INDCJournal: Freedom <i>is</i> "on the March"

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October 18, 2004

Freedom is "on the March"

Posted by Bill

A sign is displayed at a movie theater about the Afghan elections next to a Afghan restaurant in the Little Kabul area of Fremont, Calif. Saturday, Oct. 9, 2004. Residents of Little Kabul, the nation's largest concentration of Afghan emigres, are watching closely as their homeland prepares to hold its first direct presidential election. As millions of voters in Afghanistan (news - web sites) get ready to cast ballots Saturday, some residents of Fremont's Little Kabul see the landmark vote as a crucial step for a budding democracy. Via Yahoo. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Polish-Aussie blogger Arthur Chrenkoff has an amazingly comprehensive round-up of the "Good news from Afghanistan, Part 5." A tiny snippet:

RECONSTRUCTION: USAID, which since the fall of the Taliban has been a significant contributor to rebuilding of Afghanistan, lists the following brief but useful summary of the milestones on the road to a better future:

"10 million Afghans registered to vote
Five million children vaccinated
School enrollment explodes
Reconstruction accelerates
3.7 million refugees return
Private construction booming
New Afghan currency introduced
Agriculture output nearly doubled
Afghan National Army and National Police created
Regional militias disarming"

Admittedly, the booming "agricultural output" includes a great deal of heroin, but still - how you like them apples, Christian Parenti?

Posted by Bill at October 18, 2004 07:55 AM | TrackBack (3)

Comments

They're obvioiusly just a bunch of Republican shills organized by Karl Rove.

/LLL

Posted by: Farmer Joe at October 18, 2004 10:38 AM

The Islamofascists are not making headway in Fremont. Note the "Now open 7 days" signage.

Posted by: Mrs. Davis at October 18, 2004 10:43 AM

Thanks for posting the picture! I work a couple of miles from there and I'll have to go check it out myself.

Posted by: Chrees at October 18, 2004 03:13 PM

I lived in Fremont (Warm Springs district) just a few miles south of the theater, for seven years, until shortly before 9-11-01. The Afghani community makes a big impact in the East Bay. I can't claim to have gotten familiar with a lot of individuals except to the extent of patronizing stores and restaurants, but I can say that they were invariably courteous and generous, and very obviously celebrated their country with posters and artifacts, to let every visitor know how much they missed their homes.

Posted by: David March,animator&fiddler at October 19, 2004 12:48 AM