Afghani official visits campus

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    By Jessica Snow

    Ravan Farhadi, the Afghani Ambassador to the United Nations, went straight to the pulpit when he entered the room Thursday, May 20.

    He almost started to deliver his message about Afghanistan”s current problems and its relationship with America, Iraq and Pakistan; however, he was stopped so he could be introduced. Farhadi found this brief interruption no excuse to sit down. Instead he stood looking out at the audience with a smile on his face.

    He started his speech for the Kennedy Center”s Global Focus Series by showing a unity between Muslim and Christian values.

    “I”m happy to begin with prayer,” he said. “Muslims are instructed in the Koran that the Christian God is the same God.”

    That was just the beginning of his speech in which he said that Afghanistan considers the United States an ally.

    “The U.S. is viewed [by the people of Afghanistan] as a country of friends,” he said. “The troops are viewed as peacekeepers, even though civilians have been killed in the U.S. attacks.”

    When asked how the people in Iraq view the U.S. in comparison to his country, Farhadi paused, raised his eyebrows and took a drink. He gave no firm answer, but did note the difference between the United States” presence in both countries. He said the Afghanis had been fighting against the Taliban for five years before 9/11 happened.

    “The war against terrorism started 2 days before 9/11,” he said. “It started on September 9 when the main leader who resisted the Taliban was killed.”

    David Hansen from Roy, a senior majoring in international studies said he thought it was interesting to hear what was happening from an insider”s view.

    “I was surprised to hear that Kabul was liberated by the Afghanistans,” Hansen said.

    During the question and answer period, Farhadi was fervent about distinguishing Afghanistan from Pakistan in their treatment of terrorist groups. He defended his country”s support of Osama bin Laden by saying they harbored him as a citizen under an agreement bin Laden failed to meet.

    “Osama was not to begin any military movement. He was in our country just as a refugee,” Farhadi said. “Osama never built the schools in Afghanistan. He never built the hospital in Afghanistan. Instead he built camps and was killing our children.”

    Although Afghanistan has made no declaration about the United States in Iraq, the ambassador said terrorist groups aren”t necessarily consisted of the Iraqi people.

    “The Taliban has sympathizers generally not in Iraq, but from Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia,” he said. “They are active in Iraq because [terrorists] are always looking for territory with a vacuum of power.”

    Junior Lindsay Flaherty, a pre-communications major from Great Falls, Va., said she was surprised by the ambassador”s dedication in separating Afghanistan from other Islamic countries when it comes to the education of women.

    “I thought it interesting when he said that 95 percent of women in the country were being safely educated and that it would continue that way in the future,” she said. “It was definitely a bold statement, but it gives me optimism.”

    Farhardi said the two problems facing Afghanistan today are security and rebuilding a country that has been at war for over 23 years. He said he hopes the U.S. will help rebuild, especially since the country”s elections will take place in September of this year.

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