Hamed Wardak News » Aghanistan News

With US Forces Slowly Withdrawing, An Afghan Soldier Shines

admink — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 16:02:23 +0000

Many American Armed forces are skeptical about how the Afghan National Army will be able to handle the country when they leave. Many soldiers scoff at the idea and have no faith in the ANA, but those who have worked with Lt. Ahmaduddin Ahmad see that there is hope. When Lt. Ahmad walks by American soldiers give him a nod of respect that they only reserve for their own.

When Ahmad marches with his men he is the only one who doesn’t carry a rifle or wear armor. He is known for searching out IED’s, many that even the canine units oversee, and disarming them with his bare hands. He charges toward insurgents who are armed with rocket launchers without blinking an eye. “I get scared like everyone else,” he says. “But all I can do is my best. Whatever I’m doing, whatever my duty is, I want to do it right. And a soldier has to be brave, even when he’s afraid.” Ahmad believes that with proper funding, weaponry and logistics there is no doubt in his mind that ANA will be able to stand on its own.

Prison Guards in Afghanistan Use Yoga

admink — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 15:06:58 +0000

Recently retired male supermodel, Cameron Alborzian, obtained a meeting with Major General Phil Jones. Cameron and Jones talked about a more tactful and passive way of getting the Afghan insurgents to lay down their arms. Cameron talked with Jones about using yoga as a way to connect with the prisoners and also calm them. While the idea might seem a bit outlandish, Alborzian has gotten numerous meetings with senior operatives, base representatives and even Afghan ministers to discuss implementing his practice.

Oddly enough the idea of practicing yoga with prisoners caught the eye of Vice Administrator Robert Harward, who is an avid yoga practitioner and recently oversaw detention facilities in Afghanistan. The project has also opened doors at Afghan prisons where Alborzian taught guards at detention centers nonreligious basic yoga poses. Cameron also claims to have secretly taught a Taliban commander to meditate and soothe his mind.

While the idea of ending a decade of war in Afghanistan with yoga may seem unlikely, many analysts say it’s as good of an idea as any.

Read the original article from The Wall Street Journal.

Violence Decreases in Afghanistan

admink — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 14:07:19 +0000

This past summer violence has decreased in Afghanistan after five years of increasing attacks. This information comes after a new report from the Pentagon. The report tells U.S. officials the current strategy, including finding active areas of insurgent activity and turning them over to Afghan control. Military officials have been waiting for these types of troop-intensive counterinsurgency strategies to show results.

In the first part of the year, however, the report did mention increases in violence but stated that it started the decrease around May. The study also found that the highest decrease in violence occurred in September, a month that was not covered by the UN. As a whole, the level of violence dropped in July to September 26% compared to a year ago. Even though these numbers are strong, commanders worry that troop withdrawals are being considered less on situation and more on a calendar.

Read the original article from The Wall Street Journal.

Construction Developments in Afghanistan

admin — Wed, 25 May 2011 06:52:55 +0000

A few weeks ago, a report from the Pajhwok Afghan News (PAN) came in with information about the inauguration of a new courthouse building in Kunar, northeast Afghanistan. The building – that took 16 months to complete, at a price of $440,000 – will have three floors and is being constructed for the Asadabad Court of Appeals. America funded the building which will comprise 30 admin rooms, 3 kitchens and one conference hall.

In terms of education there is good news too. In Panjshir (also located in northeast Afghanistan), students will no longer have to sit in tents and learn, but will be able to sit comfortably in a regular high school in Faraj, Anaba which be equipped with 16 classrooms.

Clearly education is key when it comes to developing potential. Individuals, such as Hamed Wardak, have been working towards the establishment of educational facilities in Afghanistan for many years. The above news is a great start for the improvement in quality of life for Afghans.

Afghan and US Bridge-Building: Great News for Wardak

admin — Tue, 17 May 2011 08:53:18 +0000

Hamed Wardak has been working hard to try to build good relations between Afghanistan and America. And once these relations have been developed, Wardak looks for ways to maintain the optimistic fervor between the two countries. Clearly the man would be delighted to learn of other individuals or corporations working for the same goal. And that is exactly what has been happening with a new video conference set up by Spirit of America which has been honing in on “building bridges between American children and Afghan children.”
As America was glued to their TVs to follow the story of the demise of Osama Bin Laden in Washington DC, this video conference was attempting to do the opposite – build good things for Afghan children and “open their minds,” while encouraging them to “make friends with American kids.” Through this video conference, viewers are privy to watching something they probably have “never seen before.”
Participants in the video conference were LA students from Windward School and Afghan students from Kodoala Drab School. It was extremely powerful and actually “brought tears to many eyes.” The video conference comprised “surprise questions, funny moments and a lot of laughter.” The simple interactions between the different students were also incredible; just regular, normal conversations.
The aim was probably achieved. Spirit of America was trying to help US troops aid “Afghan children and schools” with its project.

Hamed Wardak, Afghanistan and Bahrain

admin — Tue, 10 May 2011 06:52:58 +0000

Good news for Afghanistan was marked by the signing of an agreement to “promote civil aviation ties” with Bahrain which will enable direct flights with the two countries. Signers on the agreement were Abdulrahman Mohammed Al-Qaoud, Bahrain’s Civil Aviation Affairs Undersecretary and Sayed Mehdi Sayedi, the Afghan Deputy Transportation and Civil Aviation Minister.
Any kind of development that opens up Afghanistan to other countries is good news for the people and is exactly the kind of project that activist Hamed Wardak works towards. Of course peoples in both the countries will benefit since it is going to result in eight weekly passenger flights as well as charter cargo flights.
According to CEO of Gulf Air (main airline in Bahrain) Samer Majali, “Afghanistan has seen some remarkable growth recently and the government is committed to facilitating and promoting the development of a dynamic, competitive private sector by closely working in partnership with local businesses to revitalize and expand the economy.”
Along with facilitated travel for Afghans, this move will likely boost the country’s economy since it will be way easier to ship the country’s commodities to major markets, such as Europe.

Hamed Wardak and Afghan Exhibition Reception

admin — Tue, 03 May 2011 06:27:40 +0000

There was a reception to launch the Meridian International Center’s photo exhibition, “In Small Things Remembered: The Early Years of U.S.-Afghan Relations,” depicting early Afghan-American relations. Guests included: “Counselors Hakim Atarud and Khojesta Fana Ebrahimkhel from the Embassy of Afghanistan; former Afghan Deputy Minister of Culture, Faiz Khairzada, who organized the performances in Afghanistan of the Joffrey Ballet and Duke Ellington, and former Peace Corps Volunteers who served in Afghanistan.” The exhibition runs until May 8, 2011.
Perhaps someone like Hamed Wardak would have wanted to be in attendance too, given that he was one of the original eight founders of the CUSAP (Campaign for a US-Afghanistan Partnership), set up to “achieve sustainable security and prosperity in Afghanistan.”
Good news for Afghans is that the message of the exhibition is meant to show how “Americans stand by the people of Afghanistan for the long-term, and that is the message of these photographs,” according to US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Ambassador Marc Grossman.

New Hospital Opens in Wardak

admin — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 06:48:35 +0000

Hamed Wardak, an Afghan working towards improving conditions in the region, would be delighted to learn about the new hospitals being opened in his namesake, the Wardak province of Afghanistan. It was two hospitals that opened there, both maternity ones, with a capacity for 30 women in each. Wardak is in the central east part of Afghanistan.
Both hospitals (Bibi Khari Gul and Shirin Taj) are one-story and took nearly a year and a half to complete. It was the Bayat Foundation (based out of America) that funded the projects which are “built to a modern design, with a complete electrical system, patient rooms, operating room, delivery room, post-op recovery room, a pharmacy, doctor’s office, reception area, storage and bathrooms.” The idea behind these hospitals is to “help the next generation of Afghans and their mothers begin life as well as possible.”
Indeed, the Bayat Foundation is similar to work undertaken by Hamed Wardak as it seeks to “promote the well-being of Afghan people.”

Education Opportunities Increase in Afghanistan

admin — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 08:24:56 +0000

There will be more educational opportunities for Afghans since the announcement by the country’s Education Ministry of the opening of two new buildings as well as a girl’s elementary school in Qadis, costing $48,000, comprising six classrooms and two admin rooms. In Balkh, another girl’s high school opened – much larger – with 24 classrooms and eight admin rooms, costing $390,000.
An additional two more buildings will also be constructed in northern Afghanistan and a building for the Fatima Alzahra Middle School will be erected within a year, at a cost of $290,000, with 16 classrooms and eight admin rooms. Within six months there will be a new Khaja Patash Middle School (in Khanabad district) at a cost of $228,000, which will have eight classrooms and four admin rooms.
Any educational opportunities for Afghans is of course great news for the country and its citizens. Individuals such as Hamed Wardak – known for working on the betterment of conditions for the people – are encouraged by precisely these types of development.

Impressive Afghan Government Achievements

admin — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 10:47:23 +0000

When it seems that things aren’t looking great for a country, and it is then awarded a Government Leadership Award, the country’s activists are more than happy. Hamed Wardak and Afghanistan are examples of this. Amirzai Sangin, Afghanistan’s Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technology was awarded the Government Leadership Award a few weeks ago due to the “immense achievements made by the Afghan government in its commitment to the widespread expansion of mobile communications”. Sangin was said to be “extremely delighted” to be the recipient of such an award on behalf of his government.