Lost Opportunities cost

We have a large number of frustrated Afghan’s outside of the country. They are good people, many of them highly educated professionals, with a great deal of support and talent to offer to their birth country. However, they cannot do anything unless they are connected with the current central government in Afghanistan. They feel excluded and upset by the fact that they are willing to help their country but no one is contacting them and no one is soliciting their help. A few that had gone to Afghanistan without governmental support have returned disappointed and angry because they could not get a job anywhere in their profession.

They feel that the United States government and other organizations intentionally ignore them and are not contacting them to see how their talents can be used. These engineers, doctors, teachers, nurses, and businessmen and women are living all over the world and waiting for an opportunity to help their country. They need three things -- the right connections within Afghanistan, a lifeline to support them while they get established, and real security. I must mention that a number of Afghans that went home without connections in the central government and support of any foreign government were killed and their bodies were recovered on the side of the road.

These frustrated professionals have also been victimized by entities that want to take advantage of opportunities that exist in Afghanistan. These entities recruit Afghans who possess skills in the fields of information technology, telecommunication, and engineering to present their interests in Afghanistan and to bring them business. However, they are willing to pay only for the engineers’ business air travel and per diem expenses in Afghanistan – they aren’t paying salaries and benefits, and are taking advantage of the patriotism of Afghans who are desperate to do anything they can to get some form of sponsorship so they can get into the country and do what they can to help. They are completely ignoring the engineers’ family who must remain in USA because the wives are working and the kids are going to school. It should be a crime to use someone’s sense of patriotism to rob him of fair wages.

The internal resources of the Afghanistan are not enough to rebuild the country. Afghanistan has a sixth grader as the defense minister -- how can he be expected to build the national army? There are graduates of the Afghan military academy and even the U.S. War College who are friendly and supportive of U.S. foreign policy who are waiting for an opportunity to serve their country. Why aren’t they being recruited and enabled by the U.S. to get into leadership positions with the Afghan defense forces?

Relying on voluntary talent bank lists developed and administered by groups that are little known throughout the Afghan community simply doesn’t do the trick. The U.S. should take advantage of the INS databases to develop a talent bank list of all Afghans in U.S. and review their occupations against the lists of greatest needs in rebuilding the country. The U.S. should make a positive outreach effort to the many teachers, professors, police officers, soldiers, doctors, ministers, etc. who have come to U.S. and see if they are interested and willing to go back and help their country while protecting the interests of the United States.

PJ