Yes we are giving another $50m

in aid to Afghanistan through the United Nations...and yes, a lot of it will be wasted.  We still need to do it.

There has been a backlash here in Downunder because the government has provided another $50m of aid to Afghanistan. The backlash comes at a time when the interest rate set by the Reserve Bank is likely to rise next Tuesday, food costs have gone up, power costs have gone through the roof and more. People are saying we should spend that money here.

There is also an increasingly strong anti-Muslim sentiment in this country. It has been simmering under the surface for a long time and in the last few weeks it has begun to bubble a little more. Providing aid to Afghanistan has never been popular but it is even less popular now. Many people here believe we have done our bit by trying to rid them of the Taliban. That failed so there has been what is seen as a "flood" of refugees from there instead. 

In all honesty they do not mix well. Their culture and way of life was very different even in relatively peaceful times. It is much more difficult now. They find integration difficult even while many of those who come are more than willing to try.

Afghanistan's exports amounted to less than US $2bn last year and most of it came from agriculture, mining and small enterprises or cottage industries like carpet making. There is not enough being done to feed the population of around forty-four million of whom almost half are children under the age of fourteen. We also need to recognise that men eat first, then boys. Women and girls get what is left. 

Women and girls are very definitely second class citizens in Afghanistan. It has been that way for centuries. The situation improved slightly under the previous government but when the Taliban took over again, despite what they claimed they would do, things went into a downward spiral. The Taliban's version of "strict Sharia law" now means that access to everything is being reduced for women and girls. That includes access to all forms of health care because women cannot be treated by men and the number of women who were previously trained and are still able to work is decreasing. Girls are growing up into a society where medical help will be almost non-existent. They are growing up without schooling. Yes, some go to school in the early years but there are increasing reports of some girls getting no schooling at all. Why bother to send a female child to school if they can work?

If none of this matters to you then I suppose you will believe that the money will be completely wasted. On the other hand it is just possible that the money might help one girl get an education - and then make a difference for all.  Is that worth doing?