Opinion | The history of Afghanistan reminds us: no country, no home

By Edward Hei Leung, DAB Standing Committee Member

Can you imagine one of the world's poorest countries, where women could enroll in university education and be able to wear mini-skirts in front of public? Ironic as it may be, these fascinating scenes happened in the golden age of Afghanistan.

How well Afghanistan performed before outsiders interfered?

As the gateway between Asia and Europe, Afghanistan was a country rich of potential in mid-1900s. Mohammad Zahir Shah became the king of Afghanistan, reigning from 1933 to 1973. Under his progressive reforms, the country was highly modernized. Infrastructural investment increased, together with contemporary buildings connected by new roads. It was common to see women wearing miniskirts, walking alongside their male friends. Given a series of changes, more and more tourists visited the territory, experiencing beautiful gardens, breathtaking mountains, and friendly locals in this "Paris of the Central Asia".

Surprising as it may be, in the golden age, the country's GDP per capita was even higher than mainland China's. In 1978, its GDP per capita was nearly US$265, while China only had around US$156. Only when Open Door Policy was introduced could China attend a higher average income than Afghanistan did in 1978. Now, China has the second-largest economy, whereas Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries at the globe. Is it ironic, especially after the so-called world police introduced the reconstruction plans in Afghanistan?

It does not take much to know that everything was changed after the Soviet invasion. The country was engulfed into perpetual if not endless wars, with Taliban rule and western interference hereafter. Afghanistan now bears little resemblance to the peaceful and prosperous nation that we can see in 1960s images.

Corruption occurs easily when intruders ignore the needs to understand local lives and rely on a handful of people

Worse still, US, the intruder, imposed ambitious reconstruction programs with unrealistic objectives. Even though US supported 145 billion in terms of military forces, modern weapons and professional trainings etc., the Afghan government with at least 300,000 soldiers serving, was then defeated by 80,000 Taliban fighters. On one hand, as supported by a large amount of evidence, the Afghan army and police has a troubled history of high casualties, desertions and corruption, with some unscrupulous commanders claiming the salaries of troops who simply didn't exist. On the other hand, as several media reported, Ashraf Ghani, the 72-year-old Afghan ex-president, abandoned the country, fleeing with $169 million in cash. He subsequently denied of taking large sums of money when leaving Afghanistan. Critics, however, arise when his daughter was reported to leave an apartment located in a luxury co-op building in Clinton Hill, with stunning restaurants and the Pratt Institute nearby. I never exclude the possibility that her daughter could earn much in foreign countries. Perhaps Ashraf Ghani should answer the question.

In fact, Afghanistan suffered from its severe corruption issues. "When Ghani became president, donors imposed 20 conditions on him, the first of which was to reduce corruption in the administration by 80%," Brookings Institution researcher Vanda Felbab-Brown said. Furthermore, the National Security Archive mentioned that everyday activities in Afghanistan also required bribes, including preferential treatment at a hospital, transporting fuel around the country, or ownership of property. Under this circumstance, it is extremely difficult to imagine that Ashraf Ghani did not receive brides.

As an old Chinese saying, no country, no home. The Afghan experience teaches us the importance of a country's national power. In 1960s, Afghans might envision a bright future, and could not imagine how dreadful the country would be after decades of foreign interferences and internal conflicts. In other words, Chinese should be united together, supporting, advancing and improving the governance of Chinese Communist Party. If we believe that foreigners could help us, we would fall into the same black hole as Afghanistan did in the last 50 years.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.