Afghanistan Is Open For Business

In today's Wall Street Journal, Ann Marlowe starts off an article by describing a conversation she had with a recent Yale graduate:

"Why did you decide to come to Afghanistan?" I asked. He stared at me. "This is the largest rebuilding and development effort in the history of the world. Who wouldn't want to be here?"

According to Marlowe, Afghanistan is finally open for business.

The signs are everywhere, from Kabul's traffic jams to Mazar-i-Sharif's building boom; from the opening of a Coca-Cola bottling plant to the country's first private university, the American University of Afghanistan, offering programs in business administration and information technology.

Business is not only booming in Kabul, much of the real economic action takes place in the provinces.

Like its coverage of Iraq, when reporting on Afghanistan the main stream media usually focuses on bombs going off and the numbers of combatants killed. Marlowe's article paints a much different picture of Afghanistan:

The security situation is far better than the media and the $500-a-day security companies would have you believe. British-educated Minister of Communications Amirzai Sangin notes that Americans are losing opportunities due to fears about security: "There is potential for five mobile companies here. The fact that Investcom paid $40 million for their license -- and that another company is in negotiations with us now -- should give you the assurance that there is security here. We have 3,700 employees in every one of the 34 provinces and to date no person has been killed or kidnapped."

Since the kidnapping of an Italian woman in May 2005, there have been no attacks on foreigners in Kabul -- no robberies, kidnappings, assaults or murders. In fact, part of the problem is that because Afghans don't see the situation in most of their country as unsafe, they haven't addressed the outsider perception. As a Western-educated Afghan who sees it from both sides told me, "What Afghanistan needs to do right away is to hire a good PR firm to tell people that it's safe to come here!"

Despite concerns about religious freedom, I am optimistic about Afghanistan's future. I much prefer Marlowe's view of Afghanistan as a land of opportunity to the negative stories we see day in and day out. I hope her view is the one most likely to prevail.

Comments

[Wahidulla Qias]

Dear sir
we are 3 company in afghanistan and we have staff from 3 country USA England , Turkey and if you can help your in afghanistan from security up to suply home land and other you will need
hope to hear from your as soon
thanks
Wahidulla Qias Qasmat
Deputy for NRC& QCR Co