Power eludes Kabul despite global aid
January 13th, 2008 . by TexasFredKABUL, Afghanistan — Gul Hussein was standing under a pale street lamp in a poor section of east Kabul when the entire neighborhood suddenly went black.
“As you can see, it is dark everywhere,” the 62-year-old man said, adding that his family would light a costly kerosene lamp for dinner that evening. “Some of our neighbors are using candles, but candles are expensive, too.”
More than five years after the fall of the Taliban — and despite hundreds of millions of dollars in international aid — dinner by candlelight remains common in the Afghan capital of Kabul. Nationwide, only 6% of Afghans have electricity, the Asian Development Bank says.
The electricity shortage underscores the slow progress in rebuilding the war-torn country. It also feeds other problems. Old factories sit idle, and new ones are not built. Produce withers without refrigeration. Dark, cold homes foster resentment against the government.
In Kabul, power dwindles after the region’s hydroelectric dams dry up by midsummer. This past fall, residents averaged only three hours of municipal electricity a day, typically from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., according to USAID, the American government aid agency. Some neighborhoods didn’t get any.
Full Story Here:
Power eludes Kabul despite global aid
Let me ask this, simply out of curiosity and a desire to hear the opinions of the readers, what do YOU think has happened to those hundreds of millions of dollars in international aid?? Most of which came from the pockets of U.S. taxpayers??
I have my own ideas, I am pretty sure it was nearly ALL stolen, that’s the Muslim, Arab whatever way of life and doing business, steal all you can before they notice and then try to throw up a half-assed effort to appease the money givers in hopes that they will continue to give…
Any ideas from you folks?? Comments are open, lets see what the readers think…
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I’d have to say I believe that NONE of it was stolen. It was disbursed just like we do in congress, through ‘earmarks’
Ahhh… The old ‘we didn’t steal it, we ear marked it’ routine… I never thought of it like that…
Hamid Karzai and other tribal leaders pocketed… it don’t you know.
Just like all the little dictators thruout history.
Well we are trying to help these bassackwards, pedophile worshipping, goat herders move into the 21st century, what better way to help than to show them exactly how WE handle money…. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED…
I am damned near to the point where ANY funds shipped to places OTHER than where I SPECIFICALLY DESIGNATE mean essentially nothing.
I am thinking REVOLUTION, Mr. Tejas Fred.
REV-O-LU-TION.
BZ
BZ, do we have to grow beards and smoke nasty cigars like Che and Fidel??
Before we can clean up any other governments, we need to clean up ours.
Look at Africa. Billions upon billions of dollars are being sent there and all the people have to eat is mush.
$20,435,870,190 went to Unidentified Foreign Entities
Why in the World would the Bush Administration want to end these two wars?
There’s money to be made. These wars aren’t about fighting al-Qaeda, there about money. If we were really fighting a GWOT, we would be in Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan kicking Ass, we’re not.
I for one will not vote for any candidate that wants to keep us on this track, and yes that includes George W. Thompson.
$20,435,870,190 would end our border problem right here and now, WTF!
No one since Genghis Kahn has been able to control Afghanistan for very long
….seems the loyalty of the people is to tribal government rather than that a national government.
Oh no, Fred, we don’t HAVE to, we GET to!
:^)
BZ
Damn…