Hope in Afghanistan: Saturday 29 January 2011

The aim of this event (held at St Mary’s Church and Conference Centre, Bramall Lane, Sheffield) was to raise people’s awareness about life in Afghanistan and to present positives images and stories as a way of countering the negative press and media coverage. This event was organised by four of our advocates who worked hard to make it successful. Afghan Action Building Bridges’ team members supported them all through. 

We were keen to attract a cross section of people – including some local Afghans – and the programme deliberately gave people the chance to find out about what Afghanistan is really like, what Afghan Action is doing, what Afghan food is like, insights into Afghan handicrafts and culture, what we are doing with schools (a sample lesson) and – to start the event off – what people actually know about Afghanistan!

We began by distributing a questionnaire comprising of 15 questions about Afghanistan and invited those present to answer these, working in groups.  This was intended to find out what people already know about the country and, after the questionnaires had been completed, the answers were given and photographs linking to each question/answer distributed.

We were delighted at the rich mix of such interesting people – men and women from 5 to 75, from a range of ethnic groups including white British, Pakistani, Iranian and West African - and a lively group of Afghan people living, working and studying in the Sheffield area. Their contribution to the discussions were enormously helpful.

We owe a very special debt of gratitude to Graham Duncan, Sue Green and their colleagues at St Mary’s Church and Conference Centre. Their generous welcome and support in organising and publicising the event and recruiting participants were greatly appreciated and the wonderful Afghan meal they provided at lunchtime was praised by everyone.

Our hope is that the work in Sheffield has now started and there is a basis for building on it – good links with the Afghan community as well as with other communities and ethnic groups should enable us to build work around a common theme which is of concern to us all: the future of Afghanistan and why it matters to us all. We know too that many Afghan people living in this country are quite marginalised from the wider communities among whom they live – hence the need to “build bridges”.

The Afghan Action staff team led the various groups:

Eat Afghanistan- Get a taste for the delights of Afghan cuisine!
At the heart of the ancient Silk Route, the cuisine of Afghanistan has absorbed the plethora of flavours from different lands that the country has been exposed to.  Zarlashta Behzadi, Outreach and Administration Officer, led this session.  The aim was to introduce people to the flavours of Afghanistan by letting them sample some delicious Afghan food and also by giving them some recipes to take home and try along with handy hints and tips.  In addition, participants were given the opportunity to talk about other aspects of Afghan culture.  For example, they were shown many original artefacts and photographs of Afghanistan through the ages.  This session put Afghan history and culture into context in a novel and interactive fashion, providing people with a three dimensional view of the Afghan land and people.
Talk Afghanistan- What hope for the future?
The workshop “Talk Afghanistan” presented by Outreach and Advocacy Officer, Hashim Alavi, tried to give a first-hand description of the situation in Afghanistan.  Participants asked many questions with regards to the current general issues in Afghanistan, such as the foreign involvement there, the “War on Terror” and the impact of the ongoing insurgency on the lives of the ordinary people, the human rights rhetoric and the realities in the ground, (the lack of) employment and the role of the civil society in the current “mess” in the country.  Topics covered relating to Afghans living in the UK included their unity and division, their integration into Western society, and the role of Afghan women in the UK.

Change Afghanistan- What Afghan Action does in the UK and Afghanistan
Chris Beales, who led the workshop sessions, spoke about the work of Afghan Action with a PowerPoint presentation of photographs of Afghanistan and life there, and in particular of the work of Afghan Action. At its carpet factory and training school in Karte Se, Kabul, there are currently 70 people on site training as weavers or working to start their own businesses. Literacy and numeracy classes, on-site healthcare and a midday meal are also provided. In the Business Incubation Centre, trainees also learn English, ICT and business skills. Programmes in the UK aim to raise awareness about Afghanistan (Building Bridges) and work with Afghan groups living in London and elsewhere in the UK.

Learn Afghanistan - How much do you know about Afghanistan?
Mahboobullah Iltaf, Outreach Officer for Yorkshire and Northern England, provided an information session on Afghanistan.  A few of the things that he explained included the meaning of the Afghan flag, the cultural greeting styles common in Afghanistan, the differences between the Afghan and British calendar and the celebration of the Afghan New Year.  Participants were also given an instruction to the basics of the Dari and Pashto languages.  This session was based on the work which Afghan Action carries out in schools across the UK.

Afghan Action
January 2011