Afghan Scouts learn life-saving skills in a war zone

By Los Angeles Times, adapted by Newsela staff on 06.20.13

Word Count 826

Scouting was restarted in Afghanistan in 2009 and now has a membership of around 1,100 members, 40 percent of them

girls. Here, a group of scouts attend a recent event at American University Kabul, where they enjoyed a game of tug-

ofwar, April 18, 2013. Photo: Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/MCT

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Mohammad Aziz Ayob adjusts his Boy Scout neckerchief, leans

over, and plants a sapling into the dry Kabul soil. Two helicopters pass overhead, the clack-

clack clack-clack of their blades echoing off the neighboring mountains.

Young boys wearing matching green shirts and caps seems out of place, if not dangerous,

in a war zone. But organizers of Afghanistan's new Scouting program say it has a lot to

offer. They believe community service and confidence are sorely needed in a society

scarred by decades of war and violence.

Ayob, orphaned as a child and raised by his aunt, can barely afford to attend high school.

He worries about finding a job. But such concerns melt away when he puts on his Scout

shirt. "I love my uniform; it makes me feel proud," said Ayob, 18. "Scouts are like my

family."

The group's motto, "Be Prepared," takes on a special meaning in this war-torn country. In

Afghanistan, Scouts risk death to attend meetings, and learn how to spot roadside bombs

in first aid class.

Girl Scouts Keep Out Of Sight

Girl Scouts in this conservative Muslim nation are much less visible. The girls volunteer in

hospitals, for example, rather than working out in the open. Camping and hiking are also

restricted to boys.

Mohammad Tamim Hamkar is Afghan Scouting's program manager. He said that with the

dangers of living in Afghanistan, "it's hard to let the girls do everything."

Organizers say that girls often make better Scouts than boys. Girls have to grasp the

opportunities they get in a society dominated by men and boys. Some girls who seem shy

or meek are given confidence by the Scout uniform, said Keith Blackey, 68.

Blackey is an American advising the Scouts in Afghanistan. He previously helped develop

Scouting in Iraq. "It's like a superhero putting on a cape. Then they take it off and they're

meek again," he said of the Girl Scout uniform.

Scouting Makes A Comeback

Scouting was introduced in Afghanistan in 1931. Its golden years were in the 1960s, said

Gul Ahmad Mustafa, who is the national training commissioner. The Soviet occupation

almost ended the Scouting movement. And then the Taliban banned traditional Scouting.

Under the Taliban, Scouts were directed to spy on their parents. Later, they cleaned

mosques and filled water pots used for washing rituals. Afghanistan has not been a

member of the international Scouting association since the 1970s.

The Afghan charity Parsa focuses on orphans, women and literacy. Parsa reinvigorated the

Scouting program in 2009 as a way to reduce the number of young people recruited by

religious or political extremists.

Scout troops are active in only six of Afghanistan's 34 provinces, most of which are too

dangerous for international advisers to visit. "We're starting from zero," Hamkar said. The

program manager pointed to patchwork uniforms, unfinished manuals and limited money.

The focus is on steady growth, Blackey said. The program now has 1,062 members, 40

percent of them girls, and it hopes to have 1,500 Scouts signed up by the end of the year.

Scouts And Organizers At Risk

Violent extremists in Afghanistan see any involvement with foreign countries as treason.

The Scout movement is linked to the Western world, so this could mean danger for Afghan

scouts if there is further trouble in the country. In 2014, soldiers from the U.S. and its allies

will withdraw from Afghanistan and no one is sure what will happen afterward.

"If things get ugly, anything with an international connection could be targeted," said Marnie

Gustavson, Parsa's executive director. So organizers are working hard to make Scouting a

local program in Afghan life.

In Ghor province, a Scout's volunteer work includes cleaning mosques, proving that the

organization is not trying to threaten traditions in Afghanistan. Blackey said that Scouting is

not promoting a different religion. "We're teaching them the same things their parents are,"

the adviser added.

Scout leaders are struggling to produce enough money to run the organization. At the

moment, Scouting in Afghanistan is fully paid for by foreign grants. The Scout leaders also

find it difficult to train and evem look after local staff.

An Uncertain Future

Afghan Scouting has a long way to go. According to Abdullah Rashid, who works for the

World Organization of the Scout Movement, it is still years away from official recognition by

the rest of the world's scouts.

During the dark years in Afghanistan, loyal Scouts were forced to hide their uniforms. "I was

too scared to wear mine, even alone in my room," said training commissioner Mustafa.

"Sometimes I'd peek in the drawer, though, and remember better times."

Mike Farrar, an American military contractor who helps train Afghan Scouts, said the

program has proved invaluable.

"I never went to a Scout meeting where I had to wear a flak jacket and carry a weapon," he

said. "If the Taliban comes back, obviously Scouting goes away. But if the Taliban doesn't,

Afghanistan will embrace it."

Quiz

1 What event led to the banning of traditional scouting?

(A) the Afghanistan war

(B) the Taliban takeover

(C) the Soviet occupation

(D) the withdraw of U.S. troops

2 All of the following are reasons for the new scouting program in Afghanistan, EXCEPT:

(A) to teach children how to protect themselves

(B) to instill confidence in Afghanistan's children

(C) to discourage children from joining extremist groups

(D) to aid foreign troops by having children spy on their parents

3 Select the paragraph from the article that states the primary reason why extremists do not like

that foreign grants are funding the scouting program.

4 Read the sentence from the article.

"We're starting from zero," Hamkar said.

What is the primary reason for this statement?

(A) lack of finances

(B) violent extremists

(C) few scout participants

(D) lack of parental support

(A)