human rights Afghanistan

Imagine sending your child to elementary school, knowing there's a chance that brutal thugs might attempt to poison her -- because the very idea of your child receiving an education is so offensive to them.

You can easily see how the system of education in Canada could quickly break down under such awful pressure. Yet this is the situation that Afghans in areas threatened by the Taliban must deal with. An excerpt from The Courage Of Afghan Schoolgirls in the Toronto Star:

I visited the home of Sakina, one of those staff members, and met her daughter Marwa, who was one of the girls directly affected by the attack.

The job isn't finished in Afghanistan. Canadian Forces have already sacrificed much to help Afghans overcome a deadly insurgency that tramples on human rights and murders at will. In the Embassy Magazine, Lee Berthiaume explains why Canadians should stay committed militarily until the mission's objectives are won. An excerpt:

Liberal and Conservative members of the Commons' Special Afghanistan committee have been feeling out public opinion on the idea of deploying several hundred military trainers to Kabul to continue helping Afghan security forces get ready to take over responsibility for their security in 2014. The government has remained mum on the idea.

Meanwhile, by next year, Canada will have fulfilled its pledge to contribute $1.9 billion over 10 years for Afghan reconstruction and development. There has been growing criticism that Canada will fail to finish three signature projects or achieve many of the benchmarks it set for itself following the Manley Panel report in 2008. Some have used this as justification for leaving in 2011.

We are currently pursuing an aggressive strategy to expand our network across the country and put real, sustained pressure on our government to keep Canada committed to democracy and human rights in Afghanistan. With the complete lack of a parliamentary debate over what our country will be doing in Afghanistan after 2011, our work has become more urgent than ever. Here is how you can help.

Currently CASC has membership from all over the country, but our board meets in Vancouver and most CASC events happen in Vancouver. We need a strong and active CASC membership in every part of Canada. If you are interested in building up a CASC chapter in your region, please get in touch with me so we can begin this work.

Furthermore, CASC is currently carrying out broad consultations to put together a vision document for Canada in Afghanistan after 2011. We are consulting with key constituencies across Canada including the vibrant Afghan-Canadian community. We're also speaking with qualified experts on the region, and next month three CASC members are travelling to Afghanistan for research purposes. Our 2011 vision document will be released March 9 in Ottawa, and prominent speakers on Afghanistan will hold a discussion panel. If you are interested in contributing to this document, or are willing and able to attend our Ottawa event in March, please let me know.

CASC was founded with a core mission, and that mission still drives us forward today:

Stay. Human rights are universal. The United Nations wants us there. A military component is vital and necessary.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Brian Platt, Outreach Coordinator
Canada-Afghanistan Solidarity Committee
Telephone 604.754.2413
b.t.a.platt@afghanistan-canada-solidarity.org