H-Net* The Taliban Are Well Liked
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A Japanese doctor's up-close observations contradict
overseas reports
By MUTSUKO MURAKAMI
Thursday, October 18, 2001
http://www.asiaweek.com/asiaweek/daily/foc/0,8773,180342,00.html
Japanese doctor Tetsu Nakamura works with leprosy
patients and refugees in
Afghanistan and Pakistan. It's a job that keeps him in
touch with the raw
reality of life in that troubled country. And he says
that from what he
has seen, the Taliban are being wrongly portrayed
internationally.
There's something wrong with the media reports, he
says. This talk of
the Taliban being vicious and disliked doesn't fit
with reality. Nakamura
says the fundamentalists have wide support from the
population,
particularly in rural areas. Otherwise, how can they
rule 95% of the
country with only 15,000 soldiers?
Villagers around Nakamura's Peshawar base hospital and
10 clinics in both
northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan were
pleased to see peace
established under Taliban rule, he says. The Pushtun
people, who make up
two-thirds of the Afghan population, can accept strict
Muslim codes
because they have lived by them all their lives, he
says. Women are not
deprived of education or jobs, as far as he can see.
In fact, half the
local doctors at his clinics are women.
So why are the people of the capital, Kabul,
reportedly hoping to see the
Taliban overthrown? The Taliban may act differently
there, he told me
when we met recently in Tokyo. They're obliged to fix
the corrupt urban
life. The people most vocal in criticizing the Taliban
are upper-class
Afghans who have been deprived of their privileges.
Nakamura's words
reminded me of news footage I have seen several times
since the attacks on
New York and Washington. Shot by French journalists in
Afghanistan, it
showed Afghan women speaking critically of the
Taliban. Significantly,
they are dressed in shiny silk-like costumes, with
large rings on their
fingers.
Nakamura, 55, says the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance
are not the freedom
fighters some journalists describe them as. Villagers
are frightened of
them because they are more violent and cruel than the
Taliban, he says.
They execute innocent people in horrific ways, though
not in public as the
Taliban do as a warning to others.
Nakamura works for Peshawar kai Medical Services, a
Japanese aid agency
based in Fukuoka City that has been operating in the
Peshawar district for
17 years. He first visited the area as an alpinist
when he was still a
medical school student in Fukuoka. Shocked by the lack
of medical care in
the area, particularly for leprosy patients, he
volunteered to work at a
local hospital in l984. He says: I spent most of my
time not in straight
medical work but in trying to understand my patients,
their lifestyles and
values -- what makes them weep or what matters most
for them. Luckily, I
can eat anything and sleep anywhere, he grins.
Nakamura has seen foreigners visiting Afghanistan and
returning home to
criticize the Muslim culture -- from a Western
perspective. These people
may be heroes or heroines in London or New York, he
says, but they
contribute nothing to the welfare of Afghans. As for
suggestions the
Taliban have cut the country off from the world,
Nakamura says the Afghans
are perhaps better informed than the Japanese, as they
listen daily to BBC
radio in their own language.
The doctor's greatest concern is the fate of millions
of starving refugees
in and around Afghanistan. Over one million of them
are suffering from
hunger, he says, while up to 40% are bordering on
starvation. He thinks
10% could die during the winter. Nakamura and his
staff stopped focusing
exclusively on leprosy in the l980s as they had so
many refugees to deal
with, many suffering from malaria, diarrhea,
infections and fever. Severe
draught in recent years created hundreds of thousands
of refugees. And now
the American bombing and the fear of an invasion has
brought more. His aid
agency helps to dig wells not only to provide water
but also for
irrigation for farms, so that the refugees can return
to their villages.
Back home in Japan temporarily and thinking of his
base area in Pakistan
and Afghanistan, Nakamura says: It's all like a
mirage far off in the
desert. He fondly recalls the red-brown soil of
Afghanistan fields, the
villagers sharing their joy about water from newly dug
wells, and the
friendly faces of Taliban soldiers helping villagers.
I have one simple
question, he says. What are the big powers trying to
defend by attacking
this
H-Net* The Taliban Are Well Liked
*~*
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*~*
PAS : KE ARAH PEMERINTAHAN ISLAM YANG ADIL
~~~
Webfiles: The Taliban Are Well Liked
A Japanese doctor's up-close observations contradict
overseas reports
By MUTSUKO MURAKAMI
Thursday, October 18, 2001
Web posted at 03:20 p.m. Hong Kong time, 03:20 a.m.
GMT
Japanese doctor Tetsu Nakamura works with leprosy
patients and refugees in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
It's a job that keeps him in touch with the raw
reality of life in that troubled country. And he says
that from what he has seen, the Taliban are being
wrongly portrayed internationally. There's something
wrong with the media reports, he says. This talk of
the Taliban being vicious and disliked doesn't fit
with reality. Nakamura says the fundamentalists have
wide support from the population, particularly in
rural areas. Otherwise, how can they rule 95% of the
country with only 15,000 soldiers?
Villagers around Nakamura's Peshawar base hospital and
10 clinics in both northwestern Pakistan and eastern
Afghanistan were pleased to see peace established
under Taliban rule, he says. The Pushtun people, who
make up two-thirds of the Afghan population, can
accept strict Muslim codes because they have lived by
them all their lives, he says. Women are not deprived
of education or jobs, as far as he can see. In fact,
half the local doctors at his clinics are women.
So why are the people of the capital, Kabul,
reportedly hoping to see the Taliban overthrown? The
Taliban may act differently there, he told me when we
met recently in Tokyo. They're obliged to fix the
corrupt urban life. The people most vocal in
criticizing the Taliban are upper-class Afghans who
have been deprived of their privileges. Nakamura's
words reminded me of news footage I have seen several
times since the attacks on New York and Washington.
Shot by French journalists in Afghanistan, it showed
Afghan women speaking critically of the Taliban.
Significantly, they are dressed in shiny silk-like
costumes, with large rings on their fingers.
Nakamura, 55, says the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance
are not the freedom fighters some journalists describe
them as. Villagers are frightened of them because they
are more violent and cruel than the Taliban, he says.
They execute innocent people in horrific ways, though
not in public as the Taliban do as a warning to
others.
Nakamura works for Peshawar - kai Medical Services, a
Japanese aid agency based in Fukuoka City that has
been operating in the Peshawar district for 17 years.
He first visited the area as an alpinist when he was
still a medical school student in Fukuoka. Shocked by
the lack of medical care in the area, particularly for
leprosy patients, he volunteered to work at a local
hospital in l984. He says: I spent most of my time
not in straight medical work but in trying to
understand my patients, their lifestyles and values --
what makes them weep or what matters most for them.
Luckily, I can eat anything and sleep anywhere, he
grins.
Nakamura has seen foreigners visiting Afghanistan and
returning home to criticize the Muslim culture -- from
a Western perspective. These people may be heroes or
heroines in London or New York, he says, but they
contribute nothing to the welfare of Afghans. As for
suggestions the Taliban have cut the country off from
the world, Nakamura says the Afghans are perhaps
better informed than the Japanese, as they listen
daily to BBC radio in their own language.
The doctor's greatest concern is the fate of millions
of starving refugees in and around Afghanistan. Over
one million of them are suffering from hunger, he
says, while up to 40% are bordering on starvation. He
thinks 10% could die during the winter. Nakamura and
his staff stopped focusing exclusively on leprosy in
the l980s as they had so many refugees to deal with,
many suffering from malaria, diarrhea, infections and
fever. Severe draught in recent years created hundreds
of thousands of refugees. And now the American bombing
and the fear of an invasion has brought more. His aid
agency helps to dig wells not only to provide water
but also for irrigation for farms, so that the
refugees can return to their villages.
Back home in Japan temporarily and thinking of his
base area in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Nakamura says:
It's all like a mirage far off in the desert. He
fondly recalls the red-brown soil of Afghanistan
fields, the villagers sharing their joy about water
from newly dug wells, and the friendly faces of
Taliban soldiers helping villagers. I have one simple
question, he says. What are the big powers trying to
defend by attacking this ailing, tiny country? It's a
good
