Sunday, April 19, 2009

Challenges of Urban Migration in Afghanistan

This article talks about a radio drama targeting young Afghans who have migrated to urban areas. It is one of several radio programs that addresses issues that migrants and "returnees" are facing, especially with few opportunities for employment and poor urban infrastructure.

While the article focuses on the radio program itself, the issue of urbanization in Afghanistan seems as though it would be compounded by the complex political strife in the area. As Marisa pointed out, U.S. and Afghani leadership have not succeeded in curbing issues like opium production within the country, and urban issues will likely persist until the political and economic structure of the country can be stabilized. To continue the idea of reconstruction, what steps do you think should be taken in order to stabilize the country, especially urban areas? Reducing or eliminating the opium trade would destabilize the financial foundation for the Taliban, but it would also necessitate a significant restructuring of the Afghani economy. I feel that with international assistance, this kind of restructuring would alleviate many of the problems urban migrants are facing, but the question may be drumming up support for this kind of reconstruction.

1 comment:

  1. I looked up a bit about the BBC Afgan Academics Projects and found it very interesting. Their website is headlining a quote from none other than Kofi Annan: "It's a perfect example of how the media can use drama and entertainment to advance the cause of peace and development."

    I think that it is interesting to look at this media source as we are trying to figure out how the problems inherent in vast urbanization are going to be helped. One way may be through these sort of media outlets, providing entertainment and creative outlets for youth.

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