Hamed Wardak News » Afghanistan

An Afghan Refugee Wants to Return Home

admink — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 20:57:55 +0000

Although Anaar Gul has never seen his motherland, he has desires to go back to Afghanistan. Even though Anaar was born and raised in Pakistan he feels the time is right to return home. Regardless of his reservations about leaving his birthplace, Anaar is extremely excited to return to where his ancestors are from. He describes hearing stories from his elders and is excited to experience those things for himself.

This decision did not come easy to the 27 year old. Gul talked with UNHCR staff about the current and possible future conditions of his hometown in the southern Helmand province. According to the UNHCR, his hometown now offers work doing road construction for 600 rupees. “Our relatives tell us that we can earn 600 rupees (US $8) a day in road construction work. That is enough to enable us to spend a decent life in our own country,” he said. This amount is a huge increases from 200 rupees that he and his father currently get paid. This pay increase makes the decision to move all the more enticing. Anaar wants a future for his wife and daughter and thinks with his homeland now in repair he can finally provide a proper home for his family.

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.

Afghanistan…After Osama Bin Laden

admin — Tue, 17 May 2011 05:24:38 +0000

Hamed Wardak is an activist in Afghanistan, always seeking better conditions for Afghans. In a recent article in the Huffington Post, Wardak said: “the death of Osama Bin Laden is one of the most singular moments of our lives. The man, whose death we do not mourn, launched terrorist actions around the globe and ultimately precipitated the involvement of United States (U.S.) forces in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is where I was born, yet I have spent most of my life as a refugee because of external forces. My homeland has not known peace in more than 30 years, thanks to the Soviet invasion in 1979, the war of liberation against the Soviet occupation, the ensuing civil war, and the subsequent rise of the Taliban theocracy that supported bin Laden. Many of my fellow countrymen have also been forced to live elsewhere as refugees, but now is our moment to shine. The demise of bin Laden is simultaneously the dawn of a new era for Afghanistan. Consequently, we must seize this window of opportunity to build on progress made so far toward ridding the country of the Taliban and stabilizing it for a government that will be supported by the people.”

Hamed Wardak is a former Rhodes Scholar and Georgetown alumni who today is an active Afghan working for the improvement of conditions in Afghanistan. Wardak also has a new line of clothing – Ludus – which donates its profits to the charity.

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.