Sesame Street comes to Kabul

A couple of great photos of Sesame Street coming to Kabul, courtesy of TOLO TV, the Afghan Ministry of Education, and the U.S. Embassy. Sesame Street's messages of love of learning and tolerance are as sorely needed in Afghanistan as in any of the other countries that broadcast their own versions of the show. And the additional push of Sesame Street to the very few classroom hours in the typical Afghan public school can't hurt. One wonders, though, how widely access to television is, especially in the areas where school attendance is lowest.

When life gives you pomegranates...

This video from USAID in Afghanistan shows a USDA employee working with pomegranate farmers to maximize the yield from their crops. I'm happy to see Embassy folks working directly on projects in the field, interacting directly with Afghans and, one hopes, helping them improve their lives.

I've always been impressed with USDA folks overseas. They add personal warmth to professional capabilities that other Embassy staff could learn from. Even in our training course, they really stood out.

In the context of genuinely nice people who contribute incredibly to Afghanistan's progress, I should also mention my former colleague Laura, the staff archeologist and cultural heritage manager for the Embassy. You can read about her work in an article in her hometown paper here.

Hair stories

The Wall Street Journal reported last month on a training program for Afghan businesswomen that brought one woman who runs a small beauty salon in Mazar i-Sharif to see how a top of the line salon in New York operates. The article does a nice job of showing the value of the visit from a business point of view (and fortunately it rather admires the work of the Afghan woman, when it could easily have sneered at the whole idea). It also gives a nice overview of professional exchange programs, complete with interpreters (not translators, WSJ), cultural activities, interaction with Americans, and the big hope, that "with her skills ... she'll make a difference in the lives of these women in Afghanistan."

One thing is certain: this story seems far more Afghan-focused, even though it takes place in New York, then the story of the Kabul Beauty School, run by an American. Somehow, though both are about training, respecting the talents of an Afghan and providing her with some opportunities is a much more successful approach than setting up a permanent aid station in the form of a for-profit business. (Photo from the NYT article.)

A beautiful film on Afghanistan

Do check out this film on Afghanistan, with beautiful and unexpected images.

Thinking about Kabul again

It's been quite a while since I've posted on this blog, but that doesn't mean that Kabul has gone away. The attack on the U.S. Embassy, for one thing, certainly gave me a kind of scare. It was never clear in the media reports exactly which building the Taliban were shooting from, but I've always assumed that it was the building up near Massoud Circle that I was told will someday be the Marriott Hotel of Kabul. A building that, for that very reason, seemed to be a source of great hope.

Then in another "you never leave your last post" moment (post being, in this case, the assignment, not the blog), I was able to join former Public Affairs Section colleagues to play Trivia at Tonic up the street. With great memories of the Red Tent on the Embassy compound and the fiercely competitive Trivia matches there.

And finally, an email from Ram, filmmaker, IT guy, and dedicated teacher. He was part of the International Writing Program group that came to Kabul in May and in between reading his own poetry, showing new techniques to film

students at Kabul University, and generally being the good guy that he is, he finished several video projects about the tour. I haven't yet seen the feature documentary, but here is a short video about the poet Nathalie Handal, with images of her workshops at Kabul University's English Department (here in the photo) and at the Education Faculty.

Ruling the airways in Afghanistan

David Ignatius has a good piece today in the Washington Post about Tolo TV, one of the first and possibly the most successful private television networks in Afghanistan. Ignatius says:

Reading the news from Afghanistan, it’s easy to think that America has been pouring money down a sinkhole, trying to help a country that is forever primitive. Some of that gloom is deserved. But a look at Tolo TV reminds me that Afghanistan is actually modernizing quite rapidly and that its reform-minded journalists and television producers are some of the smartest (and bravest) people I know.

Tolo pioneered the Afghan soap opera, the Afghan reality show (Afghan Star, modelled on American Idol), and the Afghan crime drama. Its mere existence drives the Taliban crazy. Also, Tolo journalist Ahmad Farzad Lameh, who tweets in English at @FarzadLameh, is a well-informed source about Afghan news and politics. Check him out!

The cats are back

You may be beginning to think I'm a little crazy about cats, but after my last post I found this set of photos from last year in the Washington Post. As you will see, the Marines are a lot more generous toward their feline friends than the diplomats. Stereotypes, be gone!