First things first. We have a few people attached to us at NMAA doing Dari and Pashto language immersion. One of them started blogging his experiences here too. He did a four month intensive Pashto course at the Defense Language Institute (DLI) and is here for a year as a liaison to the ANA. Check out his blog at http://pashtoninja.blogspot.com/ if you get a chance.
The language lab is up and going as of about noon today. The picture shows 8 of the 15 student work stations. All are equipped with specialized software, headsets, and are networked to the instructor's machine. This is a pretty big accomplishment over here. Parts and expertise are fairly sparse. We had to postpone instructor training until Saturday because I wasn't confident it would be up and running by 1400 (although it turned out it was). I'll take more pictures then with the machines running and people actually using them. The whole system is pretty slick, and once I got the right information from my new friend at Tobyhanna Army Depot, everything works great. After instructor training here I'll head up to KMTC some time next week to help set up and configure the lab there. I'm just pitching in wherever I can.
This is Ziar. He's one of the two system administrators in the computer science department. He's helped with the lab and a number of other things I'm working on for the department. I found out today while having chai with him in his office/server room/closet that his wife is due any day now with their first child, a son. His name will be Mozamel. Congratulations to Ziar and his wife.
I've been hanging out in the department more and more, and many of the cadets are starting to recognize me. Today when I asked one of them to take the picture of Ziar and me they wanted to be in a photo too. Here is the bunch of them. This is not all the CS majors here, just those that were in the hall at the time. They are all seniors but one. You can tell by the number of red stripes on the left side of their uniforms above the pocket. The one with 3 stripes is of course a junior.
CompSci is actually one of the few majors here. There are a total of six (CS, Civil Engineering, Legal Studies, General Engineering and Science, Leadership and Management, and Language and Culture aka English). I think the limited number of academic majors here is actually a positive. They need civil engineers to help build/re-build the infrastructure. They need computer scientists because this could be an ideal country to vault into an information centric economy. Of course management, leadership, and language and culture make good sense too. The only thing I'm suspicious of is legal studies. I wouldn't think that we'd need any more lawyers in the world, but it is a popular course of study here too.
We had another going away luncheon for the four departing Westpoint mentors. This one was quite nice as our group of translators organized it and presented all the departing personnel with nice gifts and even nicer words and wishes. We ate lamb kabobs wrapped in nan that they picked up locally. We employ 10 full time translators and have hired four more for the summer surge of mentors. I'm amazed when I talk with them about the diversity their backgrounds and how well educated they are. Many studied in Iran or Pakistan since their families relocated there temporarily during the Taliban rule and the most turbulent times in Afghanistan. Incredibly interesting stories. I'll have to remember to take a picture with Monsoor. He's the translator I work with most since he has a strong CS and IT education and background. Personally, I'm not sure the translators get the credit they deserve.
Tomorrow's a short half day for us since all the Afghans are done at 1pm to leave for Jumah (Friday), their one day off. I'll fill you all in tomorrow with what I've discovered about the salaries here. I find it interesting, perhaps you will too.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Jeff, this is great stuff. The only thing I want to pick on is the comment about lawyers. I'd lay odds that the reason Legal Studies is there and why it's important is for the transition to the Rule of Law in Afghanistan (as opposed to the Rule of the Party, or the Rule of the Tribe, or the Rule of the Well-Connected, or the Rule of the Faction With the Most Guns). It's part of any country's march toward civilization and modernity, and a well-trained, inspired legal profession is absolutely essential to make it happen. We never see this in the US because I think like you we've gone overboard, but it's the opposite situation in countries like Afghanistan, the former USSR, and so forth.
ReplyDeleteMy advice would be to get to know, and figure out how to inspire, any Legal Studies majors you find. The Rule of Law is essential for human flourishing, and the sooner it starts in Afghanistan, the better.
--BF
Thanks for keeping me honest Barry. I really should leave the easy lawyer jokes alone. The rule of law in Afghanistan is an absolutely necessary condition for progress here. Interestingly, I was reading about the corruption index by Transparency Interanational, and Afghanistan ranks 179th most corrupt out of 180 rated. Ugh. Another reason why lawyers and the rule of law are important here.
ReplyDeleteYou guys are overlooking that all lawyers are corrupt...just kidding.
ReplyDeleteJeff, thanks for the plug on the blog.
Barry, great point. Lots of ugliness in this business here!