Photo by Master Corporal Angela Abbey, Canadian Forces Combat Camera
We keep hearing how important the Afghan detainee affair is in our media, in our Parliament, and on the blogs of Canadians. But has anyone stopped to ask Afghans whether they’re bothered by the possibility that suspected Taliban detainees may have been subjected to rough treatment in lockup? Has anyone asked the people of Afghanistan whether they believe that the greatest humanitarian issue facing their country is whether men in black turbans have had a rough go of it in the penal system? I seriously doubt it.
As Nasrine Gross, an Afghan-American writer at Kabul University, recently said in an interview on CPAC, the detainee issue is an important one, but there are so many more important issues that need to be focused on. Not just in the way of dealing with security, infrastructure, and aid, but in addressing Canada’s post-combat role in the country.
In opinion polls conducted by international organizations, they all point to concerns other than the welfare of prisoners or the Taliban threat. Some of the largest concerns are based on endemic government corruption, the need for security, and the desire to earn a living.
The International Red Cross with Ipsos conducted a survey in Afghanistan in 2009, and then contrasted it with a similar survey taken from 1999. In almost every area, the lives of Afghans had been improved by interventionism, even if conditions in the country are still difficult.
The IRC have visited detainees and submitted reports to the detaining authorities on conditions of detention and treatment of prisoners since the beginning of the conflict between ISAF forces and the Taliban. In particular, the Red Cross has an agreement with Afghan, US, and NATO-led ISAF nations to visit detainees. These talks focus on conditions, treatment, and compliance with international law. They facilitate contact with families, collect allegations of violations of international humanitarian law, and make recommendations where applicable.
In a radio interview with Canwest Reporter Matthew Fisher on December 28, he told CFRA radio in Ottawa that in talking to the Red Cross, there are currently no issues they have with any ISAF nation, Canada included, in the treatment of detainees. Which is why most of this controversy is based almost entirely upon suppositions and assertions by human rights lawyers Amir Attaran and Paul Champ, which the media seems obligingly happy to print without evidence. Even Liberal bloggers have taken note of this fact.
The Red Cross found in their 2009 survey that in the time period since the 1999 survey, less people have been displaced by war, less damage has been done to personal property, less people have lost contact with relatives, less people have been “humiliated”, less people have lost a family member to war; the list goes on and on. Significantly, there is a decline in the number of people who reported being “tortured”, from 43% in 1999 to 29% in 2009. 52% of respondents reported that the most serious effects of conflict occurred between 5-20 years ago.
The biggest concerns to Afghans are simple, universal ones. 37% worry about making a living, 36% worry about future uncertainty, 34% worry about being displaced by war; only 15% fear imprisonment. In terms of immediate needs, 63% of people said food, 53% said security, 48% said health care, and 46% said shelter. Corruption remains the largest impediment to helping people in Afghanistan with 52% saying it was the largest problem.
Other polls would seem to back up the idea that Afghans are happy that the ISAF is there to secure and protect civilians, and that the largest needs right now are humanitarianism and security. A BBC poll in January showed that 70% of respondents feel the country is headed in the right direction, with 96% favouring their country run by the current government, compared with 6% who said they favoured a Taliban administration. 71% approved of US Forces in Afghanistan, with 70% approving of the presence of the ISAF under the United Nations mission. Just 4% cited the US has the biggest threat to the country, in contrast to 69% who cited the Taliban.
A comprehensive survey by the Asia Foundation in 2009 found similar results in terms of humanitarian need, infrastructure, jobs, and security. Most respondents in that poll said they were significantly better off now than they were under the Taliban, but that most people are just concerned about the basics of life: food, shelter, security, and employment.
So now that we know what Afghans are actually concerned about, perhaps we could put this current detainee affair in the order of importance that it deserves.
