing as seen through an all-time high anti- change and review around two broad US sentiment, suspicions of and questions – how to ensure a context-relevant threats on foreign aid workers, and strategy for national and regional directors, threats on child activists; and how to incorporate Graduate Seeds and  India is the world’s most populous Educators in the decision-making structure. democracy with heavy strains on its electric and water resources, and Second, Seeds of Peace is a people-to-people contentious borders with Pakistan organization that builds on relationships of and Afghanistan in Kashmir. India’s commitment, dedication and trust. The public and private sector involvement personal involvement has led to dedicated is growing in Afghanistan – from staff working for the organization for many capacity building support to GoA to years – staff who today necessitate an mining activities – further adding to external observer to provide them with an predictions of strains with Pakistan as assessment of assumptions and hypotheses the two countries fight for regional behind their approach to the South Asia influence. program specifically. This is the type of strategic evaluation that any NGO in the Seeds of Peace, an organization based in the world, and their donors, require, bringing in USA implements its program in South Asia – on board external consultants who may be of bringing young people together from more generalists than the actual practitioners, different countries who would ordinarily not but who will more rapidly be able to draw out have a chance to meet, but would grow up the main trends, problems and challenges, with very strong opinions about one another. opportunities and threats in the programming The premise of Seeds of Peace is that through structure as it currently stands, in view of face-to-face engagement, the path to conflict strengthening these in the future. resolution and peace building can be paved. The fact that it inspires a new generation of Third, the situation in the region is rapidly leaders implies, that this path of peace evolving. 2013 will be a critical year: building and conflict resolution will find  Afghanistan will be going through its impact and resonance in the future, when political, military and economic these young men and women become policy transition, with heavy uncertainty and and decision makers in their respective fields.

8 Objectives of the report I’m not young enough to know everything. The primary objective of this report is to align - Oscar Wilde and strengthen Seeds of Peace programming – linking its theory of change to the national Definition of “youth” contexts of the three participating countries in their South Asia program namely, India, The UN General Assembly’s definition of Pakistan and Afghanistan. In order to do this, youth covers those between the ages of 15 the research team at Samuel Hall has adopted and 24, which, though the most universally a two-step approach – accepted definition, fails to express what I. Understanding Seeds of Peace “youth” entails in social or cultural terms.1 Programming (Part I) – To assess the Each country has its own definition of youth. lack of a South Asia strategy, the research team needed to thoroughly In Pakistan, the government has set the youth understand Seeds of Peace bracket between the ages of 15 and 292 in its programing in South Asia. This National Youth Policy – aligned with the includes gathering information on the Commonwealth. selection process, the model of the organization in each of the three In India, previous policies had a large age countries, staffing and resources and bracket ranging from 13 to 39, the Youth the nature of post Camp Affairs Ministry has recently set it to 16 – 35 programming. years of age – covering 40% of the Indian population. II. Understanding the context (Part II) – Three lone-standing reports on the Finally, in Afghanistan, a National Youth Policy national contexts of Pakistan, India is currently being developed. According to the and Afghanistan, address individual constitution of the Government of country dynamics –national, local, and Afghanistan, youth is divided in two regional dynamics including the categories: pre-youth (naw jawan) ages 12 – political, economic and social 17, and youth (jawan) ages 18 to 35. landscapes, the lives and perceptions However, the country’s Central Statistics of the urban youth, their Office does not uphold the GoA double divide understanding of leadership and and instead implements a three-part perception of influence and change, categorization between pre-youth (ages 11- and the broader geopolitics of the 14), teenagers (ages 15-19), and university region. students and young professionals (ages 20- 25).

This report provides Seeds of Peace with For the purpose of this report, the research recommendations on how to make its South team relied on what local organizations and Asia program strategically stronger. This will standards were for the definition of youth. include debating on the most flexible and Those interviewed were, at their youngest, 15 adaptable model of programming for South and for the oldest 25. This breakdown Asia and pinpointing the place of youth and naturally fit with the UN standard definition. the place of Seeds in the three countries and in the organization – so that Seeds of Peace knows the environment in which the youth of South Asia grow up and adapts to the spaces that they have to make an impact.

1 UNESCO: Acting with and for youth, United Nations. 2 http://www.moya.gov.pk/national_youth_policy.html

9 About Seeds of Peace programs in their own cities based on the values and lessons that they have learn at Camp. What is Seeds of Peace (SoP)? Regional Programs – these are commonly When John Wallach in 1993, decided to bring referred to as “follow-up programs”, to build together, 15 young men and women from on the Camp experience through year-round Israel, Palestine and Egypt for an international leadership events that focus on creating Camp in Maine, USA in order to be able to change through: strong relationships across meet and engage with people they had been lines of conflict, understanding of core conflict taught to be their enemies, he set the wheels issues, developing practical skills, and the in motion for what would become a very ability to take action on behalf of peace. successful program and organization. The first These regional programs are meant to be Camp in 1993 became a regular annual broken down between categories of Seeds feature, having until now entertained more alumni – Juniors, Seniors between 18-21, and than 5000 Seeds and educators from all over Graduates over 22. Regional programs now the world. There are now Seeds from Egypt, include the Middle East, South Asia, and the Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Qatar, United States. Tunisia, Afghanistan, Yemen, India, Pakistan, Maine, Cyprus, and the Balkans. The Graduate Association – a group for all alumni of the International Camp aged 22 or What is SoP’s mission statement? older, to help develop and leverage their The aim of Seeds of Peace is to inspire a new professional and personal capacities to effect generation of leaders in the youth of different change. The program enables Graduates to countries. Through Camp, they are motivated launch collaborations, and explore creative to build lasting change in their own countries avenues to alleviate root causes of conflict. through local programming. Seeds of Peace The Educator Program - Seeds of Peace recognizes that every individual who comes Educator Programs engage a range of from Camp, is different, have their own professional educators from the Middle East, beliefs, values and reasons for who they are. South Asia, the United States, and the United According to their values however, Seeds of Kingdom: educational policymakers and Peace states that the common ground of government officials; school principals and these Seeds, however, is the belief in and administrators; classroom teachers; commitment to dialogue and informed academics; school counselors and leadership as the basis for meaningful change psychologists; and informal educators and and the most effective tools in the pursuit of community leaders, including those working 3 peace . with youth through arts, sports, cultural and religious organizations, and youth councils. The program also offers institutional and What are SoP’s programs? programmatic support for Seeds of Peace Started in 1993 with just an international alumni locally, in their home countries, while Camp, Seeds of Peace now has the following spreading our mission to impact even more programs in 27 countries all over the world – youth, classrooms, schools and educational systems throughout these regions. Educator The International Camp – started with Camp Programs primarily relate to one of four in 1993, a year round regional program was categories: Local Capacity-Building; Cross- started in 1997. Young men and women from Border Network and Training; Community and all over the world are selected to attend an Youth Engagement; and Curriculum and international Camp in Maine and are then Resources4. encouraged and supported to conduct local

3 Our Values, Seeds of Peace 4 Educator Program, Seeds of Peace http://www.Seedsofpeace.org/values http://www.Seedsofpeace.org/educators

10 Research Methodology Phase II – Seeds of Peace programming The second phase was focused on Seeds of Phase I – Drawing up the Contexts Peace programming in South Asia. A fresh set of interviews was conducted with Seeds of The team of researchers at Samuel Hall Peace staff in both New York and in the travelled to each of the three countries to region. The tools were restructured based on conduct face-to-face interviews with youth issues identified in Phase I. members, Seeds and non-Seeds alike, SoP staff, and other actors of civil society in Tools and Interviews Lahore, Mumbai and Kabul. Interviewees Key Informant Interviews lasted for about 2- were selected based on their ability to 2.5 hours per person. The same questionnaire contribute to the contextual framework. was used in all three countries in order to ensure that the same information would be Structural Psycho-social collected to facilitate analysis. The Framework Framework questionnaires were tailored for interviews with Seeds, Non-Seeds and Actors. National Perceptions level Participatory Conflict Analysis

Community Along with individual in depth interviews, a Attitudes level participatory conflict analysis was conducted in each country. The group comprised of both Family level Potential Seeds and non-Seeds. The analysis followed a structured discussion on the following:

Individual Action Step 1 – Identifying a conflict Level Step 2 – Causes /roots of conflict Step 3 – Mapping consequences of conflict As the above figure shows, the context was Step 4 – Key actors in conflict divided into two broad frameworks – a Step 5 – The place of the youth in conflict structural framework and the psychosocial framework. The objective of this exercise was to help 8 individuals in each country, to identify one Structural Framework – The purpose of this conflict that they deemed relevant for them; section is be identify a) what are the issues and then to help them think systematically that have caught the attention of the youth? through a conflict tree – the causes (roots) b) At what level, do these issues manifest and branches (consequences) of the conflict. themselves in the lives of the youth (national, community, family and individual levels)?. Online Survey This framework allows us to identify the space An online survey was conducted amongst of influence and impact that the youth can Seeds and non-Seeds to quantify qualitative have in changing these issues. findings that were highlighted during the Psychosocial framework – In order to interviews. The questionnaire was composed structure the issue-based framework, the of 4 key parts - psychosocial framework was developed. This 1. General Information reports the perceptions, attitudes, potential 2. Domestic Context – India/Pakistan and action of the youth interviewed on the and Afghanistan issues that they identified as being significant 3. International Relations – for them. (India/Pakistan, Pakistan/Afghanistan, Afghanistan/India) 4. Seeds of Peace programming (for Seeds only)

11 Structure of the Report

The findings of the research are presented in two parts:

PART I – A Strategic Framework PART II – Context Analysis: Pakistan, India & Afghanistan Aligning & strengthening Seeds of Peace programming are the priorities of Part I. This report first explores the South Asia region covered by Seeds of Peace, country by  Chapter I: SoP and South Asia country: Pakistan, India then Afghanistan. It A summary of the key findings from engages in a discussion on the nature of the the national context analyses conflict in South Asia and the priority issues provided in Part II. References will be for youth in each country. In Part II, we move made to these papers, and the reader to a more thematic discussion of leadership, should therefore read them in full. influence, change and impact in South Asia.  Chapter II: SoP Programming in Last but not least we review the challenges South Asia: a SWOT analysis and opportunities for Seeds of Peace in each A concise analysis of the Strengths, country – management and programming. Weaknesses, Opportunities and The national context papers are structured as Threats of SOP programming. follows:  Chapter III: A South Asia Strategy for SoP  The country at a Snapshot Three strategic frameworks are  The “youth” in the national context provided as options for Seeds of  The country through the eyes of the Peace. An analysis of the youth implementation of the organization’s  The country, its youth and its borders strategic objectives and expected  The life of a teenager in the country output in South Asia will be followed  Country dynamics and the place of by 3 strategic recommendations. Each youth of the 3 options will be structured  Participatory conflict analysis around 4 pillars – multi-year  Seeds of Peace programming in programming, national and regional country portfolios, staffing and resources, and  Bibliography partnerships.

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PART I – STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

13 1. SEEDS OF PEACE AND THE SOUTH ASIA CONTEXT

REGIONAL CONTEXT ANALYSIS

The regional dynamics between India, the first time, the Times of India reported that Pakistan and Afghanistan present a complex India is now considering the sale of arms to tapestry of interactions and alliances. the ANSF in the upcoming meeting between Following are some of the key highlights of President Karzai and Prime Minister Man these dynamics – Mohan Singh5. Firstly, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, One Seed interviewed had the following to though appearing to be natural actors within say – the same region, involved in fighting the same Af/Pak/India conflict is on a political level. conflict, are rarely in reality, seen to be “Our governments” – but we can still create working in a unified and collaborative way. In bridges. The Middle East conflict is a people- the last 10 years, since the US forces entered to-people conflict and a government conflict. Afghanistan to topple the Taliban regime, rarely have the heads of the three countries - Pakistani Seed, 2010, Lahore initiated and organized tri-lateral meetings to Bearing the above in mind, this section will discuss the existing conflicts in the country. look at what extent, the youth of Afghanistan, The most pressing of the regional conflicts are India and Pakistan are affected by the conflict – the Indian-Pakistan conflict played out on in these countries. It will also highlight the Afghan soil, the border tensions between implications of the ensuing analysis for Seeds India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue and of Peace programming. the border issues between Pakistan and Afghanistan within a broader rhetoric of sponsored terrorism and insurgency. i. Proximity to the Conflict Secondly, much like its physical position, Seeds of Peace focuses on the Kashmir issue Pakistan is presently cornered between and the Durand line, as the key issues of Afghanistan and India, both of whom have tension in the region. These are the subjects accused Pakistan of funding insurgency and of heated dialogues between Seeds at the sponsoring terrorism across its borders. international Camp6. The cities where Seeds Pakistan’s foreign policy, backed often by US of Peace programming is currently based are funding, has often prevented it from having Mumbai, Lahore and Kabul. As highlighted by an open and forthcoming relationship with its the context analysis of all three countries neighbors. (Part II), in all three cities, both conflict issues Thirdly, decades of war in Afghanistan have – the Kashmir issue and the Durand line – are started having had an impact on Pakistan essentially historical conflicts with little politically, socially and economically. Millions resonance in the present. As such, they bear of Afghan refugees have crossed over the little relevance in day-to-day lives of youth in eastern border of Afghanistan and settled the cities where Seeds of Peace is active. down in north-western Pakistan.  The context analysis in Pakistan (Part Lastly, whilst India is perhaps the strongest II, Paper 1), for instance, reveals that and most stable of the three countries, its internal conflict (interfaith and involvement in Afghanistan for the moment, sectarian conflict mainly) is the main has been limited to providing development aid to Afghanistan. It has shied away from directly sending over troops to Afghanistan, 5 The Times of India, India considers selling arms to Afghanistan, 19th May 2013 even though it allows for Afghan military 6 officers to train on Indian soil. However for Interviews with Seeds and non-Seeds in Mumbai, Kabul and Lahore

14 priority and concern for youth Physical distance – Mumbai is located members who feel far removed from approximately 1414 miles from Srinagar, the the Kashmiri issue. Instead, they feel capital of Jammu and Kashmir and the valley, the rise of radicalization and where there is a large presence of the Indian extremism at home as the main Army as well as the headquarters of the threat to their society. Kashmir government and separatist  The context analysis in India (Part II, movements that exist on the Indian side of Paper 2) explains that “most young the border. The sheer distance of those living people feel so detached from the in Mumbai from the conflict plays a role in the conflict with Pakistan that overtures way the conflict impacts their lives. A lack of to inform or educate them about the engagement with the conflict at any level, importance of peace-building and combined with other factors results in a lack reconciliation often hit a wall. The of curiosity about the incidents that have conflict is simply not considered to be been a part of the issue. This conflict is limited an important part of most young to being an incident based conflict – attracts people’s daily lives.” Instead, Indian attention on isolated incidents, but is youth members are concerned about otherwise forgotten by the urban youth. This India’s foreign policy, disparities and is true on the Indian side of the border. On inequalities at home. the Pakistani side of the border, similar  The context analysis in Afghanistan feelings arise of Afghanistan. Youth in Lahore (Part II, Paper 3) reveals a youth are closer to India than to Azad Kashmir. The mainly concerned about their lack of research team in Lahore observed that economic and employment Afghanistan was rarely mentioned opportunities – and an overall lack of spontaneously unless prompted in the key active options to play a role in society. informant interviews that they held with Many want to volunteer, study in Seeds and non-Seeds. Those interviewed cited private university institutes in urban Lahore being located closer to the Indian areas, and yet do not have the skills border and away from Pakistan as a potential required to effectively transition to reason for an apathy towards Afghanistan. the labor market. Without the proper With the Afghans, not having a clear issue connections and skills, they fall in with India and being more heavily engaged under or unemployment. with Pakistan was a reason of imbalance in the dynamics between the three countries. As The conflicts in the region, from the eyes of such, what this implies is that presently, there the youth, are more focused on national are few things on which the countries are at societies than regional conflicts – at least for par with each other, when it comes to the youth in the three cities surveyed. Whilst relationships. The way these countries are unfair to generalize this feeling across the perceived and characterized by the people is three countries, the fact remains that this based largely on hearsay rather than a) actual conflict is not comparable to the conflict in engagement and experience and b) individual the Middle East where there is one clear, critical thinking. defined conflict between two countries. That being said, there are other issues that attract What the media says - A quick research on the attention of young people about each what the Indian media reports would reveal other’s countries. Music and cricket are a few that Afghanistan and internal matters in such examples. For a number of women in all Pakistan are rarely covered. There is a gaping three countries, Bollywood and the Indian TV lack of debate on regional and foreign policy serial industry are also informal binding matters. India like many other countries in factors. There are certain factors that affect South Asia, is more westward looking rather these dynamics such that opinions are not as than regionally focused. Afghanistan and polarized as those in the Middle East. These Pakistan are not alone in not being covered in factors are – the Indian media. Such is true also of other

15 neighboring countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Living through the conflict – The youth in Bangladesh, Burma and Sri Lanka. A telling Afghanistan have lived through the conflict. fact is that there is no resident correspondent Those who are today 15 years old, would have for any news agency from India in Afghanistan been born during the Taliban regime. Many presently. would have fled with their families to Pakistan and Iran. Many would have even been born in

these countries. Others who stayed back, A youth in India opined – would have seen the advent of international Before I joined AEISEC, I used to always see military forces in 2001. Those living in Kabul these news flashes about Afghanistan; but I would have seen their city turn into a never took a keen interest or probed further. militarized zone with foreign troops on the Even after I joined AEISEC, it increased a bit, roads – an alien scene from the deserted but not to a serious level. After I went on an streets during the time of the Taliban exchange, I compared the problems in According to an Afghan Seed – Romania with India with questions of where is Taking about the Taliban regime and the the leadership of India taking the country etc. conflict was difficult for me at Camp because I - Director, AIESEC Mumbai, India lived in Pakistan during the war so I didn't The quote above indicates two things – a) know how it was. We just shared our presence of only news flashes on Afghanistan experiences of war in general. and a lack of interest of youth in them and b) - Afghan Seed, 2011, Kabul how this is turned around due to physical international exposure – in this case, Romania. ii. Seeds Perceptions between In Afghanistan, some youth especially in the the three countries case of Afghanistan and Pakistan, see the media as the driver of conflict between the The research team in all three countries asked two countries, others think it’s a tool for the youth who were interviewed, about their peace. Afghan media is slightly different from perceptions and feelings about the three Indian media when it comes to reporting on countries. These responses will be discussed Afghanistan’s relations with Pakistan. Tolo in the following section - News, one of Afghanistan’s 24/7 news Relationship between Afghanistan and channels, has just finished broadcasting Af- Pakistan Pak debates between leaders and celebrities from the two countries on some of the When interviewing Seeds and non-Seeds in contentious issues7. The audience to these Kabul and Pakistan, the research teams debates are largely the youth, even within the observed that on the Afghan side, Pakistan studio, providing them with an opportunity to came up frequently in the conversations seek answers to their questions and think centered around conflict whilst the Pakistani critically about the situation. That being said, Seeds and non-Seeds rarely mentioned the media in Afghanistan is also shaping Afghanistan unless prompted. perceptions on what post-2014 Afghanistan During interviews with both Seeds and non- will look like. A number of Afghan youth Seeds, varying opinions of Pakistan came to interviewed for this study felt that the media light. Some of these on the Afghan side were was hyping the post 2014 phase in – Afghanistan by constantly playing into the Pakistan wants to destabilize Afghanistan fears of the people by broadcasting and because the Pakistani government doesn't emphasizing negative news. want a strong country on the other side- like India. - Seed, 2010, Kabul 7 Link for the Af-Pak debates, Tolo News

16 Pakistan is against development of the initial years, reported that their focus was Afghanistan because Afghanistan is a good more on speaking with the Americans rather market for Pakistan (imports and exports). than the Pakistanis. Some of the recent Seeds put it rather bluntly - - Seed, 2011, Kabul So they (Pakistan) are blaming us, we're Pakistan is afraid Afghanistan will be strong blaming them (Pakistan) and back and forth, and team up with India. so it's very obvious that the relationship is not - Non-Seed, Kabul good; Except for the Southern part and the Pakistan government is bad, but people are Eastern part, in all other parts of Afghanistan, good. we have a problem with Pakistan. - Seed, 2011 Kabul - Seed, 2010, Kabul Only good thing about Pakistan is their health facilitates (same as in India). Relationship between Afghanistan and India - Non-Seed, Kabul In contrasting views, Afghan perceptions of Pakistan sends their terrorists to Afghanistan India ranged between the following: to destabilize Afghanistan and to get back at India has always been a good neighbor to India. If Afghanistan is weak, Afghanistan Afghanistan. cannot join India together against Pakistan. India has peaceful intentions. - Non-Seed, Kabul India has built hospitals in (Indira Gandhi) and provides scholarships to students because How important is the Durand line? they want to improve Afghanistan and their During the international Camp, one of the relationship. core subjects of dialogue between Afghan India influences Afghan culture- Afghans Seeds and Pakistani Seeds is about the imitate their lifestyles and clothes. Durand Line. However, a number of Seeds interviewed by the research team Whilst Indian involvement in Afghanistan has highlighted that the Durand line was a not been of militaristic nature and as such, topic that was chosen by the facilitators India is not a very visible country in providing and not by the Seeds themselves. aid to Afghanistan, such perceptions stem both from a lack of critical information Their knowledge of and involvement in the available of the dynamics between India and Durand line conflict is highlighted in the Afghanistan and a contrasting dislike towards fact that before going to Camp Afghan Pakistan. Attitudes towards India are Seeds get an introduction to the conflict- a therefore often voiced as a means of preparation course. For one or two comparison against what Pakistan has done in months they have to study history and the Afghanistan. An inherent lack of conflict also conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan. means that India rarely features in the Senior Seeds or delegation leaders run discourse on news channels and discussions in sessions and tell Seeds what to expect and schools and other platforms. This realm is still that they need to be able to defend very much dominated by America and themselves. Pakistan. Indian sentiments towards Afghanistan of The range of thoughts and perceptions young people, mirrored those of Pakistani reported above point to the fact that Pakistan youth towards Afghanistan to some extent. is now being looked at as an obstacle to peace Those who were interviewed, whilst and security in Afghanistan. This is a recently acknowledging the presence and kindness of emerging feeling amongst Afghan students. Afghans at Camp, and people from a new Afghan Seeds who had attended Camp during country that they met, showed little

17 understanding of the nature of conflict within sometimes neglecting or marginalizing Afghanistan or the issues that the country is Afghanistan. facing. They were also unaware of the In order to correctly understand the thoughts historical ties that link India and Afghanistan. of youth on the India-Pakistan issue, the The Afghans however, demonstrated a brief research team conducted a range of understanding of the dynamics between India interviews with youth from different and Pakistan, which was interconnected with backgrounds. In India, Seeds and non-Seeds their perceptions on Indian involvement in formed one category, but youth who hailed Afghanistan – from military backgrounds were interviewed along with those who came from non-military,

civilian backgrounds. The relationship between Pakistan and India is In Mumbai, the analysis on nationalism and obviously very bad, there are attempts that patriotism mentioned in the box above, was they want to make it better, that's definitely a reflected in the responses towards the bad situation because of the Kashmir issue. Kashmir issue. Whilst Seeds spoke of conflict And they are also competing for Afghanistan, with knowledge and enthusiasm, non-Seeds so it seems, but India is doing it more in a nice from civilian backgrounds spoke of it in terms way and Pakistan tries to create problems. of a historical conflict rather than having an - Afghanistan Youth Actor, Kabul inherent link to it. With Indian Seeds, we also talk about terrorism and the fact that Pakistan is aiding Cricket – The Proxy Battleground or militant groups, which then enter Diplomatic Platform? Afghanistan. The enmity and competitiveness between - Seed, female, 2011, Kabul India and Pakistan is perhaps most emphatically expressed by the youth in the form of cricket. On the eve of a match The Military, Nationalism and Patriotism between the two countries, both nations in India and Pakistan are usually awash with messages of pride

and honor. Cricket matches have also been Both India and Pakistan have large used as official platforms of diplomacy standing armies of their own. Unlike the with the Prime Minister of Pakistan being armies of western countries, the better formally invited to watch the semi-final part of military resources in India and match at the 2011 World Cup in India. To Pakistan are spent in guarding their own some extent, it appears that the youth in frontiers. As such, one would expect India – especially those that hail from the feelings of nationalism and patriotism to middle classes, understand the language of run high. Whilst this is true to some cricket as a way of engaging with the measure in Pakistan, it is only expressed Kashmir issue. It is however far from the when it comes to cricket and at the Wagah glacial peaks of the actual battleground. border in India. Feelings of pride in the Indian army run abysmally low amongst the youth. The interviews conducted in Pakistan highlighted the pace with which geo political Relationship between India and Pakistan relations between the countries change the perceptions of the people. It emerged from Seeds of Peace began in South Asia, keeping these interviews that anti-Indian sentiments India and Pakistan and within them, the now ranked second to anti-American Kashmir conflict in mind. Even now, it is a sentiments. Whilst Pakistani youth centerpiece of their strategy and acknowledged that a problem existed programming in South Asia, to the extent of between India and Pakistan, which varied in

18 degrees of severity, they also said that the I don’t understand why you have to go so far time had passed for such basic antagonism to to break a hatred that used to exist. The still exist. The reasons for this were in the hatred and misunderstanding are much lower increase in exchanges between the countries than in the past – I have lived through worse through the media, TV and film etc. which had times, we work less and less on the question increased the levels of awareness in both of India and Pakistan as it has to some extent countries. normalized - Pakistani Youth, Lahore

DOMESTIC CONFLICT IN SOUTH ASIA

So what is it that motivates and concerns political and socio-economic sphere at various youth in South Asia? The answer lies in degrees of severity. domestic issues that impact the lives of these Like for example India, we see all sorts of youth directly. Some fight back, some learn to religions and all diversity of religion. Yes they live with these issues and others have do have their problems, but they are so much connections that help them circumvent them. better than us. You know we don't have so How important is the Kashmir issue for many languages, Afghanistan has around 54 the youth? languages, and India has at least 34 official languages. We have two official languages on The following statements shed light on a national level. They are getting along very the importance of the Kashmir issue in well. We have to create a culture of the minds of youth - acceptance, a culture of tolerance. A culture of “Kashmir – it has a central role in dialogue inclusivity, not exclusivity that we have in sessions at Camp but in the end we have Afghanistan right now. little knowledge or experience of Kashmir. - Afghan Youth Actor It is not really part of our lives.” – Pakistani Seed To some extent, youth in Afghanistan have started tracing a link for their domestic problems like political instability, lack of “At the Ireland Game changers program, security and economic development to we realized that the Kashmir issue or the Pakistan and its involvement in Afghanistan. Durand line are not much of a priority as The research team asked the youth it much as my security on a day-to-day level. interviewed, to identify certain key issues that (…) It is more the internal forces that they felt that their respective countries was disrupt the peace, not so much the facing with. The context analyses provide a international forces.” – Pakistani Seed detailed list of the issues that were identified. However, some of them were identified in all All in all however, the engagement that youth three countries – have with domestic problems in each of the Political Issues three countries are more prolific than their engagement with cross-border conflict. Multiple candidates/political party system – Luckily, these domestic issues in themselves the presence of multiple political party can become a binding factor for youth in systems in all three countries has resulted in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. A key reason the political sphere becoming a messy sphere for that is the fact that all three countries face of wielding power. The fact that all of these essentially similar domestic problems – in the political parties have local and ethnic roots, means that the fight for power and political

19 space manifests itself at every layer of society insecurity over the last few years. Whilst in leading to a) a bad name for politics and b) Afghanistan, insecurity has increased in the political instability in the countries. This rural areas of most provinces, in Pakistan; it is multiparty political system is also spreading in the western frontline of the characterized in all three countries, by the rise country and through sectarian violence in of dynasties who often rule for multiple terms cities like Peshawar and Karachi. Lahore at a stretch or control political resources in seems to be relatively safe and secure. India the countries. This makes politics and state on the other hand remains largely safe. That affairs out to be the monopoly of a few, being said, the country has witnessed discouraging new and upcoming leaders. religious riots and terrorist attacks in the past decade. Coalitions – Due to the division of political actors into a number of parties, one single party in the region, often finds it difficult to Social Issues win a clear majority of seats in the general elections of their country. A case in point is Condition of women – The condition of the very recent elections in Pakistan – where women and discrimination against them, even though Nawaz Sharif’s party won the came up as an issue with youth in all three most number of seats, he still did not have countries. In Afghanistan, traditional norms enough to form a government at the center. and strict sharia laws dictate the lives of What is ensuing is a process of compromises women. The Taliban regime imposed a strict and negotiations – nothing is held back to be code of conduct, which made the society able to have the power to form a government extremely conservative. Women here still over the country. This often means that the remain largely hidden and absent from the interests of the country are being sidelined to public world. That being said, young women the necessity of forming a government at all in Kabul are now seen as working in costs. The impact on people is that they feel organizations, at least until they are married. that their vote does not count undermining In Lahore, the situation is much like that of the notion of democracy. India. Freedom for women is determined by the economic standards of the family and Corruption – Corruption is regarded as a their exposures to the outside world. An socio-economic and political problem in all anthropological study of Pakistani women will three countries. It has pervaded society in a display extreme ends on the spectrum of way that it has now become the norm and conservativeness and freedom. In India, ingrained within the system. Only corruption women are perhaps much better off than acts over a certain amount make the either Afghanistan or Pakistan. However, even headlines whilst those that manifest in Mumbai, communities can be found where themselves in day to day lives, remain women are subject to strict codes of conduct unreported. in the public. India has also seen some Politics – a dirty power play – A combination extremely brutal cases of rape of young girls of all the factors above, makes the political in the past year. The most talked about – realm in all three countries appears more generated a huge outcry from men and flawed than an avenue to bring about change. women alike of the safety of women. The discussion on leadership will highlight However, rather than questioning the safety how the notion of leadership in South Asia is mechanisms for women, responsibilities of implicitly tied with politics. When it meets a the police and making Indian cities, safer for world that is characterized with corruption women, politicians and religious leaders in and lack of inspiration, devoid of the vitality of India have come out and blamed the rapes on young leadership, it serves as a discouraging the way women dress. mechanism for the youth.

Increasing Insecurity – Pakistan and Afghanistan have also witnessed increasing

20 Interfaith and Sectarian conflict - Interfaith there are working people. In Afghanistan on and sectarian conflict was raised as a priority the other hand, years of insecurity and issue for Seeds in Pakistan. Interfaith conflict instability have shattered the economy – and is not a current issue in Afghanistan per say – World Bank projections in Afghanistan but it is an ancient one, with oppositions and underline the potential for the service sector massacres between Sunnis and Shias, and urban jobs to drop drastically with the Pashtuns and Hazaras to name one 2014 transition. Jobs are less for the entire dichotomy. Although not a regular feature in working population let alone the youth. India, terrorist attacks like the bomb blasts on Afghanistan alarmingly, is also seeing a youth trains, the attack on the Taj hotel, have drawn bulge – where majority of its population, falls lines of demarcation between Hindus and between the age group of 14-25 years. Muslims. The riots that occurred in Godhra Pressures to provide for the family and a were also a subdued reminder of the sensitive frustration at not having their aspirations met nature of India’s diverse society. However, means that this category has now become a inter faith violence is not endemic in India just ticking time bomb 8 . India has seen an yet. In Pakistan however, recent incidents of immense brain drain of youth, who have left assassinations of Christian leaders and those the country to find jobs and education opposed to the blasphemy laws of the country abroad. This is expected to happen in have highlighted the fragile nature of the Afghanistan as well if the economy does not society. Added to this have been repeated provide more jobs. attacks on Shias in Karachi and Peshawar. In Cultural Afghanistan, sectarian attacks remain few with the bomb blast on Ashura in 2011, the The cultural issues are very important for the last major attack on Shias. However, these youth. In a way, they form the ‘context of conflicts are indicative of deeper structural environment’, which for Seeds of Peace, is an issues in the social fabric of all three countries equally important aspect to bear in mind, as and of the potential for sectarianism to lead the context of conflict discussed above. to civil war. Whether brought out by a clash Context of Environment – A 15-year-old between rising economic disparity between youth in South Asia is closely surrounded by the rich and the poor or the pressures and his family, school, teachers and friends. influences of a modern world. India, Pakistan Engagement with anyone beyond this, at an and Afghanistan are all countries in the intellectual level is minimal. These circles process of change. These conflicts, to some however, play a very important role in the extent, are the consequence of their response lives of these youth. The nature of their to this change. relationship with their teachers is formal and determined by the syllabus that they are taught in school (reflecting the south Asian Economic Issues values of treating teachers like messengers of Increasing Economic Disparity – In all three God) and as such never to be questioned or countries, an increasing gap between rich and argued with. Indian children, as compared to poor due to inflation and corruption was children in western countries like the US, have highlighted as a major concern. The disparity a relatively formal relationship with their is most visible in urban cities like Kabul and parents. Parents often determine the lives of Mumbai where slums exist alongside big children in their early teens and often have buildings and in the case of Kabul, multi- the final say on important decisions million dollar worth poppy palaces. concerning travel, education and living. The experience that a child has is therefore closely Lack of jobs for the youth – Whilst India has dependent and linked to the attitude and seen a boom for youth employment due to nature of their parents. This of course varies the emergence of the outsourcing culture and call centers, the sheer size of the population means that there are still not enough jobs as 8 Hervé Nicolle, Youth Participatory Assessment

21 on a case-by-case basis. However, a common The Context and Seeds of Peace thread amongst all of this, highlighted by interviews in Mumbai was that there is a lack of intellectual conversation that span a wide For Seeds of Peace programming and any similar variety of areas and subjects between parents programming in general in this region it is and children. therefore key to take into account the following – The place of youth in society – Due to a  All three countries face similar domestic culture of providing the utmost respect to issues – These are a strong common elders and placing high importance on age denominator for future programming, and experience, youth, even until the age of nurturing a dialogue based on 24-25, are often sidelined, or not given the commonalities than differences at Camp. freedom to make decisions concerning their This will lead to a lot more creative lives. Youth are not taken seriously, by thinking and stronger ties that can be government, by family and by the society. This nurtured and followed-up upon after was identified as a characteristic place of Camp. youth in society in all three countries. Again, there do exist exceptions to this – as  The Kashmir issue and the Durand Line education and professional achievements are issue do not form a part of the daily changing this balance as seen in Lahore with rhetoric of the lives of young people in examples of exceptional initiatives led by Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. They Seeds and youth – that adults cannot and will should not be the central element of not lead. As such the youth is creating its own dialogue sessions at Camp. space. But these exceptions are not the norm. The assumption is that youth are too young,  Insurgency, terrorism are important to the innocent and do not have any experience. Afghans, India as a stronger neighbor is However, this is a trend that the youth in what Pakistani children are taught to Pakistan and India is set to change; while the loathe but the urban Pakistani youth grow youth in Afghanistan is not at such a stage yet. to be more concerned about the rapid What is taught in schools – Most of what a changes in their society and the child knows about what is going on in the radicalization of Pakistani politics and world is from what s/he learns in school. The religion, leading to geographic differences, importance of this institution cannot be and Indians care about sports, music and underestimated. However, in India, schools the emerging economy’s impact on their are too theoretical and academically inclined future. These are the buzzwords when it with little emphasis on life skills and projects comes to India-Afghanistan and Pakistan that will provide a link between what they are relations through the eyes of the youth. studying and its application in real life to the students. In Afghanistan, the problems are  Domestic issues, in a nutshell, are more even more severe. There is a paucity of pressing for these youth as they have schools, and when access to education exists, more direct impact on their daily lives, and the school day is split in three shifts, hence as they can more easily impact these limiting the possibility of quality education. issues – whether at a neighborhood or Where schools exist, they often lack properly local level – than national historical issues.. qualified teachers, desks, books etc. Teachers The section above has highlighted the also perpetuate a culture where students complexity of the relationship between learn passively, without critical thinking, and Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. It has students are only prepared to study to pass provided an overview of the domestic their exam. There is a lack of desire, and contexts that exist within each of the three incentive, to be creative on children’s learning countries. The resulting conclusion is that process. This leads to a lack of critical thinking these relationships, the way and pace at and a curiosity to know more.

22 which they change and the factors that within’, will avoid serious consequences on influence them, cannot be underestimated. the self-esteem of those who participate in For an organization like Seeds of Peace, it the program by avoiding a negative impact on becomes critical to a) not only begin with an the way they view themselves, their country understanding of geo-political affairs in South and their region. Instead a push towards more Asia but also to b) ensure that this positive and creative solutions through the information is updated on a regular basis and common denominators in the three countries reflected in the programming – both at Camp will provide more hope for their future – and and in country. Programming needs to be hopefully fight against the apathy that many flexible, to avoid old-age discussions on feel when they return home. The next step for Kashmir and the Durand line to take SoP would therefore be to see in the changing precedent over current matters of concern geopolitics and regional dimensions of India, and of potential greater impact. Framing Pakistan and Afghanistan, the importance of dialogues and issues more positively about the three countries independently, first, and ‘the challenges within’ and ‘the solutions then their common base, second.

23 LEADERSHIP AND INFLUENCE OF THE YOUTH IN SOUTH ASIA

Youth – a silent category? We're all human beings and we work for, what I work for is this: wherever you are, The discussions above have hinted at the whatever perspective you have of life, notion of youth as a silent category and being welcome to the human family. As long as you apathetic and passive in their approach to believe in tolerance and have respect for all their country. Whilst Seeds of Peace succeeds human beings then we can work together - in creating a bridge between being unaware understanding the dignity and value of each and curious to know more, there is still no human being on this planet is important. guarantee that it will translate into action. The reason for this are two-fold – a) the place - Seed, 2012, Mumbai of youth in the society of these countries and For others it was - b) the concept of leadership in these countries. Both these reasons are inter-linked. Leadership: someone who listens before acting. In all three countries – India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, leadership is a monopoly of the - Seed, 2009, Kabul elderly. Youth are silent of their own volition, We had a facilitator who gave us but even if they desired to speak out, they presentations about leadership- and that would first have to face a society that is built leadership is different everywhere. We learned on the foundations of putting age and that leadership could start anywhere, within experience before anything else. However, the family, the community, anywhere. there are signs of this status quo changing – especially in certain sectors in India, and in Seed, 2009, Lahore Pakistan. Identifying Leaders in South Asia What does leadership of the youth mean in In terms of identifying people, leaders South Asia? amongst youth were erstwhile political Leadership means various things in South leaders, cricketers, sports person or Asia. The interviews conducted for this celebrities. This was a difficult question for research, generated varied responses from them to answer, and one which they did not youth and actors in the field of youth groups, see as relevant: you in Kabul, Lahore and conflict resolution and peace-building. For Mumbai more easily identified the lack of some in Kabul, tolerance, respect and leaders than the presence of any role model. openness were the buzzwords of leadership. There were few examples of leaders at the A case in point - day-to-day level and youth reflected a frustration at the lack of inspiration that they see. As far as youth themselves as leaders I believe that we need to develop a culture of were concerned, the sign of passivity in tolerance, respect and openness. And that attitude is reflected in the statement below – means that we need to have or develop a sort I think this is a problem that youth do not take of culture where all kinds of ideas are chances and do not take the time to think on welcome, all kinds of people are welcome, their own and just rely on other people, and where we tolerate each other. So there is no this is what's causing conflicts. difference between values, man and woman, Sunni and Shi'a and there's no difference AIESEC Director, Kabul between Muslim and non-Muslim. In the Participatory Conflict Analysis exercise - Afghan Seed, 2010, Kabul conducted in Mumbai with both Seeds and non-Seeds, the participants were asked to name who they felt were the important actors

24 in having the ability to bring about change. And whatever political position they get, they Whilst the government and military were will just tell people what to do because that's popular choices, none said that the youth what, that's how they have been raised. That's could be the leaders to bring about change. what they know, they are not exposed to When asked whether they thought they could other ways. They don't realize that there are bring about the change as youth, one other ways of doing things that are better participant openly said no – citing the weak than this. Plus, that's how they're tuned. position that youth have in Indian society, the - Afghanistan youth, Kabul dominance of more senior and powerful However in a society that too gives the mantel actors and other pressures that keep the of decision making to the elderly, it is the youth on a very strict path of career formation youth that have the potential to herald in the until it is too late9. social change that the country so desperately The existing culture makes it legitimate for needs. The political realm is difficult for youth elders to be decision makers in all three to enter. countries. In India perhaps less so, but In Pakistan for example, the following nevertheless, it is extremely difficult for youth statement outlines the niche that the youth to find a niche for themselves especially in the can carve – this idea would also resonate well political sphere. It is easier in the corporate in India and Afghanistan alike. sector where Indian markets are currently encouraging entrepreneurship. There was How leadership would differentiate itself here also a desire amongst the youth, to see from other countries, here it would have to be people in the corporate sector become more a very social grassroots level whereas cross cutting leaders – leadership in Palestine would be more politicized. The problems that we face, and I really feel that a lot of leaders, not political what we think about, are caused by us. We leaders per say but leaders in India in the are the ones who burn down each other’s corporate sector, in the social sector and in houses, and we are the ones to blow ourselves other sectors, need to take an active part in up, we are the ones who have created these shaping the direction in which the country is social and economic differences. We need to going and devote a certain part of their time focus more on people than on policies. There to the progress of the nation. isn’t much wrong with our constitution or the - Indian Youth, Mumbai political machinery – except for the people

that run it. The framework is there but more a In Afghanistan, there is a different scope of question of stakeholders and mindset. leadership for the youth. Constant instability - Seed, 2010, Lahore has meant that the youth in Afghanistan have Youth in Pakistan were more hopeful about to shoulder the responsibility of their family’s the potential for youth today to take on economic sustenance very early in their lives. leadership activities – as opposed to their Social norms also dictate that young men and older siblings and previous generations. The women are married off early. This implies that youth is going through a transformation in the period of youth between childhood and Pakistan, with a clear evolution over the past adulthood is shortened substantially. Once 5 to 6 years, as reported by activists, the youth reach the stage of adulthood, more professors, Seeds and non-Seeds, and older often than not, they get into the same rut of siblings of today’s youth who mentioned that professing their thoughts rather than learning the level of engagement seen today was not from their experience and giving other youth present a few years back, during their time. a chance. The quote below sums up the However, although politically aware, political sentiments - engagement characterizes a small group – “people like us are a minority”, explained the representative of a grassroots, youth-led 9 See India Context Analysis movement called Next Generation Pakistan.

25 As they and other explain, it is, in other are being faced by Middle Eastern nations like words, the start of greater youth involvement Egypt, Tunisia and Libya - political elite who in Pakistan, a turning point for SoP to be a dominate over the wealth of the country, part of, and to support, to minimize risks of little decision-making power in the hands of manipulation and empower the young the people, unstable government, rising generation to become today’s leaders. insecurity and more importantly rising unemployment with a reliance on networks,

connection and power just in order to survive. Leadership in a political and non-political These were factors that drove the youth in form the Arab spring on the streets. Why then did it A key point that emerged during the not have an impact in South Asia? Why did interviews was the link between politics and the youth in Pakistan, not rise against their leadership. As discussed above, leadership government? Why did the youth in was immediately connected to politics. With Afghanistan not rise against corruption? Why the political sphere becoming murky and the did it take the brutal rape of a 20-year-old girl youth not finding role models elsewhere, a for the youth of India to protest against the certain acceptance of domestic issues has set lack of protection; a case that is already in amongst the youth. If the roots of waning from the minds of the youth? These leadership were by default seen in politics, so are critical questions, whose answers will was the manifestation – allow Seeds of Peace, a better insight into the aspirations, motivations and engagement of the youth of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Most of them, if you teach them leadership, if you encourage them to be leaders they will take it towards politics. If you talk about Youth in Transition leadership, the first thing that comes into their The work of organizations like Seeds of Peace mind is politics. If you are a politician you are and AIESEC fills an important vacuum in the a leader and besides that, you are not. lives of youth in South Asia - that of making - Youth, Kabul them individuals who can think for themselves. One Seed in Pakistan said – The reason why some youth think that this is Youth is going through a transformation these problematic, preferring non-political ways of days. I think youth has very politicized leadership instead, is because - opinions that are definitely shaped by the I think the main issue is that politics always media. But there is a certain faction of society brings conflict. It's a very sensitive issue. In that has risen beyond what media tries to feed AIESEC we usually take leadership as us. We have seen Arab Spring, we have seen something that is non-political. So we are kind the revolution in Libya after Qadafi, now we of doing activities and practicing leadership as know what will happen in Venezuela since an entrepreneur and a businessman. So, our Chavez has died. We are learning from what is approaches are the obviously different from happening around the world. People like us the political approaches to leadership, but who get to watch BBC and CNN and not just since we are working with young people, we Pakistani television, people who have access know what topics are very sensitive between to different media know what is going on in them. the world, do realize. But people like us are a - AIESEC Director, Kabul minority. 10% of children educated in Pakistan go to private schools. I get criticized even in this minority that I am an Ahmedi, that I don’t Leadership in South Asia and the Middle East hate India, that I have Jewish friends. A small South Asia, especially Afghanistan and fraction has risen beyond the stereotypes but Pakistan face some of the same issues that there is a lot that needs to be done still. - Pakistani Seed, 2010, Lahore

26 Seeds of Peace plays a role in bringing out section will look at the spaces of impact and those 10% of the youth who have the capacity potential to change that youth in South Asia to change, if properly supported. The next have and how this can be further nurtured.

IMPACT AND POTENTIAL TO CHANGE

What are the spaces (areas/people) where repeatedly, is the key to developing creative youth can have an impact in South Asia? initiatives. Due to the place of youth in South Asian society, the spaces where they can have an Trends towards a potential cultural shift and impact are close to them. Influence by the greater value for the role of youth? youth has the power to manifest itself in a) themselves, b) their families, c) schools, d) This research – complemented by on-going amongst their peers, c) at work and perhaps studies by the research team (2013 e) in their communities. Those who are Afghanistan’s future in Transition: A ambitious and have the courage to take two Participatory Assessment of the Youth) – steps forward rather than just one, often shows that the three countries showcase a establish organizations that have a wider common cultural norm that tends to silence impact as evidenced by RABTT started by the youth – putting age and experience first, Pakistani Seeds. the societies under review are led by elders. The issue of space is a crucial one – However, Pakistan and India point to repeatedly, in Kabul, Lahore, and Mumbai, openings and a potential shift – albeit Seeds mentioned the lack of space for them economic and social rather than cultural – to convene as a significant obstacle to towards a greater role for the youth. fulfilling their leadership potential and goals. Afghanistan presents a different picture – one At Camp, they learn that debating is not the still enshrined in the political choices to be priority, and instead that dialogue and made to open up space for youth. spending time together, even non-verbal dialogue, is crucial. After Camp, they crave for In Afghanistan, “the Afghan youth surveyed moments where they can reunite. At the do not anticipate a greater voice at the local moment, their only options are their homes or national level. They seem used to the fact (where their parents are), their schools that their parents, elders and leaders do not (where their teachers are), or coffee shops (a value them to their fullest capacity. This is the least likely option for Kabul Seeds given the momentum that needs to be broken” (2013 security and social conditions). As a result, Samuel Hall). An opportunity may exist now with time, they meet less frequently, or they for policy makers in Afghanistan – at a time of keep contact with only a few. In Lahore, the drafting of the country’s first National Youth contradiction is that an office space does Policy, and a time of upcoming elections in exist. Pakistan is the only program of Seeds of 2014. Strategically, there is an opportunity to Peace to have a permanent office based in carve out space for the youth to become Lahore. However, this office space is not seen more active, and have their voices heard. as welcoming for Seeds. They see it as too However, these changes still very much corporate, and not conducive to their depend on the willingness at the political schedules – but rather adapted to the part- level, and by representatives at national, sub- time schedule of the SoP staff in Lahore. They national and local levels. In the case of crave for a space where they can sit on the Afghanistan, the push has to come from floor, read books, do research online, above. participate in forums and continue the dialogues that matter to them. This type of In India, although the same assess applies in brainstorming, the research team was told the political realm, youth seem more positive

27 about the niche that they can carve out for What are the valued skills of new leadership themselves in the private sector – a shift across sectors? motivated by economic interests that now broadly encourage entrepreneurship in the The research provided insight into the skills country, to support the rise of Indian markets that youth are seeking build to better prepare as global competitors, has meant that the themselves for leadership positions – and desire amongst the youth has been met with those which they require support to develop. concrete hopes in the corporate sector. Lastly, in Pakistan, as reported by other In Pakistan, youth interviewed mentioned the studies as well “attitudes are shifting with a importance of being able to manage projects new generation beginning to make its voice – and being given leadership roles on specific heard” (2009 British Council). Many of the tasks. At the organizational level, although urban youth interviewed showed a willingness many of the Seeds interviewed did not to take matters in their own hands – whether necessarily see a future for themselves in the the youth of Next Generation Pakistan who non-profit sector (not in line with the cultural advocate for the civic responsibility of youth paradigm at home), they saw an opportunity during elections, and for the right to to lead operational activities at Seeds of education of the marginalized, or youth from Peace to prepare them for leadership in the RABTT, Seeds who have now set up their own future. For that, they explained they would association, providing summer camps to want the following hands-on training: educate young Pakistanis from Lahore and its - Budgets and accounting nearby surroundings. The Lawyers’ Movement - Project management is another example of how the youth are - Networking using technology and media – Facebook, - Communications Twitter, etc. – to get their messages across. - Report writing The 2009 British Council report sees “the birth of a new kind of civil society” in Pakistan, led In India, the skills mentioned were sectoral, by its youth. skills that could be adapted to a local as well as global economy relating to specific sectors Whether political as in Afghanistan, economic - Energy, as in India and social as in Pakistan, the voices - Banking and Finance, of youth in each country differs – and so do - Technology and information, the solutions or platforms for supporting - Services sectors. them. A cultural shift is most tangible in urban The government’s focus since 2009 has been Pakistan – Lahore in this research – than in to implement a National Skill Development either of the two other contexts. However, Policy built on the set-up of Sector Skill opportunities are present in Mumbai as well – Councils (SSCs) for all the important sectors of through particular skills targeted to the economy. SSCs bring together Industry, addressing the private sector potential of Labor, Academic, and Government to identify youth. Through corporate social skill gaps and address them – at the macro responsibility, the private sector can be linked and micro level – hence a potential area for to more social youth-led initiatives in India as Seeds of Peace to contribute to, within an well. already existing framework that aims to link youth with key needs in sectors such as the Auto sector, Banking and Finance Services and Construction. Given that “90% of the jobs in India are skill-based, while only 6% of the Indian workforce receives any form of vocational training” (2013 Youth for Policy and Dialogue, youthpolicy.in), valued skills are not lacking – but trainings are.

28 In Afghanistan, of those youth who had not market, and building leadership potential for yet studied abroad, the main focus was on men and women alike. acquiring an education – whether at home, but preferably abroad, in Pakistan, India, The market for youth leadership is strongest Turkey or further west to Europe and North in the education sector in Afghanistan – America. Second, a willingness to acquire focusing on primary and secondary education. skills that would have a strong income Initiatives like SOLA’s leadership school are generating potential – whether through rare and far in between, but provide a basis language or vocational training – were the from which to learn how to implement priority, rather than providing them with leadership programs in Afghanistan. leadership roles. That was seen as a second step possibility – but not a timely possibility In many ways, the demand was there in for youth. Third and last, the youth Afghanistan for an entire decade, both from interviewed in Afghanistan were interested in Afghans as from donors, however, initiatives volunteer opportunities. Whether Seeds or were lacking. At a time of Transition and non-Seeds, the majority of those interviewed decreasing donor funds, the opportunity wanted to do voluntary work but that such might have been missed to develop wide- opportunities were not available to them. ranging leadership initiatives in the country, given the prevalent uncertainty.

What is the market for youth leadership Pakistan and India present an entirely programs in South Asia? different picture. In Pakistan, leadership and conflict resolution initiatives have existed The market for youth leadership in South Asia since partition with India. There are specific is marked by low competition, and is mainly initiatives focusing on female youth, on cross- identified as volunteer initiatives rather than border exchanges, or on domestic issues – as NGO-led and well-funded initiatives. outlined in the Pakistan context report of this research (Part II). However, few have The previous mention of vocational training in sufficient resources as they exist mainly on a Afghanistan is a good example of the lack of volunteer-basis or through private donations, youth-based initiatives. Since 2002, in in a country where NGOs do not have a very Afghanistan, hundreds of vocational training positive image. What is missing is a coalition programs – encouraging skills in carpet of all youth-based initiatives – which could weaving, tailoring, metal work, sewing, include Seeds of Peace, Next Generation embroidery and home gardening, as well as Pakistan, Pakistan Youth Alliance, Green computer and language skills – have been Future, 131 Pakistan, RABTT, to name a few. implemented in rural and urban areas. According to a Next Generation Pakistan However, many did not fit with i) the profile representative, “we need to engage in a of urban youth, and ii) the local job markets, movement, in a network and coalition with with a subsequent mismatch between trained clear outputs and outcomes so that people youth and those who were able to land are less skeptical”. Seeds of Peace presents a decent jobs. According to the survey unique case of a well-funded American-NGO, conducted by Samuel Hall in 2013, 60% of receiving large American funds – at least in those who had received vocational training relative terms to local counterparts. Hence, in had been unable to find jobs – with women a market where NGOs are seen with finding it much harder than men to find jobs. skepticism, and are endowed with limited Of those who had found jobs, 80% were men funds, Seeds of Peace has found a niche that and 20% were women. This highlights the can be more effectively developed through need in Afghanistan for strengthened youth- investments (in a new office, in a new and gender-sensitive interventions that can management structure, and in increased fill the two gaps of linkages to the labor

29 partnerships with youth-led, and youth-based, Instead, it is true that social media is volunteer organizations in Lahore). increasingly becoming a more reliable and user-friendly resource for urban and educated The market in India is more advanced. From youth in South Asia. The reach of such media initiatives like the Youth Alliance of India, is still limited to this niche market – elite, Teach for India (TFI), National Cadet Corps urban, and educated. For the most part, (NCC), Special National Integration Camp Afghan, Pakistani and Indian society still rely (SNIC), the institutional framework for youth on traditional media. leadership has been more formal. Such initiatives have received media attention and In terms of the media’s potential to leverage political visibility. In this context, Seeds of values and needs – across society – for Peace is a small actor in a landscape marked emerging leaders, traditional media outlets by better-known, institutional and local should be the focus to access a wider group. actors. Whether television or radio, these two main means of communications are those that have Overall, low levels of communications and the most depth in the South Asian countries marketing capacity, and the slow output surveyed. process, have meant that organizations working on youth leadership are not widely However, both traditional and social media known within South Asian societies. They should be capitalized on for greater visibility enjoy very localized reputations – in the case of emerging leaders and youth-based of Seeds of Peace, this reputation holds initiatives. Taking the example of Next through the networks of schools, parents and Generation Pakistan, its representatives talk Seeds, as well as their friends, but hardly to the traditional media outlets to ask people beyond (different to the setting in the Middle to support their programs – such as their East, for instance). education initiative to “fund 1 child’s fees for 1 year” – without ever asking for financial commitment. At the same time, through an What is the role of traditional and social online initiative, they advertised a post of media in leveraging emerging leaders? media officer to join the NGO: 700 applications were received in 3 days, leading This question is only partially relevant to the them to select one person and producing 3 South Asian context, for two reasons: documentaries, 1 of which is already being shown in the high court. First, it is not so much yet about leveraging emerging leaders – quite yet. It is rather at The ability to use both traditional and social this stage about identifying such leaders, media to be first, visible, then second, to identifying their sectors (increasingly easier to leverage values and needs for leaders is find in the private than public sectors), and important. The first step still remains in South their needs, to be able to then leverage and Asia one of access to society and of visibility. support them in their own societies.

Second, traditional media is scene with increasing skepticism in South Asian societies. In Pakistan in particular, the mainstream media is seen as playing a questionable role vis-à-vis the youth. Those interviewed mentioned that they did not trust traditional media who were close to elites or political parties.

30 Theory of Change Potential to change Because I believe that it will take us long to What the youth have the potential to achieve see change in a bigger level. We are thinking is to a) create awareness, b) initiate debate that, if through our programs we can have a and dialogue in their own environments, one hundred multiplier. And by multiplying I especially amongst those who have never had mean that they will change other people, one the exposure to the other side, and yet hold hundred every year, then by 2030 that will strong beliefs and c) inspire others. The mean 2000 people. And they will all have a combined impact of these can make an network, they will influence thousands of immense difference, as was visible in the case others. Because each 2000 if they can of the Delhi rape victim in India or the case of influence another 2000, who will influence Malala in Pakistan. another 2000 who will influence another They just need something to show them that 2000… and so on. ok this is possible and you can do it so go on - Afghanistan Youth Actor and do it. I'm a medical student and I took the The multiplier effect rests on having a solid initiative of starting a Model United Nations, core, a critical number of people who can which is completely not related to my field, start and initiate the first spark – taking the and which is totally not related to my interest, movement to a ‘tipping point’ where it can in I hate politics. But I just wanted to take the effect, extend from 20 to 200 and then 2,000 initiative and to let them know that they have people and more. For this again, the issue of these possibilities so that they are going to try space is vital, and the use of creative means because they are afraid of trying. such as social media and online tools. In - MUN Director, Kabul Afghanistan, this is a clear limit given the cost However, there is one caveat – when will of internet and the rare changes for youth to change come? Change according to those who connect outside of internet cafés. It is, were interviewed, would not come suddenly. however, a possibility for Pakistani and Indian Change would not be reflected immediately, youth interviewed in Lahore and Mumbai but in the changing of beliefs and the desire through their networks of schools, their to have the power to make the choices that education level and their knowledge about govern their lives. This rather than having internet, which can be put to good use. At the their parents make these decisions for them moment, Seeds of Peace does not capitalize 10 or even the circumstances . on the office space or new technologies in South Asia to trigger this multiplier effect. It has to gradually change, and naturally How about starting a blog in each country led change. We cannot create change overnight. by Seeds? A forum set up for them to But, I mean it will change their minds. communicate cross-borders? Sticking to a set - AIESEC, Mumbai agenda of monthly Skype calls and video We have youth who are poor, but they can be conferences? A buddy system that would change makers. But because they are poor function by pairs then extend to a group they cannot use their resources or format? These were all ideas that the youth opportunities. So I would work on those issues. interviewed were open to and interested in – - Afghan Seed, 2008, Kabul as long as they could take a leadership role in sustaining such initiatives. And lastly, the youth also realize that they need support if they are to bring about change. The cascade effect will work only if there is a willingness to listen or a willingness to change.

10 Aref Dostyar, APT

31 We need a societal change. On my level, there for dialogues and discussions. Whilst debating isn’t much you can do. Unless you have a is a very popular extra curricular activity in plethora of people who think the same way as Pakistani schools, dialogue and discussions I do (which is starting to change), unless you that are beyond the prescribed syllabus are have people around you who really identify hard to find. Curiosity and engagement go with the cause, only then can you change the hand in hand when it comes to living in the mindset. If the society is not willing to accept moment and being aware of world affairs. a change in the status quo, it is really hard for Without one, the other is hard to come by one or two individuals to steer that change. I and the experience is left incomplete. Indian think that the society of Pakistan needs a universities however, provide space for leader that can really tell them to rise above dialogues and discussions through model UNs their differences, to work for a common goal. and other such platforms. But these platforms Pakistani society is too divided – they have to are still very limited in their impact and are stop being Baluchi, Lahori, Christian, usually dominated by a handful of bright private/public school. students, who form a part of an elitist group, - Seed, 2010, Lahore much like Seeds who come back from Camp – and who concentrate on debates rather than

dialogues. As mentioned by one of the Seeds Factors that influence the potential of in Lahore: influence and impact I used to spend all my time improving my There are certain factors that influence the debating skills and participating in debates. potential of youth to have an impact. But debates teach you how to prove a point, Lack of critical thinking amongst the youth: whether you agree with it or not, your goal is For reasons that have already been discussed to ‘win’, to make your point the most above, there is a clear lack of critical thinking important one in the end, no matter the amongst the youth in all three countries. This arguments on the other side. That is what I was most evident in the difference in learned in school in Pakistan. But at Camp, I responses between Seeds and non-Seeds, learned about dialogue – about actually highlighting an area of impact of Seeds of listening to the other side, not focusing on Peace – development of curiosity and with it wanting to win the conversation, but critical thinking. The reasons for this lack of understanding that both sides have rights and critical thinking are many. The home both sides have good arguments – and finding environment of many of the children in these instead a way forward, together, not against countries has no place for discussions on each other. issues of current affairs or international - Seed, 2009, Lahore relations. As highlighted above what is written in textbooks and taught in schools, is meant Parents do not see value in voluntarism11: to help in climbing the next step in the ladder Volunteerism is a key channel for a youth to of a fancy and prosperous career. The school make an impact and make a difference. curriculums, being very theoretical and However, this in South Asia is not seen as a academic in nature, fail to create a link value added activity. If at all parents between what is being taught and its encourage their children to volunteer, it is applicability in day to day lives; or how usually to diversify opportunities and add on various subjects, rather than being exclusive, new experiences. They often see Seeds of as is the impression given, are in reality, Peace as a very beneficial experience, but one closely interlinked with each other. that stays limited to the International Camp. No space for discussion/dialogue at university Seeds in Pakistan explained that, upon return in Afghanistan and Pakistan especially: It also the feedback from their parents often was to emerged in the interviews, that at least in Afghanistan and Pakistan, there is little space 11 AIESEC Afghanistan Director

32 “focus on your studies, do other extra Predefined narrow channel of youth: Whilst curricular activities, you already had the Seeds in school, a child in South Asia learns to herald of Peace experience”. Parents therefore do their entry into the new level. The last year of not understand the follow-up process school is focused only on making the entrance required for SoP to have an impact in the long into college as smooth as possible. In college, run. In Afghanistan, the context is different: this process is repeated. Every activity, exam there are no real volunteer opportunities. is focused towards future fruit – a good job, Seeds of Peace is almost non-existent in terms and a good university. Whilst this is not a bad of activities and follow-up today, and other thing, nor is it exclusive to South Asian organizations are not really open to the countries, what sets it apart perhaps from the volunteer culture. As the context paper for west is the tolerance of ‘bad marks’ or Afghanistan shows (Part II, Paper 3), there is a ‘failure’. Almost unforgiveable, is the concept great deal of volunteering interests among of a gap year. The failure is not only seen as youth in Afghanistan, but no real opportunity. that of a child but of the parents in their society as well. The pressure on a child

therefore is manifold, preventing them from finding a path for their lives themselves.

Implications for Seeds of Peace

Context of Conflict and Context of Environment – In order to ensure that the impact of Seeds of Peace is optimized, it must take into account in equal measure, the context of environment from which Seeds from South Asia come. This will help it in program planning and managing expectations of what is feasible and what is not.

Identifying the spaces of impact – Seeds of Peace South Asia, should identify the spaces in each of the three countries, where Seeds and youth in general have the potential to have an impact. Whilst this context summary does it to a certain extent, this exercise should be a part of every program that is planned and implemented by Seeds of Peace. This will help in a) forecasting the challenges and obstacles that the youth may face and b) allow to find more spaces where a niche can be created. As a requirement for this, first and foremost, Seeds of Peace will need to provide its youth with the ‘space within’, i.e. a space made available by the organization for the Seeds. Currently such a space is lacking in Afghanistan and India, and not welcoming to youth in Pakistan. This needs to be changed as a matter of priority – to create the same feeling of comfort and of informality that Seeds came to know at Camp, sitting on the floor in dialogue sessions, sitting in circles sometimes surrounded by books, and brainstorming together on the challenges and solutions ahead. Their homes, schools or coffee shops will never replace such a space.

Providing Support to Address some of the Factors that influence the potential to impact – Seeds of Peace, rather than just focusing on children, can also consider programs that reach out to parents, schools (principals and teachers), and friends who form Seeds’ immediate environment. This will have two impacts – a) make it easier for the child to do programming and stay engaged with Seeds of Peace, providing it with opportunities and space and b) keep the momentum up, after the Seeds come back from Camp, to find a not-too-dissimilar atmosphere in their immediate environment. Whilst Seeds of Peace is already doing this to some extent with teachers, it will need consider more linkages between the teachers and the Seeds who attend Camp to create an environment of dialogue, debate and discussion in their home countries. Schools interviewed – whether principals or teachers – all mentioned the engagement with Seeds of Peace as being ‘limited’. They are ready and willing to engage more as they often do not want their engagement to be limited to selection of Seeds for Camp – they want to get closer to the core of Seeds of Peace’s mandate as they often have questions about the impact. As much as they believe in the mission, they want to contribute to strengthening its impact. 33 2. SEEDS OF PEACE PROGRAMMING IN SOUTH ASIA: A SWOT ANALYSIS

The Seeds Experience: Tracing a journey

Testimony of an Afghan Seed who was one of the first Afghans to go on Camp

First Camp Experience - 2002

I think we fitted in an unusual category because there were very extraordinary circumstances. It was 2002 and it was about six months after the US invasion, and we were the best they could find in terms of language proficiency. But we were pretty awful. And it was so bad that they had to hire interpreters for us, at Camp. So, I would say my experience in Camp is, I see it more of an exposure to the to the outside world, that I hadn't had. Or any of my twelve colleagues who went to Camp, who hadn't had that. We were so blocked away from the rest of the world, so it was exposure. And I would say, not as profound as we couldn't engage in discussions as easily, because we didn't speak the language.

We were put in dialogue with the Americans. Yes, 9/11 was fresh. But as two nations we really didn't have much in conflict. We were on the same page, you know. At least back then we had shared a common enemy, so it was more story-telling and sharing than it was actually dialogue. There would be one of us you know going in talk about their life and the Taliban if you spoke Farsi was translated to the Americans, then the Americans started talking where they were when 9/11 happened. So it was more of a back and forth unloading than it was dialogue.

And yes, we have all this freedom now, and yes we could have never gotten without America, or the US. But there was a residue of six years of believing a certain ideology; so we did... we did go in there thinking that the Americans did invade us. And it was good to talk to kids who were just about our age, who told us stories of war that we had a monopoly over. But again, I think we can't categorize it as dialogue, it wasn't dialogue.

We actually had more in fighting than we had dialogue with the Americans. One was the gender issue. Because as boys we weren't used to talking to girls or respecting them. This was again six months after the Taliban, we hadn't gone to school with them, we hadn't worked with them, and we hadn't seen them on the playground. So again, our authority was challenged by these women sitting there, sharing longer stories than we did. So, that was a, that was a conflict, that we had to overcome as well with ourselves. We just weren't used to hearing female stories.

In the playing field I think we felt that we were equals with everyone else, even without the language skills, we were just running around. In the cabins, in the bunks language again was the issue. That was eye opening in the sense, that you slept in the same bunk the way the format was again two Israelis, two Palestinians, two Indians, two Afghans, two Pakistani, so we had a very mixed bunk. At the time we felt like we were very out of our comfort zones, at least I did.

I was fourteen at Camp. And at the time I felt like it was forced on me. We other thing I need to be clear is that before we left our Camp we had no idea what we’re signing up for. Right now, there is a country director, there is a team that, whoever applies or takes the test, they're told what this program is about. But in 2002 we just read the application they had sent to the schools, which was translated incorrectly. So, we had no idea. We thought this was a vacation to America or we are travelling around, sightseeing. So to come with that sort of impressions and then all of a sudden, sleeping in the same cabin with Israelis and Pakistanis, and Indians, so, it was a very intense, there was a sense of this being forced on us, but I think we needed the intensity. Because the way we were kept in the dark was intense.

Second Camp Experience – 10 years on, as a Counsellor

2012. I went again. What we missed was that there was no ground to start a dialogue; we had bigger issues within ourselves and with Pakistan than we had with the Americans. Now, the last two, three years the dialogue is so... such that Indians, Pakistanis and Afghans are placed together and this makes much more sense. It's a bit of a challenge to Pakistanis because the Indians and the Afghans gang up on them. So that's... but it gives more of a sense of purpose to our Seeds. Then yes, there are Americans present who act as observers, the also pitch in sometimes but... So the structure didn't make sense back then. The purpose of the program, the purpose is dialogue; before it was back and forth but that structure didn't make sense. That was just a structure for storytelling. Which I think, the first year it was needed. It needed to be a little bit easier for us because we weren't prepared. But now, absolutely the groups that go, the groups that have gone thus far they are much more prepared and they're pretty par with every other groups. One thing that I repeatedly have been saying and that is age. It happens that, even in the delegation that, this past summer, they missed it. So they went a year later than they were expected to, and yet they were so very young.

34 One thing was eye opener- others youth have also experienced ‘war’ Afghan Seed, Kabul 2.1. SEEDS OF PEACE IMAGE AND OUTREACH IN SOUTH ASIA

i. Seeds of Peace Image The Government of Pakistan has been known to increase pressures on international NGOs Seeds of Peace is an American organization to relocate staff or to outright leave the working on peace in South Asia. This is not a country, while the security environment in problem in India. But the nature of America’s Afghanistan is leading to many international involvement in both Pakistan and NGOs reducing their staff and office size or Afghanistan, makes the image that Seeds of leaving altogether. Peace holds an important issue. This should be treated with utmost caution and care. For Seeds of Peace specifically, the following Interviews with similar organizations in both concerns were raised – Pakistan and Afghanistan reported that often, the first thing they are asked, about their programs is – ‘who is giving the money?’ This At our school the principal would say that SOP came from an organization called AIESEC, an is “a big American conspiracy”, “be on our international and worldwide network of toes, this is an exercise of brainwashing”. young men and women focusing primarily on - Pakistani Seed, 2002, Lahore leadership and opportunities abroad in the form of internships. AIESEC Kabul was asked the same question. Its Director said – Other parents are also very critical and say, “They don’t take the good Muslim kids”, or The first thing they ask: OK we are do you get they say “this is a Jewish organization”. the money from? So we brought the - Pakistani Seed, 2003, Lahore companies who are supporting our conference like Roshan12 to show that our funding comes from Afghans. I think youth organization need This begs the question - “What is the purpose to make it make it clear for the people that, and agenda of SOP?” and how do perceptions what we are doing is independent and not from the outside diminish its potential related to any other organization. We partner impact? sometime. - AIESEC Director Interviews with Seeds and non-Seeds both reported that in all three countries, the image Not directed at American-funded and what Seeds of Peace does, is not well organizations only, skepticism was reported known even at the levels of the three cities – to exist amongst the people for NGOs in Kabul, Lahore and Mumbai – and dispute a general. This skepticism stemmed both from presence of over a decade. This lack of doubts over how the money is being spent knowledge makes it easier for SoP to become and like in Afghanistan, who is the funding prey to rumors and accusations of being a body behind it. Interviews in Pakistan also brainwashing organization. In Pakistan, Seeds reported a very competitive culture for NGOs called for SoP to address these rumors with each NGO claiming to be the pioneers of upfront, to hold information sessions and to doing India-Pakistan conflict resolution, and a be as transparent as possible on its mandate, growing unpopularity of NGOs in general. objectives and means to reach these, to People don’t trust philanthropist movement protect them and to protect SoP, ultimately. and try to find a deeper interest/goal. 2012 In India, the consequences are more in terms - Pakistani Seed, Lahore of the impact that it has, given its lack of outreach. 12 Roshan is the largest private telecom provider in Afghanistan.

35 ii. Collaboration and Outreach Seeds since resources will be shared more effectively. One of the causal factors that has led to the image of Seeds of Peace being ambiguous and Henceforth, this chapter will now discuss somewhat negative is its isolation. Seeds in programming and management of Seeds of Pakistan observed that even just in Lahore, Peace in South Asia. the organization was very isolated. This was true in Afghanistan as well as in India. In all three countries, they were found to have very 2.2 SOP PROGRAMMING limited contacts, despite there being immense potential for collaborations with corporate It has been more than a decade since Seeds of companies, youth networks and NGOs and Peace started its programs in South Asia. Its despite their decade-long presence. Lack of programming is composed of 4 key phases contacts and networking prevents the involving Seeds, Educators/Delegation organization from contributing to the field of Leaders, Associate Seeds and the peace-building – it remains one sole actor in Management. These 4 phases are a) the each of the countries reviewed, in no way selection procedure, b) pre-Camp connected to its environment or its peers. preparations, c) Camp d) post-Camp activities.

The priority for the regional and country i. Selection Procedure directors should therefore be to make contacts that can be beneficial to Seeds of Presently the selection procedure is not Peace on a number of levels – standardized across the three countries. The normal procedure is to first select schools on 1. Information sessions to dispel the premise of covering all regions of a city by misconceptions about Seeds of Peace, the representation of at least 1-2 schools. The explain its mandate, objectives and school then selects its top students who are means to reach these invited to write an essay on a theme provided 2. Increase outreach to non-partner by Seeds of Peace. On the basis of this essay, schools to engage with a diversified students are invited for interviews. group of youth about its activities 3. Allows for a wider network of Pakistan was the first country in the South students, educators and parents Asia region, to hold a group discussion session through tailored programs for each before individual interviews. This year, group group discussions were also a part of the Indian 4. Help in engaging the organization selection procedures. Normally 10-15 Seeds with the context – meaning with like- are selected from each country to go as the minded organizations that abound in South Asia cohort for the Camp in Maine. each of the cities surveyed Gaps in the Selection Procedure a. This approach will allow Seeds of Peace to collaborate on Firstly, given the context of South Asia, the more domestic and cross- biggest flaw in the selection procedure, is at cutting issues. Conflict the beginning of the process – when schools resolution and peace building select their best students, Seeds of Peace can be looked at from a does not determine a criteria on the basis of corporate perspective, social which this preliminary selection should be or political perspective whilst made by the schools. Undue emphasis on working with organizations academic excellence means that schools who are more sector specific. immediately pick out those students who are b. This approach will also doing well in their exams and in their studies. prevent the ‘lack of resources’ This implies that the schools and Seeds of and ‘logistical obstacles’ from Peace works on the assumption that only being a refrain often heard by those with academic excellence have the qualities of being leaders.

36 One Seed from Kabul observed - too young to be able to experience the merits of the Camp. A lot is lost in the first time The Seeds that are selected are often too shy. luxury of visiting the US and b) when these The selection process should focus on that Seeds come back, they go back into the rather than selecting kids with higher grades. competitive environment to do well in schools Focus on confidence and verbal discussion. in order to get a good place in university - Afghan Seed, Kabul which means that Seeds of Peace often takes Seeds in Pakistan reflected – a back seat at least for 2 out of the first 4 We need more inclusion of schools and others years. in the process. Moreover, Seeds should be I was fourteen at Camp. And at the time I felt included in the selection process. The process like it was forced on me. Before we left our should be more comprehensive. They should Camp we had no idea what we’re signing up try to judge better each child’s motivation – for. Right now, there is a country director, one of the Seeds in 2011 slept during the there is a team that, whoever applies or takes whole 3 weeks in dialogue! He took someone the test, they're told what this program is else’s spot. We should be asked to write about. But in 2002 we had no idea what we essays on the news, more critical analysis and we just read the application they had sent essays. The general knowledge quiz is not a to the schools, which was translated comprehensive way of selecting Seeds! incorrectly. So, we had no idea. We thought - Pakistani Seed, 2004, Lahore this was a vacation to America or we are Secondly, a number of Seeds as well as staff travelling around, sightseeing. members have voiced the challenges of taking - Afghan Seed, 2002, Kabul a small cohort of children from South Asia as compared to the Middle Eastern cohorts that Seeds are too young; therefore impact are much larger. dialogues are not significant – ties in with the Thirdly, the cohort of Seeds taken from South social notion that youth in South Asia, often Asia are neither diverse nor representative. are able to find an individual place for Seeds themselves have identified this themselves in society after young men and problem in connection with having to women in western countries for example. represent their country. This diversity was - Pakistani Seed, 2002, Lahore also linked to post Camp programming and - impact as the statement below shows. ii. Pre Camp The diversity in other delegations is not present in our delegation. We need diversity After the selection process, newly recruited to make an impact in our home society. And Seeds are given orientation classes and we need bigger numbers. engagement sessions with older Seeds. These - Pakistani Seed, 2009, Lahore involve presentations on the experiences of past Seeds and in the words of one Afghan Fourthly, the age of the Seeds themselves – Seed, “how to defend your country”. More most Seeds are between 13-15 years old. often than not, these presentation sessions, Contextual analyses indicates that due to the the way they are conducted in Afghanistan nature of the school curriculum, protected up- are the first introductions of these 15 year bringing and relative distance from conflict, at olds to this conflict. However, as the quote least in Lahore and in Mumbai, 14 years olds above suggests, pre-Camp orientations have have not yet developed a sense of critical been a work in progress over the years. Whilst space for themselves. Whilst exceptions to most Seeds interviewed, seemed happy with the case exist and all Seeds who go to Camp, the pre-Camp preparations, some found it come back as different individuals, the impact insufficient, also citing the need for trained that the program has, is diminished. This is Delegation Leaders who could answer their primarily due to two reasons a) the Seeds are questions.

37 The role of delegation leaders and peer personal tragedies, although youth in Lahore support (PS) should be to prepare us better. are also now living in a routine way the But Delegation Leaders (DLs) are very often violent clashes between religious and narrow-minded. sectarian groups. - Pakistani Seed, Lahore The website further goes to say that, “the iii. Camp three-week conflict resolution program is designed to open young minds to the Camp is the most sought after part of the possibility of a new reality. Every aspect of the entire Seeds of Peace experience. Set on a program fosters trust and respect and quiet lake in the woods of Maine, the Seeds of challenges assumptions. The program’s Peace International Camp provides a neutral, intensity is deliberate”14. This is perhaps the supportive setting for hundreds of young most significant aspect of Camp that turns leaders from regions in conflict to meet their away from the context and provides Seeds 13 “enemy” face-to-face . with the space that they need to find Seeds of Peace website describes the purpose themselves by their own means rather than of the Camp as being “to provide a platform constantly being told what to do. First, just to these young men and women to confront meeting with other Seeds makes the world their prejudices and deep seated fears and smaller for South Asian Seeds. It concretizes tackle the issues that fuel violence, hatred and places and countries that they have only read oppression at home”. This sentence generates about in books. Second, because they are an image of a society that is embroiled in away from their environments, Seeds are intense conflict where day-to-day events are forced to find their own way, and third this tarnished by the impact of strife and tragedy. experience of having gone to the US for a The context analysis has however shown that Camp, makes these students part of an elite such is not the case in South Asia. Even in crowd when they come back and fourthly the Kabul, where there is an on-going fight against Camp and its activities allows these Seeds to terrorism, with the presence of troops from be ‘adults’ in their own spaces – an almost 50 countries, conflict is still not the opportunity to speak without being dominant factor in the lives of the youth. interrupted and to listen without interrupting. What is a factor are the after effects of years Another objective of the Camp is to provide a of insecurity and instability – lack of forum where “during hours of discussion employment, opportunities and development. guided by professional facilitators, Seeds But this does not generate strong feelings of confront each other directly over their love or hate in the minds of Afghan youth competing historical narratives and share towards either the Indians or Pakistanis. This their personal experiences of the conflict. By is partly due to the nature of conflict in South the end of the program, the Seeds have Asia and partly to do with the urban nature of achieved new thresholds for understanding the cities that Seeds of Peace’s South Asia perspectives that, for many, were beyond program is currently based. If Seeds of Peace comprehension at the start of the summer15. were based in areas like Southern or Eastern For India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, a Afghanistan, Western Pakistan or Kashmir the confrontation of competing historical story and context would have been different. narratives is an important activity. A number However, for the kinds of youth that Seeds of of Seeds interviewed in all three countries Peace works with, in the three cities of Kabul, spoke of their surprise at the ‘other person’s’ Lahore and Mumbai, conflict is not a daily version of the same events. This realization reality. Youth in Kabul perhaps come closest for Seeds of South Asia is perhaps the most to knowing what violent conflict is and its impact on the lives of people through 14 Seeds of Peace Website http://www.Seedsofpeace.org/Camp 13 Seeds of Peace Website 15 Seeds of Peace Website http://www.Seedsofpeace.org/Camp http://www.Seedsofpeace.org/Camp

38 significant aspect because of the historical really trusted them. So this had a big influence nature of conflict in the region and Seeds on me- it showed me that I could trust people. association with it only through textbooks. There was one session- which was called “own story sharing”, and this was all about listening Kashmir – it has a central role in dialogue and sharing stories with each other. One sessions at Camp but in the end we have little person was asked to share a personal story, knowledge or experience of Kashmir. It is not and the other people were only allowed to really part of our lives. We can go online and listen. And so through this everyone could learn by heart the history and the problems, listen to the other person’s sorrows and pains. but we’re not the ones exposed to this And this made us trust each other. conflict! - Afghan Seed, 2010, Kabul - Pakistani Seed, 2011, Lahore

I also learned that there are many versions of history we can get, and that our textbooks are Very good in terms of personal growth, I got very politicized. We thought Afghans would to learn a lot. I started out as one of the identify with us as a Muslim nation, and I participants, I was a non-Seed and that is how thought that the relationship wasn’t that bad, I learned about SOP. Then I became a Seed, it showed that they hated us when we met then became part of the team, gradually them. In 1971, during the cold war, I thought becoming the head of facilitators, and recently we helped Afghanistan and welcomed all their in charge. I learned to become more socially refugees, we have been a brother to them. But sane. When you are at the head, there is a lot the Afghans say “you sent your army against of responsibility and a fine line between being us with the Russians” – so many different friendly and getting things done. At the end of versions of history, I would have not known the day you need to get things done. about this had I not been able to meet with - Pakistani Seed, 2010, Lahore them. And these are people who lived in Friends of Seeds also noted the change in Pakistan for ten years, who lived in Peshawar, their friends – in Karachi, one of the guys’ father owned a factory in Karachi. I remember coming out of a He was much more open with people, he was dialogue group thinking it’s the end of the trying to, how to say that, he was always world. interested in doing activities outside the - Pakistani Seed, 2010, Lahore school. So, he was interested in youth groups, in talking with young people, things like that. Evidence of the impact of this is The History - Friend of a Seed on the change he noticed in Project - one of the key post Camp programs his friend after Camp that is presently on-going in South Asia, organized and led by 3 Pakistani Seeds with various sources of funding and support that Another change was the exposure to the they found to foster their initiative. ‘other side of the story’. Even though the relevance of the Kashmir issue and the Impact of Camp Durand line is questionable, listening to a different version of the events was an eye The majority of responses about their opening experience for most Seeds. experiences at Camp were positive. These included the Camp having changed their lives I used to be over-patriotic, not that I am less significantly, allowed them the ability to voice now! But I had some incorrigible beliefs about their opinions without fear and listening to my country. I was never one of those others without interrupting. extremists to think that India was bad. But I used to think Pakistan was always right. But It was very useful, because one of the main now with Kashmir for example you things we learned is how we can trust others. understand that Indians are also victims. I was Like before I didn't trust people, but at Camp I telling them “my family hails from Kashmir, saw how many new friends I made, and that I

39 my uncles are now visiting me from Kashmir; yourself, your country, what does it mean to my grandfather couldn’t go to his mother’s be Pakistani? There is a contradiction. funeral” but I realized that another Indian in - Pakistani Seed, 2008, Lahore my dialogue group said the same “I cannot get visa clearance to Kashmir either”. So I learned a lot about my own country. It was a people from India and from Pakistan have the challenge because we had very different same problems. understandings – some people did not know - Pakistani Seed, 2008, Lahore who Osama Bin laden was! But when kids One of the most shocking things was that don’t know the same basic things, it is very Afghans did not even acknowledge Pakistan difficult to have a conversation. That was one as a state. They said that Punjab and Sindh of the challenges in bringing different are part of India, and that the Durand line is provinces. all of NWFP and Baluchistan. So in the end - Pakistani Seed, 2003, Lahore they said “you don’t even have a country, what are you guys?”. We thought coming in Delegation Leaders: the Educators Program that they were on our side, and then we realized that they don’t even recognize us. But Each group of Seeds who is selected for Camp we know we exist, there are Pakistani has delegation leaders to prepare them for embassies in Afghanistan…So we literally Camp, select them, do the orientation and talked to our facilitator and we said it was bring them to Camp. These individuals are very confusing for us. For us to discuss the extremely important because for a lot of Durand issue or Pak-Afghan relationships we Seeds, this is the first time that they are a) need to be on the same page. But only my traveling alone and b) traveling abroad. Many, dialogue group discussed this. especially in Afghanistan, have never been on - Pakistani Seed, 2008, Lahore an airplane before. Delegation leaders then become their links to their homes. Their

young age means that often Seeds also feel However, some Seeds also highlighted some extremely homesick, at least in the first week of the weaker aspects at Camp. of their arrival at Camp. In this case too, delegation leaders play a central role in The impact of the dialogue sessions was not comforting the child. that profound, because dialogues were directed at the Americans. Not really dialogue, The educator program has 2 main missions – but more sharing of experiences- story telling. a) to include Delegation Leaders and - Afghan Seed, 2002, Kabul educators to feel a part of the organization rather than just being called upon to look

after the Seeds and b) develop Seeds of Camp not only allowed the Seeds to think Peace’s support to them so that they can about their place in the world, it also provided empower leaders of the next generation them with a deeper understanding of their through their schools and community own countries when what they had grown up networks16. thinking, met what others thought of their In the Middle East, delegation leaders do all country. However, Camp was also a place kinds of programs– they go back and reach where Seeds felt that they were Ambassadors out to the other educators. These educators of their countries, its representatives. To find are then brought to the US for a Camp of their themselves and to defend their country at the own. The idea behind the educators program same time was found to be challenging by was to bring together educators and other many Seeds. people who are leaders in their fields, and who already have an institutional or system At Camp, you have to define what it means to be Pakistani. You have to represent more than 16 Interview with Director of Educators Program, Seeds of Peace

40 backing that can support the change that communities and that means we should be Seeds are trying to bring in through local much more focused on the educators and the programming. parents and other programs as well. The educators and delegation leaders are - Seeds of Peace Staff Member often the principals or teachers of Even within the Educator’s program, there is participating schools or people known to cause for concern due to the lack of strategic Seeds of Peace staff in Afghanistan, Pakistan focus and vision. Too much is left on personal and India. In Afghanistan, a ministry of responsibility and motivation to change. education official was taken to Camp as a However the context has already told us that delegation leader. However, though this may South Asia is a region of networks and have made it easy for Seeds of Peace to alliances. The biggest opportunity of change is negotiate the Ministry of Education for their to be a part of a network of change, which is programming, for the educator in question, it working together at the same time to was more a trip abroad than an experience eventually have the cascade effect. that was meant to bring about actual change in the lives of young men and women. These types of requests are typical in Afghan ministries and are seen as a form of local iv. Post Camp corruption or bribery, “give us a ticket to go to The post-Camp phase at present is the most the US, and we will accept to approve of your disappointing experience for Seeds in South program”. There are ways to go around such Asia. This is where the state of management compromises so that Seeds of Peace does not and resources of the program comes into the deviate from its ethics in order to achieve its picture. The time between being selected for practical goals. This is a challenge that all Seeds of Peace and Camp is approximately 3 NGOs in Afghanistan are confronted with and months. 3 months which fly in a frenzy of one that they can circumvent – partnering acquiring visas, orientation sessions, with other organizations can allow for such preparation for the Camp and team building. mistakes or bottlenecks to be avoided. Then comes Camp – which is 23 days full of For Seeds of peace it is crucial to remember activities and experiences. Once the Seeds that the offering of attending Camp is an come back, they find themselves being asked irresistible opportunity for many in South to turn back to books and get back into their Asia. Motivations are often skewed when normal routine after what has usually been, candidates come forward to be a part of the the most fun and eventful 4 months of their program. More so amongst parents who want lives. There is only one reason for this – weak to send their children abroad and officials post Camp programming. who are not involved in direct programming. I was a bit disappointed after Camp – I did not A lack of clear strategy and deliverables from see activities, loss of momentum, others also delegation leaders and educators also reduces felt disillusioned after Camp, we did not see the impact of the program. A Seeds of Peace how our activities brought cohesiveness and staff member pointed out the situation - harmony…I didn’t get it with the Drama fests, The reason why we have not had any follow I did get it with the Interfaith Harmony Camp. up in South Asia is because there is no vision. – Pakistani Seed, 2012, Lahore If you look from 10 years ago, what the vision Camp is an amazing place, and environment of Seeds of Peace was – it was about bringing to be exposed to new ideas. You want that Seeds together and they were going to be the through your entire life. When you get back, it leaders of the next generation. This was done is difficult to make things happen, a sense of without really understanding that these kids inertia rather than dynamism in Pakistan. We come from school, they come from need to focus now on the local – communities and if we are going to make a comprehensively, with provincial, religious, change, we have to have it rooted in the cultural issues.

41 - Pakistani Seed, 2011, Lahore after they got back from Camp. As one Seed said – The impact of the above is that the Seeds retention rate in South Asia is low because of a) insufficient quality of programs and of After 2006, I wasn’t really involved with SoP speakers and b) lack of intellectual discourse. because of my studies and honestly SoP, yes This has led to a) Seeds being less and less we attended the Camp, yes we attended the involved in the programming after Camp and meetings etc., but now what? There was a b) Associate Seeds making their presence felt. stagnancy where it came to a point where we were left wondering – now what do we do?

Yes peace peace peace peace peace yes Moreover, ironically, the absence of strong Indians and yes Pakistanis, this workshop and leadership to guide them through the post- that workshop. Agreed. but what next do we Camp phase is a glaring gap in Seeds of Peace do? programming at present. The reasons for this - Indian Seed, 2004, Mumbai weakness are – 6. Involvement of Seeds of Peace New 1. Camp itself is too big – The York – Some Seeds also felt that experience of Camp is so unique for Seeds of Peace at the center dealt Seeds especially from Afghanistan, with the subcontinent differently than that it is hard to match its momentum they did with the Middle East. The when it finishes. Seeds voiced concerns over a lack of

post Camp focus on the subcontinent. 2. Return to the context – After Camp, This combined with a smaller cohort the Seeds have to come back to the makes it difficult for I think the issue is contexts that they have spent their with the way Seeds of Peace as a lives growing up in. Because Seeds of centre deals with the subcontinent. Peace does not do programming with Deals with the south Asian countries. parents of Seeds, the first challenge Because when the grants come in, that Seeds face is to keep the values they come in late. They didn’t have so and lessons learnt at Camp, relevant much post Camp focus in the sub in their daily lives. continent. Persistent in interviews

with Seeds was a desire for more 3. Lack of an office – For Seeds in India direction and guidance on what they and Afghanistan, not having an office were meant to do, what was expected to associate with, and call their Seeds of them and how were they to go of Peace space is a huge factor in about it from Seeds of Peace. declining motivation levels after

Camp. 7. Lack of Regional Linkages in

Programming – Another significant 4. Lack of a strong commitment to issue that was highlighted during South Asia, and particularly to interviews was the lack of discussion Afghanistan – the Seeds from this on international and regional issues region do feel that they come in after Camp. second after the Middle East program, and Afghans feel that they After Camp, there was not any activity are part of a “side program”. involving the international / regional dimension but we have had a lot of 5. Lack of a post Camp strategy and videoconferences with the Indians on various vision – Seeds interviewed reported issues. We go to the US embassy twice a year. that there was no strategic direction Once we had a tri-national conference with to what they were supposed to do Afghans as well too – but that’s the most we have had on the regional context.

42 - Pakistani Seeds, 2005, Lahore 2) Peace perspectives 2011 - Articles by Associate Seeds regions, on the Mumbai blast, one Associate Seeds are those Seeds who piece from the Pakistani side, one haven’t attended Camp themselves, but piece from the Indian side, and one are involved in post Camp activities. They from a third party. are a part of Seeds of Peace’s theory of change and perhaps the first point of 3) Enlighten Pakistan Project – A project impact that Seeds have when they come that evaluates textbooks in Pakistan back from Camp. The Associate Seeds are from kindergarten to grade 10 and often those who were shortlisted in the looks for inaccuracies (example on the selection process but were not selected for addition of religion in physics Camp. In the South Asia program, it was concepts). observed that in Pakistan, the number of Associate Seeds attending SoP meetings 4) Aamne Samne – A project focused on was more than the number of Seeds. This organizing Skype calls between Indian may be indicative of the sharp decline in and Pakistani students to engage on momentum that Seeds face after Camp various issues. and their consequent reaction to it, and on the other hand, a steady pace of

engagement that associate Seeds go 5) Public awareness workshops – These through, that keeps them interested for a are held sporadically in both India and longer time. Reasons of aspirations to be Pakistan associated with Seeds of Peace and a desire to have the same experiences as 6) Voices of People (VOP) – it is a their Seed friends are also equally viable in program of SOP in every country. One explaining this trend. For Seeds of Peace, it social issue is selected and Seeds is however, something to note and take make a documentary of it. For into account, in order to reform their example, Pakistani Seeds targeted the programming towards Seeds especially drug issue among the youth in since there is not yet, a clearly defined Pakistan. criteria for selecting Associate Seeds.

7) RABTT – A voluntary youth association, Post Camp Projects Seed-founded and Seed-led, that Despite the weakness in post-Camp organizes summer schools with programming, the South Asia Program has government school students, children who are more embedded in Pakistani managed to produce some impressive society, to teach them about projects. Some examples of initiatives started entrepreneurial and leadership skills, in by Seeds themselves are - Lahore, Pakistan. RABTT received in 1) The History Project – A project that 2013 the Omidyar Grant for focuses on giving voice to the Entrepreneurship in South Asia by the different interpretations of history South Asia Institute at Harvard from the different “sides” or University. countries. Organized by a Seed from Pakistan

43 2.3. SOUTH ASIA PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

The discussion above has already indicated will need the support of their regional director certain gaps that exist within the to create a collaborative team work and push management structure of Seeds of Peace in for change internally in order to fight against South Asia. At present, the management ii the ‘same old same old’ that has South Asia is comprised of one Regional characterized Seeds of Peace programming in Director based in Mumbai, and three Country the region. Directors based in Mumbai, Lahore and Kabul Afghanistan – In Afghanistan, Seeds of Peace respectively and until recently, program does not have any office space. The country coordinators. The PC position in Mumbai has director has never been to Camp as a recent now been phased out due to paucity of funds; hire, coming after a series of frequent turn- a part-time program assistant and accountant overs. This is a part time position for Seeds of support the Lahore office. Peace, as such the country director is otherwise employed in a government ministry. The Seeds usually either meet at i. The Management Structure each others’ houses or a room arranged by the country director. Regional Director – The Regional Director was India – In India too, Seeds of Peace presently appointed two years ago, to be based in does not have its own dedicated office space. Mumbai. This is the first time Seeds of Peace Its country director is newly appointed after had a regionally based Director. The regional the previous country director left citing director has, in two years, traveled to Kabul personal reasons. She was the one who and Lahore twice. The role of the Regional started Seeds of Peace in South Asia and had Director is to oversee the programming in the been with the program since its inception. region. This involves looking after the regional One of the first decisions taken by the new logistics of sending Seeds to Camp but also country director has been to look for office oversight on the funds and management of space that Seeds can call their own space. The the three country-specific projects. The program coordinator who had also been with research team surveyed the management Seeds of Peace for a few years and had structure of other organizations with regional attended Camp as a delegation leader finished offices covering India, Pakistan and India. her term in early April this year. From discussions with Relief International and Pakistan – This is the only country in South Norwegian Refugee Council regional directors, Asia where Seeds of Peace has had its own for instance, it became clear that the dedicated space. The country director of objective of this position was to 1) spend Pakistan was a delegation leader with Seeds equal time in each three countries, rather of Peace. He has been the head for the last 10 than being based in one and visiting the other years. two countries, visas permitting, and 2) be sufficiently flexible to travel across all countries to ensure a similar degree of ii. Gaps in Management knowledge, understanding, but also very importantly of networking with governments, From the research, certain gaps emerge – other NGOs, developing partnerships and Unclear job roles between Country Directors increasing advocacy. and Regional Director – Presently it seems In the case of Seeds of Peace, this could and unclear what the justification of having a should be done as well if Seeds of Peace is regional director based in Mumbai is. Mumbai committed equally to the countries covered. is a large city and not having an office space Given the range of recommendations and means that both the Country Director and the changes to put in place, the country directors Regional Director are working from home.

44 This defeats the point of having someone country. A resulting action of this was the physically present to oversee things in a withdrawal of grants by the US state program that is dependent heavily on department from the India program last year. engagement between those who are involved Interviews with the staff of the American in it. Moreover Seeds interviewed also voiced Centre in Mumbai reported that part of this a lack of leadership and inspiration in the decision was that the program from their side current management of Seeds of Peace. had come to an end and therefore the budget, but part also was a lack of initiative We need someone to look up to. We are and rigor from the Seeds of Peace staff to disenchanted and so are our older Seeds. The push for a charity status and start volunteering at events should be larger than independently fund raising. Sajjad’s family or nephew attending SOP programs to help out! Lack of Support from Seeds of Peace for Seeds’ - Pakistani Seed, 2008, Lahore Projects –Seeds also highlighted objections that they faced for projects that they had India – de-facto HQ – India is seen as the de- designed and were keen to implement, or a facto HQ of Seeds of Peace. This was lack of follow-through with ideas on the basis previously because of the presence of the of ‘logistical issues’ or ‘lack of resources’ – previous country director. Even with a change both of which can be solved. in the old guard, the South Asia program still looks at India as the country to pilot a It is now global change makers (GCM, UK) program. The reality is however different. The project, SOP funds less than 1/3 of the costs. Pakistan office presently exhibits the most With the GCM funds we had the additional potential out of the three countries to try and pushing of having to execute the project expand or pilot new programs. within 3 months. We were for a very long time blocked by SOP Mumbai because of “lack of Financial Irregularities – There have been resources” to make a trip happen. Then GCM accusations of financial irregularities over the allowed us to get the momentum to make it last few years. Whilst an inquiry had been set, happen. Our views was “once you endorse a a number of people have voiced their project, then make it happen!” SOP would not concerns that it was not rigorous enough. This stop asking questions “are you going to be creates suspicion and distrust within the good enough? Can you really do that?” program, which is already very fragile. instead of trusting us and letting us take the One of the key recommendations of this lead. This is social, volunteer work, we want to report is to strengthen monitoring and feel good about it, rather than starting to fight evaluation (M&E) as well as financial or create problems with the organization. procedures as, at times, Seeds staff lack the - Pakistani Seed, 2004, Lahore sufficient training in budget design, proposal The problem is that when you come up with writing and project accounting. Strengthening an idea the country director cannot relate to their skills and requiring a clear financial those issues. So sometimes Seeds are reporting process, will allow Seeds of Peace to discouraged to attend meetings when they make its records public for Seeds, parents, see all the decision making authorities are teachers and other stakeholders to see. Such with the country director. When you can’t public financial reporting is essential to explain everything, and he can’t understand ensuring transparency and to put an end to everything, you become discouraged. This allegations. leads to lesser quality of events and lesser Charity Status – In line with the point about attendance of Seeds – which is why many finances is the fact that Seeds of Peace South peace partners are invited instead of Seeds. Asia has so far failed to acquire the status of a - Pakistani Seed, 2004, Lahore charity in any of the three countries. The biggest impact of this has been hat SoP is still unable to raise funds on its own in each

45 2.4. SWOT Analysis of SoP Programming

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

Program Strengths Program Weaknesses  The impact of the International Camp on Seeds is huge. They come back with  No clearly Strategy or defined Action Plan to implement the strategic framework of enriched experiences after Camp – and new ideas & expectations Seeds of Peace for the South Asia Program  The Camp instills a feeling of curiosity in the Seeds that drives initiative  The Camp is a high wave, which does not prepare the Seeds for the sudden fall in  The exposure to other cultures brings the Seeds out of their insulated the pace of activities and involvement afterwards. environments at home and to think for themselves  The Seeds think they are too young to fully use of the opportunity given to them  The Seeds show higher levels of critical thinking after Camp  Very weak – almost non-existent – links between the three countries in terms of SoP  The Camp provides Seeds opportunities to meet with each other. This is a regional programming. unique opportunities that breaks many invisible boundaries and paves the way  The focus seems to be skewed towards either India/Pakistan. Not balanced between for a better understanding if not resolution of differences between youth of the the three countries, with Afghanistan remaining “on the side”. three countries  The motivations of parents sending their children is more to do with future  Team work and group challenge diminish boundaries: different activities show opportunities (college applications, CVs) than conflict resolution and peace building, them that they can work together, with those that were considered enemies which may hinder Seeds’ ability to commit time to follow-up programs  The Seeds before, during and just after Camp show high levels of motivations  The Seeds actually do not know very much about the countries from which the other and enthusiasm Seeds come from. This is a missed opportunity  The program also provides South Asian Seeds insights into Middle East politics  The program is too focused on the Kashmir and the Durand issue – which are which would otherwise be an unknown subject amongst most youth historical issues for Seeds, not priority issues that impact their daily lives  The program instills a sense of responsibility and identity that is based on  The Seeds who are taken for Camp are often not representative of the ethnic, listening, understanding and mutual respect amongst the Seeds religious and sectarian diversity of the three countries

Contextual Strengths Contextual Weaknesses  South Asia presents an interesting dynamic where only certain regions are in  The program is not ingrained in the context that the three countries present. It is conflict and the conflict does not involve all three countries together. This still very much based on the model and conflict in the Middle East. However the allows for Seeds of Peace to have diverse avenues to do programming in nature of conflict in South Asia is very different conflict resolution and peace building  It is difficult for Seeds to keep themselves motivated to talk about peace in a context where regional conflict is not a prime concern of people

46  India, Pakistan and Afghanistan face similar domestic issues. Youth in these  March is a crucial month for Seeds of Peace selections. It is however, also the month three countries are aware of these issues like corruption, economic disparity, when schools have exams that are crucial for the students poverty, freedom of speech, and access to quality education  Youth in the three countries are more removed from matters of foreign affairs than  Seeds of Peace has representation in all three countries of South Asia where youth in the Middle East, especially Palestinians and Israelis. the program is currently based  The program sometimes fails to address its image and to look at potential negative impacts that the project might have in sensitive areas like gender issues, being an

American NGO perceived as being a Christian or Jewish organization Structural Strengths  The Seeds are still involved in all three countries in varied degrees. Seeds in Afghanistan are the least engaged with the program after returning from Camp. Structural Weaknesses  Seeds of Peace has official representation in each of the three countries  Weak self funding and inability to fund raise in the countries, in part due to a lack of  Good relations exist with the US embassy in all three countries strategic framework  Some of the people involved in the program like program coordinators and  The program is presently restricted to 3 cosmopolitan cities of India, Pakistan and country directors have been extremely proactive and developing the project in Afghanistan not based in the context of the actual conflict of South Asia the last 10 years in the region  There is weak financial oversight over the spending and the oversight varies  Graduate Seeds provide good and essential support to Junior Seeds in getting between the three countries them ready for Camp, and acting as models post-Camp  The absence of offices in India and Afghanistan are barriers to efficient work and strong links being forged between the Seeds and the program

 Administrative Staff currently in position are not proactive enough in encouraging

initiatives by Seeds

 Administrative Staff currently in position are seen by Seeds as not being creative enough, or young enough to “get it”.  Presently the outreach, publicity and image of Seeds of Peace in the three countries is very weak leading to misunderstandings of its goals.  The Educators program does not have a specified recruitment system in the three countries and relies on the people known personally to Seeds of Peace staff  More energy appears to be spent on organizing logistics and visas for new Seeds going to Camp rather than on post Camp programming  Visas are extremely difficult to procure especially for Afghan Seeds – leading to huge disappointments and inability for some to attend Camp. They remain in limbo.

47 OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

Program Opportunities Program Threats  The potential of Seeds can be tapped to  Without a clearly defined Action Plan outlining activities, objectives and aims have some very concrete impacts in the through deliverables for each country, there is a threat for a less than optimal society on internal matters at least utilization of resources  Through Associate Members, the impact of  Seeds often feel demotivated after Camp, which reduces their participation in post Seeds of Peace can be spread Camp programming.  Seeds should be encouraged to collaborate  Most Seeds are 15 years old when they go to Camp. The pressure to get into a good with other youth organizations to develop university means that the Seeds have to come back and go straight back into their programs not only in their own countries but books rather than being able to experience Camp and what it taught them in their also abroad own contexts  Post Camp programming should not be  Weak links between the three countries means that programming is taking place restricted only to the Seeds of Lahore, independently bar a few projects, which are inter country. This reduces the Mumbai and Kabul that have gone to Camp exposure factor only to the Camp and a few post Camp activities but should include youth from a) other  Focus on one or another country could lead to Seeds feeling alienated. For example, different cities and states of the three initially and to some extent Afghan Seeds feel that it is very much an India-Pakistan countries and b) youth from other program whilst Pakistani Seeds often feel that they are being ganged up against by neighboring countries that also suffer from Indians and Afghans similar internal and international problems  Because the motive of the parents are to increase the credibility of their children, as India, Pakistan and Afghanistan they encourage them to go to Camp but discourage them from spending too much  Inclusion of other countries can be done time away from their studies after they come back from Camp through the setting up of a regional Camp in  The focus on Durand line and Kashmir takes away attention from more current the South Asia region. This will allow Seeds events that could be useful in determining the nature of relations between the three of Peace to a) target greater numbers, b) use countries its funds more efficiently, c) show its

commitment to the SA region, d) involve youth from other countries and provide Contextual Threats regional ‘best practices’ or ‘success stories’  The distance from the context in South Asia and transposing an understanding of of conflict resolution (for example from conflict from the Middle East into South Asia prevents Seeds from practically Nepal or Sri Lanka) to feed the learning applying what they have learnt at Camp to their lives when they come back from process of Seeds. Camp

48  The difficulty to relate to concepts like peace in a generally peaceful environment Contextual Opportunities makes it difficult to convince others about conflict resolution and to get them  Domestic issues of interest to youth in India, interested in the subjects that Seeds of Peace is interested in. This reduces the Pakistan and Afghanistan are similar – relevance of the Seeds themselves and the program as a whole and limits it to the corruption, lack of youth enthusiasm and Camp experience participation in civil affairs, poverty,  Youth in the three countries are more removed from matters of foreign affairs than economic disparity, lack of employment and youth in the Middle East, especially Palestinians and Israelis. very importantly, access to quality  The program sometimes fails to look at potential negative impacts that the project education. Debates and discussions on these might have in sensitive areas like Afghan girls in the US and a US funded issues can not only bring together the youth organization programming in Kabul and Lahore. This could threaten the image of from the three countries but also channel Seeds of Peace as well as have a negative impact on the psyche of the participating their energies in working out workable Seeds solutions at their level

 The corporate sector is an extremely Structural Threats lucrative sector in South Asia at the  moment, and many Seeds consider it as a Weak self funding and inability to fund raise in the countries hampers projects and serious career option. Seeds of Peace could discourages Seed initiatives extend its teachings on conflict resolution  The program is presently restricted to 3 cosmopolitan cities of India, Pakistan and and peace building to work related issues Afghanistan and therefore is not based in the context of the actual conflict of South and in a formal environment so that Seeds Asia. This means that a lot of children who are affected by conflict in South Asia, do can acquire skills that will help them in their not fall under the radar of Seeds of Peace at all, reducing the relevance and impact lives – and in securing jobs that can have the of the program potential for leadership nationally.  There is weak financial oversight over the spending and the oversight varies between the three countries. Some Seeds have noted financial discrepancies in the running of country offices and this gives a very bad impression of the program to the Seeds. It is also a poor example set by staff to the Seeds  The absence of offices in India and Afghanistan are barriers to efficient work and Structural Opportunities strong links being forged between the Seeds and the program. Seeds lose a sense of  Older Seeds should be systematically hired belonging because they do not have a mentor or a space to relate to and associate as program coordinators and volunteers as with well as other staff to run the regional  Administrative staff currently in position are not proactive enough in encouraging programs – from a programming initiatives by Seeds which could discourage independent thinking and initiatives by perspective. the Seeds

49  Daily management and admin affairs should  Presently the outreach, publicity and image of Seeds of Peace in the three countries be run independently by an adult well- is very weak leading to misunderstandings of its goals. This could lead to Seeds of versed in the NGO sector Peace being misunderstood and put its staff and Seeds in threat  Seeds of Peace NYC can have stronger oversight of the finances with additional trainings to be provided to staff  Board members for Seeds of Peace in the three countries should be separate and not related to Seeds of Peace staff to allow for independent oversight: i.e. Seeds of Peace staff should not be sitting on the board. The board should be constituted of Seeds, Delegation Leaders and non-Seed related actors who are knowledgeable on the NGO and conflict resolution sector. They will provide a mediation and advisory role.  The Seeds in all three countries can be brought together to develop an annual action plan based on what they think would be a feasible program outline annually – this could be done by old and new Seeds together to allow for experience and new initiatives  Staff of the three countries should be able to meet often to create links between the programs  It is important for staff members of Seeds of Peace to also have

50 3. A SOUTH ASIA STRATEGY FOR SEEDS OF PEACE

3.1. THE SOP STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK APPLIED IN SOUTH ASIA?

SoP as an organization has clear strategic Objective 2: Focus on the most important objectives over three years – 2012 to 2015. capacities for effective peace-building and This section will review to what extent these the four fields most pivotal to conflict and target objectives and indicators are being peace applied in the South Asia region, to highlight Build Inter-country links and bridges – potential gaps and areas of further Exposure to people from other countries is improvement to match Seeds of Peace one of the biggest strengths of Seeds of international standards. Peace’s International Camp. But the scope of The 10 objectives set in the strategic plan are: the program and continued interaction with ‘the other side’ is limited. In interviews with 1. Identify youth and educators of the Pakistani Seeds, for example, especially with highest caliber to participate in Seeds those most recently attending Camp, they of Peace programs vary rarely speak about Indians or Afghans. 2. Focus on the most important Their priorities are domestic – their city, their capacities for effective peace-building province, their country. This is the same in and the four fields most pivotal to India, and to a lesser extent in Afghanistan conflict and peace where Pakistanis are a recurrent topic of 3. Experiment with new ideas to create conversation. The very limited regional high impact programs interactions after Camp is partly to blame for 4. Adapt to changing political climates this re-focus on domestic issues. The 5. Partner with leading groups to deliver momentum is currently lost after Camp to use exceptional programs and like- leadership skills at a regional level – most are minded organizations to advance the now focus at the internal dimension. Although field helpful, as SoP needs to understand conflict 6. Support our alumni by creating circles both as a domestic and a regional issues in of concern and encouragement within the countries covered in South Asia, it key groups remains nonetheless problematic. Cross- 7. Connect future and current leaders border meetings or even Skype, 8. Accelerate paths to leadership and videoconference exchanges are too rare. influence for deserving alumni 9. Assess our impact Consider other locations for Camp. Whilst 10. Scale our successes away from context is a good argument, having a context specific Camp also has its merits. It

could be in a third country of SA like Nepal, Sri This section will focus on the most glaring Lanka or Bangladesh, countries that have gaps as seen in South Asia, focusing faced their share of conflict and could be specifically on objectives 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8. examples for Seeds to learn from. The benefit Other improvements can be made on the is to be able to bring Seeds together in a remaining objectives, however, the research location where visa restrictions are not an team has identified these as the priorities to issue. For Afghan Seeds, the attraction to be addressed. leave Camp and stay in the US is too great – and their chances of getting their visas too slim as a result of it. If meeting the “other side” is the priority, financial and political dimensions all argue for setting up a regional Camp. This will also greatly help in improving Seeds of Peace’s image in each country.

51 Increase pool of Seeds from South Asia. The - To adapt to the schedule of most high number of Seeds going to Camp from South school or university student Seeds, Asia should be increased to match the Middle SoP should provide opportunities for East cohort. This would allow for better summer activities – at the same time camaraderie and an increase in the as the International Camp goes on, importance of Seeds of Peace South Asia – national programming should also something that presently does not seem to be continue. It is a problem today as 1 the case. With the growing importance of country director cannot be in two Pakistan, India and Afghanistan for the future places at the same time – this adds stability of the region and of the world, value to the idea of splitting up convincing donors and board members of the responsibilities: necessity to increase numbers should not be o One adult for management an issue. and Camp selection, process, and post-Camp follow-up,

o One or more Graduate Seeds Objective 3: Experiment with new ideas to for the creative aspect of create high impact programs program development and Allowing for practical achievements. Seeds of program management. Giving Peace has found it difficult to attract support the responsibility to Seeds to because peace is a hard concept to sell in come up with creative ideas South Asia. However Peace can also be for summer programming – connected through programming, to practical when they all have free time – survival needs – like food and shelter and is a key to independence, collaboration towards innovation and experimenting with news creativity. To see a ‘difference’ is what ideas and creating higher everyone wants before committing money. impact programs. Not an easy thing to do in India, where activists of peace are often not taken Activities during the summer, internship seriously. Meta Culture, another conflict opportunities. A lot of times follow-up resolution NGO has had the same issues. programs are geared towards the needs of This is where experimenting with new ideas new Seeds, so they don’t do activities in the can have a trickle down effect: summer. The South Asia program should look - Giving confidence to the Seeds that into organizing summer activities for existing the organization is intensely working Seeds, similar to Camp but within the on new ‘solutions’ and ideas. The contexts. Older Seeds can also potentially energy and creativity are often seen take the lead in organizing these activities. as lacking among management staff – Summer schools. It is in the summer when each staff in each country should have students in South Asia have the time and for target to hold 1 event per month flexibility to really participate in programs. that brings together enough Seeds to That is the time SOP has its summer Camp make a real change. Events that see which means attention is focused westward an attendance of 5 or 10 people are rather than eastward. Whilst the Camp is not enough and should not be ongoing, senior Seeds could be given the accepted by the organization as leadership to manage a SOP summer Camp in ‘events’. Instead country and regional India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. This summer directors need to ask: why is school can be piloted in Pakistan and seen as attendance so low? Is it only because a way to let the senior Seeds in charge for one Seeds are busy in their school year or summer – a possible transition for is it because our programs are not an management responsibilities in the longer incentive for them. run.

52 Objective 4: Adapt to changing political SoP in the face of growing climates sectarian and interfaith conflict in Pakistan. Similarly, The image of Seeds of Peace – Seeds of Peace in Afghanistan, concerns were must pay attention to the image that it has voiced about the lack of developed in the cities where it has programs. commitment of Seeds of Due to the regions that it works in, and the Peace at one of the most nature of programming that it is done, it is insecure times in the lives of easy for people to hold misconceptions about these Seeds over the past ten it. This could threaten the safety of both years. Seeds of Peace staff as well as the Seeds. In all o Regional level – a current the three countries surveyed, questions about “playground” for the agenda of Seeds of Peace as an India/Pakistan relations is “American”, “Christian”, or “Jewish” Afghanistan. However, that is organization, were raised. This might worsen not factored in any of Seeds in the coming years with a transition in of Peace’s regional programs. Afghanistan in 2014 that will have a ripple The youth needs to be effect on Pakistan and India’s security informed, for history to stop situation. These issues can be addressed by repeating itself. SoP forefront through information sessions  about Seeds of Peace programs and activities, Context of Environment – The future strategic plans, partnerships with like- environment in which the children minded organizations to create a safe that they select come from is umbrella within which SoP can operate. Two privileged. The program should not factors are crucial here: increase the gap between them and others in their society – how can the - Negative perceptions are often a program also help bring together result of ignorance or lack of privileged and under-privileged information. This can be addressed. youth? Aiming to diminish social - Negative perceptions can reduce the differences should be a key feature of scope of work and access of SoP as an SoP objectives in the South Asia organization, and can negatively region. The best ambassadors for this impact both the security of its staff task are the Seeds, and based on our and members and the impact of its interviews, their societies need it. mandate. As such, SoP needs to find “guarantees” of protection locally by Develop a Contextualized Vision of Programming. One question keeps coming up carefully choosing partners that can help strengthen its credibility. regarding Seeds of Peace in South Asia: Is SoP a Development NGO, an Advocacy NGO or a Adapt to the Context. Seeds of Peace must think tank? Does it do operational pay equal attention to the context of conflict programming or does it work on mindsets? and the context of environment. What is the value that it is creating? Once  Context of Conflict – Geopolitics these questions have been answered, Seeds changes fast. Seeds of Peace of Peace must adapt them to the context in programming is intricately related to which they are working and ensure that the international relations. In order to people around them, understand exactly what have optimum impact, the content of they are doing. Seeds of Peace must be relevant to those it is being professed to at two

levels o National level – frustrations were voiced during interviews about the lack of response of

53 Objective 5: Partner with leading groups to enough of a long term view and enough deliver exceptional programs and like- flexibility. The follow-up program needs to be minded organizations to advance the field clear in the eyes of Seeds – what will they be going through in Year ONE, Year TWO, Year Collaboration and Networking are almost non- THREE after Camp? This might be complex to existent in South Asia. Although a nascent operationalize as it is also related to funding effort in other countries, in South Asia the gaps. However, with a proper 3-year strategy challenge remains that there is a culture of for both national and regional programs, competition among NGOs more than Seeds of Peace will find it easier, rather than collaboration. In addition, networking is often harder, to attract funds. At the same time, its said as not present in the regional culture. Junior Seeds will know what to expect after These are two elements that complicate any Camp, and Senior and Graduate Seeds will attempt at networking for any NGO in the know how to better contribute as mentors to region. However, Seeds of Peace has been the experiences of younger Seeds. present for long enough (now a decade) to stop working in isolation if it wants to reach a higher level. India, Pakistan and Afghanistan Developing a parent & school program. offer a wide range of actors and organizations Parents of Seeds often have a closer that would make excellent need to engage in relationship to partner schools than to Seeds a movement, in a network and coalition with of Peace. As part of its sixth objective, SoP clear outputs and outcomes so that people recognizes the importance of having parents are less skeptical. This will not only help the on board – especially in follow-up programs. image of Seeds of Peace, but also increase the Repeatedly, Seeds mentioned that their networks and opportunities for Seeds to do parents did not see the value of the follow-up better programming and keep up the program and hence did not look positively momentum of Camp even after they have upon them pursuing Seeds of Peace as a come back to their respective countries. regular extra-curricular activity. On a more Mapping NGOs for an effective partnership positive note, parents of Seeds and future strategy. This will require a thorough mapping Seeds mentioned being ready to be more of stakeholders and NGOs in each location. involved with Seeds of Peace, the way they Seeds of Peace will need to avoid any are with their children’s schools: volunteering partnership that can lead to a worsening at events, providing contacts and other type image, or a politicized image. If Seeds of of support. Peace is seen as adding value on issues - Priority 1: Launch a year-long parents’ affecting all members of society – education, program in South Asia given the skills, jobs, but also humanitarian needs and importance of parents’ say on the way disaster relief – its acceptability will raise. children spend their time outside of These 5 sectors areas, along with 3 values of school. It will increase the likelihood neutrality, independence and impartiality, can of Seeds’ attendance at events – an be the indicators to be used for the mapping attendance which has been dropping of NGOs. in countries like Pakistan. - Priority 2: Launch a partnership strategy with schools to go beyond Objective 6: Support our alumni by creating selection of Seeds to holding public circles of concern and encouragement with events, leadership workshops, key groups information sessions after Camp to Multi-year programming. One way to keep share lessons learned, and out-of-city the commitment after Camp is to have a networking. In the case of Pakistan, multi-year objective and project that will keep the Lahore Grammar School has Seeds committed throughout their end of branches throughout the country – its high school and university, giving them principals have already vouched for

54 their support in other cities so that apathy after Camp. Seeds, especially in Seeds of Peace can branch out. Pakistan and India, have daily access to their - Priority 3: Work through parents and emails. The problem is not one of access but schools to diminish misconceptions incentive. Do they believe their actions online about Seeds of Peace. The research on behalf of Seeds of Peace will help make a team was surprised to find that difference? First they need to be convinced schools had many questions about that the answer is YES, before launching any SoP: Why do they take children to online initiative in South Asia. Maine? What is the structure of the

organization? Is there really an impact? Where do their funds come Training. What can leadership training mean from? Improved visibility should start for Afghan, Pakistani and Indian youth? First there. and foremost, being able to acquire skills to land decent jobs, that can allow them to

provide for themselves and their families, Objective 8: Accelerate paths to leadership help them put in place a solid career, and and influence for deserving alumni then only can they think in terms of leadership and impact. In a context of conflict Mentorship. One of the indicators to reach and growing insecurity, the research shows this eighth objective is mentorship to help that their economic and professional security alumni move quickly into positions of is a priority concern. How is Seeds of Peace influence. This mentorship can be two-fold: engaging with training marketable skills for - Graduate/Junior and Senior Seed Seeds to join their country’s workforce? At mentorship: For those graduate Seeds the moment, there is very limited training. who are already working as

professionals, hiring Junior or Senior Seeds as unpaid interns for one The research team recommends that training summer, or for volunteer work can be should focus on qualification and cross- an asset to helping them build skills sectoral skills such as workshops on: needed for a professional market. - Project management - Graduate Seeds: as for graduate o Budget management Seeds, they should be given the o Computer skills opportunity to run the organization’s . Office operations for one summer, or . Internet research throughout the year, either full-time - Writing skills or part-time, but at a staff salary to o CV writing skills help them build their program o Critical thinking management skills relevant for any - Effective communications context, even non-NGO related. o Presentation skills o Networking o Community outreach skills Online community. Another indicator is - Volunteering engaging with a majority of alumni on o Where, what, and how? networking and collaboration forums online. o Mentoring skills This can only be done at a much later stage – once a SoP strategy has been put in place and All of these skills are relevant whether one implemented in the region. As the research wants to become a lawyer, a doctor, an for this study showed, out of the targeted 80 engineer, a journalist, a consultant, or an youth members for the online survey, only 24 activist. Seeds responded. This shows the growing

55 3.2. CHALLENGING ASSUMPTIONS

The research team identified core SoP Third, Seeds of Peace needs to properly assumptions and hypotheses that should be identify the conflicts it wants to address: the reflected upon as they currently prevent SoP term “dialogue” should not assume a from strengthening its programming: common understanding of the conflict – on the other hand, dialogue should mean First hypothesis: Seeds of Peace can weigh in engaging in a discussion to find a common equally on the paths to leadership for youth in denominator of understanding. As the context Pakistan, India and Afghanistan. analysis papers show, the research findings from our context analysis highlight a focus on One is a question of resources and capacity, domestic issues especially in Pakistan and another a question of timing, and last a India. These issues should be at the core of question of context and identification of the what conflict should mean for Seeds of Peace conflict. These three factors prevent Seeds of – branching away from the Kashmir or Durand Peace from being able to have a transversal line conflict, which is a US-centric vision, not impact. one shared by the youth targeted by SoP. Focusing on these conflicts means focusing on First, with the smallest national budget, a high an American understanding of South Asia, turnover of staff, a part-time coordinator, rare contrary to the reality exposed in the Part II of visits from other staff members and no office this study. space, the resources dedicated to the Afghan program are minimal. On the other hand, As a result of these differences between Pakistan benefits from an office space and Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, and the strong relations with the US embassy; while degrees of progress of SoP programming in India benefits from the presence of both a these countries, SoP cannot aim to weigh in country and a regional director. As such, there on the paths to leadership in all of these is a clear resource deficit in Afghanistan – the countries. Today, Seeds of Peace is not well only of the countries that has an on-going implanted in Afghanistan, does not have a international and civil conflict – and an presence or visibility and only works as a imbalance between the three countries. As loose system of networking among a small Seeds often repeated, Afghanistan is a “on the group of Junior, Senior, Graduate, and future side” project for Seeds of Peace. Seeds.

Second, the question of timing matters: with increasing insecurity and instability in Second hypothesis: Seeds of Peace activities Afghanistan, the departure of foreign NGOs, in Lahore, Mumbai and Kabul equate to and the upcoming 2014 transition, it seems having a South Asia program or to promoting like an inopportune time for Seeds of Peace to peace in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. invest more funds in Afghanistan when no one knows what the future will hold: a civil “We are not aware of each other’s programs” war? The return of the Taliban? The space for – Seeds of Peace Staff implementation is reduced day by day in Afghanistan, a country characterized by the From the statements made by the national increasing migration out-wards of its youth. directors in each country, there is little to no Seeds of Peace’s hands are tied as a foreign information sharing between country NGO with no strong base to build upon. On programs. The lack of information sharing, the other hand, the environments in Pakistan lessons learned, or common planning is a first and India are increasingly more conducive to indicator that shows that there is, in reality, expansion of programs. no South Asia program.

56 Secondly, as voiced by Seeds, there is a programming. Wherever cost is an Lahore, Mumbai and Kabul program – not a issue, virtual activities will suffice. Pakistan, India and Afghanistan program. Seeds of Peace’s reach is location-specific, not Third hypothesis: The terms “youth” and context-specific. “peace” represent similar notions in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. To remedy this lack of a national and of a regional programming, there are three Youth profiles are different if comparing the immediate priorities to be addressed by all three countries – whether by the level of country offices and headed by the regional education, language skills, or socio-economic director in charge of the regional strategy: levels. The context of development is also different, with India being a world economic - National expansion – this can be power, Pakistan being a regional economic piloted first in Pakistan. Rather than a power, and Afghanistan suffering from physical expansion, it should first conflict that has prevented its economic consist of integrating on a regular development. basis (not on a one-shot event like the interfaith harmony Camp), youth In each country, Seeds of Peace targets those members from all regions of Pakistan, that are the most educated and the better off, to represent the different ethnicities, that are the most successful in their schools religions and sects and address the from an academic perspective, and who show core domestic issues of: radicalization signs of leadership potential. The groups are & extremism, interfaith conflict, and rather homogeneous – whether comparing sectarian conflict. These have been girls or boys. The pool of Seeds in each voiced as the priority by youth. country, across time, remains similar. As a Secondly, it should consist of result the concept of change makers has expanding the selection process for remained constant for SoP – with change the 2014 International Camp to makers being defined by their language and include partner schools in all regions. educational background. However, as the This will require extensive research shows, many youth in India or networking, through the existing Pakistan are not concerned with change – but network of partner schools, in these rather with their college applications, their regions. Third, SoP should identify university degree, their future career, and focal points in each region to act as ensuring that they can maintain a comfortable part-time staff to lead selection of life. Will they be the change makers in their participants and logistics to facilitate countries? A more nuanced approach to the implementation of events. change should be envisioned, to test different profiles and assess whether outcomes can be - Cross-border programs have been different. By diversifying the pool of close to a halt in South Asia. This candidates – including students from needs to be immediately remedied, government schools who may have lesser without which SoP’s mandate no skills in English but providing them with longer stands true in Pakistan, India or language support before Camp – Seeds of Afghanistan. Cross-border programs Peace will take a chance and test whether in person, but also via Skype and new models of change makers can be video conferencing. These cross- identified and whether they will reach border programs should – very different results. By focusing on one importantly – integrate parents as homogeneous cohort, at the moment, Seeds well. As such, the Seeds, Educators of Peace limits its impact – which will certainly and Parents programs should all provide a homogeneous result, as well. contain an element of cross-border

57 3.3. THREE STRATEGIC OPTIONS: 2014 - 2017

Seeds of Peace needs a program it can knowledge of the context justify such an monitor. It needs to know: what is the approach. impact? Has there been measurable change? What are the lessons learned – what has The three options outlined here, for the worked and what has not? Can Seeds of Peace future of the South Asia program, are realistically claim to monitor the work it does presented in a hierarchy – with the research in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India? To achieve team highlighting first, the most reasonable this, it needs benchmarks. option for Seeds of Peace:

At this stage, benchmarks and hence M&E systems are not in place, for various reasons. 1. RECOMMENDED OPTION The bottom line is that, increasingly, REFOCUSING THE SOUTH ASIA monitoring and evaluation demands, of which PROGRAM ON 2 COUNTRIES: INDIA impact assessments are one element, are AND PAKISTAN requirements of complex operating environments, and requirements of donors. Step 1. Ending the program in Afghanistan (2014). How to assess impact? Assessing impact This report outlined a range of reasons why should be done through quantitative and Afghanistan is a non-existent program at this qualitative surveys – to be able to quantify stage: on the one hand, the lack of resources even the most intangible concepts as ‘change’ committed by Seeds of Peace, rare activities and ‘leadership’. and follow-up, uneven attendance and the smallest of all delegations to attend Camp; on Where can SoP assess its impact? To assess the other, a very different profile from impact quantitatively, an NGO needs a Pakistan and India in terms of the type of sizeable beneficiary pool, sufficient activities conflict, education, access to infrastructure and a stable environment. In Afghanistan, and internet, access to reliable government these requirements are not met: the partners, increasing insecurity and a tense beneficiary pool is spread in and outside of environment for international NGOs even in Afghanistan, with rare meetings of all Seeds, a Kabul in the wake of the 2014 transition. lack of office and a part-time country director. The growing insecurity in Afghanistan renders Without a solid base in Afghanistan, 2013 is constant monitoring and evaluation for a US- certainly not the time to expand programming based NGO a very difficult task: can one rely activities in the country – except for on remote monitoring? Donors like the emergency humanitarian actors like ICRC, European humanitarian donor ECHO only Doctors without borders and other fund programs that they can physically emergency specialists who can intervene monitor themselves and for a good reason: rapidly on quick-impact projects that save remote monitoring outputs remain lives. All other NGOs are currently re-defining questionable. Seeds of Peace, being located in their strategies in Afghanistan with a New York, cannot have this reach. It needs to landscape that looks least promising for ensure this reach through its Regional international NGOs with limited access to the Director – hence further emphasizing the Afghan reality and limited ability to maneuver essential point about having a Regional with a changing political situation. 2002-2012 Director presence in all the countries covered was the decade of opportunity to establish in South Asia. The question remains, does the Seeds of Peace in Afghanistan, 2013 is too late South Asia program need to continue to for doing so, not knowing what tomorrow will include all three countries reviewed in this look like. study? Do the resources, investment and

58 Step 2a. Piloting an expansion of programs camp for Pakistan, to increase religious beyond Lahore in Pakistan to test national harmony. The Lahore Grammar School has activities (2014). offered to provide its network as a network to Seeds of Peace should not wait for one be used by Seeds of Peace – covering Quetta, country to be ready for national expansion to Peshawar, Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore. be launched in all countries. First, it needs to Through this existing partnership, Seeds of test its feasibility in one national setting. The Peace can branch out to all other regional presence of Seeds of Peace in Pakistan today capitals of Pakistan. is the most established of all three countries at this stage – and the motivation is there Step 2b. Pilot a partnership strategy with from management and staff to increase their like-minded organizations in India (2014). activities with youth from outside of Lahore. While the pilot on national coverage is being done in Pakistan, Seeds of Peace should focus This will give the chance for Seeds of Peace to on piloting a partnership strategy in India as impact on change in Pakistan – transitioning this assessment shows that Seeds of Peace from “Seeds of Peace Lahore” to “Seeds of works in isolation in the region. The Peace Pakistan”. One of the Seeds partnership should be built at 4 levels: interviewed reiterated her conception of i. Schools “Seeds of Peace Lahore”, to refer to the Covering the range of private – public activities of Seeds of Peace in Pakistan. It was schools, covering different socio- very important for her to dissociate the fact economic classes and castes, that Seeds of Peace operates in the country of ii. International NGOs Pakistan but that it does not represent or Identifying which international NGOs include all of Pakistan. In her eyes, the share the same values as Seeds of organization is Seeds of Peace Lahore, not Peace and learning from their Seeds of Peace Pakistan. The geographical experiences, and filling in differences are such that it is impossible – programming gaps for example on without having a proper presence in access to employment or on gender Peshawar, Quetta, and Islamabad – to issues, two areas that are not part of effectively talk about a national program – Seeds of Peace’s specialization but and to effectively talk about peace-building. that are a major need in both Pakistan This is a feeling shared by parents, teachers and India and principals who the research team spoke iii. National NGOs with. Often times better accepted by communities, parents and teachers, Teachers speak openly about how they can as well as the government, national become a resource for the organization as NGOs can provide a very local they would like to know how they can better response, reacting more quickly to select students for the program. They argue needs and giving Seeds of Peace the that there should be more transparency, and opportunity to “enter” new more diversity, to increase the legitimacy of communities with the legitimacy and the program in the eyes of the communities, credibility of a local grassroots of the Seeds and of their peers. This is organization. Such partnerships particularly important in the context of should therefore be developed. wariness towards NGOs in the Pakistani iv. Media context – teachers and schools therefore Addressing concerns about Seeds of need to become stronger allies in post-camp Peace as an organization through the programming. Teachers’ and principals’ media – with information events, suggestion therefore involve integrating public sessions at schools, and different regions of Pakistan (beyond Lahore), interventions on TV, radio and print, envisioning a regional camp or an internal

59 to inform the population of what Seeds of Peace is about. Step 4. Consolidating Indian and Pakistani programs (2016). Step 3. Having a mid-line and an end-line Depending on the results of the mid-line (2015). review, the objective will be to launch both This report will serve as a baseline of Seeds of the national coverage plan (expansion) and Peace activities in South Asia in 2013. In the partnership strategy in both countries. 2014/2015, a mid-line should be conducted to assess the results of the pilot programs. The Step 5. Having an end-line (2017). results will then inform the objective in Step 4 The end result of the 4-year plan is to have an of consolidating Indian and Pakistani assessment of the impact of this strategy for a programs. final review.

2. THE REGION-CENTRIC OPTION: committed to the region, why should it need WORKING ON THE INDIA, PAKISTAN to leave it and take children as far as the AND AFGHANISTAN AT A REGIONAL US?”. LEVEL Third, from an internal perspective, after a Step 1. Launching a regional Camp (2014). decade-long presence in the region, and There are three reasons for this sufficient experience and lessons learned in recommendation. Maine, Seeds of Peace is now ready to launch a second summer program regionally. First, the common belief among Seeds and their teachers is that the experience should be Step 2. Expanding the summer program open to all schools, and to all children. (2014). Realistically, acknowledging that not all children from Lahore and Mumbai can be Beyond a summer Camp, Seeds-led initiatives taken to camp, teachers mention increasingly during the summer in their respective the idea of holding a camp closer to the countries and cross-border should be tested region, to go around logistical and financial in the region as soon as 2014, based on Seeds’ constraints. They strongly believe otherwise own initiatives and project suggestions. that ‘change’ cannot be achieved with a small group of people – the tipping point would One way that youth thought of being most never be reached. successful was continuing SOP’s cross border exchanges and current summer Camps. For Second, the issue of a regional camp was almost all Seeds, having platforms such as already raised by external stakeholders SoP’s summer Camp, where youth can come working on conflict resolution and peace- together in a safe- and neutral environment, building between the two countries. Key is the best way to deal with the stereotypes informants consulted for this research and prejudices that people in the three indicated that 1) visa constraints would be countries have of each other. circumvented by having a regional summer camp, 2) it would cost less, and hence, with To adapt to the schedule of most high school the same resources SoP would be able to or university student Seeds, SoP should include a greater number of Indian and provide opportunities for summer activities – Pakistani participants, 3) it would increase at the same time as the International Camp visibility and minimize misperceptions of the goes on, national programming should also program: “if Seeds of Peace is really continue. It is a problem today as 1 country

60 director cannot be in two places at the same Step 3. Put Graduate Seeds in charge of time – this adds value to the idea of splitting creative programming in the region (2014) up responsibilities: In many instances, Seeds feel a disconnect  One adult for management and Camp between their needs and motivations, and selection, process, and post-Camp ideas proposed by SoP staff or board follow-up, members (often constituted of adults and  One or more Graduate Seeds for the delegation leaders). They feel that the creative aspect of program programs lack a creative side, are not development and program innovative and energetic enough for youth management. Giving the who have passed the first stage of junior responsibility to Seeds to come up programming. with creative ideas for summer

programming – when they all have How can Seeds of Peace stay relevant for free time – is a key to independence, Seeds as they grow older? How can SoP make experimenting with news ideas and sure that Seeds do not feel that SoP is no creating higher impact programs longer relevant to their needs? SoP needs to

adapt. In the same way as the organization Activities during the summer, internship has given responsibilities to Seeds in the opportunities. Follow-up programs are often Middle East, South Asia also needs to see a geared towards the needs of new Seeds and leadership played by Seeds. Often times, hence, SoP’s only summer activity is the these positions are not of interest to South International Camp. The South Asia program Asian Seeds, for whom the NGO sector is not should look into organizing summer activities an attractive full-time option. As a result, for existing Seeds, continuing follow-up attempts by SoP to encourage Seeds to apply throughout the summer. Taking a for country director positions have failed in programming break when most of them have India, for example. To remedy that, the free time is counter-intuitive. Older Seeds can recommendation in this report is to split also potentially take the lead in organizing responsibilities as mentioned earlier, with: these activities while permanent staff are - A professional office manager to run away in Maine. the daily tasks of the NGO Summer schools. It is in the summer when - An individual or collective group of students in South Asia have the time and Graduate Seeds to lead the creative flexibility to really participate in programs. programming and operational side of That is the time SoP has its summer Camp the events schedule, outreach and which means attention is focused westward networking, as they more easily and rather than eastward. Whilst the Camp is effectively represent the face of the ongoing, senior Seeds could be given the organization. leadership to manage a SoP summer school in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. This summer Participation of Graduate Seeds on the school can be piloted in Pakistan and seen as creative programming – without hierarchy, a way to let the senior Seeds in charge for one being at par with the managing director – summer – a possible transition for should allow them to strengthen: management responsibilities in the longer - Seeds programming run. - Educators’ programming - Parent programming Other suggestions will have to be made open - Networking and partnerships. to Seeds – to have ideas coming from them, funding their own initiatives for summer In the end, the organization’s biggest asset activities. are its Seeds. They are old enough, experienced and knowledgeable enough to

61 serve as guidance for creative programming in Step 4. Mid-line & end-line assessments the region, which will in turn raise (2015 & 2016) attendance, improve the image and visibility, All of this needs to be closely monitored – by and strengthen the impact of SoP in the an audit on financial aspects, and by a mid- region. and end-line on the programming aspects for accountability and transparency, and for learning lessons to shape the next programming cycle.

Seeds of Peace as an NGO needs to function 3. STRENGTHENING M&E AND transparently. This should be done through: FINANCIAL PROCEDURES – OPTION 3: INDIA, PAKISTAN AND AFGHANISTAN  An external audit WITH STRICT M&E and FINANCIAL The NYC office should select the MEASURES auditors, and have one team audit the three countries. The practice today in Step 1. Strengthening accountability (2014). the region is to rely on Indian or Stakeholders cited an opacity around Seeds of Dubai-based audit companies that can Peace office management and activities. travel to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Although SoP has its annual reports from the The independence of the audit team regions, stakeholders would like the from the office management team is opportunity for a more interactive reporting crucial. process (including audit results reporting), to  Training share their questions and have a direct line of Some financial procedures and communication with the organization locally. structures are still lacking in what are To strengthen accountability and foster often small offices and programs in stronger relationships, this report South Asia. They require additional recommends having a multi-layered reporting financial trainings from the NYC office at year’s end with: through frequent visits of the finance team to the countries in South Asia, at  Reporting to Seeds and their parents least in the initial years of 2014 & at SoP offices 2015 until the mid-line assessment  Reporting to schools with principals and audit are done. and teachers in presence  Public reports  Reporting to governments partnering The results from the audits will have with SoP through their ministry to systematically be made public and representatives shared as part of the reporting process to Seeds, parents, schools and This interactive process will allow for governments suggestions to be shared and for stakeholders to give their feedback and constructive Step 3. Strengthening programming (2014). comments. Participation of Graduate Seeds on the creative programming – without hierarchy, Step 2. Strengthening transparency of being at par with the managing director – financial procedures (2014). should allow them to strengthen and launch: The weakness of financial management was - Seeds programming raised by stakeholders in this research. To be - Educators’ programming able to strengthen and expand its impact, - Parent programming.

62 Step 4. Piloting a partnership strategy (2014). NGOs can provide a very local Seeds of Peace should focus on piloting a response, reacting more quickly to partnership strategy in Afghanistan, Pakistan needs and giving Seeds of Peace the and India as this assessment shows that Seeds opportunity to “enter” new of Peace works in isolation in each country of communities with the legitimacy and the region. The partnership should be built at credibility of a local grassroots 4 levels: organization. Such partnerships should therefore be developed. i. Schools iv. Media Covering the range of private – public Addressing concerns about Seeds of schools, covering different socio- Peace as an organization through the economic classes and castes, media – with information events, ii. International NGOs public sessions at schools, and Identifying which international NGOs interventions on TV, radio and print, share the same values as Seeds of to inform the population of what Peace and learning from their Seeds of Peace is about. experiences, and filling in programming gaps for example on Step 5. Mid-line & end-line assessments access to employment or on gender (2015 & 2016) issues, two areas that are not part of All of this needs to be closely monitored – by Seeds of Peace’s specialization but an audit on financial aspects, and by a mid- that are a major need in both Pakistan and end-line on the programming aspects for and India accountability and transparency, and for iii. National NGOs learning lessons to shape the next Often times better accepted by programming cycle. communities, parents and teachers, as well as the government, national

63 NATIONAL FRAMEWORK other’s first year experience to strengthen the RECOMMENDATION national programming Year 2.

b. REGIONAL PORTFOLIO Whichever of the three strategies above (Group 1 - Year 2 and Group Seeds of Peace considers to take into account, 2 – Year 1) there are key elements in common and which A second group from Pakistan, and a second should be part of any forthcoming strategy for from India, will then begin their first year of the region. These are outlined here – as the post-camp follow-up with regional core strategic components for SoP. programming activities. These can focus on: a

schedule of virtual meetings; a “buddy” 1. CLEAR MULTI-YEAR PROGRAMMING mechanism to match 1 Indian Seed with 1 STRATEGY Pakistani Seed after camp, with Seeds The strategies in the previous section focused reporting the frequency of their interactions on a 3-year timeframe (2014 to 2017). This 3- to the group with a forum for discussion of year timeframe should be applied to the any issues that may have come up bilaterally programming as well. The difficult task at between 2 Seeds (as a means to provide hand for SoP staff is to manage both national support of peers and guidance by Graduate and regional / cross-border programming at Seeds); home visits; planning for a regional the same time. To achieve the two without summer Camp; and other initiatives to be compromising either one, the suggestion is to developed by the group. divide up 2 groups of Seeds in each country, each to be led and mentored by 2 Senior The first group from Pakistan and India, will Seeds and 2 Graduate Seeds. As such, 4 Senior then be able to build upon the lessons learned Seeds and 4 Graduate Seeds in Pakistan and in from each other’s first year experience to India would take the lead on leading these strengthen the national programming Year 2. groups. This 3-year plan will have the added incentive to bring together Junior, Senior and Graduate Seeds around a common project as c. INTERNATIONAL PORTFOLIO they have often complained that the 3-level (Launching Seeds’ Initiatives programming creates a gap between the / Year 3) Seeds, a gap that prevents mentoring and The third year will be focused on designing lessons learned. and launching Seeds’ own initiatives with a balanced mix of national initiatives and a. NATIONAL PORTFOLIO regional initiatives. These initiatives will have (Group 1 - Year 1, and Group to be framed within a 1-year format so as to 2 – Year 2) require 1) a reasonable time investment by A first group from Pakistan, and a first group Seeds, 2) a reasonable financial investment by from India, will focus during the first year on Seeds of Peace and 3) providing tangible national programming. In Pakistan, for outputs to feed into SoP’s mid- and end-line instance, this would mean focusing on: impact assessments and M&E process. national expansion outside of Lahore, increasing interfaith events and workshops, preparing for a summer school, and networking with like-minded youth-led or youth-based organizations in the country.

The second group from Pakistan, and the second group from India, will then be able to build upon the lessons learned from each

64 2. STAFFING AND RESOURCES c. BOARD MEMBERS SoP offices require more support: from National board members for Seeds of Peace in managerial support to creative support, the South Asia should be separate and not related needs are discussed below. to Seeds of Peace staff to allow for independent oversight: i.e. Seeds of Peace a. MANAGEMENT: RD AND ND staff should not be sitting on the board or Undoubtedly, the position of regional director should not weigh in on board membership. is a central one in designing, implementing The board should be constituted of Seeds, and monitoring the 3-year strategy. This will Delegation Leaders and non-Seed related require the regional director to commit equal actors who are knowledgeable on the NGO time to the countries covered by the South and conflict resolution sector. They will Asia programming. The networking provide a mediation and advisory role. If staff component will be especially important for lead or are even part of the national boards, it the regional director to be invested in, as it will lead to a duplication of responsibilities will take the involvement of management and that will add too much on one person’s Seeds to map stakeholders and nurture shoulders (especially a part-time staff partnerships with like-minded organizations. member) but also concentrate the essential decision-making powers in one person, which The national director will then be able to is not conducive to change. focus on planning for and managing the 3- year plan in each country, keeping an entire 3. PARTNERSHIPS oversight on all aspects of the programs while delegating the responsibility to design a. UMBRELLA / CONSORTIUM TO activities to Seeds – as a way to transition into ADVANCE THE FIELD a model where youth have a clear say on In events of limited funds, NGOs work in a programming, in partnership with Seeds of ‘cluster’ format, building consortiums to Peace staff. attract larger donor funds. Given the number

of NGOs working on Pakistan-Indian relations, b. PROGRAMMING LED BY SEEDS for instance (to be thoroughly mapped), a

grouping of Seeds of Peace with other NGOs “Seeds of Peace is no longer relevant to me” – will help in applying for larger funds. should not be a phrase heard in the region by those who have entered their professional b. ONE-TIME PARTNERSHIPS TO careers. There is still room for SoP to train ADDRESS SPECIFIC ISSUES them to become stronger and better leaders. Another option is to partner on one-time One of the ways of doing so is to give them events to allow for a quick response to events the responsibility to manage a program – the such as interfaith clashes or girls’ targeting. best way to learn about creative design and project management cycle by having them c. FILLING IN GAPS involved as leaders in a 3-year programming A partnership strategy should also allow SoP that will cover national and regional to fill in gaps where it holds less expertise – programming. Requiring of Seeds (Seniors and for example on gender-based programming, Graduates alike) to lead a summer program, as there are other youth-led and peace- summer school or summer camp will be the building NGOs that focus on girls’ education. building bloc of this continued leadership training through professional responsibilities.

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PART II – CONTEXT ANALYSIS

66

1. Pakistan Country Context

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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION 69

PAKISTAN AT A SNAPSHOT 70

THE “YOUTH” IN THE PAKISTANI CONTEXT 71 WHO ARE THE YOUTH IN PAKISTAN? 71

PAKISTAN THROUGH THE EYES OF THE YOUTH IN LAHORE 72 POLITICAL CONTEXT IN PAKISTAN 72 SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTEXT 74 CULTURAL ISSUES 75

PAKISTAN, ITS YOUTH AND ITS BORDERS 76 PAKISTAN’S FOREIGN POLICY 77 RELATIONS WITH INDIA 78 RELATIONS WITH AFGHANISTAN 79

THE LIFE OF A 16 YEAR OLD IN PAKISTAN, BACK FROM CAMP 80 RELATIONSHIP WITH PARENTS 81 RELATIONSHIP WITH SCHOOLS 81 RELATIONSHIP WITH TEACHERS 81

COUNTRY DYNAMICS AND THE PLACE OF YOUTH 82

PARTICIPATORY CONFLICT ANALYSIS 86

SEEDS OF PEACE PROGRAMMING IN PAKISTAN 90

BIBLIOGRAPHY 100

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INTRODUCTION Any conflict analysis on Pakistan needs to go beyond regional conflicts with India, Afghanistan or the West, to focus instead on the main threat highlighted in our key informant interviews: the internal threat of accrued interfaith and sectarian conflict. An estimated 96 per cent of Pakistan’s population is Muslim – overwhelmingly Sunni (75-80 per cent) then Shia (15-20 per cent) – with the remaining 4 per cent including a minority Christian population. The most active organizations are radical Sunni groups headquartered in the country’s largest province of Punjab (Frazil, 2012). This is where Sunni and Shia groups have been traditionally active – although such violence has now a broader geographic base with, in recent years, fighting spreading to the urban centres of Karachi and Lahore. In Pakistan, the key challenge is one of expanding violence – both in terms of the types of violence (against minority religious groups, and women), and its geographic coverage. The lack of threats to punishment has led to a legal environment that renders violence permissible, to a large degree. After the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, many state-backed groups turned their attention to Kashmir, while others continued an internal fight against perceived threats from within – and outside of – Islam. According to Human Rights Watch, in 2011 and 2012, Pakistan’s minority groups – Shia, Ahmedi and Christians – have “faced unprecedented insecurity and persecution in the country”. Although such conflict is not new, its reach and intensity are. In September 2010, at least 50 people were killed in a suicide attack on a Shia rally in Quetta, Baluchistan. In May 2010, more than 80 Ahmedis were attacked by gunmen at a mosque in Lahore and killed. In February 2010, two bombs in Karachi killed 25 Shias, and in April 2010, a suicide bombing took the lives of over 30 other Shias in a procession. In March 2013, a large crowd of Muslim demonstrators attacked a Christian colony in Lahore – burning at least 160 houses, 18 shops and 2 small churches. In June 2013, Christian women were beaten by armed Muslims who entered their home, then paraded naked in public by a mob in Lahore, according to the Asia Human Rights Commission. In some cases, state officials have remained silent while society remains concerned. These challenges weigh on the Pakistani youth, with internal strife and domestic politics taking precedence over international or regional conflicts. This document will portray the views of the youth met in Lahore, Pakistan – Seeds and non-Seeds alike – who are most concerned with internal conflict, violence, and growing class disparities, than with conflicts occurring outside of their own borders or with which they have little affiliation to, such as the far-off Kashmir issue. Undoubtedly, Lahore is a unique city, the capital of the most populous province, Punjab, and the second largest city of Pakistan. It shares a close border with India, is far-off from Afghanistan with little degree of exchanges, cultural or economic, with its western neighbor. A 2010 government estimate puts the population of Lahore at 10,000,000 – ranking 25 in the most urban populated areas in the world. It is the engineering hub of the country, and has the most advanced infrastructure with road links to all major cities in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) in the East, a rail link with India and an international airport. Its education sector is also the most advanced – with a mix of private, semi-private and public schools that create a hierarchy between people at a very young age, based on social and economic profiles. Lahore is known as Pakistan’s educational capital, with more colleges and universities than any other city in Pakistan. Among the most famous and oldest educational institutes are Forman Christian College, the University of Punjab, Kinnaird College, while notable business schools include the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) – all universities with a strong representation of Seeds alumni. For Seeds of Peace, the challenge is how to relate to the concerns of Pakistani society, starting with Lahore, and seeing how Lahore can constitute a bridge with the rest of the country. The priority is to give a second life to SoP activities by focusing on the strengths and weaknesses of its programming, by utilizing its most important resource – the Seeds – and by analyzing the broader socio-cultural, economic and political contexts it needs to address as part of its conflict resolution model.

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PAKISTAN AT A SNAPSHOT Pakistan is bordered by four key countries in the geopolitical, economic and demographic arenas – with Afghanistan to the northwest, Iran to the west, China to the north and India to the east. Some of these borders share controversial boundaries with disputes over Kashmir with India, and the Durand Line with Afghanistan. Beyond these geopolitically sensitive boundaries are humanitarian concerns: the Northern areas and Kashmir lie along the edge of the Central Asian and Indian plates, and are prone to violent earthquakes where the two tectonic plates collide, while the South and Western areas are prone to motions of the Arabian and Eurasian plates, with high-intensity earthquakes repeatedly recorded in the border areas with Iran. Pakistan is divided in administrative units consisting of four provinces (Baluchistan, KPK, Punjab, and Sindh), one federal capital territory (Islamabad), two autonomous territories (Azad Kashmir and Girlgit-Baltistan) and a group of federally administered tribal areas (FATA). Very importantly, there exists a cultural diversity among the different provinces of Pakistan, and a difference between a National culture and a Provincial culture – all of which can play as an asset and an obstacle to Seeds of Peace programming: it reinforces the fact that programming by Seeds of Peace in Lahore does not represent programming in Pakistan more generally, and that efforts therefore need to be sown between Lahore and other capitals of the main provinces to address more broadly the challenges of Pakistani diversity and bring to the fore the role of youth in all its entirety. Authors have long argued that Pakistan is in ‘search of identity’ (Ali 2009, Jaffrelot 2002, Shaikh 2009), which is confirmed by the fieldwork for this research and by the voices of youth – with the words identity and culture coming back recurrently through the interviews. What we find is the extent to which the youth from Lahore is cautious to dissociate itself from any representation of the Pakistani youth more broadly, not wanting to be given such national responsibility or pressure. Youth members from Lahore see themselves as actors within a broader patchwork of ethnicities, provinces and cultures, rather than representatives of ‘one nationalism’, one culture or one nation. What is certain is that the Punjabi identity is strong among its youth – although ethnically diverse, Punjab is the nation’s only province whose border touches all the other provinces of Pakistan, it is the richest and economically most developed province of Pakistan, and a historical, architectural and religious centre. Punjab has a history of clashes between the two main sects of Islam – according to the Heinrich Böll Stiftung, in the past two decades, “as many as 4,000 people are estimated to have died in sectarian violence in Pakistan”17. This has been worsening. The Pakistan of 2013 is not the same as in 2001 or 2003. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have favored a movement Vali Nasr calls “The Shia revival” (Nasr 2007), with a rise of internal conflicts within Islam. To understand the Middle East or South Asia today, explains Nasr, this internal conflict needs to be assessed and understood as it is a conflict for the future of Pakistan. An American NGO like Seeds of Peace has to be able to address this issue as a key strategic element of its program, as further confirmed by all interviews led in Pakistan by the research team. Punjab, and Lahore specifically, represent an important starting point in addressing the sectarian and interfaith violence plaguing Pakistan. Politically, the lack of reforms and the unwillingness of the government to tackle terrorism at home are issues that worry the youth. Imran Khan, cricket played turned politician, became an effective youth mobilizer in his Campaign towards the 2013 elections and was effectively one of the only leaders to publicly speak against the threat of sectarian violence, winning him votes from minorities and from the youth, who showed their supports openly in the streets of Lahore. Longer term, the disconnect between informal and formal justice systems, as well as the failings of the criminal justice system, are issues largely mentioned by members of Pakistani society interviewed – from professors, to students, and non-governmental organization representatives.

17 http://www.pk.boell.org/web/index-379.html

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THE “YOUTH” IN THE PAKISTANI CONTEXT Who are the youth in Pakistan? The category of youth in Pakistan is broad – according to UNICEF, 35 per cent of the country’s population is aged 15 or under, while figures released by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) show that nearly half of the 84 million registered voters are aged between 18 and 35, while close to 1 in 5 is under the age of 2618. The 2013 election highlighted the voting power of the youth – a group that political parties are increasingly targeting, as seen most recently in Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Campaign. As this paper will discuss, the civic consciousness of Pakistani youth – especially those that feel empowered through their university studies or professional careers – is a definite strength to take into account in peace-building efforts. However, in a country defined by a vast range of socio-economic classes, wealth, education levels and access to technology, it is still impossible to discuss a particular age group as a single entity. When such discussions on the youth vote take place, they are discussions on a specific sub-category of youth: the urbanized, literature, educated, socially aware and technology savvy youth who are part of different networks through their universities and have access to social media. More than 65 per cent of Pakistan’s population is rural, meaning a majority of the youth is also rural, especially given higher birth rates outside of cities. These urbanized, educated, socially and technologically aware youth, are now in the process of mobilizing themselves through various initiatives. When typing the key words “youth in Pakistan” on Google, a full list of organizations and blogs appear: from the well known Youth Parliament, to the “youth think tank”, “The young school patriots”, “Pakistan youth alliance”, “Pakistani youth organization”, and so forth. More than its neighbors – whether India or Pakistan – the growing voice of youth – and its visibility – is being gradually expressed on issues of concern to Pakistani society. These are the youth Seeds of Peace can work with – to develop stronger partnerships and envision the youth as actors, growing into adults, representatives of a generation that conceives of change differently. This landscape can provide an opportunity for Seeds of Peace to learn from the youth movement and youth’s own efforts to mobilization, and an opportunity for synergies with other organizations, as will be discussed later on. However, it is important to understand which youth this paper refers to for appropriate programming targeting as the research methodology did not encompass all Pakistani youth, with interviews led with Seeds and non-Seeds in urban Lahore only.

Demographic change favoring the rise of the “youth” Pakistan is an “increasingly populous, young, urban and mobile country. The country is in the midst of a youth bulge with 60 per cent of its population under the age of 25. Forty percent of Pakistan’s population is now urban and each year, more and more people flood to the country’s cities and large towns. Pakistanis are also more mobile than ever before, with increasing numbers moving from their places of origin and seeking economic opportunity abroad. These demographic trends provide both opportunities and challenges. If provided with the necessary education, infrastructure and opportunities, Pakistan’s increasingly urban and youthful population can make a significant contribution to the economy and eventually also to a broad process of democratization, through a growing awareness of citizens’ rights and legitimate expectations of the state. if they are not absorbed into the economy, there is a risk that they become disaffected and vulnerable to

18 http://tribune.com.pk/story/525778/pakistans-youth-bulge

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recruitment by both sectarian and religious extremists.19” Although such statements need to be taken with caution, the youth, and the urban youth, are an expanding category in Pakistani society.

PAKISTAN THROUGH THE Key words Issues EYES OF THE YOUTH IN Violence Sectarian conflict LAHORE Inequality Power Pakistan is proud of her youth, particularly the students who have always been in the forefront in the hour of trial and need. You are the Attitudes nation’s leaders of tomorrow and you must fully equip yourself by Leadership discipline, education and training for the arduous task lying ahead of Lobbying you. You should realize the magnitude of your responsibility and be Networking Distance from ready to bear it. government – Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan. A silent category?

1.1 Political Context in Pakistan We are not thinking vis-à-vis India all the time, we need to fight the ideology at home first. It starts with ourselves. – Female Seed focus group, Lahore. The political system in Pakistan is based on party politics, which in turn are often based on ethnic lines. Almost every party represents a particular ethnic group, preventing them from having support in every region because of these fault lines. Big players and families have dominated the political arena in Pakistan. The role of youth has so far been limited but overwhelmingly, the urban, educated youth as seen in Lahore is striving to have its voice heard, gaining in confidence and in influence through more effective mobilization and support to important causes (whether education, shelters, civic rights). The 2013 election Campaign recognized the importance of youth – highlighted by every political party. Imran Khan, most notably, based his Campaign on the role of the youth, through youth-based policies and initiatives: a greater online presence than other candidates, using Facebook and Twitter to disseminate information, placing greater emphasis on the concerns of disillusioned youth and pledging to build a stronger economic environment with more job opportunities for the young entrants on the labor market. But he is far from being the only one. In Punjab, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) gave away thousands of free laptops to college students. Links between youth and politics are being strengthened while youth leaders consider it is the time for the youth “to take the responsibility and play their role to change the conventional political system in Pakistan”20, while acknowledging that “the youth are still easily manipulated”. The current political climate is characterized by skepticism towards non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Many youth who want to act prefer to opt for creating their own associations and youth movements. Lahore is a good example of such initiatives – led by Seeds and non-Seeds alike, and by activists. Those who have been working on Pakistan-Indian relations for decades now state that “we are working less and less on the question of India and Pakistan as it has to some extent normalized” – preferring to shift their focus to internal problems, and engaging with the youth in this regard.

19 2009 Pakistan State Society Analyses page 35. 20 http://youthexperia.blogspot.fr/2012/09/role-of-youth-in-pakistani-politics.html

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Pakistanis have seen a lot of supporters of human rights, a lot of organizations, have gone wrong, coming for their own profit in the end. Long history of international involvement – people do not trust philanthropist movement and try to find a deeper interest and hidden motivations behind NGO initiatives. This is a reality we need to be very conscious of as it is widespread. – Seed during a focus group discussion.

1.2 Political issues identified by youth as being relevant Overall, a recurrent question was stated: is the youth a largely silent category in Pakistan? The youth is wary of the media and frustrated by the lack of reaction to internal incidents – whether a lack of reaction regarding the attack on Malala Yusufzai or the March 2013 burning of Christian colony homes. The youth is going through a transformation in Pakistan, with a clear evolution over the past 5 to 6 years, as reported by activists, professors, Seeds and non-Seeds, and older siblings of today’s youth who mentioned that the level of engagement seen today was not present a few years back, during their time. However, although politically aware, political engagement characterizes a small group – “people like us are a minority”. It is, in other words, the start of greater youth involvement in Pakistan, a turning point for SoP to be a part of, and to support, to minimize risks of manipulation and empower the young generation to become today’s leaders.

iii. Interfaith and Sectarian conflict – it is important for the youth to dissociate the interfaith component – raised as a priority issue by all Seeds interviewed – from the sectarian component to be also addressed in order to resolve the internal conflict that opposes different segments of the Muslim population. Pakistani youth are aware of the distinction between the two – interfaith vs. sectarian conflict – and emphasized the importance of maintaining such distinction for programming purposes. Interestingly, graduate Seeds who are now involved with their professional careers and somewhat withdrawn from Seeds of Peace, indicated that they would come back more actively to work with the organization if it took a clear stance on the interfaith and sectarian conflict in Pakistan.

I do not see myself in current SoP programming. But I am Shia and I can definitely relate to the on- going sectarian conflict and religious intolerance communities are subject to. What about focusing on sectarian interfaith Camp and more sectarian-based programming? Then I would definitely involve myself again with SoP and support the organization in any way I can. – Graduate Seed, 2008.

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iv. Elections, civic rights and political disillusionment – given the timing of the field visit in March 2013, two months ahead of the May national elections, interviewees often referred to this event, and to the role of the youth in these elections. However, this is part of a greater trend and reflection by the youth on its capacity to influence change through elections and democratic processes.

v. Youth is assessing opportunities available for it to work outside of the political system to influence change. Overall, and as confirmed by a March 2013 survey entitled The Next Generation Goes to the Ballot Box published by the British Council21, political parties and parliament are generally viewed negatively, with the survey revealing a pronounced disillusionment with democracy. But the next generation, the youth in Pakistan, is “also civic minded, with nearly half believing education’s primary purpose is to learn to be a good citizen or to gain a broad understanding of the world. Many young leaders are no longer prepared to wait for others to act. They are actively seeking opportunities to build a stronger, more peaceful and prosperous society, and to develop a new relationship with the rest of the world22”. We are now focusing on elections, starting a Campaign on the importance of voting and awareness on civic rights and duties – a youth-based response to the political disillusionment seen among youth, Interview with representatives of Next Generation Pakistan (NGP)

Anti-American sentiment – The anti-Indian sentiments now ranks second to the anti-American sentiment reported by youth. An important reality for SOP and an important reality for Seeds to cope with upon return from Camp – their involvement is often accompanied with rumors of having been “brainwashed” at Camp, by Americans, and by the American Jewish community. These rumors are to be addressed by SOP more clearly, reports the youth (both Seeds and non-Seeds), to increase transparency and knowledge about what Seeds of Peace does and who Seeds of Peace is as an organization.

1.3 Socio-economic Context The 2013 British Council survey cites the economy as the most important driver of youth pessimism in the country, with inflation and unemployment highlighted as the biggest problems in the economy. Key words A quick economic overview of Pakistan shows that, during the fiscal year 2012-2013, the country missed its GDP growth target of 4.3 per Issues cent, finishing at 3.59 per cent instead, while social indicators taken Security of Women into account, Pakistan ranks 146th among 186 countries in the Human Economic disparity Development Index (HDI). UNDP’s recommendations are for Pakistan Inequality in education to focus on the health and educational sectors to transition towards Unemployment sustainable development at a time when Pakistan falls in the “low human development” category. The UNDP HDI report states that half Attitudes of the country suffers from poverty – ‘49 per cent of Pakistan’s Aware Desire to change population lives in poverty’ – with income inequalities, rural-urban Creating opportunities at differences and gender disparities worsening with time. These have home indeed been echoed by the (overwhelmingly privileged) youth interviewed in Lahore.

21 http://www.britishcouncil.org/pakistan-next-generation-ballot-box-report.pdf 22 Ibid, « Foreword – Key Findings », p. iv.

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1.4 Socio-economic issues that youths think are important Given the high unemployment rates for youth (with youth unemployment estimated at half the total unemployment in the country23), one of the key recommendations is to encourage and support entrepreneurship with the aim to foster entrepreneurial activities in Pakistan. Developing youth- based and gender-sensitive entrepreneurial training has the potential to contribute to society, new business start up, job creation, while ensuring a continued and hands-on training for youth to develop marketable skills. The concerns of youth with regards to developing marketable skills was often voiced by students concerned with their future job prospects, especially in the fields of social sciences. In addition, given the very specific population of youth interviewed – urban educated youth from Lahore – the overall national context of socio-economic inequalities and rural-urban economic differences was often raised, not only as an economic issue, but as a social issue leading to communal tensions. Youth’s perceptions of equality branched out beyond purely economic elements to include education. Indeed, the unequal access of youth to education is a big concern among youth members interviewed, one that was dissociated from their economic integration at a later stage. Inequality in education of children at a young age was seen by youths as their responsibility to address given the lack of tangible response from the government in the field of education. This echoes recommendations by UNDP to invest in education as a key sector for development24. The privileged youth interviewed in Lahore felt that they could, at their own level, contribute to opening opportunities for under-privileged children with less resources or access to education. For instance, the youth interviewed mentioned the importance of the debating culture in Pakistani schools. Those well versed in debating, and who had been also part of the Seeds of Peace program, were able to discern between debate and dialogue. In the case of the former, students take on one line of thought and argue it until they win. But they acknowledged than in the latter, the aim is not to win but to have an open and constructive discussion to solve an on-going problem or conflict. This experience – of debating and dialogue – can be a real opportunity for youth interviewed to share their lessons learned, and increase the access of underprivileged youth to education. Last but not least, both male and female youth highlighted gender issues as a common concern. Specifically citing incidents of rape and acid burning, especially in the KPK region, violence against women was highlighted as another internal conflict of high concern.

1.5 Cultural Issues Identity – Not surprisingly, given the political and socio-economic context of disillusionment and inequalities highlighted above, the Pakistani youth interviewed often mentioned their battles with “identity”.

At Camp, you have to define what it means to be Pakistani. You have to represent more than yourself, your country, but then you think, what does it really mean to be Pakistani? There is a contradiction between our identity and the identity of an entire nation. – Female Seed focus group, Lahore

The concept of identity was a recurrent theme throughout the interviews with the research team. For the Seeds interviewed, notwithstanding all of the accomplishments and added value of the SoP program, they felt that they were being asked to fit in a mold at Camp: they were expected to represent an entire country, and even conflicts (like Kashmir) which they could not relate to. They

23 2008 United Nations Statistics Division 24 Reference

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did not feel credible or able to legitimately speak of such issues in front of Indian, American and other Seeds, as they had little knowledge or interactions with the Kashmir issue. Instead, their conflicts and preoccupations were different, yet not less important. As such, the ‘expected identity’ differed from the ‘actual identity’ before and after Camp – with the experience at Camp contributing greatly to making this contradiction transparent.

The second contradiction is their identity back home, with their peers, whether relatives or friends. One of the mothers – whose daughter is going to Camp said: “Her brother is very prejudiced. I hope that his sister’s experience will have a positive impact on him. Their grandmother is from India, they should know better! But he has been brainwashed by what he hears on the TV and in his school.” Another family story from a female Seed brought a similar echo: “my cousin is 9 years old and his views on Indians and Jews is very negative. I see it as my role to help her change views and mindset. But I am not sure that is what my parents always expect of me.”

Values – with the question of identity often came discussions of values. In focus groups especially, boys and girls interviewed mentioned their awareness of the superficiality of their society’s values, based on such keywords as success, achievements, career and money. Seeds acknowledge that they study for themselves not for their country – meaning there is a great amount of self-interest that characterizes them, their families and their immediate networks. “Selfish” and “self-interest” came up often in discussions, as a realistic – yet pessimistic – appraisal of their lives.

There is more competition in schools now than ever before. It is right that we should be competitive but not selfish…yet, the competition is among ourselves, not with Indians.

Our aspirations are all a result of this competition: we either strive to become engineers, politicians, doctors, preferably cardiologists or surgeons. How to get there? The aim is to settle abroad (…) I have to aim for M.I.T. – Male Seed focus group, Lahore

Beneath these statements was a willingness to change this state of affairs, and to give back to society and undo the selfish nature of their daily lives. In those discussions, the vicious cycle of schoolwork, extra curricular activities and university applications often stood as a barrier to other types of social work. However, there remains a window of opportunity to use requirements for extra curricular work as part of university applications to help to do good and to address the inequalities and concerns perceived by youth and detailed so far in this section.

PAKISTAN, ITS YOUTH AND ITS BORDERS

Kashmir – it has a central role in dialogue sessions at Camp but in the end we have little knowledge or experience of Kashmir. It is not really part of our lives. We can go online and learn by heart the history and the problems, but we’re not the ones exposed to this conflict. – Female Seed Focus Group, Lahore. So it is more the internal forces that disrupt the peace, not so much the international forces. – Interview with a Female Seed, 2010, Lahore

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National borders are vital to Pakistan, but how important are they for the Pakistani youth in Lahore? Conflict incorporates an international dimension, and a critical position for Pakistani Seeds who find themselves caught between perceptions of America, India, Afghanistan, and other religions commonly held by Pakistanis around them, but which they do not share once they return from Camp. International borders matter. But the process of domestic bordering and re-bordering, referring to the creation and continuation of domestic boundaries, is of particular interest to the youth, and one they can less easily respond to as the threat becomes internal, and less publicly addressed.

3.1 Pakistan’s foreign policy Anti-American sentiments at home – Recently, in June 2013, members of the Insaf student federation (an off-shoot of the political party Pakistan Tehreek-e Instaf – PTI) gathered to express grief with the residents of Jinnahabad and Habibullah colony during prayers for the loss of lives in Peshawar and Karachi, and seized the opportunity to condemn Pakistan’s “unconditional support to the US, through which the Pakistani nation is becoming a victim of the war”25.

To understand the roots of suicide attacks and bombs inside Pakistan, believed by many to be the number 1 threat to Pakistan, eyes are turning to the relationship between the governments of Pakistan and America. The past ten years have changed the dynamics with increasing animosity reaching peak levels during the 9/11 attacks and again in 2012 with the killing of Osama Bin Laden. The intervention in Dawlatabad, which used for cover an NGO working on a vaccination Campaign for children to collect DNA evidence on Bin Laden’s family, has not only increased animosity against America but against foreign, and specifically American, NGOs in Pakistan.

The intense relationship with America is also evident through the military and economic aid received in Pakistan. Since 2002, the USA has spent approximately 11.7 billion dollars as military assistance and 6 billion in economic assistance to Pakistan. 26 Pakistan remains one of the largest recipients of foreign aid in the world, which does not make it necessarily an aid-dependent country as Official Development Assistance (ODA) accounts for only around 2 per cent of Pakistan’s GDP – unlike its neighbor Afghanistan. But while foreign aid and foreign direct investments have contributed to aggregate growth in the economy, the latter specifically, it has yet to contribute to noticeably reducing poverty or significantly boosting government revenues. This lack of visible impact also nurtures skepticism and intolerance towards American objectives in Pakistan.

Concerns over Islamophobia Youth in Pakistan are concerned about the image of their country abroad and fear the rising Islamophobia in the West as having the potential to impact them negatively. The 2013 British Council report27 highlights that religion, more than nationalism, is a defining characteristic of Pakistani youth’s identity. “Which of the following statements is closest to your own view?”, respondents between ages 18 and 29 had the choice between “I define myself as a Muslim” (72 per cent) and “I define myself as a citizen of Pakistan” (14 per cent). As such, attacks on Muslim values and traditions, and on the Muslim expatriate community is difficult for the youth to come to terms with.

25 http://www.insaf.pk/News/tabid/60/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/16477/Youth-of-Pakistan-demands-a-revisit-on- Pakistans-Policy-on-Terrorism-Dr-Ehsen.aspx 26 http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/files/Final_DP_2009_06_08092009.pdf 27 http://www.britishcouncil.org/pakistan-active-citizens-next-generation-report.htm

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In addition, and as highlighted by the Heinrich Böll Stiftung28, the other fear of Islam is internal: a fear of extremism and radicalism at home. There are therefore two types of Islamophobia the youth is concerned with – Islamophobia in the West, and Islamophobia in Pakistan. The report further explains: “in Pakistan, the ideology that arouses Islamophobia is a part of the state’s trajectory towards a utopian Islamic society. In the West, Islamophobia is inspired by prejudice, the conduct of expatriate Muslims, and media coverage of increased violence in the Muslim world. In Pakistan, Islamophobia is inspired by the real and present danger from target-killing and suicide-bombing.”

They do not encompass India in this dilemma – they are rather concerned with the way Muslims are seen in the West and with the way Muslims can speak with other religious groups, notably Jews in Israel, the United States and Europe. Seeds interviewed for this research reported that their peers often asked them “how do you speak with Jews?” and recognized that while they had an opportunity than no other of their peers had back home, they were still themselves “further apart from Israelis than Indians at and after Camp”.

Both ends of these concerns – whether the Islamophobia abroad or potential signs of anti-Semitism at home – were issues the youth were curious to know more about to find ways to deflate tensions. Others were against ever opening such venues for discussion. However, Seeds spoke of their intent to have some activities between South Asia and the Middle East on religious differences – and on learning also about ways, best practices and challenges, of dealing with another type of conflict.

3.2 Relations with India The time has really passed that you had such basic antagonism – now with the media, the countries are a lot more aware, there are a lot more exchanges through TV, film etc. I don’t understand why you have to go so far to break a hatred that used to exist. The hatred and misunderstanding are much lower than in the past – I have lived through worse times, we work less and less on the question of India and Pakistan as it has to some extent normalized. - Representative of ARS, a conflict resolution NGO based in Lahore

Although historically relations with India have been problematic as a consequence of partition, of the Kashmir conflict and its after-effects, and of tensions over sharing of water resources, the on- the-ground impact is different. There is a growing difference between how the government (and the military) views its relations with India and how most people on the border regions like Lahore view it. Border issues are being less talked about, while sponsoring of terrorist attacks remains high on the agenda. The last two big attacks in India, notably in Bombay and its Parliament, were masterminded by insurgents of Pakistani nationality. At the same time, increasing Hindu fundamentalism in India has an impact on the Muslims of India – remembering that there are more Muslims in India than in Pakistan.

Prevailing Opinions among the youth towards India For the youth, the Indian-Pakistan conflict remains a historical conflict rather than a current conflict. Most Indian Seeds and non-Seeds described the relations with Pakistan as a ‘high-politics conflict’, which has little impact on day-to-day life. Whilst young people acknowledge that national stereotypes are common parlance in many circles, youths are far more tolerant towards their neighbors in Pakistan than older generations. The same was found in Pakistan.

28 http://www.lb.boell.org/web/113-895.html

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The youth interviewed highlighted the advances made in India – whether economically, technologically or in the education sector – seeing the gap between India and Pakistan growing and wanting to understand the reasons for such a gap. Teachers and principals at schools also raised the same concern, explaining that Pakistan had something to learn from its South Asian neighbors – whether India or Bangladesh for instance – to improve its economy. Having its eastern neighbor becoming one of the world’s leading demographic and economic powers is a source of interest and intrigue for Pakistani youth. Furthermore, the greater stability in India, as a result in part of the economic climate, is a trend that Pakistani youth look up to. In this sense, conversations with Pakistani youth translated more curiosity towards India than animosity, seeing in India the benefits that they do not see in Pakistan. In other words, India is not seen as a threat to Pakistani youth interviewed in Lahore, but as an example of economic development and stability.

This was further accentuated by the physical distance between “the conflict” (meaning the Kashmir conflict) and Lahore. As the quote at the start of this section translates, the youth in Lahore do not relate personally to the conflict in Kashmir – it is something they have heard about in history textbooks, in the media, or by their families, but not something on which they have first-hand knowledge or curiosity.

3.3 Relations with Afghanistan From the viewpoint of Pakistan, Afghanistan has been a buffer state. Pakistan’s initial reason for being in Afghanistan was to use it as a buffer state against India. This has never really materialized practically but has been fuelled more by Pakistan’s paranoia with India. Now however, Afghanistan has become a lot more, with America and the international community’s involvement – it is an economic trade partner, with most goods in Afghanistan, including fruits and vegetables, being imported from Pakistan.

Pakistan has been host to the majority (3 million) Afghan refugees in the world – more than any other country, Iran included, Pakistan has taken the major brunt of the responsibility for the world’s largest refugee population. After over three decades of refugee and asylum space granted to Afghans, Pakistanis feel that they have lived up to their responsibility of hospitality and support to their Muslim brothers. Since 2002, tripartite agreements have been signed to safeguard this asylum space while encouraging for voluntary repatriation as a key durable solution. The treatment of Afghans in Pakistan has gone through various phases – in recent years, police harassment and pressures to push for return have led to a less hospitable environment. However, overall, cross- border exchanges between the two countries remain high – whether for medical, social, economic or cultural reasons, Afghans cross the porous border with Pakistan in both directions on a daily basis. As Majidi writes in 200929, “today, the majority of Afghans travelling to and from Pakistan are temporary migrants. (…) The cross border movement is dominated by single individuals, men aged 18 and above, who cross the border without their families. This movement remains informal at all levels. ” The report shows that in half a day in September 2009, a border counting exercise revealed that over 10,000 people entered Afghanistan while 12,000 exited Afghanistan to Pakistan at the Torkham border in the east, near Jalalabad in Afghanistan and Peshawar in Pakistan.

Overview of relationship from the eyes of the youth Pakistani youth interviewed in Lahore either did not have an opinion about Pakistani-Afghan relations, due to the fact that it did not rank as a priority to them, in part due to the ethnic and

29 Majidi (2009), A research study on cross-border population movements between Afghanistan & Pakistan, for Altai Consulting, commissioned by UNHCR Afghanistan, Kabul.

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geographic distance between Lahore and the western border with Afghanistan. The same question asked of Pakistani youth in Peshawar or Quetta would undoubtedly lead to a drastically different perception.

For Seeds, who have met and interacted with Afghans, they expected cultural affinities and historical links between the two countries to translate into a peaceful interaction with Afghans at Camp. However, at Camp, Pakistani Seeds realized that - Pakistan was often at the center of Afghans’ frustrations, while Afghanistan played a minimal role in their concerns, - As a result, they often found a lot of anger against Pakistan, with at the extreme denials of the existence and legitimacy of Pakistan as a nation, - Lastly, beyond historical frustrations, interventions on Afghan soil since 2002 have added insult to injury, making the relationship with Pakistan a very concrete conflict for Afghan youth, whereas it is negligible for Lahori youth in Pakistan.

Our year at Camp – 2011 – there was no Afghan delegation. But in 2010, the main points of contention in dialogue ended up being between Afghans and Pakistanis. They include Pakistan in all of their problems, I was surprised and taken aback! - Peer Support Seed interviewed in Lahore

One of the most shocking things was that Afghans did not even acknowledge Pakistan as a state. They said that Punjab and Sindh are part of India, and that the Durand line is all of NWFP and Baluchistan. So in the end they said “you don’t even have a country, what are you guys?”. We thought coming in that they were on our side, and then we realized that they don’t even recognize us. But we know we exist, there are Pakistani embassies in Afghanistan…So we literally talked to our facilitator and we said it was very confusing for us. For us to discuss the Durand issue or Pak-Afghan relationships we need to be on the same page. But only my dialogue group discussed this. - Male focus group, Lahore

“I also learned that there are many versions of history we can get, and that our textbooks are very politicized. We thought Afghans would identify with us as a Muslim nation, and I thought that the relationship wasn’t that bad, it showed that they hated us when we met them. In 1971, during the cold war, I thought we helped Afghanistan and welcomed all their refugees, we have been a brother to them. But the Afghans say “you sent your army against us with the Russians” – so many different versions of history, I would have not known about this had I not been able to meet with them. And these are people who lived in Pakistan for ten years, who lived in Peshawar, in Karachi, one of the Seeds’ father even owned a factory in Karachi.” - Female focus group, Lahore

LIFE OF A 16 YEAR OLD IN PAKISTAN, BACK FROM CAMP

Recently returned Seeds from the international Camp, face similar situations with their schools, their parents and the follow-up programming. This section provides a contextual understanding of the environment in which you return to after Camp and in Lahore.

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Relationship with parents The issues with identity and values in the previous section are also a result of contradictions at home. Seeds are either led by their parents to apply to Camp or they gain the confidence of their parents to authorize them to attend Camp in Maine, in both cases mainly based on the added value such an experience can have on their future educational opportunities (a pragmatic approach, with Camp being one component of and one step in a rich education for their children). A common trend when returning from Camp are the pressures from family to slow down Seeds of Peace activities to focus instead on finishing studies and high school – “SOP is over now, back to your studies, you have your A levels to focus on”. This prevents follow-up programming from being seen as a necessary complement to the Camp experience.

Girls in high school reported their willingness for Seeds of Peace to help them convince their parents that their support is needed: “Parents should be encouraged to support us”, “Parents should be instigated as part of the SOP follow-up program circle”, since their involvement with Seeds of Peace, outside of school hours, depends on their parents’ acquiescence. Given that school comes first, Seeds are often forced to leave their willingness to engage with Seeds of Peace aside, to instead commit their time to strengthening their grades, preparation for A levels and university applications. Parents and Seeds see “school or Seeds of Peace” as a choice between two alternatives rather than complementary activities.

Relationship with Schools Kashmir – it has a central role in dialogue sessions at Camp but in the end we have little knowledge or experience of Kashmir. It is not really part of our lives. We can go online and learn by heart the history and the problems, but we’re not the ones exposed to this conflict. – Female Seed Focus Group, Lahore.

Before going to Camp, Seeds are prone to following instructions such as learning history lessons by heart, researching their “side of the conflict” online, and taking on from their delegation leaders or teachers for notes of guidance and to know what they are suspected to believe. Before going to Camp, teachers have a greater influence on them, as seen in interactions between delegation leaders, Seeds and Associate members. Upon return, Seeds are often showcased as examples of successful extra-curricular involvement, with Seeds upheld as examples of success in dialogue and debating skills.

Seeds of Peace can also become a pathway for Seeds to transition from public or semi-private schools to more prestigious high schools for their A levels, and then to more prestigious universities. As noted in an interview with a female Seed, 17, “in this school people would know about Seeds of Peace, but maybe they don’t know about me as I came here 1.5 year back for A levels. Our head girl and deputy head girls last year and this year were Seeds so all of the students know about Seeds of Peace. In my previous school, in a public school, Seeds of Peace is a big thing; in a private school, it is just another extra curricular activity.” The centrality of what constitutes Camp is therefore lost in follow-up programming at home when Seeds of Peace becomes just one option among many, especially at private schools where opportunities for extra curricular activities abound.

Relationship with Teachers The teachers and Seeds do not get many opportunities to discuss ways to continue their experience after Camp within the School environment. However, teachers are interested in pursuing this dialogue, within school hours or at least within school compounds. Teachers interviewed for this

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research explained that they believed that additional networking should be done with other types of schools (referring to public schools), common events to be organized at schools for Seeds to share their experiences and explain their lessons learned, and additional events to be co-organized with the schools. The common belief among Seeds and their teachers is that the experience should be open to all schools, and to all children. Realistically, acknowledging that not all children from Lahore can be taken to Camp, teachers mention increasingly the idea of holding a Camp closer to the region, to go around logistical and financial constraints. Teachers’ and principals’ suggestion therefore involve integrating different regions of Pakistan (beyond Lahore), envisioning a regional Camp or an internal Camp for Pakistan, to increase religious harmony.

Teachers also speak more openly about how they can become a resource for the organization as they would like to know how they can better select students for the program. They argue that there should be more transparency, and more diversity, to increase the legitimacy of the program in the eyes of the communities, of the Seeds and of their peers. This is particularly important in the context of wariness towards NGOs in the Pakistani context – teachers and schools therefore need to become stronger allies in post-Camp programming.

Otherwise, their skepticism takes over with many questions such as: “What can be the contribution of one person who goes from our school to the SoP Camp? Does that create an environment of change? How much can one child do?”. Once these questions are asked by principals or teachers, the basis of support for Seeds of Peace weakens, as such conversations are then shared with parents and ultimately their children. It can have a negative ripple effect of undermining the support base necessary for Seeds of Peace programming in country. Principals and teachers will need to be convinced of the centrality of SoP’s mandate, to facilitate the reintegration of Seeds after Camp and maximize their chances to participate in follow-up activities. As in other countries of the region, such as India, Seeds and youth in Pakistan are shaped by their parents and their teachers.

COUNTRY DYNAMICS AND THE PLACE OF YOUTH

The conflict in Pakistan has evolved. In recent years, there has been so much death and devastation in Pakistan, internally. It is now more important for us to focus on our internal conflict, rather than Kashmir for example. We need a solid program in the face of persecution, violence and death. – University student, Seed, 2006, Lahore.

Pakistani youth are definitely not silent. But what voice are we talking about? On the one hand, youth interviewed were positive that their generation is more aware and respectful of gender issues and the importance of education, and will be able to pass that on to the next generation, and spread the message to rural areas of the country. On the other, the disillusionment in the political system and the regional differences at home in perceptions, beliefs and practices, makes them wary of being able to have a strong voice. However, on their side, are the new forms of communication and mobilization that can allow them to attract more support and more visibility to their causes.

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An excerpt from an interview led at a high school (partner with SoP) summarizes the country dynamics seen by the youth:

“At school if you ask any kid about conflict they will talk about national conflict:  Religious Extremism – o The recent killings of Christians in Lahore o Discrimination against Shia and targeted killings o Blasphemy laws against Ahmedis  Terrorism o Security  Economic disruption o Inflation of currency o Corruption o Disparity in education forced by the socio-economic cleavage  Elections are coming up o Political system downtrodden o Youth being manipulated o But we have civic rights like everyone else”

WHAT CAN LEADERSHIP MEAN FOR YOUTH IN PAKISTAN?

Interviews reveal that leadership in Pakistan would differentiate itself from other countries, with a preference for a social grassroots level leadership in Pakistan, as opposed to a more politicized form of leadership in Palestine, for example.

The problems that we face, and what we think about, are caused by us. We are the ones who burn down each other’s houses, and we are the ones to blow ourselves up, we are the ones who have created these social and economic differences. We need to focus more on people than on policies. There is not much wrong with our constitution or the political machinery – except for the people that run it. The framework is there but more a question of stakeholders and mindset. - University student, Seed, Lahore.

To exercise such leadership, to change mindsets at the grassroots level, Seeds and youth need the support of each other, as well as other members of society, referring to a plethora of people who think the same way and who are eager to bring about change. Only if youth are supported by others who identify with the cause, they will be able to exercise leadership. Pakistani youth are aware that if the society is not willing to accept a change in the status quo, it is really hard for one or two individuals to steer that change – coming back to the comments shared by teachers and principals, parents and Seeds. The basis of leadership rests in numbers and in the ability to gather like-minded individuals.

At the moment, youth do not see a natural leader in Pakistani society who can lead them to rise above their differences and to work for a common goal. Hence the need to start grassroots – an element of opportunity for Seeds of Peace as an organization, to build the sufficient networks to connect the youth – whether Seeds or non-Seeds – who have similar ideals and objectives to address the conflicts at home.

At the moment, an obstacle to youth leadership identified by the youth interviewed are the geographical, religious, and educational divisions in Pakistani society: “we have to stop being

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Baluchi, Lahori, Christian, Muslim, Private school or public school students, if we want to bring about change”.

Lastly, what types of leaders are necessary? Interviews with NGOs and associations, Seeds and non- Seeds alike, re-emphasized the difference between those who are or want to be leaders, taking matters in their own hands and starting their own movement, and people who are thinkers (but not necessarily doers, or those who will go out to launch a petition or a street march). Seeds are often criticized by non-Seeds as being overly intellectual or pre-occupied by their own life matters, school, and careers, instead of being part of those who will act on their words and think about their society. How can this cleavage between Seeds and non-Seeds be addressed to nurture youth leadership in Lahore? An opportunity is present for Seeds of Peace to narrow this gap and to create more linkages between youth in Lahore.

YOUTH, A SILENT CATEGORY?

The incident of Malala Yusufzai led to a social movement on Facebook with a competition between schools, in the form of an essay writing competition to write about Malala. The government changed the official Education day to “the Malala day”, however that left many youth wanting for more – beyond the symbolic nature of such a public decision, youth expected the roots of the issue to be discussed.

There certainly was a hype after the incident, stirred by media and the basic aim was not to discuss the educational system or ask reforms. It was basically to highlight how Pakistan is an extremist country. The news agencies focused on the international relations aspects but now really about her, her health, what the doctors said. We didn’t see any news agency coming up and giving mass media messages saying that this is a girl who stood up bravely. What she stood up for? People here hardly know. In my school they would know, but outside they would not know. All they would know is that Taliban shot a girl in SWAT because she was a girl.

This is just one example of the disappointment of the youth with regards to the way internal conflicts are addressed. They are now distancing themselves from the media – there are politicized opinions that are shaped by the media, but there is a certain faction – a minority – of society, and of the urbanized and educated youth that is rising beyond what the media tries to feed them.

We are learning from what is happening around the world. We have seen the Arab spring. People like us who get to watch BBC and CNN and not just Pakistani television, people who have access to different media know what is going on in the world, do realize. But people like us are a minority. 10% of children educated in Pakistan go to private schools. I get criticized even in this minority that I am an Ahmedi, that I don’t hate India, that I have Jewish friends. A small fraction has risen beyond the stereotypes but there is a lot that needs to be done still.

In general, in Pakistan, the population lacks a substantive citizenship where citizens – particularly the poor and women – lack the formal means to make their voices heard and to influence or hold their leaders and service providers to account 30 . In this context, the youth is going through a transformation, albeit through a minority. A minority that SoP has access to as it encompasses the youth in its program, and those in their networks, through schools, universities and the many NGOs and associations based in Lahore. The network is there organically and can be a resource to be tapped into to give youth, even a minority, a stronger voice.

30 2009 Pakistan State Society Analysis.

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DIVERSITY OF YOUTH

Every other protest here is called the “Pakistani Tahrir Square”. But it’s not like the youth want to replicate it. The youth here are not really committed, passionate or united. There is not so much that connects us: very different goals in Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar. We lack unity here. - Graduate Seed, 2008, Lahore.

India is more united on economic development, less split by cultural issues. Whereas in Pakistan there is no single unifying theme for us. - Graduate Seed, 2008, Lahore.

One of the Seeds interviewed reiterated her conception of “Seeds of Peace Lahore”, to refer to the activities of Seeds of Peace in Pakistan. It was very important for her to dissociate the fact that Seeds of Peace operates in the country of Pakistan but that it does not represent or include all of Pakistan. In her eyes, the organization is Seeds of Peace Lahore, not Seeds of Peace Pakistan. The geographical differences are such that it is impossible – without having a proper presence in Peshawar, Quetta, and Islamabad – to effectively talk about a national program.

The ethnic rivalry naturally stems beyond the youth and has a real impact on national politics. Punjabis, Baluchis, Sindhis, and Pashtuns are geographically separated, and the communities are fairly clearly demarcated. The provinces have been structured around these four main ethnic groups, each of which is characterized by a variety of sub-groups based on ethno-linguistic, occupational and caste divisions, including religious differences. Any initiative going against these natural demarcations is a step in the right direction for opening up a space for youth – within these distinct ethnic groups – to communicate amongst each other.

RADICALIZATION OF YOUTH?

The Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) has carried out a series of reports and studies on radicalization in Pakistan, including the perceptions of youth towards such radicalization 31 . Recognizing that radicalization of youth has emerged as a global phenomenon, PIPS has strived to highlight gaps in information and knowledge. The data collected by PIPS shows that:

 For the urban educated youth, religion plays a vital role and religious diversity enriches their life. Only a minority of this youth considered that religious diversity was harmful for Pakistan’s unity.  Although traditional attitudes about women’s representation in society prevailed (notably regarding the wearing of an Islamic dress code), a large proportion of respondents believed that women had the same rights as men, confirming discussions led with Lahori youth who saw gender equality as one of the achievements of their generation.  On security, most responded that Pakistan should not support America’s war on terror, and identified the US as the main threat, before India or Al Qaeda.  Most believe that Islam does not allow actions such as suicide bombings, and that the Pakistani Taliban are not doing a service to Islam or to Pakistan.

The report concludes that the urban educated youth hold a clear preference for peaceful means to change, combining traditional and modern beliefs, with no demonstrated sympathy for extremists

31 Radicalization : Perceptions of the Educated Youth in Pakistan, A survey report by Pak Institute for Pece Studies (PIPS), September 2010.

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but perceptions of an American threat which require awareness and education Campaigns to contextualize the threats and detach them from personal contacts at a societal level. The positive developments on gender issues, and the access to independent electronic media, are two of the key positive evolutions also recorded amongst the youth interviewed by our research in Lahore.

PARTICIPATORY CONFLICT ANALYSIS

The workshop was led at one of the LGS Boys schools, partner of Seeds of Peace for many years. Participants were a mix of Seeds and non-Seeds, all from the same grades, between 14 and 16 years of age. The purpose of this workshop was to seek to facilitate dialogue, engagement and interaction between the participants on two key themes – a) Conflict and b) Peace building.

PART ONE: UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEXT IN THE SOCIETY What is conflict? What are root causes of conflict?

The discussions naturally looked internally at issues within Pakistani society – whether Seeds or non- Seeds, none of them mentioned the regional conflict with India or Afghanistan, or any international conflict. This was a main finding of this workshop.

Instead participants focused on economic and religious conflict. They came back to the issue of what values their society upholds, and then what conflict stems from these values. “Our society is not one society; it depends on your status. Lower and middle strata will place a lot of importance on religious values, while upper classes will place most value on money and influence” said one of the participants, a non-Seed but who had participated in Seeds events.

The common trait underlined by all, as a common denominator of Pakistani society, was religion. But an in-depth discussion of religious beliefs led to sub-categorizations and sub-groups, with conflicts between these groups. Upper class with more liberal ideas were opposed to more traditional rural families with conservative religious ideas; then religious differences were based in turn on ethnic and geographic differences.

Table 1: Conflict Issues Identified by Seeds and Non Seeds in Lahore Group 1 Group 2 Group 3

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Interfaith Economic disparities/classes Economic

Sectarian Religious, ethnic violence Sectarian violence

National Provincial conflicts Intolerance towards minorities

Economic Criminality Gun culture

Gender Gender-based violence Radicalization

Table 2: Roots of conflict identified by participants, Lahore Group 1 Group 2 Group 3

Lack of rule of law Lack of interaction and social Disparity in wealth & education mobility

Ignorance Biased sources and systems of Lack of trust between citizens information

Misinterpretation of blasphemy laws Dogmatic & traditional cultural Corruption and religious beliefs and mindsets

Biased media information Illiteracy Using violent means to achieve aims

Power cult Tyranny of the majority

Table 3: Consequences of conflict identified by participants, Lahore Group 1 Group 2 Group 3

Disillusionment with the democratic Spread of crime and corruption Criminality / Gun culture system

Social & economic differences Religious, ethnic violence Sectarian violence leading to more discrimination

Creation of geographic divides Violence and oppression of Intolerance towards minorities / minorities and women radicalization

Lack of basic necessities Corruption

PART TWO UNDERSTANDING THE ATTITUDES, PERCEPTIONS and BEHAVIOURS The Conflict Tree

In a developing country prone to internal conflict, what can peace mean, and how can it be tackled? The Pakistani youth in this workshop kept talking about “in developing countries like ours”, coming back to the questions of hierarchy between countries and economic development. Their emphasis on economic and social development was a way of addressing some of the causes and consequences

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of conflict – meaning lack of education, illiteracy, lack of basic services. To answer our question, one of them said “We need to establish the link between peace and the every day life of people; we are pretending to be passionate about Kashmir but we are not really concerned by that conflict region. What we care about is the economic and social roots of conflict at home”.

Interestingly, participants had a hard time identifying the conflict. This comes back to what one of them was saying during the focus group “if Seeds of Peace wants to discuss the Kashmir conflict, they should bring people from the actual conflict. It’s not us in Lahore or Mombai, in our schools, who are faced with conflict”.

After a group discussion the conflicts identified were:

- Conflict as clash of ideas and ideologies o The national repercussion being interfaith clash, sectarian, ethnic, feudal, economic, institutional and provincial conflicts o The reasons named being: apathy, hopelessness, individualism, ignored, biased sources, dogmatic beliefs, misinterpretation of laws o These could be solved by: implementation of laws, empowering the judiciary, empowering NGOs, exchanging ideas, protection people’s rights and minority’s rights – rule of law.

- Conflict as a process or event when violent means are used to settle a problem or to reach an objective o These violent means should be identified and isolated . E.g. of the prevalent gun culture in Pakistan and in Lahore . E.g. of the violence in schools

- Three roots, causes and potential factors for change: o Legal solutions o Media’s involvement o Education

The word cloud below highlights the key words and concepts that came up frequently in the conversation when discussing “conflict in Pakistan” from the eyes of the youth.

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Figure 1: Word Cloud of Participatory Discussion on Conflict between male Seeds and non-Seeds in Lahore, Pakistan, March 2013

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PART THREE: WHAT ARE THE POTENTIALS FOR PEACE & CHANGE? How to mitigate the causes and consequences of conflict?

“Old trees have not been able to bring about change” – citation from a workshop participant referring to the role of adults in the peace-building process, and the opportunity for the youth to bring about change.

As part of the solutions to peace and change, the participants identified the following key actors (table 4) with an emphasis on empowering the justice system and legal institutions, and NGOs, working through the social media, bringing schools together and using the power of trade and business, and economic interests, to settle conflicts. “The conflict has changed – now we have economic sanctions, educational restrictions in college admissions as the new face of the conflict with the US – these are what we should fight against. The economy is the new face of the conflict event at an international level”.

Regarding youth’s role in this process, this is what participants had to say: - We should fight the marginalization of youth in a lot of issues and areas. We should make a list of ways in which the youth has retaliated, make a list of the best initiatives led by Youth. - Bring a sense of unity between schools by involving different schools in activities, sharing experiences, lessons learned, giving training and support, - Solve the problem of SoP’s seclusion as an NGOs by creating stronger partnerships between schools and SoP, but also with other NGOs, - Advertise the registration of SoP as a Pakistani NGO to defy stereotypes of an American NGO

Table 4: Actors in conflict identified by the participants, Lahore By ALL

Government

Justice system and legal institutions

NGOs

Media

Schools

People, families, parents

Businessmen

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SEEDS OF PEACE PROGRAMMING IN PAKISTAN

What is Seeds of Peace in Pakistan and who are the youth Seeds of peace can work with? Overwhelmingly, whether Seeds or non-Seeds, the youth the research team spoke to felt that older people have a tendency in Pakistan to indoctrinate young people with their view of the world and their view of what should be done. They underlined an imagination and creative energy that adults lack but that the youth has and that can be used as a resource. So, when discussing leadership and change in societies disrupted by violent conflict, there are risks and opportunities. The risk is that the systems or cultural ways keep young people in their place – meaning under adults, having to listen to what they are told and not feeling like they have a say or a potential to impact alternative decisions. The opportunity, however, is that this conflict between generations can be avoided if youth are engaged with as partners. It is an opportunity for young people and adults to experiment with new approaches together. Successful examples of Seed-led initiatives, outside of Seeds of Peace, such as RABTT and the History Project, are testaments to this existing potential. Recognizing the need to create greater Seed – SOP staff linkage is particularly important for Seeds of Peace if the organization wants to ensure that it prevents its own internal conflict from disrupting its programming. Pakistan is in a unique position in the South Asian context to pilot an effective system of Seed – Staff partnership, given that it is in many ways – structurally and programmatically – ahead of its Afghan and Indian counterparts. To understand how Seeds can be better integrated in the Seeds of Peace programming – from its design to its implementation and follow-up – this section will give an overview of the current Seeds of Peace programming in Pakistan’s strengths, weaknesses and opportunities, as highlighted through the stakeholder conversations led in Lahore.

SEEDS OF PEACE: WHAT IS THE STRATEGY IN PAKISTAN & IN SOUTH ASIA?

Although Seeds of Peace has a strategic plan for its 2012-2015 programmatic growth and impact – which the main report for South Asia extensively refers to – an operational strategy for Pakistan is missing. There are contradictory views of what Seeds of Peace should be about. One of the spectrum highlighted by the country director being that “ultimately, the dialogue should be between countries, so we need to continue doing that after Camp, as an organization-managed initiative”, while others were less specific in mentioning that “Seeds of Peace is an organization that seeks to solve conflict through people-to-people interactions, whether internal, regional or international conflicts”. Although a lack of consensus appears on the organization’s strategy, there are other issues that all respondents agreed on: First, all agreed that the connection between Seeds is not led by the organization but by individuals, at a personal level. Seeds of Peace stops being relevant for Graduate Seeds who find it difficult to find their place within the organization’s programming, and to feel at home within the organization. Second, all agreed on the lack of information on Seeds of Peace activities in Afghanistan and India. The lack of information sharing and channels of communications has meant that the Pakistan programs work in isolation. As such, if the strategy is to create dialogue between countries, how can the organization effectively achieve this aim without a proper – and constant – internal dialogue? When asked “what do you know about Seeds of Peace activities in Afghanistan and India?”, the answer was “nothing, we don’t know about what goes on there”.

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Third, the absence of SoP activity between Afghanistan and Pakistan clearly orients the regional programming to a Pakistani-Indian programming solely, in reality. Cross-border is therefore turned towards the east, with an inexistent interaction on the western side of the regional conflict. SEEDS OF PEACE PAKISTAN, OR SEEDS OF PEACE LAHORE?

One of the interviewees – a Graduate Seed – referred to “Seeds of Peace Lahore”. This was the first time the research team was hearing a reference to the city rather than the country – until then whether from staff or other Seeds, the reference was SoP Pakistan. But in the end, is the current situation and programming better understood if Lahore is used as a point of reference? Acknowledging the geographic focus of the program can lead to more creative soul searching and strategic decision-making.

Seeds of Peace, in recent years, has been attempting to address provincial tensions (through its first National Integration Camp), the rise of fundamentalism and extremism (through interfaith events such as the Interfaith Harmony Camp) – these two sets of events having been noted by the research team as the most context relevant given our analysis of the internal conflict. The Voices of People has also been an instrumental mechanism through which Seeds can work together to target issues of relevance to youth – recent examples in Pakistan have included a documentary on the drug issue among the youth in Pakistan (uploaded on the SoP website32), while other people covered less central issues (less related to conflict at least) with documentaries on the beauty of Lahore. In 2011, one team travelled to India as part of a Voices of People bi-national conference where a delegation from Pakistan was represented and asked to make another documentary on people’s perceptions of Pakistan and of Muslims. Looking at the other side of inner sense covered begging, given that many little children have to beg in the streets of Pakistan with the involvement of a mafia around that.

On the margins of these main events, Seeds of Peace in Lahore also holds mock parliament events as a long-standing event and an outreach program to assist under-privileged communities. In 2013, there was one such event with a fundraising activity on behalf of SOS Village carnival.

Discussion with staff and Seeds alike on the potential geographic expansion of programs outside of Lahore was discussed, with advantages and disadvantages to be considered. As raised by a staff member “one of the criticisms we get is that after 13 years of presence in Pakistan, why only in Lahore? Why not select Pakistani youth from other cities? The last time we had this discussion internally, the conclusion was that we are not ready to expand in India so we cannot expand in Pakistan. But if India does not expand in the next 10 years does that mean that we will not expand either?”. Expansion was a top priority for the country director in Pakistan. “Our thinking works cross- border. But what about expanding internally first? Let’s expand to cities in Lahore, so that we can have our Seeds go there, with more frequent exchanges; whereas trips to other regions would be more logistically complex, having to be overnight and more expensive. Even bringing Seeds to Camp from Islamabad, having cohesion of groups pre-Camp would take some time; logistically would be a problem”.

However, there are two sides to this issue of expansion. It may require more investment and resources, however, it is also more likely that donors will more readily fund greater outreach programs than a Lahore-based programming.

RESOURCES OF SOP IN PAKISTAN

32 “We go around interviewing psychologists, druggies, some people who take drugs in the youth, we interviewed people who have druggie friends, we went to drug free association Pakistan. One writer, one videographer and one photographer in each group.” – Voices of the People participant, Lahore.

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Logistical obstacles – a real problem? Lack of resources and logistical constraints came up often in interviews with staff on the reasons for a lack of further SoP activities. However, it is like looking at a glass half empty. Logistics can be taken care of as they are not insurmountable problems, to the contrary. The lack of funds is a consequence rather than a cause. It is the consequence of a lack of strategic planning and vision. If the vision is there, funds can easily be found for a country like Pakistan – so there should no longer be a “no follow-up” after important events especially on religious tolerance, the key priority in Pakistani society at the moment.

“Over the next few years we should be focusing on follow up program on religious tolerance. Our most recent interfaith programming was in December 2012, unfortunately, we could not follow-up on it due to a lack of resources – we did not think much about it ahead of time, and we ended not having funds for that. The logistics, transportation was going to cost us something and it was not manageable at that point. But this year I intend to use money for follow-up for this purpose, at least with 1 follow-up meeting.” - Seeds of Peace Pakistan staff member

SOP’s strongest asset: the Seeds Any organization – public or private, profit or non-profit – should first ask and know what its assets and resources are to achieve aim and to have sustainable progress. Here, the Seeds are the biggest resource of the organization. SOP needs to utilize all three categories while recent programming has shown that it is mainly young junior Seeds, who want to return to Camp as PS or who recently returned to Camp, and non-Seeds, such as associate members, who attend events. Sometimes, events are even attended by larger numbers of associate members than actual Seeds.

“Yesterday at the charity event we had 3 Seeds and 5 associate members.” - SOS Village charity event, March 2013

“We have been working on a strategic policy for the past 2 years – with the visions of junior Seeds, Seeds and grad Seeds. We try to delineate the programs according to which generation of Seeds there are. But overall, if I talk about 2010, yes the programs were more or less the same (monthly meetings, interfaith event…). But I could see that 2011 and 2012 were different – what is the impact of the grammar competition, should we continue with this? What about the impact of the interfaith harmony Camp, can we bring more novelty to it? - Seeds of Peace Pakistan, country director

SOP has worked on transferring skills to senior Seeds who are now heading different events, telling junior Seeds how to lead posts, as counselors and facilitators, at the national and interfaith harmony Camps, for instance. These are examples of good practices, but they remain limited. However, in general, junior Seeds regretted not seeing more graduate and senior Seeds at the Seeds of Peace office or at events, feeling a gap between them instead of being led to learn from each other.

Is Seeds of Peace Pakistan effectively including all its Seeds in its programming? The need to develop a balanced three-pronged approach: Graduate Seeds – who are now professionals Senior Seeds – who are ending their education, transition phase Junior Seeds – high school, still deciding what to do

To understand the roots of the problem, all three categories of Seeds were interviewed. As a common base in their frustration of the lack of interaction and inclusion of sufficient numbers of graduate Seeds and senior Seeds were the following three issues:

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1. The lack of a conducive environment: Inadaptability of the Seeds of Peace office set-up Seeds mentioned not feeling at ease in the new Seeds of Peace office location. When compared to other NGOs visited in Lahore (for example the Institute for Peace and Strategic Studies), Seeds of Peace looks more like a business than a youth-based organization. The corporate set-up has the advantage of providing an efficient and professional atmosphere, however, it lacks the human feel that would make teenagers and young adults feel welcome and feel ‘at home’.

“The SOP office doesn’t work, first because the hours are the country director’s part-time hours, not students’ hours. I have to be in college until 5PM. The office needs to be treated differently, we need to be able to meet there in the evenings.” – Graduate Seed & University student, 2008, Lahore

“The office space is not conducive to engagement with Seeds. Camp is an amazing place, and environment to be exposed to new ideas. You want that through your entire life. When you get back, it is difficult to make things happen, a sense of inertia rather than dynamism in Pakistan. We need to focus now on the local – comprehensively, with provincial, religious, cultural issues. But we need dialogue to do that – dialogue in one space that we can call our own, where we can feel comfortable to brainstorm and come up with ideas, together.” - Senior Seed, 2002, Lahore

What is the venue lacking? Responses from Seeds  Books  Movies  Music  Poetry  Information  Posters  Sitting  Talking  Brainstorming  Energy  Flexible office hours  A friendly & welcoming environment

2. Seeds of Peace: run as an NGO or as a company? Although it is very true that businesses are better regarded than NGOs in Pakistan, as highlighted in the context analysis earlier on in this paper, the culture of a non-profit and non-governmental organization has to remain visible. The current registration of Seeds of Peace Pakistan as a separate entity with the government of Pakistan and the constitution of an executive board have concentrated responsibilities in the hand of one person – instead of delegating responsibilities to a team of like-minded individuals. One of the reasons is the lack of resources preventing Seeds of Peace from having an operational team. However, one response is to rely on a “free asset”, the Seeds, to overcome this gap. This answer has in part been brought through the Seeds Leadership

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Committee, set up to allow for Seeds to engage with decisions and participate in activity planning. However, in practice, Seeds feel that the power remains in the hand of one executive director, who is both the country director and the head of the executive board. This duplication of responsibilities not only adds too much on one person’s shoulders (especially a part-time staff member) but also concentrates the essential decision-making powers in one person, which is not conducive to change.

3. Management of funds Coming back to the issues of resources and logistical obstacles, as well as concentration of responsibilities to one person, a correlated issue the research team found out about is the issue of funds management and disbursement. All small organizations face similar challenges: providing a clear accounting structure, rational budget and procurement processes, when human resources are lacking. Such instances were highlighted during the research team’s visit to Pakistan – they are important to discuss as they can lead to greater efficiency in the use of existing resources and lesser mismanagement of funds as a key objective for Seeds of Peace Pakistan.

For example, the 2010 mock parliament budget included a request for 10,000 Pakistani rupees for the provision of a generator for electricity purposes for the orientation and 2.5 day event. However, the premises in which the event was organized, namely the Forman Christian College grounds, was already equipped with such alternative energy power, and ready to provide it for free to Seeds of Peace. Such mistakes can lead to funds mismanagement – small expenses adding up can divert funds from follow-up programs that have not yet been conducted due to limited budgetary resources.

Greater transparency and better funds management can be ensured through a closer link between NY and Pakistan offices, trainings in budget and procurement processes, and with external audits. On this note, Seeds are ready to help. Many of the graduate Seeds are now studying economics and accounting at university, working in private companies and non-profit organizations, and have hence acquired skills that can be of use for the daily management and operations of the organization. A thorough skills review of graduate Seeds should be undertaken to highlight bridges that can be made and input that Seeds can have on the current functioning of the organization.

As one university student and graduate Seed explained:

Older Seeds need to be better utilized. We all do jobs and have learned skills that can be useful for SoP. We manage our own non-profit initiatives, and we work in well-functioning businesses. A handover to Seeds needs to happen. Older Seeds can even become donors – we have the resources to contribute in many different ways. We should have annual alumni dinners with a 4-5 hour program to discuss how we can contribute, through an open conversations of the strengths and weaknesses of SoP Pakistan.

- Graduate Seed, 2010

To lighten the burden of responsibilities, SoP could split managerial and programming responsibilities to have someone running the office and a Seed running the creative programmatic component. Seeds may not have the ambition to head an NGO in Pakistan, but they would be willing to head, part-time, the operational component. A dual team structure should be designed so that we have a real creative program thought by the youth.

- Graduate Seed, 2008, Lahore

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UNTAPPED POTENTIAL & SEEDS-LED INITIATIVES To what extent is Seeds of Peace still relevant in Seeds’ lives as they grow older? Now that Seeds of Peace is a separate legal entity with its own executive board, with a representation of 3 graduate Seeds on the board, there is an opportunity to influence change – however, this remains limited, in reality. There are good projects – interfaith Camps – but some of the most visible and impactful projects are Seeds-led initiatives. Two recent examples are:

1. The History Project, an idea which originated with the previous coordinator in India, it is now a Global Change makers Project, with Seeds of Peace funds covering under 1/3 of the costs. Three Graduate Seeds prepared one book of history with all the sides of history from Pakistan and India to highlight the biased and censored content, countering the media bias. The Seeds went to Mumbai in April 2013 to launch the book and visit Indian schools to engage in dialogue, critical thinking and discussions around the objectives and content of this project. The Wall Street Journal, the Times of India, and the Diplomat, among others, covered this story as an example of a unique peace building initiative.

2. Enlighten Pakistan project (www.enlightenpak.org), an initiative that evaluated textbooks in Pakistan from kindergarten to grade 10 and looked for inaccuracies – for example, on the addition of religion in physics concepts. A report with policy recommendations to improvement textbooks was released and shared with the Ministry of Education for direct impact. This was complemented by workshop Campaigns until 2011, with groups of 10 people who came back to Pakistan, visited schools, and shared the key findings from the report. The initiative also funded other student projects in Pakistan, outside of Lahore.

3. RABTT (http://rabtt.org/), which literally means ‘connection’ in Urdu, is a voluntary youth association, Seed-founded and Seed-led, that organizes summer schools with government school students, with children who are more embedded in Pakistani society, unlike Seeds who are part of a cosmopolitan global culture. RABTT provides training for 40 children every summer, teaching them about social entrepreneurship and leadership skills. The participants are then encouraged to come up with their own initiatives, such as for example an initiative to clean up streets in less privileged neighborhoods of Lahore. As a testament of its success and potential to impact, RABTT received in 2013 the Omidyar Grant for Entrepreneurship in South Asia by the South Asia Institute at Harvard University. As the website details, “The grant aims to assist projects and organizations looking at entrepreneurial solutions to social and economic problems in South Asia. A 5-member team of Harvard graduate students will be travelling to Lahore to work on different aspects of the Rabtt summer Camps and year- long workshops.”

UNTAPPED POTENTIAL & LACK OF PARTNERSHIPS Seeds of Peace is well known in partner schools – but how far does its outreach extend in Lahore? The research team found that there is very limited outreach:

- The type of schools invited is part of a cluster of private schools. Although the coverage is becoming more diverse, the diversity of schools is still limited.

- The lack of networking with other non-profit and non-governmental organizations, whether youth-based movements or NGOs working on the Pakistani-Indian conflict.

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Although one of the strategic aims of Seeds of Peace is to gather like-minded organizations to work together towards the goal of achieving peace through youth leadership, on the ground, Seeds of Peace in Pakistan works in isolation from other actors. This is in part due to the Pakistani context of competition between organizations and competition over funds. However, such hurdles can be overcome.

As part of the assessment, the research team met with other actors working with youth and working on peace. Interviews led with IPSS33 and ARS, two conflict resolution organizations in Lahore, highlighted the gap between these organizations and SoP, and the doubts that they voiced regarding the impact and decisions of Seeds of Peace. Their criticisms, in a nutshell, are on:

1. Programmatic choices: “you are spending so much on children but you do not follow-up with them, they come to see us for activities”, “we can save money by taking them to a Camp in the region, to Nepal for example, where neither Indian nor Pakistani children have any visa requirement”, “at a time of limited NGO funding, it is a mismanagement of funds to spend so much money on sending children to Maine; whereas with the same amount of money more follow-up activities could be organized in the region and in country”.

2. Management style: “Most NGOs have corporate offices, no interaction with the actual people they work with on their premises, they are not grassroots organization and SoP suffers from this as well”; “I have been trying to locate the SoP office but I have had zero contact with them. I don’t know where the office is although some Seeds have been volunteering with us”.

3. Communications & branding: “I only know that you take kids from India and Pakistan to somewhere in the US. A lot of questions raised on the sheer reason for them to go to the US – it is a huge cost, you could cover hundreds when the border from Lahore is just 25 miles.”; “What is the purpose? What is the agenda?”. There is confusion on what SoP is and what its goals are in Pakistan – an obstacle to potential partnerships with local NGOs. As an example, IPSS has brochures and many posters, a website (www.peaceandsecularstudies.org), a Facebook and Twitter account, that allows its leadership to be transparent about its activities, nurture interactive feedback and participation, in the form of writing and essay contests, poster design competitions, petitions, open mic events, and a Pakistan-India youth peace festival. IPSS mentioned being interested in collaborating with SoP to support small initiatives to take children to India, and have home stays in Pakistan, however, no discussions have been led to date.

Complementarity or lack thereof? ARS is another GNO working on India-Pakistan relations for 40 years. ARS has established a Peace Institute with courses and training on peace and conflict, and a Institute of Women’s studies with a 3-month course. Their focus is on women – with the position that women are those who suffer the most, are the most vulnerable, in conflict. Given that class, gender and caste play a big role in peace, ARS supports the cause of minorities and women. The organization now works on sectarian violence, national struggles, land conflicts, regional and international conflicts, through a conflict mapping. Every 4 to 5 months, ARS tracks potential conflicts and attempts to anticipate conflicts with a methodology at 4 levels: i. People who come into our program from conflict areas every 3 months. ii. Our own teams who spend time wherever there is a conflict on fact finding missions, iii. Records of newspapers

33 IPSS is one of the first volunteer-led NGOs working on improving Pakistan-India relations through people-to-people interactions. The focus is on India and on youth.

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iv. District coordinators that send us monthly reports.

A rapid assessment would indicate that the goals of ARS and SoP can be complementary: SoP focuses on youth while ARS focuses on women – there can be a useful bridge to tackle gender issues, to obtain training from ARS, and have Seeds involved on supporting ARS activities and sharing their experiences.

However, not all partnerships can be relevant. IPSS has an activism component, with marches and demonstrations, that Seeds of Peace, or its donors, might not want to associate themselves with. As such, partnership opportunities will needed to be properly assessed and thought through – however, this first starts with a thorough mapping of stakeholders in Lahore, creating an initial network to engage with like-minded organizations to discuss the potentiality of collaboration.

Last but not least, some other strengths and weaknesses were highlighted by Seeds in their interviews, and are provided here in bullet point format straight from the Seeds to the management:

Negative aspects:  Need to increase the frequency of programs  We should not to be informed at the last minute by email. It has to be better planned, and more personal, if they want to have higher numbers and wider range of attendees.  Need to address the burden of representing our country  Lack of social, economic and geographical diversity  Lack of preparation before Camp. “The role of delegation leaders and peer support (PS) should be to prepare us better. But Delegation Leaders (DLs) are very often narrow minded.”  The selection of staff is weak  Events should be volunteer-based, “from our pool of Seeds. If the answer is that Seeds are not volunteering, then there means there is a problem between the organization and its Seeds.”  The Selection process is unclear: o We need more inclusion of schools and others in the process o Inclusion of Seeds in the selection process o It should be more comprehensive. . They should try to judge better each child’s motivation – one of the Seeds in 2011 slept during the whole 3 weeks in dialogue! He took someone else’s spot. . We should be asked to write essays on the news, more critical analysis essays . The general knowledge quiz is not a comprehensive way of selecting Seeds!  Limited number of people in 1 delegation o 10 people, what can you do with 10 people per year? o Especially when half drop out after Camp o So follow-up should not be limited to Seeds after Camp since the others can be made familiar too with what we have seen and learned . Need to go to other provinces o The diversity in other delegations is not present in our delegation . We need diversity to make an impact in our home society . And we need bigger numbers

Strengths and Opportunities:  The Interfaith harmony Camp was very good but 3 days is too short!

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 We should include not only Hindus, Sikhs and Christians but also Shiites and Sunnis to cover the internal sectarian conflict  The pre-selection of Seeds can be used as a platform so that those who were not selected for Camp should still have an important role to play – they were strong candidates, so let’s not drop the ball with them. Only because they didn’t go to Maine is not an excuse not to invest in them.  Mentoring in government schools - Lashkare Taiba comes from SPunjab, not from Lahore Grammar School! We need to increase awareness in other schools. We could go to Deira Ismail Khan and speak to them, go to public schools, have mentorship programs, school visit programs…nothing right now on this is being done by SOP.  We need a mentorship program Older/Younger Seeds The internal resources are huge, for example Qasim, Ayaz, Fahad, Tooba.  Using new technology to get beyond the “logistical problems” Example of the use now of webinars between schools  There is a missed opportunity with pre-selected Seeds…and an over reliance these days on Associate Members. It is good but there also needs to be some selection process to become an Associate Members, it shouldn’t just be open to anyone, we need some minimum standards. Example: first include the pre-selected Seeds, then select others. We need to know they are responsible enough and not just for an additional line on their college application.  “Young people are the future” - What if they are the future of SoP as well as an organization? We have to look at a transition phase and split responsibilities: management to professional adults, creative and programmatic decisions with Seeds and the youth.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ahmed, K. (2012), “Two kinds of Islamophobia”, as part of Cartoons and Minarets: Reflections on Muslim-Western Encounters, for the Heinrich Böll Stiftung.

British Council (2009) “Pakistan: The Next Generation”. Hou, X. (2011) “Challenges for Youth Employment in Pakistan – Are they Youth-Specific”, Policy research working paper 5544, The World Bank South Asia Region Human Development Unit. Iqbal, S. (2012) “Exploring Political Attitude among Educated Youth: A Study at the University of Sargodha”, published in Social Sciences and Humanities Vol. 3, No. 3, November 2012. Majidi, N. (2009) “A Research Study on cross-border population movements between Afghanistan and Pakistan”, for Altai consulting, commissioned by UNHCR Afghanistan, Kabul. Mezeera, M. & Aftab, S. (2009) “Pakistan State-Society Analysis”, published as part of the Democratization and Transitional Justice Cluster – Country Case Study: Pakistan, Netherlands Institute of International Relations. Pak Institute for Peace Studies (2010) “Radicalization : Perceptions of the Educated Youth in Pakistan », A survey report by the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), September 2010. The World Bank (2011), “Pakistan Economic Update”, Poverty reduction, economic management, finance and private sector development, SAR, June 2011. UNDP (2012) “Institutional and Context Analysis Guidance Note”, Democratic Governance, United Nations Development Program. UNICEF (2012) “Situational Analysis of children and women in Pakistan”, National Report, June 2012, Pakistan.

Websites http://www.enlightenpak.org http://rabtt.org http://www.peaceandsecularstudies.org http://www.britishcouncil.org http://www.lb.boell.org http://youthexperia.blogspot.com http://www.youthparliament.org.pk http://www.pya.org.pk http://www.pyo.org.pk http://www.iyfnet.org/country/Pakistan https://www.facebook.com/yclahore http://www.brandsynario.com/marketing-society/individual-pakistan-youth-movement.aspx http://www.pyca.org.uk/ http://nayyab.wordpress.com/2010/03/20/youth-can-bring-change-in-pakistan http://www.yesnetworkpakistan.org/need-of-yes/pakistan-a-home-of-disengaged-youth

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2. India Country Context

101 Seeds of Peace South Asia Program (India) Samuel Hall

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION 103

INDIA IN A SNAPSHOT 104

THE “YOUTH” IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT 104

INDIA THROUGH THE EYES OF THE YOUTH IN MUMBAI 106 POLITICAL CONTEXT IN INDIA 106 SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTEXT 108 CULTURAL ISSUES 110

INDIA, ITS YOUTH AND ITS BORDERS 110 INDIA’S FOREIGN POLICY 110 FOREIGN POLICY AND THE YOUTH 111 RELATIONS WITH PAKISTAN 111 RELATIONS WITH AFGHANISTAN 113

THE LIFE OF A 15 YEAR OLD IN MUMBAI 117 CONTEXT OF ENVIRONMENT 117 RELATIONSHIP WITH TEACHERS 117 RELATIONSHIP WITH PARENTS 117 WHAT IS TAUGHT IN SCHOOLS 118

COUNTRY DYNAMICS AND THE PLACE OF YOUTH IN THE CONTEXT 119 ROLE OF THE MEDIA 119 LACK OF AWARENESS AND CONSEQUENT APATHY 119 YOUTH PARTICIPATION 120 PATHS TO INFLUENCE AND CHANGE IN INDIA 122

PARTICIPATORY CONFLICT ANALYSIS 123 IDENTIFYING THE CONFLICT 123 IDENTIFYING THE ROOTS OF THE CONFLICT 126 IDENTIFYING THE CONSEQUENCES OF CONFLICT 126 IDENTIFYING THE ACTORS WHO PLAY A ROLE IN A CONFLICT 127 POTENTIAL OF IMPACT AND CHANGE 128

THE CONTEXT AND SEEDS OF PEACE 129 SEEDS OF PEACE OBJECTIVE 129 SEEDS OF PEACE AND THE INDIAN CONTEXT 130 THE SEEDS EXPERIENCE 132 GAPS IN PROGRAMMING 133 OPPORTUNITIES 134

102 Seeds of Peace South Asia Program (India) Samuel Hall

INTRODUCTION India: the world’s largest democracy, second most populous country and tenth largest economy. Nestled amongst some of the World’s most intractable geopolitical conflicts, India is country at odds with itself; at once a beacon of democracy and free-market capitalism, and at the same time mired by an uncomfortable colonial legacy that has left India locked in perpetual conflict with Pakistan. The ripples of Indian culture, from Bollywood to fashion, are felt throughout Asia and the West, and migrant communities from India live in all corners of the globe. India also hosts some of the fastest growing IT and telecommunications companies and media outlets. In almost every respect, India is truly connected to the rest of the World. With some of the finest educational institutions in South Asia, India attracts students from a wide range of neighboring countries, and many of its students find their ways into Britain and America’s top universities. Yet as the educated and professional classes become wealthier, India’s poorest people languish in some of the World’s worst living conditions with little hope of breaking the mold. In addition, as unemployment soars, many young people are looking for new opportunities in foreign countries like America and the UK. The purpose of this context analysis is to paint a picture of India to inform Seeds of Peace programming for their South Asia Program. This report will explore a number of important themes including: political participation, leadership, conflict, youth, advocacy, change, influence and peace building. The role of young people within these areas varies depending on their background, socio- economic status and even, to a certain extent, religion. Notably, young people in India, especially in Mumbai, are far more engaged with cultural activities and the corporate world than they are with politics. At the heart of India’s vibrant cultural scene is a generation of new, young and inspired artists from all walks of life. In business too, young people are driving change and innovation in new and exciting markets. Yet paradoxically, India shows another face altogether when it comes to politics. Family networks, patrimony and nepotism are rife – because of this, many young people are simply turning away from politics and looking for expression in other areas, both cultural and commercial. Mumbai, where Seeds of Peace programming is currently active, is in many ways an example of India at its best - a thriving commercial hub, gateway to the seas and the west, a cosmopolitan city, detached from the political influence and torpor of Delhi and the embroiled conflict of Kashmir. Bollywood is largely responsible for Mumbai’s cultural status, but the youth have played an important role too as the architects, importers and exporters of cultural and sub-cultural memes from all over the world. However, even Mumbai has its problems. Neighbor to a highly volatile state and victim of multiple terrorist attacks in the last decade, Mumbai is now grappling with problems of its own identity among its diverse population. From the point of view of conflict resolution and peace building, Mumbai therefore presents an interesting tapestry of domestic cleavages whose underlying issues have international resonance – like communal relations and security. For Seeds of Peace therefore, it becomes critical to understand the influences that work on the structures in society in India and in Mumbai specifically and how the youth negotiate these structures. Due to its vibrancy and a society in the process of change, opportunities where youth can find a niche for themselves are easily missed. This report will highlight how the difference between North India and South India is crucial for Seeds of Peace programming. It will also zoom in to the specifics of Mumbai as a city vis-à-vis Delhi and discuss themes of youth leadership and change.

103 Seeds of Peace South Asia Program (India) Samuel Hall

INDIA IN A SNAPSHOT India is located in South Asia bordered by Pakistan in the west, Nepal, Bhutan and China in the Northeast, Burma, Bangladesh in the East and Sri Lanka in the South. India’s diversity in religion, ethnicity and culture, and relative freedom of movement and speech are what has set the country apart from many of its neighbors. However, in the 21st Century, a number of these characteristics are being strained. India’s fast- growing economy and rapid population growth have brought unique challenges for governance, business regulation and security. India is lauded as the world’s largest democracy, yet Nobel economist and philosopher Amartya Sen tells us that India lags behind Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in health and malnutrition statistics, and that the poorest in India are on a par with sub- Saharan Africa34. Nevertheless, the last decade has witnessed innovative legislation in the country indicating a country struggling to move ahead step by step. The Right to Information Act gives more power to human rights defenders and ordinary people to question and oversee government decisions. The Forest Rights Act admitted centuries of injustice to adivasis (indigenous tribal Indians), virtually giving them back their forests35. The controversial Right to Education Act despite needing many changes, is a huge milestone for India’s children. In March 2010, a historic Bill was passed reserving 33 per cent of parliamentary seats for women. Female lawyers, doctors and politicians have always been around but now we are seeing more women in traditional male bastions, with a visible increase in female police officers, pilots and technical professionals. Yet, discrimination against women and cases of rape and domestic violence remain endemic in the country. Dignity of labor remains absent – having domestic servants is a regular norm and their mistreatment often the case. This behavior often exacerbates the economic divide between the rich and the poor, leaving the poor in contempt of the rich. Although India is a growing economy and hailed a success in many respects, it still suffers from endemic domestic issues as well as international conflicts that may have now become more significant for the future of the country than the Indo-Pak conflict. The ensuing sections of this report will focus on key issues within the realms of society, politics, economy and culture, that have been identified by the youth. The purpose of these sections is two- fold – to highlight the issues that youth say that they care about, and the context in which they negotiate these issues.

THE “YOUTH” IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT Who are the youth in India? In numbers, the question is as easy to define, as it is difficult to describe them from the point of view of socio-cultural landscape, attitudes and participation. According to a report released by UNHABITAT, every third person you meet in an Indian city today is a youth. It further projects that in about 7 years, the median age in India will be 29 years making it the youngest country in the world36. Based on the most recent numbers, approximately 430 million people in India are between the age groups of 15-34 years.

34 Mari Marcel Thekaekara, Country Profile: India, The New Internationalist, Issue 442, 1st May 2011 35 Idem 36 UNHABITAT, State of the Urban Youth, India 2012, Published in 2013

104 Seeds of Peace South Asia Program (India) Samuel Hall

To define them as a category is however challenging. There is no set criteria on who can be called a youth, much like in Afghanistan. Is a person still a youth if s/he is married at 23? Does being a youth apply to 25 year olds with children or is it only for those who are still ‘carefree’ – without any responsibilities, as is the general assumption in India of who a youth is? Such conundrums make it difficult to categorize youth into clearly defined limits. That being said, according to an IMF report, this growing young population in India can be a source of advantage for economic growth. What comes in the way of this, are perceptions that often in India, youth are often seen only if they are on two extreme spectrums of being either troublemakers or achieving excellence37. The idea of using them as a mass stable and consistent resource for the development of the country still hovers in the suburbs of policies38. One article sums up the state of addressing youth affairs by saying – “India's development policy has always acknowledged youth. But policy has always been for youth and not about them. Without a youth agency or a youth constituency, policy makers have largely confined themselves to pronouncements and tokenism39”.

India got independence in 1947 from the British. Since then it has been a period of a country coming into its own, speared quietly by the youth of the country. This period has seen its ups and downs and is still in the process of changing towards a modernizing society. Freshly independent, the 1950s, which began the five-year planning system in the country, saw the youth carry fervor of nationalism looking out for new opportunities of work and growth. This was quickly dispelled when the country was not able to provide employment opportunities to its educated youth in the 60s leading to the beginnings of the westward brain drain – a phenomenon that continued well until the 1990s when India opened its doors to trade and liberalization, under the leadership of then Finance Minister – Mr. Manmohan Singh, now the premier of the country. With the 1990’s liberalization came the ‘corporate call centre culture’ of the early 21st century. The biggest change that this brought about was that Indian youth, especially in urban cities found themselves with a decent source of income at young ages making them a heavy part of the consumer industry. India therefore entered the 21st century with tech-savvy young men and women who were educated and ambitious, whilst even those in the villages and rural areas looked towards the urban centres for greener pastures.

Now India boasts of a vibrant youth group in its urban areas, bright and ambitious, with new forms of media and information as well as opportunities to take them forward. This is the group – almost elite in themselves, which is targeted by Seeds of Peace in Mumbai. What this often hides however, is a layer of despair, stiff competition and a tussle for resources like vacancies in colleges40 and jobs that makes the life of a youth come under immense pressure at a nascent age41.

37 Ibid 38 UNHABITAT, State of the Urban Youth Report – 2012-2013 39 Idem 40 NORRIC, A report on the Education System of India, October 2006 41 The Hindustan Times, Exam Pressure leads to wave of suicides, Available at - http://www.hindustantimes.com/News- Feed/India/Exam-pressure-leads-to-wave-of-student-suicides/Article1-311920.aspx

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Key words INDIA THROUGH THE EYES Issues OF THE YOUTH IN MUMBAI Federal system Coalition Corruption 3.1 Political Context in India Hindutva

The Indian political system is based on a federal system comprising a Attitudes union government at the capital of the country and state governments Apathy in every state. Foreign policy and defense policy are portfolios handled Distance from by the union government sitting in New Delhi. To determine a link government between the government and its citizens in India is a complex task, even Weak foreign policy though it is a democracy. No single party for the last decade has been Weak links and ties able to acquire a sufficient majority in the parliament to be able to form a single-party government. The result is a coalition formed out of compromises and often actively forcing the government to go against the wishes of its citizens. Politics and youth in India meet in college and universities through student political parties that eventually lead to state and union level parties. However, it is important to highlight that there is a specific category of youth who form a part of such parties and eventually find a career in politics. Whilst no anthropological studies have been done, anecdotal evidence suggests that youth who come from well-off, non-political backgrounds would rarely consider a serious career in politics. This is indirectly linked also to a knowledge and action based attitude towards what the government is doing both in terms of domestic and international policies. This point will be clarified further in the report.

Political issues identified by youth as being relevant

Corruption When asked to identify the main political issue faced by India today, youth unanimously highlighted corruption as the main domestic political issue that manifests itself in every sphere of life – from the national to the individual level. One of the biggest problems or things that have been addressed on some level but not really effectively is corruption in the Indian political scenario – literally beyond a point where you just joke about everything. - AEISEC President, Mumbai Chapter, 22 years Youths consider corruption to be endemic in Indian politics. When asked about how they felt government corruption impacted their lives, responses were along the lines of: Because corruption does affect us at the end of the day. If your road is not fixed, it’s because a politician has taken 50% of the money that should have gone in constructing it. - Youth, 20 years Corruption was also noted as affecting the pro-activeness of people who could potentially do good for the country but cannot, because of the barriers posed at every level by corruption42. Youth interviewed felt that it was extremely pervasive to the point that it was almost accepted in Indian society. Only big scams amounting to millions of dollars were now considered worth reporting. Additionally, youth felt that there is no oversight or a complaints mechanism through which, corruption at the local level can be mitigated.

42 KII with AIESEC, Mumbai, Chapter March 2013

106 Seeds of Peace South Asia Program (India) Samuel Hall

Corruption however, was just not a political issue for the youth. It manifests itself at various levels – at the individual, at the community level and in commercial and cultural realms as well. Lets not limit corruption to the political sector of India, It is quite pervasive in every single way. For example – before I went on my exchange program to Romania, I had to get my Passport done – took 2 months and had to bribe 5 people to get it done quickly. - AEISEC student, 19 years

My mom is the secy of our housing society and to get the property card that you need to use to pay the tax for the society, we’ve still not got it since 4 years. It is still in processing since then despite every single paper being given. The guy literally told my mom that just give me 80k and I’ll put your file through. And he said that you can pay it from your society funds etc. On multiple levels and multiple occasions, corruption is a problem and it really hinders proactive people from taking initiative. - Youth, 20 years When asked about the solutions to corruption, youth were able to report personal instances of not having succumbed to pay bribes. However, they were of the opinion that for a larger change to sweep the country, actors other than politicians, who were stalwarts in their field, needed to mobilize the nation to rid them of corruption. Leaders in India in the corporate sector, in the social sector and in other sectors, need to take an active part in shaping the direction in which the country is going and devote a certain part of their time to the progress of the nation. Youth, 19 years

Entry Barriers Many youths say that they are unable to enter politics because they do not have the right family connections. They say that opportunities are limited not because of a lack of them, but because the ones that are available are given to those who have connections. In practical terms, this means that most young people simply never try to engage with the political system. At the end of the day, its like the example of a friend of mine who started their own business. A lot of my friends who are really interested in these political issues would rather have their own business rather than be involved in politics - Youth, 20 years This has serious implications for the youth to develop an ability to challenge their position in India’s political realm. Not wanting to look inside, youth therefore start looking outside, for opportunities and expression. Not a loss to the youth, it is actually a loss to the country of the energy and creativity of its most important population group.

Political disenfranchisement History is full of examples of politically disengaged youths rioting – student riots in London about tuition fees, Egypt, Iran and more recently, the Arab spring. A volatile youth population can present challenges for a country. However, a passive youth, who have to some extent, found alternate modes of negotiating political space are more dangerous for a country in the long term. The daily impact of this leads to discouraging many young people from self-initiative and creative thinking. The main reason of this danger is the loosening of checks and balances on the work of the government that the passivity will bring in. Currently, the Government in India is considered to be so bureaucratic, distant and cumbersome that those who want to bring about change are forced to

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seek other means of expression. Parents themselves, actively discourage their children from participating in politics. Not wanting to join the government and politics is also compounded by other things – like your parents would much rather have you working somewhere or starting off your own company rather than taking an active part in politics. - AEISEC President, Pune Chapter, 24 years

I know that my parents would discourage me from taking up a political career. I know again that a lot of friends would have the same issue. - Youth, 22 years Whilst passivity is one characteristic aspect of India, key is to also highlight the existence of other factors in India that have induced youth in other countries to become disenfranchised and volatile. On this spectrum of passive and volatile, Indian youth, in terms of political issues, still lean strongly towards being passive observers rather than active participants. For social, economic and cultural realms, the story is different.

3.2 Socio-economic Context

Hostile to transnational corporations for the first half-century of its Key words independence, India opened up its economy to foreign direct investment in the mid-1990s and has achieved an average 7-per-cent Issues growth per year since, bouncing back quickly from the impact of the Security of Women financial crisis due to its vast internal market. The economy is Reservations for polarized between hi-tech computer industries and subsistence Scheduled castes and 43 agriculture – more than 50% of the workforce is still in agriculture. scheduled tribes Economic disparity is acutely visible in cities like New Delhi and Economic disparity and Mumbai where high-rise buildings and luxurious bungalows are in inequality stark juxtaposition to nearby slum areas. If religious, ethnic and sectarian diversity are added to this milieu, the ensuing result is a Attitudes portrait of a typical Indian city. India however, is a country of Aware paradoxes and unresolved tensions. A case in point – the national Desire to change holiday calendar of India lists out holidays of all religions – Eid, Christmas, and numerous Hindu religious holidays. However, just in the last decade, India has seen some of the worst forms of communal rioting in Gujarat, echoes of which can still be heard in the stories of surviving victims and political rhetoric. Below are the key issues that emerged in interviews with youth in the country.

Socio-economic issues that youths think are important

Communal Tensions Communal Harmony is a growing theme, which manifests itself in sectors like politics, international relations, terrorism and religion. Youth felt that in recent years, it was especially visible in Mumbai, the site for multiple bomb blasts in the last 2 decades. In 1992, the Mumbai Riots, in which almost 900 people died, brought Mumbai into the limelight of domestic and international terrorism. It is also one of the cities that reflect the most cosmopolitan culture in India – not as elitist and divided

43 Mari Marcel Thekaekara, Country Profile: India, The New Internationalist, Issue 442, 1st May 2011

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as Delhi and not as exclusive towards one religion like Varanasi (Hindu dominated) or Hyderabad (Muslim dominated). Perceptions of Equality and Religion Interviews with youth suggested that attitudes towards a person of another religion in Mumbai were complex. Firstly, discrimination only extended to strangers and acquaintances of different religions rather than friends. Secondly, attitudes and behavior towards an individual were dictated as much by the socio-economic status of a person as by their religion. A case in point – a driver, irrespective of his religion, would be looked down upon whilst an artist or successful businessman who was Muslim, would be given an equal place in society.

Empowerment of Women In December last year, a 20-year-old girl was raped and beaten by men in a bus in the capital in Delhi. Since then, the country has been in uproar questioning the position and safety of women in India. Scores of people – young and old, have been protesting on the streets. Yet crimes against women continue. This issue of women’s security was highlighted as the main social issue prevalent in India today leading to a broader debate on the empowerment of women in India. India represents a society in flux, where boundaries of modesty are being redefined everyday. Religious and political leaders frequently say on national television that the victims are to blame because of the way that they dress. However, urban India prides itself on offering equal opportunities to women to work in any sphere that they may wish to work in. Initially, a woman was allowed to work only until she got married. The cut off to a woman being financially independent and working now is until she gives birth to children. The paradox is therefore reinforced - a wish to appear egalitarian on the one hand but still fundamentally conservative in many areas.

Economic Disparity and Inequality Youth also repeatedly highlighted economic disparity as a socio-economic issue, which is very visible in the urban areas of India. Due to the history of domestic servitude, a lack of dignity of labor is endemic in the upper echelons of society. The divide between the rich and poor also seeks its origins in India’s infamous caste system – where those who did menial jobs were considered unclean. However, attitudes are slowly undergoing a process of change, spearheaded mostly by the younger generation. The process of change too however can cause severe structural fractures in society and in a city. When interviewed, youth in Mumbai identified domestic staff as “those people that we should make an effort to know”. As the Seed below identifies, inequality is also connected to the issue of women’s empowerment highlighted above.

I’m very economically oriented so those are the issues that I think about more. What really puts me off about the environment we live in is inequality in terms of opportunity – in my family most women are housewives. Not because they aren’t given the opportunity but because they have so many other responsibilities. - Seed, 2008

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3.3 Cultural Issues

Culture amongst youth, was seen largely as a binding factor rather than one that caused grief and conflict – both domestically and internationally. However one interview highlighted the lack of curiosity to know about different cultures because everyone was obsessed about their own – for example – When people go to a new place that they have never visited, they should want to try out the food of the place and participate in the activities unique to that area. But Indians being Indians, will always want butter chicken for lunch and dinner and parantha for breakfast. No one looks beyond their lives to see how things are done in other countries. If they do, it is only to criticize it. Phil, 20 years The areas where culture plays a unifying role is primarily in cricket, Bollywood and music. A number of Seeds interviewed for example, identified cricket and Bollywood as the two key common threads of positive interest and engagement between Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. It is through theatre, painting and literature that a number of youth in Mumbai find expression to their feelings. However, few works of creativity, although inspired by socio-economic and political quagmires, make it to mainstream actions to tackle these issues. They remain very much, in their exclusive cultural realm, for the pleasure of upper class Indians.

INDIA, ITS YOUTH AND ITS BORDERS When it comes to foreign policy, two things in India are important for young people – a) The nature of India’s foreign policy itself and b) The role it plays in the lives of youths.

2.1 India’s foreign policy India’s foreign policy has always leaned towards cultural engagements and activities as its medium of relations with other countries. A rigorous approach to India’s position in what is happening in the world has slackened. Even Afghanistan, which has significant implications for the country is not publicly considered a matter of priority for the government. One columnist has conjectured that the reason for this lies in the changing nature of the state’s domestic authority and legitimacy44. Over time, the Indian state has had to deal with a rising numbers of increasingly Seeds of Peace domestic challenges, be it through multiple insurgencies in Kashmir and the north-eastern states or through widespread militant leftism known as the Naxalite movement. Violent challenges invite concomitantly violent state repression, which often leads to human rights violations. Human rights violations open the door to external intervention, thus endangering the already shaky foundation of state authority. Delhi does not endorse humanitarian intervention for fear that the spotlight may someday be turned on India’s own internal conflict zones, especially Kashmir. In the words of Prem Shankar Jha, “Whatever conventions [India] allows or helps the West establish on the [Responsibility] to Protect or Intervene may well come back to haunt it in the years that lie ahead45.” According to the youth interviewed, this combined with a general apathy amongst the upper middle class to anything other than India’s financial or economic growth increases the distance between politics and people in India.

44 Rohan Mukherjee is the co-founder of YFFP and a doctoral candidate in the Department of Politics at Princeton University. He can be reached at [email protected]. 45 Ibid.

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2.2 Foreign Policy and the Youth

Former Under-Secretary General for Communications and Public Information, Shashi Tharoor in his book PaxIndica – India and the World of the 21st Century was optimistic about the participation of the youth in foreign affairs of the country. However, for this to be true, the meaning of the term foreign affairs needs to be clarified. If foreign affairs refer to the drafting and implementation of foreign policy, then participation of the youth remains far from active. The reasons are the same that create distance between the youth and their own government. Hierarchy, connections and bureaucracy fiercely guard decision-making positions in the country. On the other hand, if foreign affairs refers instead to an awareness of India’s geopolitical role, then Tharoor is right in saying that foreign policy is relevant to the daily lives of most Indians including the youth. Indeed, many of the youths we interviewed in our research expressed opinions about India’s role in the world.

Degrees abroad, which were the privilege of the rich or a few who received scholarships, are now affordable to middle class families. The number of Indian students going to study abroad has dramatically increased to the point that it now plays an important role in determining cultural ties between India, the UK and USA.

However, what does an Indian student gain from these experiences abroad? What do they use this information for? Rarely is the case made for knowing about foreign policy in order to resolve conflicts and peace building. This kind of training tends to be reserved for people in the government or the military. The majority of Indian youngsters care about the cultural characteristics and academic and job opportunities that may lead to an economically successful life.

We asked youths in India what they considered to be the most important issues facing their country today in regards to foreign policy. To begin with, the conversations were deliberately open, but later we probed further into attitudes towards Pakistan and Afghanistan.

2.3 Relations with Pakistan46

Overview of relationship The relationship between Pakistan and India is a complex one. Formed as a result of India’s independence movement and increasing communal tensions brought forth by the divide and rule policy pursued by the British colonial government, the borders between the two countries have been far from peaceful47. The nature of conflict over the last 63 years since the partition between India and Pakistan has resulted in 4 conventional wars between the armies of the two countries, an ongoing insurgency in Kashmir that is regularly marked by cross-border insurgent incursions and regular border skirmishes along the western borders of the country. More recently, India has also accused Pakistan of involvement in some of the major terrorist attacks on Indian soil – the attack on the Indian parliament and the Mumbai attacks. That being said, during this time, the movement of man and material across borders has continued albeit with sporadic closures of the border. The Indo-Pak border is much more heavily fortified than

46 A number of articles and research papers have been published on the relations between India and Pakistan. A list of these articles is provided in the bibliography at the end of this report. 47 An article by Dr Robert Kaplan, traces the history of India and Pakistan from the Mauryan empire – Robert D. Kaplan, What’s wrong with Pakistan, Foreign Policy, August 2012

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the Af-Pak border48. Cricket, TV and cinema, dance and music have ensured that the ties of history between the two countries find continuity and expression even today49.

Indo Pak Conflict – A historical conflict rather than a current one50? Most Indian Seeds and non-Seeds described the relations with Pakistan as a ‘high-politics conflict’, which has little impact on day-to-day life. Whilst young people acknowledge that national stereotypes are common parlance in many circles, youths are far more tolerant towards their neighbors in Pakistan than older generations. Even the attacks on Mumbai have not created a feeling of acrimony and hostility towards ordinary Pakistanis. Although there is some anger towards the Pakistani military, geopolitics and regional matters feature so low on most people’s daily radar that even these feelings are not that strong.

Prevailing Opinions among the youth towards Pakistan Security perceptions Whilst ISI’s paranoia about an attack from India is well known, the Indo-Pak conflict does not form a part of India’s daily political and social rhetoric. Nevertheless, the Kashmir and border and western frontiers of the country are often on high alert on suspected threats from Pakistan51.

The threat of an avian espionage52 There have been instances reported where the paranoia about infiltration by Pakistani secret service and military have caused the Indian border police sleepless nights. For instance, a recent Foreign Policy article reported the following – In 2010, Indian authorities placed under armed guard a pigeon suspected of delivering messages across the border. The pigeon, police said, may have been on a "special mission of spying." This report published on 15th April 2013, came in light of Indian forces finding a dead falcon with cameras attached to it on the Indian side of the Indo-Pak border last week. One-on-one engagements influenced Naturally, an Indian and Pakistani meeting on the streets of London or Paris for example would probably engage with each other in a friendly manner because of deep cultural similarities between the two countries. However, when transposed on to home ground, at least on the Indian side, socio- economic status, religion and superficial factors like the way of dressing and talking also play a role in determining how a person is treated. The key point to be made here is that conflict in India or simple lines of demarcation does not determine relations with Pakistan for a common person. On the contrary, the characteristic of each city, the nature and demography of each city and more general prevailing stereotypes are what determine the attitudes of people. Distance between the conflict and Mumbai

48 Indo-Pak trade relations reflect a see-saw nature, with every agreement taking a long time to be worked out. The most recent is the question of the MFN status – to be granted to the two countries by each other. An analysis of trade relations is provided in Michael Kugelman, Whats holding up India-Pakistan trade normalization? Foreign Policy, April 2013, Nisha Taneja, What’s in it for us? The Potential in India-Pakistan’s trade, Forign Policy, April 2013, Aisha Chowdhury, Real Talk, Perceptions of India-Pakistan trade, May 2012 49 Lisa Curtis, Moving Past Mohali: What next for India and Pakistan? Af-Pak Channel, March 2011 50 Luv Puri, Bridging the India-Pakistan Divide on Afghanistan, Foreign Policy June 2011 51 Ian Bremmer, Why India and Pakistan will continue to struggle for common ground, Foreign Policy, July 2010 52 Elias Groll, Could Falcons be the latest innovation in Drone warfare, http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/04/15/could_falcons_be_the_latest_innovation_in_drone_warfare , 15th April 2013

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Relations with Pakistan are still defined largely by the Indo-Pak conflict even though it has taken on new forms in the last few years. However, Indian youths who live in Mumbai, continue to feel disengaged with the conflict because of its physical distance from Mumbai and the lack of involvement. For an Indian Seed, without a contextual understanding of the conflict, without having seen the impact of it on the lives of people – both on the Indian and Pakistani side, it is difficult to empathize with. As the map below shows, both cross-border and domestic conflict zones are physically far from Mumbai. Whilst the discussion above has highlighted the recent attacks on Mumbai and their impact on the people, the conflict is still distant from the lives of those who live in Mumbai. Figure 2: India Conflict Map

Most young people feel so detached from the conflict with Pakistan that overtures to inform or educate them about the importance of peace-building and reconciliation often hit a wall. The conflict is simply not considered to be an important part of most young people’s daily lives.

2.4 Relations with Afghanistan

Overview of relationship When Pakistan was a part of the Indian sub-continent, invasions on Afghanistan were launched from Delhi. However, with the partition of India and Pakistan, a ‘faasela’ or buffer zone was created between Afghanistan and India. No longer connected directly and taking off on their own trajectories and the paths of Afghanistan and India rarely crossed. However, the US invasion in 2001 thrust Afghanistan to the forefront of international attention.

In order to ensure security and protect its national interests, India has been providing development aid to Afghanistan since 200153, much to the chagrin of Pakistan who accuses India of using Afghan instability as a pretext for espionage.

53 Mujib Mashal, Karzai’s India Gamble, Foreign Policy, May 2013 and Luv Puri, Bridging the India-Pakistan Divide on Afghanistan, Foreign Policy, June 2011

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Indian Involvement in Afghanistan Over the last ten years, India has given Afghanistan almost 2 billion US dollars. It is also the worlds fifth largest aid program in Afghanistan54. This however has been limited to development and non- military aid. In terms of representation, India has a consulate in 5 key cities in Afghanistan – Kabul, Kandahar, Mazar-i Sharif, Herat and Jalalabad. India is a mere 2 hour flight away from Kabul. Both India and Afghanistan share one common problem – border issues with Pakistan. However, rather than this allowing the two countries to join forces, has made them tread with caution with each other. Both fear a military retaliation from Pakistan if it saw the two getting too close. However, now things appear to be changing. In a recent article published in Foreign Policy, an former Seed from Afghanistan, Mujib Mashal, wrote an article called – “Karzai’s India Gamble55”. This article refers to a recent visit Karzai made to New Delhi to convince New Delhi to supply arms to Afghanistan. Unconfirmed sources after the visit indicated that India would be sending a military mission to Afghanistan to do a needs assessment of what is needed. What should have been an obvious exercise ten years ago, is being undertaken now. That being said, India has ensured that it stays involved in the development of Afghanistan, because of Pakistan’s previous policy of using it as a buffer state against India. Over the course of the last 10 years, India has provided aid by provided high protein biscuits, road construction in the west of the country, providing training to Afghan officers and soldiers on Indian soil and funding various capacity building projects within the Afghan government, most notable being the Capacity and Technical Assistance Program (CTAP). These efforts over the last 2-3 years have succeeded in shifting public opinion of Afghan people from not knowing about India to looking at it as a friendly ally and development worker in the country56.

A few pertinent questions exist here – will Indian involvement match the presence it has currently after NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan? Will this involvement take on a military role or remain solely development based? Events that answer these questions post 2014, will bear significant influence on the regional geo-politics between India, Pakistan and Afghanistan and their policies with each other.

People to people interactions Indian interactions with Afghans occur more frequently on Indian soil than they do on Afghan soil. Security concerns in Afghanistan prevent many parents from sending their children to the country. On the other hand, especially in Goa, Pune and Mumbai, universities have a number of Afghan students enrolled in a wide variety of courses and degrees. However, the knowledge of Indian students about Afghanistan remains basic. In a focus group discussion with young people in Mumbai in March 2013, (all of whom belonged to a nationwide student group) participants were asked to draw a rough map showing where Afghanistan was located vis-à-vis India. Figure 2 shows the results from 4 of the 6 students. A majority of those interviewed thought that Afghanistan shared a direct border with India, Pakistan and China and was located north of India. Even those who had interacted with Afghans through Seeds of Peace knew little about the nature of the conflict in Afghanistan. Few were able to take accurate guesses on where Afghanistan was located in the world. When asked about what they would talk about with if they were to meet Afghans, the responses were limited to music and food. A key reason for a lack of interest, awareness and knowledge is the extent to which the media has made a non-issue of Afghanistan. Despite the fact that Indian media channels runs news stories

54 Sumit Ganguly, Afghanistan is now India’s Problem, Foreign Policy, July 2011 55 Mujib Mashal, Karzai’s India Gamble, Foreign Policy, May 2013 and Luv Puri, Bridging the India-Pakistan Divide on Afghanistan, Foreign Policy, June 2011 56 Dr Shanthie Mariet D’Souza, Indian-Afghan Strategic Partnership: Perceptions from the Ground, Foreign Policy, October 2011

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24/7, the conflict in Afghanistan is given notably little air time compared to media channels in the UK and US. This may be both a symptom and a cause of popular disinterest in the conflict. The feeling of distance, disconnect and apathy generated due to the political structure in India means that India’s relations with Pakistan and Afghanistan are of secondary interest to youth who do not have a clearly defined link to these countries. As a result, most youth demonstrated a highly superficial understanding of events in Afghanistan. A lot of my information comes from Khalid Hussaini’s books. We got very different approaches from our friends in Camp. At dialogue, the Afghans were fairly quiet and after Seeds, contact with them has been very difficult. They always complain about their internet access. - Seed 2006

Figure 3: Cartographic representations by Indian youth of Afghanistan and Pakistan vis-à-vis India

The figure above is a case in point – during the interviews conducted for the study, we asked a group of 19 – 22 year olds, who were University educated and members of a social youth group in Pune to draw a map of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, indicating their locations. 3 out of 5 youth located Afghanistan on the eastern border of Pakistan sharing a boundary with Jammu and Kashmir in India. Other perceptions of the country were - India and Afghanistan have good relations politically. I hosted 2 people from Afghanistan. According to me, Afghanistan is pretty bad and I’ve heard this from people coming from Kabul which is the best place in Afghanistan so I cant even imagine what the state is like in other areas. The terrorism, education – girls are not allowed education. - Seed, 19 years

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In order to provide a more human interpretation of the circumstances described above, the following section provides a window into the life of a 15 year old in India.

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THE LIFE OF A 15 YEAR OLD IN MUMBAI

3.1 Context of Environment According to the youth we interviewed, Indian children, when they are in their early –mid teens usually look at either their parents or their teachers as mentors. This section provides a contextual understanding of the environment in which youth grow in India.

Relationship with teachers The nature of their relationship with their teachers is formal and determined by the syllabus that they are taught in school and as such never to be questioned or argued with. The limits of this relationship are set by the teachers and not by the students. Even today, few teachers are able to transcend the need to teach only what is mandated and display a vision to engage their students in subjects beyond the scope of their subjects. This leaves students with an inability to critically think about what they are being taught, develop their own thought process and question what is around them. The aim of studying what is taught in school is often limited to getting good grades in order to get into a good college and then either go abroad or get a good job. What the students are not taught are how to use the knowledge that they get in their practical lives and how a curiosity for information can substantiate their thinking, opinions and behavior. It boils down to the difference between knowing and understanding. Education is the biggest issue that matters to me – the quality of education. We get bookish knowledge rather than knowledge that they can use in their everyday living. - Youth 22 years

Relationship with parents Indian children, as compared to children in western countries like the US, have a relatively formal relationship with their parents. Parents often determine the lives of children in their early teens and often have the final say on important decisions concerning travel, education and living. The experience that a child has is therefore closely dependent and linked to the attitude and nature of their parents. This of course varies on a case-by-case basis. However, a common thread amongst all of this, highlighted by interviews in Mumbai was that there is a lack of intellectual conversation that span a wide variety of areas and subjects between parents and children. 2 main reasons about why there is apathy to such an advanced stage - you would not value your own vote for example. Kids think it’s a formality and do not think it counts or matters – 2 main reasons why this is happening is because in the years that you are growing up – up till 15 16 or even just in primary schools, the two main role models you would look at are parents and teachers. And I don’t think they have enough conversations about these topics to make you aware of these situations. Parents a lot of time do not see the point of discussing this and they really don’t have such conversations. But politics and the state of the nation is something that a father should be discussing with his son and his daughter. We discuss it with our colleagues and peers but not with each other. Even when I was unaware of everything politically, there were no discussions or any kind of conversations about it. After I educated myself, it still does not happen. Teachers too need to go beyond syllabus after a while and have all encompassing discussions maybe inducting a lot of it into the current syllabus. You need to have courses in politics and state of the nation at an early age because if you have it in college, which is the state now, no one takes it seriously or looks at it purely because of academic reasons. - Youth, 22 years

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Times when a family usually gets together are dinners and weekends, are spent discussing the day’s activities or matters between parents rather than a debate or discussion with kids involved, about international and national issues. The impact of the above two manifests itself in a lack of development of curiosity amongst children to explore things outside of the realm that ‘matter’ – namely their books as mandated by school or bits and pieces of interest areas generated for a time by a major event. A key causal factor of this is – parents and teachers not talking about these issues means that they remain forever a theoretical subject. Unless experienced personally, issues reported in newspapers and news channels remain things that happen, but no thought is given to potential consequences in practical lives.

What is taught in Schools Generic subjects taught to pre teens include Maths, Science, Social Sciences, Hindi, English, Regional and Foreign Languages (usually a choice of 1 between the other). Within social sciences are included, history, geography, civics (public administration systems) and at a later stage – economics. A course on history may include one on World History. These subjects are then substantiated by school projects, which range from a variety of things, but the standards of these projects and the freedom allotted to children also vary from school to school. The motivations and purpose of doing these projects is to get credit and substantiate report cards – a message sent by the school, rather than growth of knowledge and teaching children the applicability of what they learn in their books to practical day to day lives. As such, there are few times when what children study in school, facilitate their decision on what they want to study afterwards. The choice is always between the subjects that they are ‘good’ at or what is good for them. Words like interest, curiosity, and creativity rarely drive decision making on future ambitions of children, which is approved by parents. It is because the culture of education in India – it has been about the fat books and Ramayana and that is why we have always been theoretical. There is corruption because education has never really made an impact on India. - Youth 23 years

Is Mumbai any different?

As mentioned previously, Mumbai reflects one of the most cosmopolitan cities of India. Different schools in Mumbai, cater to children from different socio-economic backgrounds. Many of those who cater to the upper middle class, have started using the international baccalaureate system, which work according to international schools and provide exposure through exchanges with other schools abroad. They therefore, are less archaic than most Indian schools. However, they also only cater to a select few – with fees unaffordable by majority of the people. The question then arises is to what extent, can these kids bring about the change that Seeds of Peace wants them to bring about – and influence those who do not have the same opportunity as others?

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COUNTRY DYNAMICS AND THE PLACE OF YOUTH The sections above have tried to highlight political, socio-economic cultural issues that youth in India care about as well as provide a window in the life of an ordinary 15 year old in India. But it is still important to outline how it is that the youth negotiate these issues, what are their sources of information and how they feel their role to be, in the future of their country. This section will therefore place the youth in the context identified above.

Role of the Media Youth in India get information about both domestic and international current affairs from the media. The popular forms of media are the TV news channels and to some extent, newspapers. E-news is slowly catching on as more and more people own laptops, multimedia phones and I-pads. It is only in the last 15 years, that the Indian media industry has seen a boost. 24/7 news channels in both Hindi and English have sprung up. The content of the news however remains limited. Issues and newsbeat extend to the ‘talk of the town’ at the time or to domestic political issues, sports (largely national) and culture – Bollywood and TV. Few channels offer insightful coverage of world events or a debate on world issues. A case in example is the coverage of Afghanistan. Critical to India’s position in the region as well as a strong determinant of India’s relations with Pakistan, Afghanistan is a rarely covered country in Indian news channels. Coverage is limited to sporadic snippets of information on attacks here and there in Afghanistan. No Indian news channel has a reporter present in Afghanistan to cover on Indian involvement in Afghanistan and the future of this country. Youth in India are hence not aware of the importance of peace in Afghanistan for India’s security even though the lack of the former could grave risks for Indian national security. Whilst the media has become the reporter of news, it is the social media that has seen an unprecedented rise in youth usage and participation in the country. The section of kids targeted by Seeds of Peace, is completely in tune with various social media networking websites like Facebook, Reddit, LinkedIn engaging in activities like Chatting, discussing, debating, buying, blogging, searching, creating, playing, reading, viewing, networking etc.57 According to the Web 2.0 Generation Survey, almost 85% of Indian youth are hooked on to one or more social networking sites. If the media is a way of them getting information, the social media is definitely an outlet that is increasingly being used to voice opinions.58

Lack of awareness and consequent apathy The media therefore influences citizens on select subjects, which they choose to be important. For children to therefore know about broader national and international issues requires a curiosity from within. When even this curiosity goes amiss, a feeling of apathy towards what is going on, settles in the minds of young people. Kids don’t go beyond the general knowledge of what the TV is showing not trying to find out what are the causes - Youth, 23 years Attention is focused towards ‘the future’ a key phrase that determines from the time that they reach middle school – theirs and their parents decisions about their lives. An indication of this is the

57 Shyamanta Baruah, Engaging Indian Youth: A Social Media Approach, Available at http://www.slideshare.net/shyamantab/engaging-indian-youth-a-social-me-approach 58 K Raveeendran, Technology, social media empower Indian Youth, December 2012 Available at http://gulfnews.com/business/opinion/technology-social-media-empower-indian-youth-1.1125992

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pre-dominance of the corporate sector in the lives of young boys and girls – extending to their knowledge of it to fuelling their desires to find a career in it as compared to the social sector. Rarely is social work or conflict resolution and peace building a career choice for youth. Changing Times

The onset of technology has brought the world closer. The rise of social media – especially through websites like twitter, Facebook and Reddit has provided ways in which youngsters read about what is happening around them from various perspectives. Rather than lengthy commentaries and articles, information, which comes through, is opinion based – bringing together a realm of actors like media personnel, political and social thinkers, activists, celebrities, politicians and most importantly – the common man. The value of this platform, which a common person especially the youth finds themselves with, is not to be underestimated in a country like India – where diversity outweighs unifying and common factors. To be able to then be armed with information from a variety of sources and from a wide range of topics is something the youth of India is currently experimenting with. The Arab spring highlighted the potential impact that social media can have. Whilst such an active reaction is not currently visible in India, it may certainly have had an impact on the levels of awareness of those living in urban areas with access to a computer and Internet.

Youth Participation In order to be a part of the government and decision making in India, one can either become a politician or a bureaucrat. India’s civil service offers entry to its citizen through a difficult exam where the numbers of applicants far outnumber the vacancies available. For ordinary citizens therefore, engagement with the government is limited to bureaucratic offices to get necessary paperwork rather than shaping the direction in which the country is heading. Student participation in local politics is a common phenomenon in India. Three features here are however relevant for Seeds of Peace – a) Student politics for the union government are more active in the north Indian states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab bordering New Delhi; b) Student politics in Mumbai centre around allegiance to local parties like the Shiv Sena and c) The students that Seeds of Peace works with belong to the upper middle classes of Mumbai – a commercial hub. Their participation in politics is usually determined by pre-existing family connections or a rarely seen enthusiasm for mainstream politics. That being said, none of the Seeds in Mumbai had opted for a career in politics. Most chose the corporate sector, journalism or law as their preferred professions. Down south, youth are more akin to social maladies that the country suffers from. However, who are the leaders for these youth? Few of those interviewed mentioned current politicians. Some evoked Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, whilst others looked at commercial tycoons like Ratan Tata and the Ambani brothers as leaders who were currently shaping the future of India. Amitabh Bachchan was identified as a leader whose fame through Bollywood have afforded him the hearts and minds of the people of India. Others said that leadership in India was a family affair – whether it was in politics (the Gandhi family), cinema (the Kapoors and Bachchans) or business (Tatas, Ambanis, Modis, etc.). One youth opined – I don’t think we have many faces of self made independent and individual leaders in India. - Youth 23 years When asked about how they would define a good leader, youth highlighted the quality of listening as being as important as leading to be important in a leader. Others said –

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I think in India the most crucial thing is the change of thought: A person who brings in change of thought. - Youth 22 years This is to some extent in line with how Seeds of Peace staff in India described leadership - I think the paths of leadership especially for Pak and India is one where you need to be patient and go through the ropes and figure out and do what everyone else did before you - Seeds of Peace Staff When it came to becoming leaders however, opinions were mixed among the youth. Some were of the view that the youth were motivated and had the capacity to change but had not really thought of it in real terms. Definitely, the youth are motivated. I have not really thought about how I myself can change some of the issues that India faces but I feel so much better just to be able to make people understand the other side - Seed, 2004 Others however outlined the challenges in becoming leaders in India – It is not easy to become a leader in India. It is a very stereotypical and true statement – if you want to be a leader, you need to be in politics, which means corruption or having connections or giving 30 years of your life to it. - Youth, 20 years

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3.2 Paths to influence and change in India The above discussion points to a few key areas which are interlinked that would throw light on youth, change and influence in India. The first of these is the space of the youth – where is it that they can bring about change in India? Secondly, what is the context in which change in that space would come about? Lastly, how would leadership manifest itself by the youth in these spaces and contexts. The table below shows these spaces, their respective contexts and youth leadership paths keeping in mind, salient features highlighted in the discussion above.

Table 5: Change and Leadership for youth in the context of India Change/Influence Context Leadership

Change in A 15 year old child in India comes from a very protected  Development of a curiosity to find out themselves environment shaped by his parents, his teachers and by information about things that may not his school. Those children who do no have these have immediate implications on their lives security nets, are often not targeted by Seeds of Peace including on their careers – because of the schools that Seeds of Peace works with.

Change in family Meal conversations between parents and children in  Initiating discussions India rarely go beyond personal experiences of the day.  bridging the generational gap where To discuss issues of conflict would usually be the prejudices against other religions and sects initiative of the child with an effort to sustain the run stronger, interest. Very often, such enthusiasms are brushed  practicing what they believe in – dignity of aside by parents due to their relative uselessness labor and no discrimination between beyond scoring marks in exams and their lack of religions, or people who are below their relevance in everyday life. own socio-economic status.

Change in friends The chances of impact in this area of change are higher • Initiating dialog than in families. If a 15 year old child is able to engage • Initiatives that bring together youth to his/her friends in an activity that practices the message bring about small change that the Seed is trying to send • Participating in initiatives that bring about change • Being constant catalysts for change

Change in schools Seeds of Peace in India works in the same schools every • Dialogue and colleges year. Seeds who come back often have presentations • Initiatives on their projects and their experiences with Seeds of Peace. Whilst there is a definite desire to be a Seed in the students who come to know of the program and the Seeds, this desire does not extend to the skills and curiosity for issues that Seeds of Peace seeks to highlight

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PARTICIPATORY CONFLICT ANALYSIS As part of the research for this project, a participatory discussion on conflict was held with Seeds and non-Seeds in India. The purpose of this discussion was develop a conflict tree to collectively identify the following –  Prevailing conflicts in India (the stem)  Causes of these conflicts (Roots)  Consequences of these conflicts (leaves and branches)  Actors in the conflict  Potential to bring about change in the conflict The purpose of this discussion was to –  Encourage a step-by-step thought process amongst the participants to think about aspects of a conflict  Provide a space for the participants to talk freely about a conflict in front of an audience to test understanding and confidence in knowledge of the conflict The section below provides an analysis of this session. 4.1 Identifying the conflict When asked to identify one conflict issue in India that they felt was most relevant, following were the responses –

Table 6: Conflict Issues Identified by Seeds and Non Seeds By Seeds By Non-Seeds

Stereotype that Pakistani’s are bad India and Pak over Kashmir Safety of women Conflict in NE in Nagaland

Discrimination on gender Indo-Pak - Conflict of soldiers

Oppressors of Women Naxalite conflict

Indo-Pak

Three participants, two of whom were Seeds, identified discrimination, oppression and safety of women as the most important conflict issue in India. Only one Seed identified the Indo-Pak conflict as a key conflict in India. Surprisingly, the insurgency in Nagaland and the Naxal conflict also emerged – identified by a Seed and a non-Seed respectively. Both however had personal connections to these conflicts. 4.2 Terms associated with conflict In order to visually present the key words of the conflict participatory discussion, a word cloud was created. The text from the discussions was entered in to a software program from which common English words like a, an, the, if, of etc. were deleted. Figure 3 shows the results of this exercise. As the word cloud shows, words like Seeds, education, society, hatred came up repeatedly in the discussion. At close inspection however, the word cloud also revealed that words with distinctly positive connotations were also present like solutions, unity and peace. The word cloud shows

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clearly that opinions expressed during the discussion ranged from identity, stereotypes, power, awareness, hatred, desire and biases.

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Figure 4: Word Cloud of Participatory Discussion on Conflict between Seeds and non-Seeds in Mumbai, India

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4.3 Identifying the Roots of the Conflict

The discussion then moved on to identifying the causes of conflicts, that each of the participants had picked. Most of the causes that were identified as shown in table were attitude and behavioral based rather than action based. For cross border and internal insurgent conflicts like the north eastern conflict and naxal movement, stereotypes, uncompromising opinion, lack of trust, hatred and arrogance were identified as the key causes whilst for social issues like that of the safety of women, lack of education, traditional and religious beliefs and patriarchal society were the key roots.

Table 7: Roots of conflict identified by participants By Seeds By Non Seeds

Stereotypes, knowing only one side of the conflict, Hatred and Arrogance feeling that we can do no wrong

Uncompromising opinions, lack of trust Lack of education and a desire to attain power

Traditional and religious beliefs and a desire of assertion Tendency to look at things in black and white and of power insecurity of war in Pakistan

Historically patriarchal society and expectations on how Superiority complex and lack of negotiation and the society expects you to be diplomacy

Partition and proxy wars and no effort to find a solution

As such, a key observation of the discussion on roots of conflict was that no clear party was to blame. Rather the problem was the mindsets and attitudes of people in general. This is important for Seeds of Peace programming because it highlights the relevance and potential impact of awareness raising programs that can be initiated by Seeds when they return from Camp.

4.4 Identifying the Consequences of Conflict Table 4 provides an overview of the discussion on the consequences of conflict issues that had been identified by the participants. Some of the consequences identified pointed to attitudinal effects like fear, unease, inferiority complex and inhibition, whilst others pointed to more concrete impacts like wars, oppression, and disillusionment. Surprisingly, one Seed identified a positive consequence of recent cases of oppression of women that have emerged in India. She felt that the consequence of this issue had been a lot of consequent awareness generation and the realization that a lot more could be done.

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Table 8: Consequences of conflict identified by participants By Seeds By Non Seeds Constant fights and complete disruption of pace for 60 years. Unease and fear amongst the Unity, Led to more oppression people of each other

Disruption of society and livelihood, Increasing Disullionment with the government, Inter tribal regional identity war resolutions

Feeling of inhibition at a personal level or leading Military unrest, mass agitation to feeling that you are inferior that will both lead to not trying and lack of education

Lot of awareness generation, realization that a lot more can be done

Probability of peace will decrease, more wars and more deaths in the future

4.5 Identifying the Actors who play a role in a conflict

Having completed the conflict tree – identifying the conflict, its root and consequence, the discussion moved on to identifying the key actors that the youth felt played a role in the conflict issues that they had identified. Participants were asked to name at least 3 actors who they felt had the power to change the conflict and had been the key decision makers in the conflict. The results provided interesting insights into the minds of the participants.

As Table 5 shows, not one participant, whether Seeds or non-Seeds identified either the youth or themselves as actors in a conflict. This finding perhaps underlies the key argument that this report is trying to make – youth in India still do not think about themselves as having a key and tangible role to play in the resolution of a conflict. Whilst by no means representative, the answers below are indicative of an existing lack of personal responsibility in the minds of youth.

Another reason was the following –

I think a lot of it goes into how the Indian system works. Its reminiscent of the caste system. Unless you are really really willing to break barriers and change the situation, there is just too much favor at every level. I’m not against things like education quotas because there is so much that is working against these people. - Seed, 2008

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Table 9: Actors in conflict identified by the participants By Seeds By Non-Seeds

Government, UN and Social Media Governments

Government and state governments Advertisers and Government

Educators, Masses, people with political power, Government media

Governments, general public, authors, makers Military generals, PM of video games

4.6 Potential of Impact and Change Though the participants did not identify themselves as the key actors in conflict issues in India, they were, as part of Module 6, asked a) whether they felt that they could bring about change in the conflict that they had identified and b) Reasons for their answer to a).

Only one out of nine participants said that he did not think he could bring about any change in the conflict. He had identified the prevailing insurgency in North-eastern India. He was of the opinion that –

Most conflicts peoples opinions matter, but in the conflict in the NE, most decisions are taken by people in the higher places. Even spreading awareness about this conflict won’t matter, they will not have an impact. - Seed, 2006 Other participants felt that spreading awareness was the primary way in which they could bring about change. Education was another way of impact that was highlighted.

Table 10: Potential to change the conflict Seed/Non-Seed Can you bring How so? about change? Non-Seed Yes It is the little things that count. Seed Yes Similar to what Vikram said – spread what we know and our thoughts. At least those of us who have gone to Camp and have the advantage of meeting with other people – should spread our experiences. Non-Seed Yes Generation of awareness and educating people – 1 billion rising dance to raise awareness in school. Started teaching in an NGO where I get to choose the lessons that I want to teach them on. Seed NO Most conflicts peoples opinions matter, but in the conflict in the NE, most decisions are taken by people in the higher places. Even spreading awareness about this conflict won’t matter, they will not have an impact. Where I can make an impact – Indo Pak and Naxal conflict –

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changing the mind set of the people Seed Yes Awareness – 2 diff things – being inquisitive and making an effort to ask and find out. We all have access to so many NGOs and we can find time - instead of watching 5 hours of TV, we could volunteer somewhere. Education is a cause and effect of gender discrimination Seed Yes Craft activities at a child home. Non-Seed Yes By talking to all of us, XXX has made us aware of the conflict in the NE, so it has made an impact. Neil has created that link – even though he is not conscious of it. On the macro level, I’m too young unfortunately. But on the micro level, funds are required for NGOs, their building projects also have builds – I can raise funds. Non-Seed Yes We are the future of the nation and have a huge role to play in what our country will be 5 years from now. Social media is a good tool. If topics like these are discussed in class rooms, they will reach social media, students can organize presentations in schools Kids for Tigers – went to each school and got post cards signed by kids to be sent to the PM to raise funds. Seed Yes Awareness amongst friends, building mates, society. My principal called me to talk to my juniors about my experiences in the Camp.

THE CONTEXT AND SEEDS OF PEACE

For the first time I felt a deep sense of pride for my country. – Seed

The purpose of the sections above has been to provide a context of India, as deemed relevant by the youth to Seeds of Peace. The following section will shed light on current Seeds of Peace programming in India keeping the context in mind.

Seeds of Peace Objective The objective of Seeds of Peace in South Asia is to bring children from India, Pakistan and Afghanistan together. The purpose behind this is to provide young people from all these countries, a chance to meet each other, which otherwise they would not have. Rather than growing up believing what stereotypes tell them about how Pakistanis and Afghans are, young Indians through Seeds of Peace are afforded a chance of first hand encounters.

The original intention our founder had was a new generation of change. Our theory of change is towards that bit – to inspire a new generation of leaders. If they come together when they are younger, they would have opportunities that they would not have otherwise and do things that the current leadership is unable to do. – Seeds of Peace Staff

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Seeds of Peace and the Indian Context Seeds of Peace in India in its initial phases, works on building cross border ties, focusing on international problems like the Jammu and Kashmir conflict. However, a few features need to be kept in mind – Young people in Mumbai vis-à-vis young people in India: For the reasons highlighted in the report above, young people in Mumbai are very different from young people who may be found elsewhere in India. The thematic use of Indo-Pak conflict becomes important in the sense that not all young people in Mumbai may have anything more than a passing interest in the issue Young people in India: Educated but unaware – Kids that Seeds of Peace targets belong to the middle and upper middle class families of Mumbai. These children are not lacking in material comforts, are well educated and have travelled abroad. They live shielded lives as opposed to perhaps their peers in Kashmir or even in Kabul. What all of this perhaps impacts is the degree of passion for a subject like conflict resolution and motivations of being a part of Seeds of Peace. The Seeds experience: Whilst the Seeds experience is meant to promote ties of peace and resolution across these communities, and have children be the bridges through which these ties can extend, the Indian Seeds did not have an inherent feeling of conflict against either Pakistani or Afghan Seeds. This was highlighted during interviews with the Seeds when they said that upon meeting a Pakistani on the road in a western country, the default reaction would be one of friendliness and familiarity rather than of conflict and alienation. This feeling is important to understand, where then, in the Indian context is Seeds of Peace making a difference? The findings of the interviews conducted for this report suggest that at least for Indian Seeds, Seeds of Peace fills in what has been highlighted as a glaring gap in the youth in India – awareness. By bringing these Seeds to meet with Pakistanis, Afghans and even children from the Middle East, Seeds of Peace offers Indian Seeds, a close insight into the lives of others. Even if preliminary engagements are restricted to music, way of life and culture rather than discussions on conflict and peace building, meeting other children allows Indian Seeds to look within themselves and understand who they are and what they can be capable of doing. Seeds of Peace has made me who I am. I am able to speak publicly, think critically, debate. More than anything, I feel that if you are different for whatever reason, there is nothing wrong in that. I felt comfortable in my own shoes after Seeds of Peace. Earlier I would think 3-4 times before I did anything because I feel people out here judge you a lot. Stuff I learnt over there, I’ve actually shaped the way I want to lead my life. It has made me interested in the ME conflict. - Seed, 2010

The biggest impact that Seeds of Peace therefore has in India is the understanding of themselves that students develop after living in an environment where they are individuals in their own right representing a country i.e. – their Camp experience. So rather than equipping them to change, Seeds of Peace inculcates in them, a skill that must precede leadership and change – that of curiosity and an interest in the affairs of their own country – to step beyond their comfort zones.

Seeds of Peace’s Theory of Change in India would manifest itself primarily in the change that it has brought about in the lives of these children through the exposure that it has provided, a sense of leading and participating in extra curricular activities upon their return from Camp and a kick start in life for the years of competitive exams and tests to come. It has also succeeded in inspiring subsequent generations of students in the schools that it works in Mumbai, to aspire to be Seeds and be a part of the program. Its potential for impact however does not lie in changing the dynamics of the Indo-Pak conflict although that may be a component. The actual potential lies in these Seeds returning from Camp and inspiring people around them, to take a stand against domestic issues and encourage awareness and curiosity over what is happening in the country, even if it does not hold

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direct consequence. They become proactive citizens and encourage others to do the same, rather than leading their lives as passive observers.

Indo-Pakistan relations through Seeds of Peace Seeds from India and Pakistan are taken to Camp where they engage with each other through dialogue, sports and cultural activities. This allows them to look at the Seed from Pakistan from a perspective that is beyond the conflict. However, the context and Seeds of Peace programming in Mumbai (i.e. the schools that it works with and the students that it selects) shows that for these Seeds, the Kashmir issue is not the most important problem that governs their lives, nor are their lives shaped by the Kashmir conflict. Seeds of Peace provides an excellent forum to listen to others. I’ve noticed that an Indian would be more open to meet a Pakistani and an Israeli would not to Palestinian. Because the latter is living through the conflict. They are defending and attacking the other at the same time. We have not lived through Partition, our ancestors have. - Seed, 19 years The context analysis above highlighted that youngsters living in Mumbai are distanced from political issues – both international and to some extent – national. This implies that what Seeds of Peace is trying to do with the kids in Mumbai is something that was not close to them in the first place. Ties of cricket bind kids from Mumbai and Lahore better than the Kashmir conflict. Moreover, Seeds of Peace may find that bringing Seeds from South Asia together to talk about their country’s domestic problem may be a better platform to motivate Seeds into post Camp programming than trying to bring them together on an international issue that is not relevant for them. However, observations about the perceptions of Pakistani’s towards Indian Seeds indicated certain sensitive issues. For example –

Seeds from India always feel that for Pakistani Seeds, religion comes first whereas for Indian Seeds it could be family or friends. That sometimes bothers them.

Another observation from a former Delegation Leader was:

When I was there as a DL, there were some Pakistani boys did not like Pakistani girls be friends with Indian boys which was disturbing the Indian girls.

Such sensitivities therefore exist and must be handled with care by Seeds of Peace.

Indo-Afghan relations through Seeds of Peace The presence of Afghans in the Seeds of Peace program, from the perspective of Indian Seeds is best captured by the following statement made by a Seed in Mumbai: For us, the Afghan Seeds were more like a part of the Middle East Seeds because we did not share as many similarities with them as we do with Pakistani Seeds With Pakistan, there is a clear issue that we engage on. We become great friends with the Afghan Seeds, but for us, it is like learning about Afghanistan as we do about Israel and Palestine. - Seed, 20 years A Seeds of Peace staff member who had served as a Delegation leader on one of the Camps observed:

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Afghanistan and Indians have a wonderful relationship. Our kids don’t have any issues with the Afghan kids. - Seeds of Peace staff The dynamic between Indians and Afghans is perhaps more sensitive from the perspective of Pakistani Seeds. For Indian Seeds however, it appeared to be about knowing another new community.

The Seeds Experience

The Camp For most Seeds interviewed, the Camp was the best part of their experience at Seeds of Peace.

At Camp itself, I still think its been the best part of my Seeds experience. AT a personal level, it changed me a lot because I was a very shy person. That is where Seeds made a huge diff because you were in an environment where people wanted to listen to what you wanted to say. For like a lot of people it was predominantly about the fun, for others it was more about the dialog. For me I can’t figure out one area that was more important for me. - Seed, 2009

To be able to grow amongst their peers from different countries, away from their own environments, afforded Seeds with insights about themselves and to some extent, even their identity as Seeds. One concern that was highlighted however, was Seeds as being representatives of India. The Seeds that were interviewed said that they felt acutely aware that they were not in fact representative of India – because of India’s cultural and religious diversity.

The motivations of going to Camp are many. Some are attracted with the idea of going to the US:

A lot of motivation is that they are going to the US. They have senior Seeds in their schools who share so much, so somewhere they already know about the program and about the Camp. - Seeds of Peace Staff

Whilst for others, the program offers a step further from the activities that they engage in at school.

I was a lot into model UN. I thought about historical and political issues. I came from a context where it gave me a real perspective on what was going on. It was a context where the model UN were becoming superficial because you already knew what the resolution was going to be. I felt like I wanted something more real than the model UN. - Seed, 2004

Post Camp Upon their return to India, Seeds spoke about their difficulties in adjusting after the sudden ‘high’ of the Camp.

Coming back wasn’t easy because there is no like road map about what you come back and do in terms of work. - Seed, 2010

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It was easier coming back for me because my best friend was with me. I think you are more sensitive when you come back. Jokes about Pakistani and Muslims prick you more. You’re very emotional – because you miss the people that you are at Camp with and everyone in school is carrying on with you. - Seed, 2012 Some more positive reported the change they felt in how they were perceived upon their return –

To begin with, the most highlighting feature was that I became elite. I was able to speak up and I became the captain of my house. That was one. The second thing was that I realized that I could talk to anyone – whether they are 90 or 9. I could voice my opinions to them without insulting them. That is my biggest strength. More than anything, also listening. Being a leader and a follower at the same time is what makes a leader a leader. - Seed, 2009

Seeds highlighted the need for a place that they could identify as their Seeds of Peace place in Mumbai. To come back to exams and school routines after a Camp experience, without a clear connection with Seeds of Peace activities made it difficult for them to conceptualize post Camp programming. The table below contextualizes some of the key Seeds of Peace experiences for Indian Seeds within the framework of their environment -

Table 11: The Seeds experience through the Indian context Experience Context

Going to the United States Strong attraction for the US

Meeting kids from Pakistan Kashmir issue not as important – ties would be stronger over cricket. Looked at as a historic conflict rather than a current on-going conflict

Meeting kids from Afghanistan Levels of awareness of the conflict, culture and way of life of and the Middle East Afghanistan is similarly dismal as it is for Israel and Palestine

Seeds Alumni network Same schools, but no alumni programs. Like university alumni – contact numbers shared, but no actual programming. Potential to expand to other groups for actual programming

Prestige in school Seeds of Peace in India works in the same school. The noticeable change has made children in those schools want to get selected. Competition is therefore increasing. The merits of this culture are debatable

Gaps in programming

Below are some of the current contextual gaps and challenges within Seeds of Peace’s SA program that were identified in India:

1. Child and Conflict: The program currently does not fully recognize the distance between a child and conflict in India

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2. Internal Conflicts: It also does not take into account various forms of internal conflict in India which may find similarities in Pakistan and Afghanistan 3. Childhood environment: It can better take into account the environment in which the kids come from and they have to go back to and how it can impact their post-Seeds experience 4. Post Camp collaborations: No existing collaborations with other youth groups like AEISEC or Teach for India 5. Post Camp programming responsibility: Onus on programming is solely on the Seeds 6. Representing India: Seeds are meant to represent their country but in reality are not representative at all – again a matter of context 7. Change in staff and the process of transition 8. Seeds of Peace and Elitism: Working with the same schools – Seeds of peace considered as an elite step

Opportunities

Despite the gaps that exist, opportunities too prevail for Seeds of Peace to make its programming in India more relevant and How can the regional external factors be integrated in SEEDS OF PEACE’s programming? How can SEEDS OF PEACE be responsive to the local, national, regional and external dynamics?

1. Collaborations with other organizations and youth groups to sustain the ‘Camp’ experience once Seeds come back from India 2. Capitalize on the enthusiasm of Seeds as soon as they return from Camp – post Camp programming should be an inherent part of the Seeds orientation right from the beginning. In the orientation session, the focus was more on the Camp rather than the post Camp phase 3. The network of Seeds that exist in the region – more potential for collaboration

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Larry Hanauer, India’s and Pakistan’s Strategies in Afghanistan, RAND, 2012

Harsh V Pant, India’s Changing Afghanistan Policy: Regional and Global Implications, Army War College

Anwesha Ghosh, Afghanistan from Enduring Freedom to Enduring Chaos, Implications for India, Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi

Rory Stewart, Lessons from Afghanistan, Nov 2012

Mujib Mashal, Karzai’s India Gamble, Foreign Policy, May 2013

Sumit, Ganguly, Afghanistan is now India’s problem, Foreign Policy, July 2011

Sr Shanthie Mariet D’Souza, Indian-Afghan Strategic Partnership: Perceptions from the Ground, Oct 2011, Foreign Policy

Shashank Joshi, India’s Strategic Calculus in Afghanistan, Oct 2011, Foreign Policy

Christine Fair, Indian in Afghanistan, part I: Strategic Interests, Regional Concerns, Oct 2010, Foreign Policy

Christine Fair, India in Afghanistan, Part II: Indo-US relations in the lengthening Af-Pak shadow

136 Seeds of Peace South Asia Program (India) Samuel Hall

Jennifer Rowland and Andrew Lebovich, India-Afghanistan sign strategic pact, Oct 2011, Foreign Policy

Tom Kutsch, Taliban offers rare praise for India, June 2012, Foreign Policy

Daud Khattak, For Pakistan, a change of heart in Afghanistan, Dec 2012, Foreign Policy

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Selig S. Harrison, How to Leave Afghanistan without Losing, August 2010, Foreign Policy

Kori Schake, Smart moves by India, October 2011, Foreign Policy

137 Seeds of Peace South Asia Program (India) Samuel Hall

3. Afghanistan Country Context

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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION 140

AFGHANISTAN IN A SNAPSHOT 141

THE “YOUTH” IN THE AFGHAN CONTEXT 142 WHO ARE THE YOUTH IN AFGHANISTAN? 142 KABUL YOUTH – A PARTICIPATORY ANALYSIS 143

AFGHANISTAN THROUGH THE EYES OF THE YOUTH IN KABUL 152 POLITICAL CONTEXT IN AFGHANISTAN 152 SOCIAL CONTEXT IN AFGHANISTAN 153 ECONOMIC CONTEXT IN AFGHANISTAN 156 CULTURAL CONTEXT IN AFGHANISTAN 157 PLACE OF YOUTH IN SOCIETY IN THE FUTURE 158

AFGHANISTAN, ITS YOUTH AND ITS BORDERS 160 RELATIONS WITH PAKISTAN 160 RELATIONS WITH INDIA 162

COUNTRY DYNAMICS AND THE PLACE OF YOUTH IN THE CONTEXT 164 YOUTH IN THE REGION: DIALOGUE AND CROSS-BORDER EXCHANGE A WAY TO BRING THEM TOGETHER164 PATHS TO LEADERSHIP IN AFGHANISTAN: WHERE AND HOW 164 OBSTACLES FOR YOUTH LEADERSHIP IN AFGHANISTAN 165

PARTICIPATORY CONFLICT ANALYSIS 166

SEEDS OF PEACE PROGRAMMING IN AFGHANISTAN 171 THE COMING OF SOP TO AFGHANISTAN 171 CHALLENGES AND GAPS IN SOP PROGRAMMING IN AFGHANISTAN 173 OPPORTUNITIES FOR SOP 174

CONCLUSION 177

BIBLIOGRAPHY 178

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INTRODUCTION Afghanistan is a landlocked and historically major cultural and economic pathway, connecting the Middle East, Central and South Asian countries. Due to its strategic location at the confluence of three regions of the world, it has often faced challenges from beyond its borders. For the past 10 years, Afghanistan has played host to military forces from over 50 countries to eliminate insurgency and protect its 34 provinces. However, the story does not begin 10 years ago. Right since the 19th century, it saw the performance of the ‘great games’ as a strategic buffer zone between two or more countries within its borders. This was followed by the invasion of the Soviets in 1979, which lasted for another decade, eventually bringing in factional infighting between those who had arisen against the Soviets. The rule of the Taliban brought in an era of extreme conservativeness remnants of which are visible in Afghan society even today59. In the background of all this, a whole generation has grown-up in Afghanistan, who have seen nothing but war and instability. The larger labor force of the country would have seen their youthful years during the soviet invasion whilst the youth of today would have been born during the time of the mujahedeen wars and the Taliban. The psychological impact of growing up in a country wrecked by political instability and insecurity resulting in a dwindling economy cannot be conjectured. What can be attempted is to understand some of the tangible influences that have been present during the lives of the youth in Afghanistan.

SoP operates solely in Kabul, the urban capital that has been a major magnet for young Afghans seeking better livelihoods to fulfill their aspirations towards a better future. For many years, Kabul has also been a major refuge for families from rural areas forcibly displaced by armed conflict, violence and/or due to natural disasters. As such approximately half of the world’s estimated 10.5 million refugees and at least 13 million internally displaced people (IDPs) are said to be living in urban areas60. This bulging population in the urban centre, which has been doubling in the last ten years, from two million in 2001 to up to 4.5 million in 201061, lives in an environment where most of the basic services and infrastructure are overcrowded, characterized by poor housing, and where a large group of citizens are competing and struggling for the same small amount of jobs available- with the youth being most affected by these shortcomings. On the other hand, Kabul is also home to the HQ of the massive development effort from the international community. Expatriate men and women seen walking on the streets or driving in armored vehicles are not an uncommon sight. Shopping stores in the city often stock items catering to the internationals who live in Kabul. This stark contradiction has led to a meshing of cultures – most visible in the Afghan youth living in the city. Boys sporting western haircuts, music bands, art exhibitions and film screenings are increasingly becoming a part of the social fabric of an elite few youngsters who foray into this east meets west domain. Equally there are others, who live on the fringes of this culture trying to make ends meet.

This document forms the Afghanistan part of a tripartite context analysis of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, conducted for Seeds of Peace in order to inform its South Asia programming. The purpose of this document is to provide a) a generic analysis of key issues in Afghanistan and b) how the youth view, react and live through these issues. Given the complexity of Afghanistan’s current political and socio-economic situation, this report should not be understood as an exhaustive explanation that reflects Afghanistan in its totality, but rather, as a snapshot of political, social, economic and cultural issues that have shaped Afghan youth, based on our interviews with the youth members in Kabul (Seeds and non-Seeds alike).

59 AREU, Dr. Douglas Saltmarshe and Abhilash Medhi, ‘Local Governance in Afghanistan; a view from the ground’, June 2011. 60 UNHCR 2009 61 UN-HABITAT 2008.

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AFGHANISTAN IN A SNAPSHOT 2001 saw the commencement of a massive undertaking of reconstruction and peace building projects in Afghanistan. For the last 10 years, the Afghan government and international forces have been trying to rebuild a country whilst also combating an on-going insurgency. Added to these are efforts to fight home grown poppy cultivation- contributing to three quarters of the global market, tackling illiteracy and poverty, and seeking to meet the needs of 5.7 million Afghan refugees who have returned from neighboring countries and thousands of Internally Displace Persons (IDPs) residing in Afghanistan62. It has also been pushing a massive reconstruction effort in reforming the judicial, political and economic system of the country; devastated years of fighting and disorder.

The efforts of the Afghan government, although highly dependent on international support, have had a significant impact on the lives of some Afghans, and progress has been made particularly in the areas of health, education, and media development. However, big challenges remain. Currently, more than half of the Afghan population lives below the poverty line. In terms of human development rankings, Afghanistan continues to be among the world’s poorest, most illiterate and deprived countries, with a ranking of 174 out of the 178 countries.63 Likewise, in an international poll Afghanistan was ranked as ‘the most dangerous place for women’, as health, non-sexual violence against women, and economic discrimination continues to be a major plague.64 Furthermore, practices such as child- and forced marriages65, stoning, honor killings, and imprisonment of women due to acts of ‘moral crimes’ persist to be widely used practices in most parts of the country66.

Corruption too is a huge problem; Afghanistan is ranked 174 out of 176 in Transparency International's 2012 corruption index67. It is widely acknowledged that since 2006, the security situation in the country has deteriorated increasingly. In 2009 violence levels were reported to have reached a peak, making the access and delivery of aid by the Afghan government, the UN and national organizations more difficult68. Recent security reports show that the volume and profile of attacks on NGOs and their personnel have not substantially worsened or gotten better in 201269.

Is Afghanistan facing a ‘triple earthquake’ in 2014?

2014 will be Afghanistan’s reckoning. It is a year that is being termed as one wherein Afghan people may be confronting a ‘triple earthquake’70. Security - Firstly, the withdrawal of NATO’s International Assistance Security Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan means the handover of responsibility for Afghanistan’s security, economic development, and governance to the Afghan government by the end of 2014. Finance - Secondly, it is expected that the withdrawal of ISAF forces will not only mean a substantial decrease in forces but also a country wide decrease in financial resources– whether directly or produced by the absence of the foreign military apparatus and private companies, leading to greater levels of unemployment. Governance - And thirdly, there are concerns over a free and fair Presidential elections, which are set for April 2014 and whether the Afghan forces are able to protect the voting process.1

62 UNHCR, Country operations profile 2013. http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e486eb6.html 63 Afghanistan Human Development Report 2007. 64 Trust law, ‘Factsheet- the world’s most dangerous countries for women’, Thomas Reuters Foundation, 15 June 2011. 65 Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), ‘Violence against women in Afghanistan’, 1391. 66 HRW (2012), ‘I had to run away’ The imprisonment of Women and Girls for Moral Crimes in Afghanistan’, 2012.or in 67 Transparency International http://www.transparency.org/country#AFG 68Rod Nordland, ‘Security in Afghanistan Is Deteriorating, Aid Groups Say’, NY Times, September 11, 2010 69 ANSO, Quarterly Data Report Q.4 2012, Jan 1st ‐ Dec 31st 2012. 70 Vanda Felbab-Brown, ‘Slip-Sliding on a Yellow Brick Road: Stabilization Efforts in Afghanistan’, International Journal of Security and Development, Vol 1, No 1, 2012.

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Already struggling to restore a failed justice system that has seen several waves of reform since the early 1920s, Afghanistan faces many complex challenges in reconstructing its justice system. Despite all national and international efforts, rule of law and access to justice remains extremely poor and limited.

The country’s legal framework presents a complicated landscape for young people to navigate as they find themselves caught between two systems – the traditional and the formal. Frustration is felt by those hoping to address issues through the formal state legal system but instead face extensive corruption and nepotism. General perceptions are that the formal justice system is unreliable, and favors those able and willing to engage in bribery or administrative corruption. On the other hand traditional mechanisms are viewed to be more accessible, cheaper, less corrupt and more legitimate than the formal justice system. However, many caveats exist that make the traditional system unsuitable; particularly in terms of women’s rights. Traditional mechanisms are seen to be discriminatory. In most cases, women are disadvantaged and decisions favor men as women are often excluded from the decision-making process, some decisions are based on customary law, for example, when a woman is forced into marriage or exchanged to settle a dispute. Other common extreme examples include floggings, executions and amputations particularly and solely imposed on women. Under the current security challenges, and especially, with the inclusion the Taliban elements in the government the robustness of the both justice foundations will be even more critically put to the test.

THE “YOUTH” IN THE AFGHAN CONTEXT

Who are the youth in Afghanistan? Years of war and economic instability have compressed the youth’s transition from childhood to adulthood. Many young Afghans were born or spent long periods of time in Pakistan or in Iran as refugees. Those between 15 and 25 years of age were born between 1988 and 1998, thereby falling during or in-between wars with significant foreign involvement. Life, to put it simply, was not stable during their childhoods. A large number of youth experienced displacement early on, The Urban/Rural Divide: Lives of Youth in Rural whether elsewhere in Afghanistan or in Afghanistan neighboring or far-off countries. The fact that 80% of Afghan population lives in rural areas. The these young men and women were born in war lives of the youth in the rural areas are considerably meant that their understanding and different compared to those who live in the main experiences of peace and stability were only urban areas such as Kabul. Clear differences are through (1) stories from older generations or found in demographics- and economic disparities. The poverty levels in rural areas are significantly (2) experiences in exile as refugees. higher than in urban centers. Rural households In a traditional country such as Afghanistan, mainly rely on agriculture; have less access to health youth are given a limited role in defining the services, educational opportunities and employment. 71 new contours of Afghan society . The average size of a household in an Afghan family is 772.

71 Samuel Hall (2013), Youth Participatory Assessment, forthcoming publication. 72 MRRD/CSO, National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (2007/08).

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Women are not allowed to work or step out beyond their domestic sphere. The onus of providing for the family often falls on the male members. In Afghanistan, one often finds a 24-year-old married man with a family of 2 children or a 20-year-old woman also with a family of 2 children. The youth therefore find themselves with the responsibility but no decision-making power.

Added to the complexity of defining the category of youth in the Afghan milieu are widespread differences that are visible in the lives of those who live in urban cities like Kabul and those who live in rural areas. Whilst a youth in Kabul has better access to education, health facilities and even employment opportunities, those who live in rural areas may not. Whilst youth in Kabul may perhaps have the opportunity to learn English, considered to be an asset for better employment, youth in the rural areas may not. Socially, economically and culturally, youth in Afghanistan display different characteristics in urban and rural areas. The reasons for this are partly the nature of urban centers themselves as being more cosmopolitan than rural areas. Other reasons include the presence and impact of the international community. This and the spread of social media and access to Internet have brought western culture a lot closer to the Afghan youth. Young men in Kabul sport fancy haircuts and western clothing. They carry the latest mobile phones and use Facebook, twitter and other such websites. But the question here is – are the youth in Kabul more outward looking? Would they leave Afghanistan if they had access to better opportunities abroad? Would youth in the rural areas do the same? Community life and family ties in Afghanistan are strong and dominated by a complex set of relationships, which are characterized by social dependence and interconnected with ties of kinship, perhaps even more so in the rural areas. Would that imply that youth in Afghanistan would be more prone to leaving the country than staying and reforming it?

In the Afghan context, youth have and will face continued challenges related to traditional and modern tensions, a painful and complicated past and the inevitable confusion about who they as ‘youth’ are.

Kabul Youth – A Participatory Analysis

In 2012, Samuel Hall conducted a Participatory Analysis of the Afghan Youth in 15 provinces of the country. The assessment ranged from tangible aspects of a youth’s development like education, demography, health and employment to intangible influences on their lives like opinions, expectations, nationalism and aspirations. The survey interviewed 713 youth in Kabul, both girls and boys, between the ages of 15-25 (the official UN definition of youth). Below are some interesting results from the survey –

Education Of all the respondents interviewed in Kabul, a majority (78%) of the respondents is literate with schooling. Of these 64% were male and only 35% were female.

Graph 1: Levels of Education amongst Youth in Kabul

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What is your level of education?

2% Illiterate (no schooling) 18% 1% Literate (no schooling) 1%

Literate (Madrassa)

Literate (with schooling) 78%

Literate (with madrassa and schooling)

Respondents who were illiterate (18%), cited the following reasons for never having been to school:

Graph 2: Reasons for Illiteracy in Kabul

Reasons for Illiteracy

I needed work to raise money for my family

My parents did not allow me to go to school…

It was too insecure

I did not want to go to school

There is no school nearby

Other

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Those who dropped out, had the following reasons:

Graph 3: Reasons for dropping out of Education in Kabul

Reasons of Dropping Out

I could not afford it

My parents asked me to leave for non‐financial…

My work was taking up too much time

I was not interested in what was being taught

Insecurity

I moved

I failed out of School

I got engaged or married

I was removed from school by administration for…

Other

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Both results clearly indicate economic reasons as preventing the youth from getting education.

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Studying Abroad Of 713 respondents interviewed in Kabul, majority had never studied outside of Afghanistan. However a small number (11%) had studied in countries like Pakistan and Iran on account of being refugees there. Only 1% of the respondents said that they had gone abroad for the specific purpose of acquiring an education.

Vocational Training Providing vocational training has been an important aspect of development programs in Afghanistan as a means to create alternate livelihoods and income generating skills. However, the results of the vocation training received in the survey indicated that just over half the respondents in Kabul had not received any kind of vocational training whilst the other half had. As shown in the graph below, the vocational training received was spread over diverse sectors. The most popular were tailoring, computer and IT and sewing and embroidery amounting to almost 37% of the total respondents who had received vocational training.

Graph 4: Types of Vocational Training received by the Youth in Kabul

Vocational Training

I have not received vocational training 394

Tailoring 108

Computer and IT 73

Others 46

Sewing and embroidery 46

Mechanics 33

Beauty Parlor 20

Carpentry 16

Carpet Weaving 15

Electrical 11

Bee-keeping 9

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450

According to the survey conducted in Kabul, majority (60%) of those who had received vocational training had been unable to find jobs. The reasons for this were cited as many – from being unable to find a job that needed the skills that they had been taught to not wanting to continue the vocation. The graph below shows other reasons cited by those who were unsuccessful in finding a job after vocational training.

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Graph 5: Reasons for not finding a job after receiving Vocational Training

Reasons for not finding a Job

I could not find a job which needed these 168 skills I don't Know 161

I did not want to continue the vocation 86

Other 79

I did not try to find a job 63 The training didn't teach me skills 51 proficiently enough I ranout of resources to carry on the 44 activity I was not allowed to find a job by my 32 family Local Labor market is too far 20

0 50 100 150 200

Of those who had been successful in finding jobs, 20.8% had been trained in Computer and IT, 17.6% had been trained in mechanics and 20% had been trained in tailoring. Of the 108 people who had been trained in tailoring, only 18% had managed to find jobs. On the contrary, of the 33 people in Kabul who had been trained as mechanics, 66.6% had successfully found a job because of the training that they received. What is stark is that of the 125 people who had found employment out of 319 who had been trained, 80% were men and 20% were women even though of the total number, who had received vocational training, 58.3% were men and 41.7% were women. This clearly indicates that women were finding it much more difficult to find jobs after having been trained than men. The reasons cited by women were similar to the ones shown above where most said that they could not find a job that needed the skills in which they had been trained.

Volunteerism Majority of those interviewed, wanted to do voluntary work. Of these 71% were men and only 28% were women. However, as is represented in Graph 9, 78.1% of the people felt that they did not have any opportunities of voluntary work available to them. Of these 78% people, 55.1% had said that they would like to do voluntary work whilst only 0.5% are already doing some work.

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Graph 6: Desire to do Voluntary work in Kabul

Would you like to do voluntary, unpaid work that provides a service to your community and improves peoples lives?

500 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 No, I don't want to No, I don't want to No, I don't want to No, I don't want to Yes, I would like to do it. because I have to because I don't know because I’m too busy with because I don't want to provide for my family. what it is. non-income act work without mon

Graphs 7 and 8: Opportunities for Voluntary work in Kabul

Do you have opportunities for What are the kinds of voluntary work that are voluntary work where you live? available?

Working in Masjid Cleaning of school No 78.1 Teaching Social work Working in school Cleaning of streets Yes 21.9 Help with people Any type of voluntary work Tailoring 0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100

Youth and Employment in Kabul Of those who were interviewed, majority did not have jobs, albeit the fact that most of the respondents who were unemployed were also still studying. But the discussion on volunteerism and qualitative fieldwork highlights that employment was a serious concern for most respondents.

Graph 9: Employment and Unemployment amongst Youth in Kabul

Do you have a Job?

No I dont have a job

Yes, one job

No, I cant find a job Male Female No, I dont want a job

Yes, more than one job

0 100 200 300 400 500

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Majority of those that had jobs worked for between 30-50 hours a week in the summer and the same in the winter. Of Having Connections as a driving those who were employed, 83% liked their jobs and the force in Afghanistan remaining did not. Those who did not like their jobs, had the Having connections or knowing the following reasons clearly indicating that salaries received was ‘right’ people appears to be the fuel the key concern. In light of the coming transition and shrink in that drives much of Afghanistan’s funding, this section of the population – who have the skills to networks and relationships – work and are educated will find themselves without a job and politically, socially and grappling with economic insecurity. The government may economically. According to therefore find itself with a large group of educated unemployed anecdotal evidence, from the youth, who will feel frustrated in the shrinking economic treatment you receive in hospitals1 climate that may come to Afghanistan. to getting good jobs is contingent on having connections. Our survey Graph 10: Information about Job Vacancies corroborated this where 33% of the respondents said that having When asked about connections is key to how easy it is How do you hear about job for youth to find employment. vacancies? where they hear about potential job However, this endemic problem has serious impacts and will continue to opportunities, Through family and do so in the long term. Afghanistan 5% friends majority said that 6% 7% is a country in the process of Through radio and TV they heard about it change. The youth are more from family and educated than they were and are From the internet 52% friends, whilst 30% vying for opportunities. With a 30% Governent employment said that they society dependent on connections, services heard about it merit is always overshadowed by Others through the TV and power. This has a discouraging radio. Questions to impact on those who have worked survey the usage of hard creating dissent and dissatisfaction with the government TV and radio showed that though 40% used the TV frequently and system. and only 20% used the radio frequently, this was in houses where there was a TV i.e. 81% of respondents in Kabul.

However, inadequate information was identified by 10% of respondents as being one of the challenges related to employment amongst the youth.

Employment Aspirations Predictably, most Afghan youth consider becoming a doctor and an engineer as their dream jobs. This is an indicator of the impact of economic instability and insecurity on youth. Dream jobs are often those that will bring with it, higher chances of employment or good income rather than what they may enjoy doing. What is surprising is that contrary to assumption; most respondents said that they would like to work in Kabul rather than abroad. Of those who want to go abroad 51% were male and 48% were female.

As was shown in graph 4 the main challenge related to employment that was identified by our respondents was lack of job opportunities. Some were also unable to work due to insecurity.

Ethnic Identity and Human Rights in Kabul Majority of the respondents interviewed in the survey in Kabul were Tajiks, whilst a miniscule minority were Uzbek, Turkmen and others that included Punjabis, Pashayee. The other predominant ethnicities interviewed were Pashtuns and Hazaras.

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Of those interviewed, majority said that they felt more Afghan than their ethnicity whilst an almost equal number said that they felt only Afghan in their identity. About 15% said that they identified neither with their nationality nor ethnicity, but considered themselves to be only Muslims. Most of those who identified with being Muslims were men (63.4%) living in both urban and rural areas. However, 91% of the youth interviewed in Kabul said that they were very proud to be Afghan. Majority also said that they would not accept the citizenship of another country if they were offered one. In the focus groups conducted, most youth wanted to go abroad for education but wanted to come back to Afghanistan after that.

Graph 11: Notions of Identity amongst Youth in Kabul

Which of the following are true?

300 250 200 150 100 50 0 I do not identify I feel only I feel more I do not identify I feel only Afghan, I feel more Afghan with anything (ethnicity), not (ethnicity) than with my ethnicity not (ethnicity). than (ethnicity) Afghan. Afghan. or nationality. I identi

91% of the respondents thought that Human Rights were important of which education; security, work and religion were considered to be most important. Some people also thought that discriminating against ethnic groups and other religious groups was also a human right.

Youth: Participation and Expectations in Kabul When asked about what they thought of the security situation in Afghanistan, opinions were almost equally divided between good and improving to deteriorating and poor. Of those who thought that the security is deteriorating or is poor, 44% were women mostly living in urban areas and the rest men. Our qualitative research through focus groups conducted with men and women both, in Kabul yielded that compared to other provinces, the youth were a lot more critical of the police and the armed forces in Kabul than in any other place. Opinions in other provinces largely favored the presence of the ANP and ANA and showed faith in their ability to look after the country albeit with government support. The focused survey in Phase III will aim to capture more information on perceptions of women regarding security forces73. When asked to prioritize the areas in which the government should work, (77% people felt that it should focus more on security. Contrary to prevailing assumption however, majority of the youth in Kabul have never been personally exposed to violence. A few have been indirectly affected, having lost family members or friends whilst a few had witnessed violence directly. These were mostly men (70%) with 30% of them being women. They also had the following vulnerability profiles:

In terms of the participation of the youth themselves, majority of the youth in our survey said that they were very interested in politics. Of these, majority were boys (59%) with 41% girls saying the same. A number of youth also considered their own role in the future of Afghanistan as being in the area of politics albeit majority said that they also considered security as the priority area where they thought the role of the youth lay.

73 Samuel Hall Consulting, Women’s Perceptions of the Afghan National Police, Gender dynamics of Kabul women and police, Heinrich Böll Stiftung, 2011, Available at http://samuelhall.org/category/publications/page/2/

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Graphs 12 and 13: Levels of Interest in Politics and Priority Areas of Youth Participation

Generally, how interested are you in In what areas do you prioritize youth's politics? Frequency role in the future of Afghanistan

Very interested Security Role Not at all interested political Role Somewhat interested Religious Role Social Role Neutral None of the above Not very interested Other 0 100 200 300 0 100 200 300 400 500

When asked about how they thought that they could improve the security situation in the country, majority replied through education and supporting the government. Some also thought that they could do so by participating more in the community. Majority of the youth interviewed, also thought that discussions with community elders was the most effective way to get their voices heard. Other than this, a number of them also thought that joining a youth group was also an effective way of having their voices heard. Surprisingly though, very few youth interviewed were actually members of any kind of youth or cultural group which could bring their ideas and thoughts together.

Graph 14: Ways in which the youth in Kabul think they can improve the security of the country

How do you think you can improve the security situation in the country?

By supporting the government, including the military or… By educating yourself and transferring the skills to others By participating more in community work By participating more in local governance I don’t know By supporting anti-government elements I don’t think I can improve the security situation in the … Other 0 100 200 300 400 500 600

Significance of the youth Presently 30% of the population of Afghanistan – between the ages of 15 and 25 are on the threshold of entering the labor market of an increasingly shrinking economy. Potential impacts can be far ranging - both positive and negative. A pessimistic analysis would lead towards an economic crisis in the form of an educated unemployed work force, which could potentially instigate either a mass exodus of skilled labor from the country or recruitment in insurgent groups, which offer an alternative channel for participating in state governance. A more optimistic approach would focus on the intellectual capacity for entrepreneurship, technological innovation and cultural ambassadorship. Yet, reconstruction and development have not matched these high expectations and most young people still feel politically disenfranchised74. Insurgent groups in some parts of the country use this growing frustration to recruit more young people in their ranks. So the segment of the population that should have been utilized as an engine to rebuild Afghanistan may instead become a threat. This risk has not been addressed in any of the major nation-wide programs in Afghanistan so far.

In any event, the importance of Afghan youth cannot be underestimated. Two upcoming events in Afghanistan’s near future – which will have a large impact on the future of the country are a) the transition to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and b) the 2014 presidential elections. In

74 Samuel Hall (2013), Youth Participatory Assessment, forthcoming.

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both of these, the youth play a key role. The majority of the ANSF soldiers who will be fighting to protect and secure the country are aged between 15-30 years. Their induction into the forces often takes attention away from the fact that they are still young. Currently, the ANSF is recruiting and training young men (many of whom are poorly educated) to use lethal force in a politically volatile context. This, in itself, creates a potential threat to security further down the road. Secondly, in the upcoming presidential elections of 2014, the youth will constitute the largest demographic in the voter base. Even if there is election fraud, the relevance and influence of the elections will depend on the degree and nature of participation among young people.

The following section highlights some key issues with the political, social, economic and cultural realm that they feel Afghanistan suffers from today.

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AFGHANISTAN THROUGH THE EYES OF THE YOUTH IN KABUL This section focuses on what young Afghans interviewed for this study perceived were the main issues confronting Afghanistan today and what they felt could be done to overcome these issues.

Political Context in Afghanistan When the Taliban fell in 2001, an interim government was established under current President – Hamid Karzai. The formal Key Words government was established in 2004 with Karzai at its helm. He won Issues his second term in 2009. Therefore, since the fall of the Taliban, Security Afghanistan has only seen Karzai at the head of its government. Now Transition in 2014, under current laws, Karzai cannot run a third time for office, Civil War which means that at the time of the drawdown of security forces, the Taliban Resurgence government too will be undergoing a serious change. Over the last 10 Attitudes years, the government of Afghanistan and its officials have been Political apathy repeatedly accused of corruption. The control of the government Fear Uncertainty over rural areas away from Kabul is still tentative at best whilst the provinces are governed by governors, often to a degree of autonomy from the central government. There is also a major concern for growing ethnic tensions.

Many Tajiks and Uzbek leaders- former Northern Alliance, who once participated fully in Karzai’s government, feel alienated by Karzai, while he is seeking to strike a political deal with the Taliban. For a couple of years now, these Afghan minority leaders have formed a political coalition against Karzai, the so-called National United Front, to pull together those political groups excluded from the government. While the international intervention in Ashura suicide attacks 2011 Afghanistan has not directly resulted in sectarian In 2011 twin suicide attacks were carried out violence between its Sunni and Shia community, as it on Afghan shrines in Kabul and Mazar-e did in Iraq, it remains uncertain to what extent these Sharif attended by thousands of mourners ethnic relations and cleavages among the political commemorating the Shiite occasion of Shiite leaders will remain peaceful in light of the current holy day of Ashura. The attacks were transition. The political landscape in Afghanistan claimed by the Pakistani militant group after 2014 may become more complex with on going Lashkar-e-Jhangvion, and left more than 59 efforts of political accommodation of ‘moderate’ dead including children and women. This Taliban by the Afghan government. Moreover, there incident however remains a one-of-its kind in Afghanistan rather than the norm. remains little certainty over the 2014 Presidential elections being peaceful, free and fair for the people of Afghanistan.

Security beyond 2014 The current security situation in Afghanistan continues to be fragile and volatile. Afghanistan is in the process of a transition of security to culminate next year. The withdrawal of foreign troops by the end of 2014 will mean that full responsibility of the security will be handed- over to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). However, recent media reports show that most Afghans remain skeptical of the process. Confidence that the hand-over will indeed bring longer-term stability and security remains shaky. The concerns for the security are not however linked to the performance of the ANSF or the withdrawal of foreign forces.

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Apprehension about the Afghan government With a legacy of past conflict in the country, people fear that the weak Afghan government will not only be unable to contain Taliban violence in the country, but will also fail to control the rising ethnic tensions in the country. Concerns are that with the easy availability of small arms and the continuation of human rights abuses in the country, the Afghan government will once again fail to secure the country75. Much depends therefore on how the initial transfer of responsibility of the security to the Afghan government plays out, and what steps the Afghan government takes to minimize the instability during transition.

Probability of a Civil War Post 2014? Among the youth interviewed, the post 2014 transition appeared to be the main recurrent political topic of significance for the country. Return to civil war and concerns over negotiations with the Taliban were some of the key issues that plagued this uncertainty over the future of Afghanistan’s security situation.

One thing that most youth think about is what will happen in 2014? If the Taliban come back, what should we do? This is a hot issue. We are all dependent on the international community. I think the forces should stay for a longer time because we don’t know which way Afghanistan is going. I’m afraid that if the Taliban comes back we won’t be able to go to school. For Afghan girls and women it will get difficult - Seed 2012 Lack of youth participation in politics Several youth had difficulties answering this question and could not come up with political issues confronting youth in Afghanistan. In several instances some emphasized that they were not really interested in politics. One of the rationales behind this lack of interest in politics could be the youth’s limited and narrow conceptualization and awareness of the political issues they were asked to reflect upon. When asked what they thought were the most important political issues facing Afghanistan and youth today, they focused on ‘politics’ and which they thought were irrelevant to their lives at present as they were more focused on their studies and had no interest in following politics and being engaged daily political discussion and debates. A Seed explained:

Political issues? I don't know much about that, because I am a student and I also don't think much about this. I am much more focused on my studies, and I don't discuss politics - Seed 2010 Social Context in Afghanistan Corruption Corruption is not only a problem in the Afghan government; many Key Words Seeds explained having experienced manifestation of corruption at Issues school and within their university. Within schools, several Seeds Social exclusion emphasized that it has become a common practice among teachers to Ethnic favoritism accept bribes from the students and their parents. Seeds recalled Attitudes seeing other students’ buying their ranks and in some case even their Fear diplomas. For others, the recent Concor results- the main exam Uncertainty students need to pass to enter the university, were also fraudulent. Here Seeds referred to the striking case of Faryab province, where all students in a school had passed their exams and received admissions in universities, while numbers in other provinces, like Kabul, where the

75 Dylan Welch, ‘Afghan corruption worth twice government revenue: report’, Reuters, February 7, 2013.

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quality of the education is to be much better, were much lower. The youth believed that this only happened because of the personal connections and influence of political leaders from Faryab within the Afghan government. It is because of this type of corruption within the education system, that many youth are not only reluctant to participate in the Concours (university entrance) exams, but also loose faith and confidence in the Afghan government. When I finished high school, I didn't even want to do my Concor exams. Because everything there is corrupted, I have seen it myself. I have seen kids pass the Concor- exams and getting admitted to good universities, while they didn't even know how to write or read properly. Because there are very few places available the universities and so many students graduate every year, the government cannot absorb it. So what do you do when you don't get admitted and don't have any other chances? The private universities are too expensive, and there are no jobs. So the only option for students is to bribe the officials to get admitted - Seed 2009 Position of women In the social context, the position of Afghan women and its future is of primary concern to the youth interviewed. Already a conservative society, the Taliban rule in Afghanistan diminished the public role and authority of women completely. Many current debates are therefore centered around questions of what would be the role of Sharia in the Afghan constitution, cabinet, ministries, the justice system and the Afghan army, crystalized by fears for a return to the Taliban era where women were barred from working, studying or even leaving their homes. Such fears are primarily prevalent among civil society organizations, women activist organizations and female MPs who have succeeded in tangibly improving their position and participation in the public sphere since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001. This fear for the future touches upon one of the important issues of the post 2014 political developments - the distribution of power over Afghanistan's geopolitical and administrative divisions, taking into account the fears and aspirations of the Afghan people, including minority groups in the country.

This has direct implications for the youth. Women after reaching puberty are perhaps the most protected from the outside world. This would mean that unless their families were to allow it, or they had recourse to go abroad, almost half of the youth population of Afghanistan becomes invisible after they are 16 years old. The responsibility of participation in state and societal affairs then starts falling on the men, exacerbating the gender divide. That being said, many young women, some from the diaspora community abroad and others from liberal families, and still others out of sheer desperation have been playing an increasingly public and involved role in matters of politics and society. But for many, this has not been an easy journey. They have faced opposition; even death threats from their family members and others in the community who disapprove of their behavior because of the impact it will have on their own daughters. However, unlike women in rural areas, those living in major cities like Kabul, have generally better access to basic services and formal education. While life in rural areas is primarily confined within the four walls of their homes, participation of women in public life is much more accepted in Kabul leading them to have more social, political and economic freedom and liberties. Due to a greater availability of institutional support, economic resources and greater presence of the international and national organizations and businesses in Kabul, women here have better opportunities to find employment, to participate in public spaces with lesser rigid social values and norms defining their mobility within the society.

Social exclusion and ethnic discrimination Existing ethnic division and sectarian cleavages between Shias and Sunnis in Afghan society were also highlighted as a social concern by the youth that were interviewed. They explained that decades of fighting between different groups in Afghanistan, interference from other external countries, and ethnic favoritism shown by political leaders, continues to generate division, and exclusion. This

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discrimination manifests itself within classes, schools, and universities directly impacting the youth through their growth.

Youth explained how ethnic divisions are manifesting in their class and school:

I think ethnic favoritism is the biggest issue at this moment. You see, I live in a neighborhood with mostly Pashtuns, and they always talk bad about other groups, like they always say ‘that Tajik’, ‘that Hazara did this or did that’. So I know they do the same thing with the Pashtuns. And in my school, the Pashtun guys play soccer with each other in a separate group, and the Tajiks also have their own separate group. We are all from one class, but we have different groups! Nobody wants to play together, and so everyone has his own group - Seed 2005 If you look at the latest Concor results, you will see that there are so many students who didn't pass their years, but I saw on TV that all students from the school in Faryab passed their exams and got admitted to the universities! How is this possible? The students don't even know how to read and write properly! They don't even have good classrooms and books there! Everyone knows that it’s because of their leader who is now an MP and has good relationships with the MOE. So again it’s because of his power, he is just helping his own ethnic group. But what about the real students who were eligible? The youth’s situation is becoming like this because of the leaders - Seed, 2004

For several youth, the current political leaders were not the only ones generating discriminatory behavior based on people’s ethnic or religious background. For me this means that the families always interfere with the youth’s choices, they don't allow the girl or the boy to choose a person they like. The families want them to marry with the same tribe. So they don't allow their children to marry someone else [that is not from the same background]. I think this is the main issue for most girls but also boys - Seed 2010

Poor quality of education limiting youth’s development For the youth, the current education situation in Afghanistan is far from satisfactory. In their view, it is failing to educate youth properly as the curriculum and quality of the books used in schools are very poor. There seems to be no interest in encouraging creativity and teaching students skills for critical thinking. Several Seeds therefore felt that the current educational system is hindering Afghan youth to become young leaders, as it keeps them limited in their thinking and personal development. A non- Seed explained that this lack of creativity impacts how youth form their personal opinion, and that this has been the main cause for the many conflicts Afghanistan has faced. He believed that youth just copy other people’s ideas and arguments, especially those of their elders and political leaders, without really thinking and creating their own opinion.

Even university students are just relying on their political leaders and they don't take the time to think whether what they [political leaders] are saying or doing is the right thing or not. So they are just assuming because he is the political leader, and so what he is saying I will do this - Non-Seed

Youth have a passive learning mentality Related to availability of poor education, several others accounted that the main social issue for them confronting Afghan society, was that those Afghan youth who are in fact receiving an education, are doing so passively, primarily focused on passing exams. Therefore the main problem in Afghanistan is, an environment where youth and their parents are only interested in achieving high grades, rather than being interested or encouraged to think critically and creatively. This is

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important for Seeds of Peace in several ways: in defining a responsibility towards providing learning events, focusing on education through critical thinking and analytical skill training.

Media is hyping the 2014 transition Seeds emphasized that it is actually the media, which has been shaping people’s perception of what will happen post-2014. Several Seeds explained that many Afghans fear what will happen in 2014, especially because the media is constantly playing in their fears by constantly ‘hyping the post 2014’ through broadcasting and emphasizing negative news and scenarios of Afghanistan in the post- 2014 landscape. Others believed that the media is also a main driver of conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan as it is always broadcasting negative news about Pakistan. A report published by BBC in March 2012 found that although there were some very successful commercial television channels in Afghanistan (mostly Kabul based), there was no independent and widely trusted national media capable of transcending or creating communication across the fracture points in Afghan society. Most media was either localized or seen as serving political, religious or other agendas76.

Another feature of the present content of Afghan media is foreign shows. In a country where the Ministry of Information and Culture imposes strict censures on what is to be shown and what isn’t, reports exist that almost 50% of the content is still from countries like India, Pakistan, Turkey and Central Asia.77

These views above however indicate the growth of an independent media industry in the country that was non-existent when Afghanistan entered the 21st century78. A few projects based in the big cities, work towards getting young men and women more involved in the media. One example of this is the currently ongoing ‘Media Week Festival’ organized by the Afghan Cultural House as part of the Afghan Youth Voices Festival79.

Economic Context in Afghanistan Key Words Issues Unemployment and fears of financial insecurity with the transition Unemployment Fears of economic instability were discussed in relation to the decrease Corruption of financial resources after the 2014 transition. As most jobs are now Increasing inequality occupied by youth – in the middle management and lower management Attitudes especially of NGOs and other companies, youth’s fears were that these Apathy to participation opportunities would greatly diminish with the decreasing security Fear situation. Several youth highlighted that this was not only a concern for Uncertainty them personally but in many cases also for their parents. While the financial insecurity fears associated with the 2014 transition was a recurrent concern among the youth in this study, Samuel Hall’s recent ‘Participatory Assessment of the Afghan Youth’- shows that the majority of the youth interviewed there actually believed that would not lose their jobs after the withdrawal in 2014. If they did lose their jobs, more than the majority (86%) explained they would continue to look for a job in Kabul whilst a minority (12%) explained they had not thought about it yet80.

76 BBC Media Action, The Media of Afghanistan, The challenges of transition, March 2012, Policy brief 77 Idem 78 Media Flourishes despite security threats, Outlook Afghanistan, Available at http://outlookafghanistan.net/editorialdetail.php?post_id=7526 79 First Day of the Media Week Festival, Available at http://www.afghanyouthvoices.com/en 80 Samuel Hall, ‘A Participatory Assessment of the Afghan Youth: How Afghan youth negotiate their lives’, unpublished report 2012.

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Increasing inequality Others emphasized that the main social and economic issue confronting all Afghans today, is the increasing gap between rich and poor due to inflation and rampant corruption in the country. For some, the development and progress in the country has not benefitted those in need but rather those who already had a position, especially ones within the government who have disproportionately benefitted the most.

For me the biggest economic issue is that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. If you see on the streets- we have many people without a job. Only street children- are working. But the people in the government are building houses and houses. So this is because of the corrupt government- because don't care about the poor people. Only how much money they have. And then they will be also thinking about leaving if things get worse here, but what about the poor? They will stay - Seed 2009 Cultural Context in Afghanistan

Loss of Afghan identity due to influence of foreign TV shows

The media landscape in Afghanistan is no longer an isolated enclave. With international aid pouring into Afghanistan, satellite, cable TV and Key Words Internet have arrived in most communities in Kabul, with most of the Issues households having access to mobile phones. However, while media is Loss of Afghan identity increasingly popular among the youth, several Seeds emphasized that Media’s negative role to a greater extent, the media is actually ‘a threat to Afghan identity’. Attitudes For them the media is undermining Afghan cultural values as majority Pessimism of the Afghan TV stations only broadcast Indian and Turkish soaps and Fear

TV series. As a result, Afghan youth no longer have an Afghan identity but fall to the replication and imitation of non- Afghan cultural behaviors and lifestyles.

A female Seed elaborated her view on how Afghan culture has always been subject to external influences:

Even when Russia was in Afghanistan they wanted to change culture in Afghanistan. That is also what US is doing. People think that US is against religion. Before there were a lot of India serials on TV, which influenced a lot of people. You could see some Indian culture and cloths in Afghanistan. Maybe they want to change the ideas of Afghan people. They want us to think that they have a good relationship with our country. Now days it’s more Turkish soaps and you can see the same attitude again. It’s a good thing when people learn positive things from this, but when they learn negative things it’s a bad thing. They don’t let us to have our own culture - Female Seed, 2012

Another Seed also explained: One of the main things is the loss of our own culture. What we see that we are losing our culture. We see for example that people go to Iran and they loose their language even their clothes styles. But I think preserving our own culture is very important. We should know that. And another thing is that we should preserve our religion - Seed 2012

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Place of Youth in society in the future

The four aforementioned categories of issues – political, cultural, social and economic – present a massive challenge for the country’s youth. While some issues such as corruption are not specific to youth only, they are nonetheless experienced in youth differently in the context of their greater development and formation of their basic perceptions about the political and socio-economical context. All these issues have an impact on Afghan youth’s transitional stage between childhood and adulthood in the present and in in their future life. Youth are in the process of developing outlooks on the country, their lives and their futures, with the basis of their perceptions developing from mixed experiences, media, family experiences and more. Youth are not receiving information from a single source but are instead, digesting and integrating various factors at play in the political and social contexts. This allows them to use a ‘picture’ of the society in order to determine their current and potential role in its future development. The wide range of different types of issues highlighted by the youth in our study, show that the youth in Afghanistan are not a homogenous group, but are influenced by many different experiences that are related to structural factors that have long perpetuated the Afghan society. Their decisions are primarily practical, and are based upon a compromise between desire and limitations. When taking all issues together that are perpetuating Afghan youth today from the viewpoint of the youth, one common dominator of all issues is that of exclusion.

This exclusion has and may further lead to several trends among youth in the country, including destructive long-term behavior and migration as well as developing optimism.

Destructive behaviors in the long term Some youth emphasized that these ethnic divisions and social exclusion of certain groups, coupled with corruption and increasing feelings of alienation among the youth, will in the long-term result in youth developing destructive behaviors. Several Seeds explained that if Afghan youth were restricted in their access to education and employment, they would more likely turn to criminal behavior, become more vulnerable to drug abuse and in the worst case join insurgency groups. Not unlike the situation in the early 1990s, social, ethnic-based exclusion and divisions remain a major problem among youth, with many holding false stereotypes of other ethnic or social groups. This issue is further related to discrimination in, for instance, the justice system, general administration corruption, employment hiring policies and more.

Youth are critical to re-developing an Afghan identity, after the reforms of the last 90 years have failed to build the conception of an Afghan state with a diverse Afghan identity. The challenge is a major one and almost entirely in the hands of youth and their future decisions. The option is available for youth to either adopt destructive behaviors in response to these challenges, or to work together in order to develop a functional state and identity.

Youth migration as a result of uncertainty Youth have an additional preference to migrate outside of their communities, with a strong desire by some to leave the country altogether regardless of their love for their home country. As a consequence of the uncertainties youth face, youth in our study felt that more and more Afghans are leaving the country. Primarily those young people in Kabul, who have actually benefitted the most from the recent developments and progress in Afghanistan, by being employed with international NGO’s and companies, were believed to be seeking opportunities elsewhere. Unlike the massive and unexpected migration that occurred in the 1980s and 1990s with the onset of violence in Afghan cities and countryside, the drain Afghanistan is believed to be experiencing today is a ‘pre-conflict brain drain’.

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Seeds and other educated youth have been offered an opportunity to experience life abroad through actual educational experiences and through interaction with youth from other countries. Youth expressed a concern that these individuals, who benefited from the international community’s renewed interest in the country, were in the process of searching for improved opportunities outside of the country, either through legal or illegal migration. The loss will be a great one for Afghanistan as a whole, and for potential leadership among youth in the future.

However, as noted earlier, the situation remains more complex. The onset of the Transitional Government also resulted in masses of Afghans living or raised abroad to return to work and ‘rebuild’ the country, as Karzai called for. Other Afghans who studied or received training abroad returned to work in Afghanistan, sometimes even in the government structures. Other youth, in the face of uncertainty, are forging new paths for themselves by, for instance, forming youth political movements such as 1400 (referring to the Islamic year ‘1400’) or getting involved in other political or cultural groups.

Some optimism beyond 2014 The situation thus remains complicated, but it is important to emphasize that not all youth appeared to be pessimistic about Afghanistan’s future. One of the actors - actively involved in leadership programs and activities with universities, interviewed81 emphasized that challenges that youth currently face should be set against the positive changes and developments Afghans have achieved in the past decade. He, therefore, framed the 2014 transition rather as a window for opportunity and emphasized that the upcoming changes will bring challenges but they should not be negative but rather as way for Afghan youth to step up and take ownership and responsibility in their communities as well as in the political arena.

When I look at the past in 2001: politically, we did not have a government. Today we have an elected government, and more than 50 countries have a political presence in Afghanistan. I think this is a huge change since 2001. And then when you talk about security. In the past ten-year we didn't have a police force. We didn't have an army. Right now we have, we have a Ministry of Interior, around 40,000 policemen and even have a few hundred women. And in terms of education, in 2001 we had about 4-6 universities that were semi active…we had 4000 students, all male. Today we have more than 200.000 students at the universities, with 35% female. So, this is a big difference. We had only four universities; today we have more than 60 universities. We had no private universities; today we have over 30 private universities at the Ministry of Higher Education

Experiences of youth are personal, and it is the combination of these personal experiences and histories that will form the basis for youth’s role in Afghanistan’s society. The picture is complicated, and it is unfair to provide a blanket statement indicating that the youth’s future role will appear in any particular way. A Seed from an influential family in Kabul may not have much in common with an illiterate young man living in a rural area but the defining factor will be how these two individuals can understand and communicate with one another. Through the interviews with Seeds and Non-Seeds, it can only be deduced that the narrative can be taken in multiple directions and what direction Afghan youth’s role will ultimately take will be a surprise and in the hands of the youth themselves.

81 Director Afghan youth NGO: Afghans for Progressive Thinking, based in Kabul.

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AFGHANISTAN, ITS YOUTH AND ITS BORDERS This section will consider Afghan youth in the greater geopolitical position, giving due consideration to the country’s role with Pakistan and India. While the actual political situation is too complicated to note in full, discussion will primarily relate to Afghanistan’s status as a state ‘caught in the middle’. The section thus hopes to touch on the regional dynamics of the region, shedding some light on potential considerations between youth in the areas.

Relations with Pakistan Afghanistan and Pakistan share a long border along Afghanistan’s southern and eastern edges of Afghanistan. The two countries have had a long-standing relationship, bound by historical border issues involving the Durand Line and geographical links, as well as cultural and economic ties based on diverse range of national interests. The tensions between the two countries have usually been historically based and deep-rooted, and the relationships between the two countries have been gradually evolving through the changing of security dynamics within the countries.

There is an overwhelming sentiment within the Afghan government that Pakistan is a major barrier to peace and stability in Afghanistan. The relationship fluctuates between periods of acute tensions and quiet and calm. Increasingly however, suspicions are rising high within the Afghan government as Pakistan is accused of playing double games, being supportive of the current negotiation between the Taliban and Karzai’s government on the one hand, while at the same time continuing to have secret talks with the Taliban leadership to prevent the negotiations from getting off the ground. Despite these volatile relations, Afghanistan has had a long but dependent economic relationship with Pakistan. One recent example is the Afghan Transit Trade Agreement (ATTA), which allows Afghanistan to import goods tax free through the Pakistani port of Karachi, which has been recently renegotiated, making Pakistan the largest exporter to Afghanistan. Furthermore, Pakistan continues to be Afghanistan’s largest export market for its products, with roughly about 21.8 % of all Afghan exports exported to Pakistan every year. The irony of this relationship lies in the fact that much of this export constitute raw materials that are then processed in Pakistan, only to be sold back to Afghanistan at a higher price.

Ever since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, and the subsequent civil war after its withdrawal, a large number of Afghans have sought sanctuary in Pakistan. While many Afghans have returned back since 2001, the number of Afghans living in Pakistani cities such as Peshawar and Quetta continues to be considerable. While both countries have tried to establish regional and economic relationships with each other, the past few years have also seen increasing security tensions between the countries. An indication of how fragile the situation is between Pakistan and Afghanistan was illustrated by an incident in May this year, when fighting broke out between the Afghan national army and Pakistani forces on the border. Fighting broke out as the Afghan officials accused Pakistani troops to have intruded the Afghan territory.

With withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan in the coming years, it is possible that the very sources of tensions that define the regional dynamics will change rapidly. With the precedent of the Soviet’ withdrawal in 1989 followed by a civil war in 1992, the post 2014 environment bodes uncertainty for Pakistan as well. Fears are that the conflict in Afghanistan will go beyond its borders and once again impact Pakistan’s internal security situation caused by spill-over effects such as large influx of Afghan refugees seeking sanctuary across the Afghan borders.

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Youth’s prevailing attitudes towards Pakistan Mirroring the rising - falling tensions between the two countries, Afghan youth too hold both positive and negative perceptions about their relationships with its neighbor. The media has sought to give voice to these debates on a non-partisan and open platform, where youth can participate with the popular Tolo News series even recently holding an Afghanistan-Pakistan debate between representatives of the two countries82.

Multiple views on a spectrum Pakistan’s position and attitude of supporting terrorism in the region When asked about their initial thoughts on the relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan, youth interviewed in our study blamed Pakistan for deteriorating the security in Afghanistan- by supporting Taliban and extremists groups in Pakistan’s tribal areas, supporting training Camps and allowing these insurgents to cross the border, regroup and re-supply in Pakistan. In similar lines with the general sentiment among Afghans, the youth in our study explained Pakistan’s relationship with Afghanistan and vice-versa in terms of the Pakistani government being ‘two-faced’ - being a close ally to the United States in its fight against terrorism, whilst at the same time, appeasing its tribal constituencies in the frontier provinces and Islamists within Pakistan, and supporting insurgent groups like the Taliban.

The existence of a murky and complex environment of actors Several other youth appeared less explicit and less negative about Pakistan’s influence on Afghanistan, and emphasized that there are many hidden issues that influence Pakistan relationship with Afghanistan and that it’s difficult to verify what and who is really behind Pakistan’s actions. In one case, the US was seen as the main actor behind causing conflict and insecurity in the two countries.

America’s role in the region

The United States (US) is a factor in the India-Pakistan relationship to Afghanistan. America’s relationship with Pakistan has been marked by both cooperation and disagreement primarily transformed by the 9/11 terrorists attacks. In years the worsening economic conditions of the country, the instable political setting and the on- going drone strikes in Pakistani soil have made this relationship increasingly difficult. With the US planning to withdrawal its troops by 2014, the search for regional cooperation has intensified. While serious disagreements exist about the ‘regional solution’, the US is now seeking for an increased Indian involvement in Afghanistan through trade and investment, reconstruction and assistance for the Afghan security forces. However, it remains uncertain whether this approach could outweigh any blowback Afghanistan will face- as more involvement for India in Afghanistan could further fuel Pakistani suspicions of Indian encroachment in Afghanistan, and thus further exacerbate regional tensions and encourage Pakistani counter reactions in Afghanistan or India.

Pakistan’s India-centric policy for Afghanistan Furthermore, the youth also viewed Afghanistan and Pakistan’s relationship through a Pakistani-lens emphasizing that Pakistan’s policy in Afghanistan is India centric, meaning that Pakistan actually fears India for developing a strategic relationship with Afghanistan, and therefore has a hidden interest in limiting the influence of India in Afghanistan- by indirectly backing insurgent groups like the Taliban to destabilize Afghanistan.

82 In March 2013, Afghan TV Channel TOLO started broadcasting a series of Afghanistan-Pakistan debates called Across the Border. IN this program, TOLO News and Pakistan's Express TV jointly are jointly discussing how the two countries can move forward in fight against terrorism, with panelists in Kabul and Islamabad studios. The series can be viewed on the TOLO News’ YouTube channel and accessed by the following link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K0IQ7I6yVk

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Prevailing cultural and religious similarities According to the youth, both Pakistan and Afghanistan are extremely similar countries in terms of religion and culture. The countries did not only share the same border, but also follow the same religion- Islam. When asked about what they thought Pakistan and Afghanistan had in common, the youth primarily emphasized cultural features included the traditional Afghan males clothes to be similar among the two countries. Others explained that their commonality in terms of sharing languages that are very similar to each other- Urdu and Pashto.

Both countries struggle with the same political issues Youth mentioned that both countries are facing the same problems in their countries; insecurity problems due to insurgent groups such as the Taliban who are active inside both in Afghanistan and in Pakistan. The border issues in both countries was also emphasized to be similarity between the two countries as Afghanistan is ‘fighting’ over the Durand Line with Pakistan, and Pakistan is fighting over Kashmir with India.

Relations with India Since the overthrow of the Taliban government in 2001, India has increasingly sought to renew its diplomatic and economic ties with Afghanistan. Afghanistan and India share the same goal as both governments are seeking to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a terrorist safe haven. India has a clear objective in preventing rising radicalism and Islamic militancy in Afghanistan and Pakistan to spill over to its borders- and thus putting India’s own internal security in danger.

India’s rationale for supporting the Afghan government is also based on the shared interests of the two countries, which seek to seek to compete with Pakistan in trading and economic development. At present, India is the largest regional donor to Afghanistan’s reconstruction, having offered more than $1.2-billion (US) since 200183. Examples of engagement include infrastructure reconstruction projects, capacity building projects, providing scholarship opportunities to Afghan students and establishing economic partnerships facilitating economic cooperation between the two countries. One of India’s major infrastructure initiatives is the construction of a highway that links Afghanistan ring roads to the Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf, which could effectively translate into economic benefits to Afghanistan84. While the government and the Afghan public are in favor of the growing presence of India in Afghanistan, India’s increasing presence in Afghanistan contributes to Pakistan’s fears of India seeking to join-up against Pakistan.

India – For Education and Health

The Indian Embassy in Afghanistan processes more than 400 visa applications a day through their 5 consulates in the country. Most of these applications are of Afghans who are looking to go to India for reasons of health and/or education.85 India and Afghanistan also have a bilateral agreement according to which no visa fees is applicable on either of the two countries. This is a huge advantage for those Afghans who are unable to afford expensive visa fees to other countries, including the UAE or flights. Added to this is the fact that the Afghani is equal to the Indian Rupee. Relatively speaking, going to India proves to be much cheaper for Afghans than going to the West.

84 Rubin & Rashid, ‘From great game to grand bargain. Foreign Affairs, 87:6, pp. 30-44. 85 Interview with First Secretary, Indian Embassy Kabul, Jan 2013

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Prevailing Attitudes toward India

Perceptions of India are less personal, with few Afghans having direct access to the country and to its citizens, and are thus typically viewed from a greater ‘Great Game’ viewpoint. Conversations with the youth showed that there was an almost unanimous positive perspective of the relationship Afghanistan has with India. This contrasted sharply with how they perceived Af-Pak relations, repeatedly viewed as a source of the conflict in Afghanistan. India was primarily seen as a facilitator of peace and development in Afghanistan, providing many scholarship opportunities for Afghan students, having built a major hospital in Kabul, and enabling and easing mobility between Afghanistan and India by providing free visas to Afghans who wish to visit India. A more contrasting view was also found among the youth, which explained the relationship India has with Afghanistan to be more hidden and Pakistan- oriented:

In my opinion India is helping Afghanistan because this way they can influence Pakistan. They also have good intention but also do it because they benefit from this. This way Pakistan is in a trap, they can’t move. If they don’t help us Pakistan can take more land of Afghanistan and have more power. This way they could also get Kashmir. So I think that India has a hidden agenda - Seed 2012 India-Afghanistan – A Student connection through education A key component of India’s development assistance to Afghanistan has been the provision of scholarships to Afghan students to go abroad and study. Low cost of living, easy to obtain visas and cultural similarities are some of the few things that attract Afghans to Indian universities86. The Indian embassy disperses these scholarships through its five consulates in Kabul, Kandahar, Herat, Mazar and Jalalabad. 50% of the scholarships are given by the embassy directly and 50% are given through the Ministry of Higher Education. These scholarships allow Afghan students to read in graduate and post graduate courses of their choosing in India87. Approximately 2,325 scholarships are given out each year. Most students prefer to go to Pune or Delhi – Pune is known as the Oxford of the East and is primarily a University town located approximately 200 kms from Mumbai.

Pakistan, a common enemy for Afghanistan and India Very few similarities between India and Afghanistan were highlighted by the youth interviewed in our study. Several student explained that the only thing they have in common is that that both governments in those two countries are ‘against’ Pakistan. In contrast, they felt that Pakistan and India have much more in common, than India and Afghanistan, as India and Pakistan’s languages- Hindi and Urdu are quite similar. One thing they have in common is Pakistan. Because India is Pakistan’s enemy, and also Afghanistan’s. The government of Pakistan is support terrorists like Taliban in Afghanistan, and also terrorists groups in India. So both governments of our countries are against Pakistan’s government - Seed, 2009

86 Bijoyeta Das, Afghan Students flock to India’s Universities, June 2013, Al Jazeera 87 Interview with First Secy, Indian Embassy Kabul, Jan 2013

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COUNTRY DYNAMICS AND THE PLACE OF YOUTH

Youth in the region: Dialogue and cross-border exchange a way to bring them together

Despite the negative perceptions of Pakistan prevailing in Afghan society, and the historically tense relationship between Pakistan and India, youth felt that there are significant pathways for youth to bring people from these countries together. One way that youth thought of being most successful was continuing SOP’s cross border exchanges and current summer Camps. For almost all Seeds, having platforms such as SOP’s summer Camp, where youth can come together in a safe- and neutral environment, is the best way to deal with the stereotypes and prejudices that people in the three countries have of each other. Other youth interviewed also emphasized that media could play a facilitating role in this process, by for example having cross-border media programs where youth are involved in raising more awareness of the reality in their countries and the region. One Seed explained how the dialogue sessions changed his view of Pakistan:

Before I had many negative views of Pakistan. Everyone was saying they are sending the terrorists to our country. But in the dialogue sessions, I became aware that these are stereotypes. Pakistani people are also facing the same problem. Their security situation is even worse than in Afghanistan, so I think by talking to each other- having these discussions is the best way to bring youth together - Seed 2004

Paths to Leadership in Afghanistan: where and how

Afghanistan’s leaders have historically begun at a local or community level, with political movements as early as the late 1970s formations of communist political groups beginning in rural country-sides and through the organization of youth communities at universities. Leadership thus begins with the ‘family’ and extends from there, which remains visible with today’s leaders who generally first gather the support of their communities, then larger tribes, provinces and ethnicities before reaching the national level. Today’s youth face the same challenge, and noted that there are several personal and relational paths to leadership, beginning with the individual and family and then developing outwards through respectable mechanisms (i.e. educational excellence).

Definitions of Leadership In order to gain a better understanding of the paths to leadership, the youth were asked to reflect on the concept of leadership and to elaborate on how they felt leadership in Afghanistan was constructed. The youth-provided a multitude of conceptualization of the concept- ranging from definitions associated with more bottom-up styles of leadership ‘servant leadership to more top- down ‘elected leadership’. A poplar conceptualization of leadership included ‘a person ability to lead a group of people to a particular common goal’. Many youth described leadership as a behavioral approach- focused on how they felt perceived leaders to act while leading a group of followers. Honesty, integrity, non-selfishness, a good listener, wise, having a purpose, thinking about people’s concern and commitment were viewed to be key characteristics of good leaders.

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Personal and relational pathways of leadership:

Transforming the individual and the family When asked what Afghan youth could do to overcome the political, social, economic and cultural issues emphasized by the youth, a common idea was that as a starting point, the youth need to start within their own families. In doing so, the youth need to speak out and challenge the perception and values of their family members, close friends and relatives.

Pursuing education excellence Many youth felt that the first thing that was needed for youth to become young leaders was getting educated. For almost all Seeds the common belief was that having a good education is a key factor for successful leadership, as well as for bringing change at the community and political level.

Obstacles for youth leadership in Afghanistan

Poor education Inversely, for many Seeds, one of the main reasons why young people in Afghanistan cannot achieve leadership is because they are not educated. Several youth emphasized that only those that are educated have good leadership skills and are able to guide other people.

Well, at this moment I don't think I can do much. I can only prepare myself- by studying- getting education. As we see there are a lot of illiterate people, and this causes most of the insecurity problems and the economic problems. . So if I don’t continue my studies, don't become educated, I cannot do much for my community. Then I am also forced to go to Iran, and then I will also get addicted. So the only thing I can do is to get educated and then hopefully do something in the future - Seed 2012

Family and social norms When thinking about obstacles, the youth accounted that there are different social- cultural norms in Afghanistan that play an important role in the lives of the youth and that are strongly influencing how youth leadership is viewed and accepted. In general the parents play an important role in defining the role and position of the youth. Family life is often illustrated as being hierarchical and conservative. The head of the household- the father, and second the parents as a whole generally decide on their children’s options and choices in life. Within Afghan families, parents often not only arrange their marriages, but also have a strong say and are demanding in what educational and career paths their children should follow. Afghan children, at a very young age, but also when they grow up are generally expected to be obedient and dutiful to what they are told by their elders. Parents have high expectations of how their children should be succeeding in life- obtaining a good degree, which means often degree in medicine or engineering, finding a good job, starting an own family are the desired paths of success. Children that are taking a different path- and thus are deviant- perhaps because they are studying social sciences, are being engaged in cultural and societal activities, and are critical of and challenge the Afghan social norms and culture- are seen as not being serious and having failed on their parents.

In Afghanistan, while both men and women are pressured to adhere to these social and cultural norms, some social norms are more strictly imposed on women. For all women, maintaining a good reputation is and preserving the family’s honor. If a woman’s reputation is ruined, she is no longer respected. As such girls are expected to not work outside, but expected to take care of the family. In some conservative families, girls are not even expected to finish their schools but rather marry as soon as they become mature. Youth accounted that these gender roles therefore do not only

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demarcate females’ position in the family, but also further guides their leadership role and acceptance within the wider society.

Because I think if someone wants to do something at a young age, than the first person that they talk to is their family. Because, I don't know, it's a cultural thing. So if you have a family who is interested in politics or leadership or if you have a family educated than you have the right to decide, you can do whatever you want. For example, right now, my parents know what I do. I think they are really happy with what I do. But at the same time if I see other people who are working with me, their parents don't like what they are doing, they think it's a waste of time. So, the first thing that you have to deal with is the family. And then, and then comes the society. This is something common for most youth, I think - Male 24 years old Lack of public support The youth explained that as their families expect them to follow and no be deviant, the society as a whole is very reluctant to support those youth that do take action to change things in the society. As result of this lack of public support, those that seek leadership positions at a young age get very easily disappointed and discouraged. Even if the youth has great ideas and ambitions and want to take actions, their fear for failure, lack of trust and lack of support from their peers and parents discourages them to follow their dreams. A non-Seed described experience:

The problem here is that Afghan youth are not given support. The people around you when you are young, they don't trust you, they see you as a friend who is just like them. And they think you will not be able to do anything. So, this is one of the problems for young people, I have seen some people who have started some smaller business or some failed because they didn't have enough people to work with them - Male 24 years old, medical student and active within an International youth association in Afghanistan

PARTICIPATORY CONFLICT ANALYSIS Conflict analysis is often used to gain a better understanding of the issues, causes, actors, and dynamics of a certain conflict. By conducting a conflict analysis workshop with a small group of the youth we sought to gain a better understanding of the issues ‘in’ conflict and the priorities and strategic points of intervention identified by the youth who participated in our workshop.

Identifying the conflict The first step in the participatory conflict analysis included identifying the core conflict issues that were important for the youth today in Afghanistan. Participants were asked to write down one or more core issues that they thought to be most relevant for them. Answers included:

Table 12: Most relevant conflict Issues Identified Seeds Non- Seeds Insecurity Unemployment Interference of other countries Weak economic system Weak education system in Afghanistan

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Both Seed and the Non-Seeds identified insecurity to be most relevant. While Seed explained this insecurity to be related to the inference of other countries, non-Seeds explained that this insecurity was primarily caused by the existence of insurgent groups within Afghanistan.

Words associated with conflict The second step included a word association exercise where the participants were asked to write down any word that they felt was associated to the conflict they had identified. Words ranged from feelings, causes; to actors they felt had something to do with that conflict. The word cloud shows that the words ‘Pakistan’, ‘interference’ and ‘ lack’ are the most recurrent words associated with the conflict issues identified.

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Figure 1: Words Associated with Conflict

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Conflict Tree In order to better understand the prioritized conflicts in terms of its causes and effects in the society, participants were asked the draw a ‘conflict tree’ visualizing the conflict issue they identified as a tree- sketching words that belong to the roots of the conflict- the causes- at the roots, the results or effects of the conflict on the branches, and the actual conflict issue in the trunk.

Most Non-Seeds identified economic factors structurally causing the conflict issues, further triggered by the incompetence of the government to address these issues or catalyzed by their own behavior and actions. The Seed’s emphasis was more on the influence of external factors such as neighboring countries and the US and its partners.

Table 13: Causes identified by the participants Seed Non- Seeds Illiteracy Poverty Own interest of other countries Corruption within the government No sense of responsibility MPs Lack of financial resources within the government Lack of technology Lack of attention from the government Lack of access to resources for the poor ‘Wasita’

The participants were also asked to reflect on the consequences of the conflict issues on the society both in terms of immediate impact as well as a long-term visible impact on the society. The Seed emphasized the interference of other countries with Afghanistan has resulted in an increasing distrust among the people in Afghanistan. Historically, different external powers have sought to create divisions and animosity within the different tribes in the Afghanistan. As such, the Seed explained, this distrust has also been the main cause for discrimination between different ethnic groups. The non-Seeds felt that the lack of education consequently has led to people’s hesitancy to be open to new ideas and change. With the weak educational system, people are left in the ‘dark’ and remain conservative- and do not appreciate new changes and ideas. Because of lack of education, people are not able to distinguish between what is right or wrong, making them more likely to get involved in criminal activities. As a result of the weak situation, non- Seeds felt that there is less patience within families, as they are fed up. In many cases this has led to suicide attempts within the society. Another direct cause of the weak economic situation was found to be the huge unemployment situation of many people in the country.

Table 14: Perceived consequences of conflict issues identified by participants Seed Non- Seeds Lack of trade Not open to new ideas and change Increase in distrust among the people Flow of money to other countries Increase feelings of insecurity Low income Lack of understanding of what is right or wrong Impatience within families Criminality Increase in suicide attempts population Unemployment

Actors in conflict Pakistan was identified to be the key actor in interfering in Afghanistan’s internal issues and exacerbating Afghanistan problems. Other actors included America, Russia as a former conflict party, but one that is currently still concerned about its role and power in the region. Both the Seed and Non Seeds felt that the Afghan government, responsible Ministries and its Parliament’s Members are directly involved in causing the conflict issues. Here, there is a lack of responsibility within the

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government, caring about own personal interest and their incompetence in handling the issues illustrated the key actors position within the conflict.

Table 15: Actors Identified by Seed associated with core conflict issue Interference Actors Position Influence Pakistan Destabilize Afghanistan Direct America Control Afghanistan Direct Russia Former conflict actor & regional Indirect power Afghan Government Lack of responsibility & Direct incompetent England Control Afghanistan Direct

Table 16: Actors Identified by Non- Seeds associated with core conflict issue Weak education system in Afghanistan Actors Position Influence Ministry of higher education Lack of responsibility Direct Teachers Lack of responsibility Direct Afghan MPs Self-interest Indirect

Table 17: Actors Identified by Non- Seeds associated with core conflict issue Weak economic system Actors Position Influence

Ministry of Economy Incompetence of government Direct MPs Lack of responsibility Direct Government Lack of responsibility Direct

Potential to change the conflict Both Seeds and non-Seeds felt that at this moment they didn't have any power, resources and the ability to have an influence on the conflict issues they had identified. Once again, the youth emphasized the importance of being educated in order to have an impact. For the Seed and Non- Seeds, youth cannot have an impact on the conflict issues mentioned because they are too young and inexperienced. Youth could only have an influence if they are educated and know what they are talking about’, the youth explained. The youth saw one indirect path to influence; coming together with other youth and share their ideas and stories. Here, youth thought if they would come together to discuss these issues- just as they did during this workshop- they could learn from each other and get more encourage to do something after graduating. The Seed emphasized that after graduating the best way for youth to have a say in these issues, is to get involved in the government- by becoming a MP. Baktash Siawash- the youngest member in the Afghan Parliament, was used as an example to illustrate that the youth do have the power and are able to bring changes if they wanted. One of the Non- Seed added further to the conversation by highlighting the significant role of the youth in politics. For him, the youth needed to participate in politics after graduating because its primarily the government- or the lack of feelings of responsibility of the government that such issues are continuing to exist.

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SEEDS OF PEACE PROGRAMMING IN AFGHANISTAN

The following section focuses on a critical assessment of SoP’s programming and activities in Afghanistan. Seeds were interviewed on their experiences with SoP, the Camp, post Camp programming and how it changed their lives. This section will also look at the evolution of SoP programming in Afghanistan over the last ten years. Seeds from various years were interviewed during this research in order to trace the growth of the program vis-à-vis the political developments in Afghanistan.

As the context analysis has highlighted, the country’s diverse ‘youth’ landscape presents an interesting challenge for SoP. Namely, it provides the organization with the opportunity to draw the boundaries of its own ‘youth’ and allow those ‘youth’ a glimpse into what being a youth can mean. A 17-year-old Afghan who is usually considered by many in Afghanistan as an ‘adult’ can experience renewed opportunity for exposure, growth and development once selected by SoP. Apart from this, SoP faces the challenge produced by the diversity of youth in the country. SoP is based only in Kabul. The context analysis has showed that there is a huge difference between the youth in Kabul and in the provinces. Therefore, SoP’s area of programming and impact is at present, very limited to an urban location, which has been the center of attention for international development for a long time. The following section will look at the impact of SoP programming in changing the lives of these students.

The coming of SoP to Afghanistan

SoP first started in Afghanistan in 2003. Afghanistan was incorporated within the broader programming of the South Asia Program, which was then primarily focused on Pakistan and India. Expanding the program into Afghanistan came about because of funding opportunities from the American Embassy in Afghanistan. Soon after, SOP established a formal partnership with the Afghan Ministry of Education, which helped SoP in identifying schools in Kabul through which Seeds were selected. Since 2003, it has been able to facilitate the participation of about 80 Seeds coming from diverse backgrounds and schools, to the US. For many Afghan students this was one of the few and unique scholarship opportunities, next to the YES program, to benefit from an abroad exchange program.

The Youth Exchange Study (YES) Program The Kennedy- Lugar YES program is a U.S. government-sponsored exchange and study program, established by the U.S. Department of State. The YES Program in Afghanistan run from 2004 to 2011 and provided scholarships for Afghan high school students (from 15- 17 years) to spend up to one academic year in the US, engage in activities to learn about American society and acquire leadership skills. The program has also an Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund that supports alumni initiatives that promote shared values and innovative solutions to global challenges. The program was however suspended in 2011 after a group of Afghan students fled the US for Canada.

The Seeds Experience Post Camp The most immediate strength of SoP programing highlighted by many Seeds was that the summer Camp was overwhelmingly seen as a positive experience for personal development and educational opportunities. Seeds recalled their experience, as coming into the program as total strangers, while

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becoming strong friends with a short passage of time. Sharing meals together, living together with different youth in the same bunk, being engaged in out-door and team activities were the best things the Afghan Seeds reminisced when thinking about their summer Camp experience. For several Afghan Seeds, in particular for the girls, the summer Camp experience was memorable as it was the first time for them to be exposed to sports, games and experiential activities played with boys and girls together. Additionally, Afghan Seeds recalled that the summer Camp provided a space for them to meet with other youngsters from other countries, in many cases for the first time in their life. Hence, Afghan Seeds felt that the summer Camp not only provided them an opportunity to be exposed to US culture, but also provided them an opportunity to meet youth coming from other conflict zones such as Palestine, Jordan and Egypt.

For several Seeds the summer Camp was an eye opener to many things; while some Seeds liked the summer Camp especially because it was first time for them to experience a safe place and environment, others appreciated their experience of the summer Camp as primarily because the new environment made them aware of the opportunities outside Afghanistan. Many thought that maybe one day Afghanistan will also have the same technology, clean environment, security and educational opportunities that they experienced during their stay in the US.

Negative Experiences

One major criticism that Afghan Seeds brought into light concerned the bad timing of the summer Camp. For Afghan Seeds the Summer Camp is held before exam period, which is a huge problem for Afghan students not only because they have to pass their exams after their return- limiting the participation of Seeds in follow meetings directly after their return, but also because it appears to give SoP a negative image, one that is to “make Afghan students lose their rank position or to make them lazy” as it was highlighted by one of the Seeds. .

Compared to delegations from other countries, the number of Seeds joining SoP is very limited. Seeds felt that because of this ‘Afghans are in the minority, and therefore have less impacts both in the summer Camp as well as after their return in Afghanistan. More importantly, Seeds critically emphasized that also the current required set age for joining the summer Camp- only those between 14- 15 years old, strongly limited their personal as well as their collective impact in the Camp and after return.

One Seed explained:

The problem with SoP in Afghanistan is that the Afghan Seeds are too young, while other Seeds are much older- 18 or 19 years old. They know more than us and because they were old they were also better in the dialogue secession and had more information [about the topics discussed].

Before 2005, Afghan Seeds were engaged in dialogue sessions solely with the Americans. Here discussions were focused on the Afghan Seeds lives under the Taliban regime and the experience of the American Seeds due to the 9/11 attacks. When reflecting back to their experiences, several Seeds which had participated in the earlier Camps explained that in retrospect the dialogue sessions did appear to be significant as the dialogue sessions were more an open session of story telling rather than ‘real deep- dialogue’. According to the Seeds, this was not only because they were too young, lacked the language skills, but also because in several cases the Afghan Seeds never experienced how it was to live under the Taliban regime, as they had fled the country before and had lived in Pakistan during the Taliban years.

Thinking back, another Seeds explained that the Camp actually had little impact on him as he was just too young to internalize and verbalize the process he was going through:

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I was too young and didn’t have courage. I was only 14 years old and never thought about these things, while other Seeds were 18 and had a very strong opinion about things like Durand Line - Seed 2003, now 24 years old Another Seeds aged 14 explaining how the dialogues were actually forced on him: I was fourteen at Camp. And at the time I felt like it was forced on me…one this is that before we left our Camp we had no idea what we were signing up for. Right now, there is a country director, there is a team that, whoever applies or takes the test, they're told what this program is about. But in 2002 we had no idea…and we just read the application the Ministry of Education they sent to our school, which was not even translated correctly in Dari. So, we had no idea. We thought this was a vacation to America or we are travelling around, sightseeing - Male Seed 2002

Seeds’ Success Stories

Internet Training: In 2004 Hamid established Internet training for students in his school to teach students how to use the Internet so they could expand their knowledge and have up-to-date information

Library project: In 2005 Shapoor established a library inside his school to introduce a ‘culture of reading’ to Afghan students in his school.

Challenges and Gaps in SoP programming in Afghanistan

However, besides these important and positive personal and inter-personal experiences that the Afghan Seeds gained by their overseas stay at the summer Camp in Maine, discussions focused on SoP programming in Kabul itself show a more complex and less positive nonexistence- picture of SoP programming.

Lack of vision and strategy lack of confidence in SOP One of the strongest and critical weaknesses found and emphasized by the Seeds concerned the lack of vision. Seeds explained that they not only knew what SOP wanted to achieve in Afghanistan, but also didn't know where the organizations and the Seeds were heading. Seeds are discouraged to stay actively involved due to the constant turn-over of delegation leaders and country directors, lack of activities implemented by the Seeds, existence of too many ad-hoc projects without having a clear outlined plan of how they could be implemented, primarily because they were too theatrical in the first place.

SOP Afghanistan doesn’t have an objective. Nobody knows what they want to achieve in Afghanistan - Seed 2010, now 18 years old

The weekly meetings are useless, its only talk but no practical activities. We had only a couple of activities but it’s not clear what are our objectives. If there are activities, they are only short term, for two weeks then you don't hear from SoP for months. That's why Seeds lose interest - Seed 2010, now 18 years old

Negative image of SoP as being American & ‘Christian’ organization

Another major concern is that there is prevalence among some parents and outsiders to be suspicious about SoP and the work it seeks to achieve. Seeds explained that:

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Unclear vision and poor communication on the goals of the program can further exacerbate this existent negative image or prejudice. If parents or students are not fully aware about the content of the program it is offered by SOP.

One non- Seed explained why some youth and families are reluctant to join SOP: Actually, it matters mostly for the individuals; because they think that if they are working with a youth community that is international, that they are doing some religious Campaigns. And this is the general understanding in society. And I think we just needed to show that even if we are an international organization we still have our Afghan tradition and culture. So, this was the reason why a lot of students don't want to join SOP. Because what people think, - Male 24 years old, medical student and active within an International youth association in Afghanistan

Organizational and logistical limitations Another significant shortcoming mostly cited in the discussions with the Afghan Seeds was the lack of having a physical and permanent office space in Afghanistan. Due to the lack of an office Seeds explained that it has been difficult for them to meet and connect with each other and to organize and plan activities and projects. Some Seeds even explained that after their return to Afghanistan they felt that they didn't have anywhere to go. Especially the girls felt the lack of an office or a place to meet regularly was a major obstacle in their participation of weekly meetings and developing projects. Seeds were surprised by such a lack as they consider this investment not representing so much in terms of budget, but having the added benefit of making Seeds of Peace a concrete presence in country, and a safe space for them, in a context where they have limited opportunities to meet outside of their homes.

Insignificance of Durand Line topic for Afghan Seeds One main topic of discussion that has come during all conversations with the Seeds who joined SoP after 2005, concerned the issue of the Durand Line. Afghan Seeds explained that during their dialogue sessions with Pakistani and India Seeds, the Durand Line was the most heated topic between Afghan and Pakistani Seeds. However, when seeking more insight why this topic was discussed so often, it became clear during our conversations that the topic itself does not bear any personal significance for the Afghan Seeds themselves. While some of the Afghan Seeds had some information about the issue, most of the Seeds never had discussed or talked about the issue before. The only reason why this issue is brought up during the dialogue sessions is because the topic is rather beforehand chosen by the facilitators of SoP and not by the Seeds themselves.

Equally remarkable is the fact that Afghan Seeds, before going to the Camp, receive a so-called ‘introduction to the conflict’, which is part of a one-month or two-months preparation where Seeds gather once a week to study Afghan history and the conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan. In recent years senior Seeds or delegation leaders run sessions and inform Seeds what to expect and in some cases ‘what that they need to be able to defend themselves.

Opportunities for SoP

Create internal vision and strategy for SOP in Afghanistan Goal of any sincere conflict resolution project should entail an explicit vision and strategy. Without a clear vision and strategy SoP will continue to face the same challenges both in terms of organizational development as well as achieving its goals and ambition in Afghanistan. The challenge of developing a clear strategy also depends on the leadership. SoP seeks to support youth leadership but as an organization itself it lack concrete leadership and fails to make concrete strategic choices on how to support the Seeds after their return to Afghanistan. The added value of SOP is that its not

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just scholarship to the US. As far this research has been able to explore, there are no other examples of programs such as SOP In this respect SOP has a unique position. There are no other programs focused on the themes of conflict resolution with a specific focus on the region, in Afghanistan, and especially none that focuses on the youth. The following recommendations could be a first step for SOP in making Seed’s first experience with SOP- that of the Camp a life time experience rather than a one- time thing.

Establish a SoP office in Kabul As mentioned, after returning to Afghanistan, the lack of having a space to meet is a main obstacle for Seed to get together and participate in follow- up programs whether self-initiated or organized by SOP itself. One of the critical points that SOP needs to consider in her new strategy is establishing a permanent and accessible office for the Seeds. Having a permanent office will not only support the Seeds in their follow up programming, but also increase SOP’s visibility in Kabul.

Selection and preparation phase More can perhaps be given to the possibility of separating Seeds through more extensive interviews or applications that better gauge youth’s maturity and motivation levels.

Follow-up programming and activities SoP could opt creating peace building programs that are adapted to specific conflict issues and dimensions that already emphasized both at the local and regional context, in this study. By rallying SOP’s programming and Seeds around single- issues sand organizing workshops, dialogues and out door activities focused on specific issues than having ad-hoc projects without sustainable impact. One Seed for example suggested:

We need to work with the space that's out there. And the space is also an academic space, because there is no political space. So even if there social issue, even there are political issues, it needs to have an academic outlook. So, I'd say seminars, or papers could be presented. Seminars with very theme focused that could give youth a chance to prepare, think and then come together and discuss in an academic environment, that has a social, that has an activist side too. I think it needs to be a creative use of the existing space, it is not much. There is no political space. And we can only change that by showing capacity. And that capacity could be exhibited through a meaningful academic discussion about these issues. So unifying around themes through academic seminars that are meaningful - Seed 2002

Programming, however, divides these categories of people out of understandable necessity; more consideration can perhaps be given to the possibility of separating Seeds through more extensive interviews or applications that better gauge youth’s maturity levels.

Alliances with current paths to leadership Schools

Achieving this essential goal is not something that SOP could succeed in by working solely. It will require creating alliances, partnership and serious efforts in working with Seeds, their parents and their schools. For many Seeds, successful educational attainment is most obvious path to leadership. SOP could consider turning this around and focus building deeper involvement in the education sector as a conflict resolution mechanism. SOP already has established connections with the Ministry of Education and the existing partner schools,

Therefore, SoP could consider establishing a strategic partnership with the existent schools in Kabul. Specific activities could be for example organizing training of teachers- instruct teachers in ‘conflict

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sensitive’ educational approaches, the value of understanding and cultural dialogue. Other suggestions would be creating partnership and structures for peace education activities in schools; this can take forms of ‘peace clubs’, as there are already existent in other countries, where Seeds are in charge of setting local projects.

Opportunities for Partnership - SOLA

SOLA “School of Leadership” in Kabul is a small NGO founded in 2008 to expand educational and leadership opportunities for the next generation of Afghan women. SOLA evolved from a high school cultural exchange program, to a program offering educational opportunities for students at its boarding house in Kabul. This allows SOLA to attract promising and smart girls from all regions of Afghanistan, and provide them, at the end of their stay, with potential international scholarships. SOLA prepares them for competitive schools abroad, and has partnerships with a range of schools to facilitate their application and entry. “SOLA is working to create the future of Afghanistan, empowering leaders who will be: • the hope for an educated, progressive and prosperous future • imbued with a sense of service and commitment to their people • returning home to prosper, in both private and public sectors” Seeds of Peace and SOLA have had interactions and conversations in the past, but no form of partnership – this should be envisaged if Seeds of Peace wants to remain active in Afghanistan. SOLA shares the same vision, has a similar funding and organizational structure, and common partnerships with universities in the West.

Families Youth in this study believed that ‘transformational change’ needed to be established within the family first. This vision is similar to what SoP tries to achieve. However, the youth also accounted that the families also have a big obstructive role in youth’s leadership development. By involving parents in the activities, SoP could positively influence the traditional and limited perspectives the parents have about youth leadership. More involvement of the parents will create more awareness, dialogue and understanding among the parents of what are the fears and ambitions of their own and other people’s children’s. Therefore, SoP could consider incorporating specific experiential activities in its programming that seek to create better understanding between the youth and their parents. A clear and well-known approach could be establishing intergenerational activities that are focused on connecting the young and the old by fostering dialogue and understanding. By having a family-centric approach SoP could also positively influence the negative image parents have of SoP.

Develop alternatives for selection rather than excellence in school By focusing on excellence in school - SOP further reinforces the existent idea that being successful means getting high grades. SOP could consider developing other methods of selection that encourages young Afghans to be future leaders rather than through academic excellence. Young students will low graders would benefit from the same Camp experience- from which they can gain a sense of achievement. As the paths to leadership in Afghanistan appear to be very much focused on education achievement, SoP could consider offering an alternative path rather than one that is reinforcing the idea that education achievement is the only way young people can have influence and create change in their societies. While SoP cannot change the educational system, it could develop alternatives that value efforts of students rather their ability in studying. As Seeds themselves explain, students in schools do not see studying as being stimulating but see studying more as a chore, value less creative and critical thinking.

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CONCLUSION As noted, the primary aim of this assessment was to analyze SoP programming in Afghanistan – as well as other regional programs – in order to provide recommendations on how to strengthen country programming. The primary recommendations requiring further emphasis are the (1) need for extensive follow up and (2) more country-specific approaches. Discussions between youth about the Durand line, for instance, can be fruitful or fruitless, and primarily depend on a facilitator’s ability to navigate different discussion points. SoP has presented a relatively weak facilitation system, with few facilitators having the necessary political background necessary to support discussions between Afghan, Pakistani and Indian youth.

While SOP has successfully identified top potential among Afghan youth, with many youth now leading successful careers and studying at universities, it failed to develop its facilitators’ capacity to discuss regional political situations as well as the important internal divisions that exist in Afghanistan – and are unfortunately not lost amongst Seeds themselves. Discussion and dialogue require background in order to be effective, and it remains a primary recommendation of this analysis to provide facilitators with that background in addition to the understandable and straightforward need for additional follow up and development post-program.

SOP has managed to expand its program in the region and has already shown necessary initiative and interest in helping develop Afghanistan’s youth in the hopes of a future, more peaceful country. Its alumni Seeds are a sign of its success thus far, and can be utilized as a source to build upon their Afghanistan programming. The SoP has already established and piloted an extensive program in Afghanistan, and thus has the reputation and tools necessary to continue and to strive further for Afghanistan’s youth. However, it needs to further develop an understanding of the specific internal and regional political situation that Afghan youth have been born into, and what this means for Afghan youth’s priorities and futures.

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RUBIN, B. & RASHID, A. (2008) ‘From great game to grand bargain: Ending chaos in Afghanistan and Pakistan”. Foreign Affairs, 87:6, pp. 30-44.

UNDP (2007), Afghanistan Human Development Repor

UNODC (2012), “Corruption in Afghanistan: recent trends and patterns, summary findings”.

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Samuel Hall. Contacts [email protected] www.samuelhall.org

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