Children Playing Suicide Bombers
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H2O3C4Nitrogen
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Learn to be Taliban: K is for Kalashnikov
Syed Nadir El Edroos
Imagine that you learnt the alphabet and numbers with images of Kalashnikovs and tanks instead of apples and oranges.
During the mid to late 1980s, a USAID funded project printed millions of textbooks in Peshawar. The funds came from Saudi Arabia and the books were distributed amongst school children in Afghanistan and in new madrassas across Pakistan.
These textbooks were prepared to indoctrinate. Specialists from the Afghanistan Centre at the University of Nebraska Omaha received nearly $60 million to develop a curriculum, which glorified jihad, celebrated martyrdom and dehumanised invaders.
By the mid-1980s, the Afghan mujahedeen were bleeding the Soviet Union, hastening her economic collapse and nearing the eventual end of the Cold War.
The schools that survived across Afghanistan along with various madrassas continued using these same textbooks throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s.
Only in 2002 did the process of replacing textbooks begin, however, by then the template had been improved and widely distributed across both Afghanistan and Pakistan. A generation had been born to celebrate death rather than life. They accepted violence as a natural part of everyday life.
Play games that tick like bombs
The awesome power of education coupled with propaganda has transformed the region over the past 25 years. It should come as no surprise that after the proliferation and acceptance of violence in the classroom, radio and on television screens, children are re-enacting suicide bombings as play.
The fact that the
was circulated on social networking sites as something to have a laugh at was quite shocking in itself.
This process was initiated in textbooks. In support, propagandist teachers were co-opted to teach the material with misplaced religious zeal. By the time the Taliban came into power, the textbooks were cleansed of all human imagery.
The Taliban removed all the heads of children depicted in the textbooks. What we were left with were images of headless children carrying Kalashnikovs. As a result violence had successfully been dehumanised. Children grew up completely removed from the consequences of pulling the trigger.
Rewards for death
Although the textbooks may no longer exist, they have been replaced by an age of radical websites, audio CDs, DVDs and transferable mobile phone video clips, celebrating martyrdom. Self worth has been devalued, as importance is placed on the afterlife.
Incentives have been created for more death and destruction, as subordinates in an attempt to impress their superiors or stake their claim for leadership, plan and execute grander and deadlier attacks.
In 2002 the Sustainable Policy Development Institute (SPDI) published a report on the state of educational material. Its recommendations are yet to be implemented and its findings have been ignored.
The Army with the help of a prominent neuropsychiatrist is running a successful rehabilitation centre in Swat, called Sabaoon School where children indoctrinated by the Taliban are de-radicalised.
Yet, the same model is yet to be replicated and reforms introduced even though dubious curriculum and indoctrination has been clearly identified as key radicalising factors.
Perhaps one of the reasons why educational curriculum reform does not receive the attention it deserves is because costs borne today may take a decade or more to yield results. Our leaders prefer to promise quick fixes.
Rather than focusing on the empty debate on whether the governors or chief ministers message should grace the cover of textbooks, curriculum must be reviewed to purge it of any material that promotes intolerance, divisions and hatred.
As the body count continues to rise, it is perhaps time we realised the importance of education and counseling in changing our faith.
ET Blogs
Syed Nadir El Edroos
Imagine that you learnt the alphabet and numbers with images of Kalashnikovs and tanks instead of apples and oranges.
During the mid to late 1980s, a USAID funded project printed millions of textbooks in Peshawar. The funds came from Saudi Arabia and the books were distributed amongst school children in Afghanistan and in new madrassas across Pakistan.
These textbooks were prepared to indoctrinate. Specialists from the Afghanistan Centre at the University of Nebraska Omaha received nearly $60 million to develop a curriculum, which glorified jihad, celebrated martyrdom and dehumanised invaders.
By the mid-1980s, the Afghan mujahedeen were bleeding the Soviet Union, hastening her economic collapse and nearing the eventual end of the Cold War.
The schools that survived across Afghanistan along with various madrassas continued using these same textbooks throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s.
Only in 2002 did the process of replacing textbooks begin, however, by then the template had been improved and widely distributed across both Afghanistan and Pakistan. A generation had been born to celebrate death rather than life. They accepted violence as a natural part of everyday life.
Play games that tick like bombs
The awesome power of education coupled with propaganda has transformed the region over the past 25 years. It should come as no surprise that after the proliferation and acceptance of violence in the classroom, radio and on television screens, children are re-enacting suicide bombings as play.
The fact that the
This process was initiated in textbooks. In support, propagandist teachers were co-opted to teach the material with misplaced religious zeal. By the time the Taliban came into power, the textbooks were cleansed of all human imagery.
The Taliban removed all the heads of children depicted in the textbooks. What we were left with were images of headless children carrying Kalashnikovs. As a result violence had successfully been dehumanised. Children grew up completely removed from the consequences of pulling the trigger.
Rewards for death
Although the textbooks may no longer exist, they have been replaced by an age of radical websites, audio CDs, DVDs and transferable mobile phone video clips, celebrating martyrdom. Self worth has been devalued, as importance is placed on the afterlife.
Incentives have been created for more death and destruction, as subordinates in an attempt to impress their superiors or stake their claim for leadership, plan and execute grander and deadlier attacks.
In 2002 the Sustainable Policy Development Institute (SPDI) published a report on the state of educational material. Its recommendations are yet to be implemented and its findings have been ignored.
The Army with the help of a prominent neuropsychiatrist is running a successful rehabilitation centre in Swat, called Sabaoon School where children indoctrinated by the Taliban are de-radicalised.
Yet, the same model is yet to be replicated and reforms introduced even though dubious curriculum and indoctrination has been clearly identified as key radicalising factors.
Perhaps one of the reasons why educational curriculum reform does not receive the attention it deserves is because costs borne today may take a decade or more to yield results. Our leaders prefer to promise quick fixes.
Rather than focusing on the empty debate on whether the governors or chief ministers message should grace the cover of textbooks, curriculum must be reviewed to purge it of any material that promotes intolerance, divisions and hatred.
As the body count continues to rise, it is perhaps time we realised the importance of education and counseling in changing our faith.
ET Blogs
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CENTCOM
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It is easy to criticize the United States for the fate of these children but the fact remains that kids learn from their environment and their surroundings. They see Taliban sending young suicide bombers to blow themselves up and kill innocent old and young people every day and glorify this heinous act of ruthless killing. What do you think they will learn? We completely agree that education is the way to get these children out of the violent surroundings. This is the reason why through USAID our government is spending a significant amount both in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Afghanistan we have done the following in the last few years:
Printed more than 75.6 million textbooks
Supporting 43,800 students annually in remote community-based schools
Trained nearly 10,500 teachers in an accelerated learning program and more than 2,600 university professors on modern teaching methods
Built or refurbished more than 680 schools
Also in Pakistan USAID has been involved in the following programs:
USAID programs ensured that approximately 900,000 school-aged children were able to attend classes.
Over 3,000 education administrators and 12,000 teachers were trained in management and teaching techniques to improve educational quality and increase student learning outcomes.
Through USAID, the U.S. government provided school libraries with approximately 100,000 books, math teaching kits, school bags, computer systems, and classroom learning materials.
With its adult literacy programs in the Islamabad Capital Territory and the Districts of Karachi and Rawalpindi, USAID partners taught over 2,500 women basic math and language skills. This has contributed to 10 percent increase in the adult literacy rate between 2001 and 2008.
To improve teacher education and performance, USAID's education program helped develop national standards as well as a licensing and accreditation system for teachers.
To provide transparent financial aid to needy Pakistani students, USAID provided technical assistance to establish six financial aid offices and created three new scholarship programs in Pakistani universities. Approximately 1,500 students were financially supported to pursue degrees in agriculture and business administration.
Continued support for 34 existing Pakistan-US collaborations between universities and higher education institutions has benefited over 1,400 Pakistani researchers and practitioners 45 percent of whom were women. In addition, USAID developed 89 new research and training programs under Pakistan-US Science and Technology program.
The Fulbright Program sponsored 182 new students including 78 women. Currently, 75 Pakistanis are being supported by the Fulbright program as Master's and Ph.D. candidates; nearly 30 percent are women and minorities. The program has a 98 percent return rate with 106 Masters-level graduates returning to Pakistan this year to join an increasingly expanding alumni network across Pakistani universities.
United States continues to be of assistance to the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan. We realize that the future of our children is interconnected and to have a peaceful world in which everyone coexists we need to educate the children of Afghanistan & Pakistan so they are able to reject the Talibans philosophy of violence and embrace peace and prosperity.
CDR Bill Speaks
DET United States Central Command
U.S. Central Command
Printed more than 75.6 million textbooks
Supporting 43,800 students annually in remote community-based schools
Trained nearly 10,500 teachers in an accelerated learning program and more than 2,600 university professors on modern teaching methods
Built or refurbished more than 680 schools
Also in Pakistan USAID has been involved in the following programs:
USAID programs ensured that approximately 900,000 school-aged children were able to attend classes.
Over 3,000 education administrators and 12,000 teachers were trained in management and teaching techniques to improve educational quality and increase student learning outcomes.
Through USAID, the U.S. government provided school libraries with approximately 100,000 books, math teaching kits, school bags, computer systems, and classroom learning materials.
With its adult literacy programs in the Islamabad Capital Territory and the Districts of Karachi and Rawalpindi, USAID partners taught over 2,500 women basic math and language skills. This has contributed to 10 percent increase in the adult literacy rate between 2001 and 2008.
To improve teacher education and performance, USAID's education program helped develop national standards as well as a licensing and accreditation system for teachers.
To provide transparent financial aid to needy Pakistani students, USAID provided technical assistance to establish six financial aid offices and created three new scholarship programs in Pakistani universities. Approximately 1,500 students were financially supported to pursue degrees in agriculture and business administration.
Continued support for 34 existing Pakistan-US collaborations between universities and higher education institutions has benefited over 1,400 Pakistani researchers and practitioners 45 percent of whom were women. In addition, USAID developed 89 new research and training programs under Pakistan-US Science and Technology program.
The Fulbright Program sponsored 182 new students including 78 women. Currently, 75 Pakistanis are being supported by the Fulbright program as Master's and Ph.D. candidates; nearly 30 percent are women and minorities. The program has a 98 percent return rate with 106 Masters-level graduates returning to Pakistan this year to join an increasingly expanding alumni network across Pakistani universities.
United States continues to be of assistance to the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan. We realize that the future of our children is interconnected and to have a peaceful world in which everyone coexists we need to educate the children of Afghanistan & Pakistan so they are able to reject the Talibans philosophy of violence and embrace peace and prosperity.
CDR Bill Speaks
DET United States Central Command
U.S. Central Command
Chogy
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When a murderer straps a bomb onto his body, enters a market and kills dozens, and the result is that he is honored as a martyr and his widow and children receive a cash reward, kids are going to emulate that. It's horrific that a suicide-murderer is considered a hero.
Kids will naturally imitate whoever the perceive as a "super hero" and this is the result.
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