35,000 flock to join the Afghan Scouts
Fred Goodwin, CMA
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wscout112.xml>
http://tinyurl.com/32cbkm
By Eleanor Mayne in Kabul, Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 12:35am BST 12/08/2007
After nearly three decades of war, never has the motto "Be Prepared"
had more resonance. As the worldwide Scout movement celebrates its
100th birthday this month, war-torn Afghanistan has become the
unlikely setting for a boom in recruits.
More than 35,000 young Afghans have boosted the ranks of the
Afghanistan Scout Association since the fall of the fundamentalist
Taliban five years ago.
>From conflict-ravaged Helmand to the capital Kabul, Scout groups have
been established in 24 of the 34 provinces, and the government has
included scouting in a new national education strategy.
Unlike their Western counterparts, however, the main aim of
Afghanistan's Scouts is not map-reading or knot-tying. The focus is on
peace. In a climate of continuing conflict, young Afghan Scouts are
taught to pass on a message of non-violence by urging adults to lay
down their weapons.
"We are telling the students in school to put down guns and work for
peace," said scout leader Gul Ahmed Mustafa. "The children tell their
parents. It is a very important message. They also do cleaning
classrooms, watering flowers, planting trees, first aid and cleaning
the city."
The Scouts, called "Sarandoy" in Pashto, are aged from seven to 25,
with three categories equivalent to cubs, scouts and rovers. Scout
troops are based at schools and one third are female. Leaders are
usually teachers.
British Scouts would feel at home with many of their Afghan
counterparts' rituals. The Scout promise is almost identical to the UK
version, with its vow to "do my best and do my duty to God". The
salute is the same and the motto "Be Prepared" is translated directly
as "Tayarosay" in Pashto and "Umade Bashi" in Dari.
But in place of the British activity badges - with names such as
artist, chef or collector - an Afghan Scout has only two options. The
first is "literacy", which usually involves teaching a neighbour or
family member to read and write. The second is "training", a programme
based mainly around athletics and races. The children also practise
tying knots and go camping in the mountains.
Mr Mustafa said: "We want many different badges. They are a necessity
for Scouting. We plan to introduce the swimmer and the bicycler. But
for now there are no swimming pools and not so many bicycles."
Lord Baden-Powell set up the first Scout camp for 20 boys on Brownsea
island, in Poole Harbour, Dorset. It spread to Afghanistan in 1931 but
was banned after the communist coup in 1978. There was an attempt to
reinstate Scouting in 1996 but it foundered over the Taliban's ban on
education for girls. The organisation was re-established in 2002 with
support from the education ministry.
The setting of the association's national Afghan office highlights the
country's turbulent history. Only a stone's throw from a stadium used
by the Taliban for executions, the concrete building has bullet-
scarred walls and barbed wire on its perimeter. There is no
electricity and water is pumped from a well provided by the United
Nations. Last year, the total budget for the country was only £1,470.
Safiullah Subat, chief of the Afghanistan Scout Association and the
only full-time staff member, said: "The government wants to help but
Scouting is not the first priority. There are so many problems."
But the future is brighter. The education strategy includes a proposal
to provide £18 uniforms for 20,000 Scouts and to recruit five Scout
trainers for each province.
Mr Subat said: "We believe Scouting is very important for our country.
In Scouting we are a family, whether Tajik, Uzbek, Hazara or Pashtun.
It can create unity between the people of Afghanistan and between
girls and boys."