Kabul bustles as
old and new merge

KABUL — A visit to Afghanistan,
€ven a brief one of 12 days as mine,
Teveals why all such efforts to turn back
the clock, portrayed by the western big
business press as “‘ patriotic struggles of
freedom fighters’’, are doomed.

The media has so concentrated on
the counter-revolutionary bands and
their struggle to restore the past that it
has concealed from the people of the
United States (and Canada — Ed.)
democratic Afghanistan’s dynamic, in-
Spiring present and the bright future it is
determined to build. The sole image of
Afghanistan imposed upon our de-
ceived people is that of besieged cities,
towns and villages. From our press, one
would gather that all normal life — let
alone progress — has come to a com-
plete standstill.

A walk through Kabul’s teeming
Streets explodes that distortion. No
U.S. street is as crowded with people
from early morning to nightfall. (The
counter-revolutionary bands need the
cover of darkness for their gangster-like
assaults on schools, cinemas, homes.
Thus curfew is 10 p.m.)

The people of Afghanistan seem to
prefer privacy in their home life. Much
of Kabul consists of walled enclaves of
One story mud-brick buildings many of
them on the slopes of the mountains
Surrounding the city. But daily life
takes place on the streets.

It is non-stop strolling, selling and
buying. Business is not only going onas
usual — it is booming. The stores are
but holes in the wall and are just for
Storage of goods. The buying takes
Place on the streets. Hanging from the
Side of a store are new suits of various
Styles and colors.

A bearded man in a white turban
Stands by eyeing potential customers.
Dried fruits, nuts, spices, are spread
out on a multi-colored carpet on the
Sidewalk. Nearby are pushcarts loaded
with bright luscious tangerines. Kabul
abounds in fruits and vegetables — all
displayed in the open air.

There are thousands of small shop-
keepers, street vendors and peddlers

and not a supermarket in sight. All are
privately owned. The government not
only does not harass, it encourages and
aids these private traders. Contrary to
the image portrayed by our press, pri-
vate enterprise is very much alive in
Kabul, and in Afghanistan as a whole,
and the Democratic Republic of Af-
ghanistan helps business in many con-
crete ways.

I spoke to a number of small busi-
nessmen. None had a bad word to say
against the policies of the government.
All had a lot to say — and said it quite
bitterly — about the disruption of nor-
mal life caused by the U.S.-armed and
financed counter-revolutionary bands.

It is in the street that the past, present
and almost literally, future rub shoul-

‘ders. Women in pink, saffron, pale blue

and pastel green chodarees (veils cover-
ing their faces) peer at you through sc-
reens. I was told that about one-third of
the women in Kabul wear the chodaree.
Beside them, walking briskly and con-
fidently, are young women in clothes as
modish as one finds on our city streets.

A group of women — some in the
ancient traditional flowing robes and
chodaree others in Western dress en-
gaging in animated conversation —
walk by. There seems to be a mutual
acceptance of the differences in life
styles. I stopped one woman in a
chodaree who was passing by with her
husband and family.

I asked through my Afghan guide for
permission to take a picture of the fami-
ly. To my surprise, the woman not only
agreed but took off her veil to pose for
the picture. Her husband smiled his
agreement. In the villages, of course,
the situation is quite different.

The old and the primitive still over-
shadows the new and the progressive in
Kabul. The April Revolution is just
celebrating its 5th birthday. It has 50
centuries to contend with. Correspon-
dents of the Western press focus their
eyes and their cameras on the past. But
it is above all the budding present which
points to new Afghanistan’s future.

Kabul’s markets are made up of street vendors. The govern

private traders.

From
Afghanistan

[PUREE M RE LA Sees AEST eS SLE Re DAES Oe
Mike Davidow

Every sign of progress arouses the
hatred of the forces of the dying feudal
past. And so, like the schools, homes in
this new Kabul have been the target of
counter-revolutionary bands. Next to
literacy Afghanistan’s greatest need is
modern medical care. It is in this field
Afghanistan has come to know its true
friends.

We pass what our Afghan friends call
a “hospital area’’ and indeed it is just
that: the USSR has of course, con-
tributed the most in this field not only in
hospitals but with hundreds of its best
and most dedicated doctors, nurses and
technicians. Nearby is a hospital built
by socialist Czechoslovakia and a chil-
dren’s hospital constructed by non-
aligned India.

The spacious, steamlined Poly-
technical Institute, the centerpiece of a
complex of attractive two-storey build-
ings constructed by the Soviet Union, is
another diamond in Kabul’s crown.
Less impressive but equally useful is
the six-storey bread factory erected by
the USSR.

The German Democratic Republic
jointly with the Democratic Republic of
Afghanistan has just put the finishing
touches to the ultra-modern TV ana

ewe, ¢
rr

ment encourages these

nd

radio station which among other things
will enable the DRA to counter the
flood of counter-revolutionary lies and
slanders emanating from CIA outlets in
Pakistan.

Incidentally, the excellent workman-
ship of Afghan engineers and workers is
revealed in the beautiful, very modern
newly-completed Soviet Home of Cul-
ture and Science. But it is in the schools
and tractor stations springing up in
Kabul province (and all over Afghanis-
tan) that Afghanistan’s slow but steady
advance from feudal darkness to demo-
cratic light is best demonstrated. The
revolution in agriculture and culture is
the very heart of new Afghanistan’s
progress.

Standing in a corner, sulking like a
social leper is a huge, imposing struc-
ture enveloped ina sinister silence. It is
the U.S. Embassy now abandoned by
all but a charge d’affairs and its CIA
apparatus. It is an open secret that this
sole U.S. presence serves but as the
organizing centre of terrorist activities.
It is with a sense of shame and indigna-
tion that I view this blot on our honor.
But my Afghan hosts are very under-
standing. They know there are two
Americas and have confidence that the
real one will yet triumph.

Mike Davidow is Moscow corres-
pondent for the U.S. Daily World and
visited Afghanistan recently. First in a
Series.

A fundamental truth revealed

_ PRAGUE — The London magazine, The Economist,
iN Its Dec. 24, 1983 issue carries an article informing its
Teaders that ‘‘some 32.5 million people are out of work’’
in the 24 countries of the Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development ‘‘this Christmas.”’ It
Predicts that the figure could grow to 33 million in the
first half of 1984. ;

Twenty-four leading capitalist countries belong to
OECD, including the USA, Canada, Britain, France,
an Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Sweden and

apan.

_ Last October, the statisticians for the OCED pro-
jected the idea that unemployment in Canada would
remain among the highest in the seven major countries of
that organization, at about 11 percent of the work force.

That brings us to the question of human rights, be-
Cause the most fundamental of these is the right to work.
It is by work that humans create all material and intellec-
tual rights. It is through labor that people realize their
Personality, abilities, interests, and provide for their
existence and futures.

Here in Czechoslovakia, as in all socialist countries,
the right to work is an established fact. It is not only
referred to in official proclamations and enshrined in the
constitution — it is a reality of life.

In Canada, unemployment among young people (15 to
24) is approximately 20 per cent, with little hope of major

| improvement. In socialist Czechoslovakia, there is ajob,
72 continued education, or both, for every young person.

Why is this so? Why is it that the Czechoslovaks can
say that they have had no unemployment for ‘‘dozens of
years?’ The answer is simple: people here -took the
socialist road in 1948 and have never turned back.

Socialism means that all political power belongs to the
people who are the owners of the means of production.
The old system, under which the individual owner, cor-
poration or group of investors had the power to decide
how many jobs there would be, guided only by the profit
motive, has disappeared for ever.

The whole complex of social relations and basic labor
legislation ensure the right to work as the most funda-
mental of all human rights. The fact that there is a plan-
ned economy makes it possible to harmonize the accel-
eration of scientific-technological progress and the
guarantee of full employment. ;

Unlike Canada, there are no transnationals operating
here with the right to close branch plants in order to shift
their production to another country. Neither are there
any native capitalists who can invest their profits outside

the country, to the detriment of the national economy.

Many advertisements appear in the Czechoslovak
press, along with notices at plant gates, offeringjobs ina
number of trades and professions. We can also state that
even with a high level of unemployment in Canada,
many newspapers carry advertisements for available
jobs. However, in Canada there are many times more
unemployed than there are job postings. Here, the
number of job postings always exceeds the number of job
seekers.

Socialism means that the right to work is a centerpiece
of the collective agreement concluded between the union
and management. While every worker is free to termi-
nate his employment after giving the appropriate notice,
management cannot lay off workers except under the
strict provisions of law and with the permission of the
union. If a situation arises where an enterprise must be
reduced in scope or phased out, every affected worker is
assured a new job in line with his qualifications and
skills.

This look at two social systems reveals a very funda-
mental truth: under capitalism there is mass unemploy-
ment; under socialism there is full employment. The
more this truth becomes known to the Canadian working
class and progressive people generally, the easier it will
be to unite against the transnational, big business and
their political servants, around new policies which are
necessary to open the door to full employment in
Canada.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 1, 1984 ¢ 5