Afghanistan's interim leader, Hamid Karzai, appealed to the world yesterday for help in getting his devastated country back on its feet after two decades of strife and disaster that created a breeding ground for terrorism.
Officials from more than 60 governments and international organizations will meet in Tokyo today and tomorrow to promise money for a reconstruction process that aid experts estimate will take US$15 billion over a decade, much of it in the initial stage.
"One thing I would like to say with certainty, with clarity, that is -- we need your help," Karzai, clad in his trademark green traditional Afghan robe, said at a reception.
"We need your help to bring a new life for those millions of children and women and wounded and disabled, victimized by years of trauma and terrorism," said the Pashtun tribal leader who took office last month after the US-led war toppled the Taliban.
"Help us begin a new life, help us stand again on our feet to make a country that will pursue its own values and traditions and will also contribute to a world community in terms of providing a better peace and work against terrorism," Karzai said.
Participants agree that a significant show of financial support for Afghanistan will be key to ensuring the country does not again breed radical movements such as the Taliban and militant Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
Karzai, on his first international tour since he took office last month, needs assurances that the world won't turn its back on Afghanistan now that the war against the Taliban has been won.
The task is staggering in a country where life expectancy is 44 years, one in four children dies before age five, and only three in 100 girls are enrolled in primary school.
"I hope and wish to see my country rebuilt before I die," said a 43-year-old Afghan doctor attending an NGO conference. "I have seen my country destroyed. I wish and I hope I can see my country rebuilt."
Donors, for their part, want proof that Kabul has a viable plan to establish a democracy, tackle the drug trade and promote equality for women, who were harshly oppressed under the Taliban rule.
"This is something that we want to monitor on a constant basis," said a senior official from one of the four co-chairs of the conference. The four co-chairs are Japan, the EU, the US and Saudi Arabia.
The conference co-hosts are expected to share most of the bill in broad equal measure.
"I'm hoping very much that I will go back to my country and my people with my hands full," Karzai as he arrived in Tokyo.
The UN, World Bank and Asian Development Bank have estimated reconstruction will require US$15 billion over a decade with US$5 billion needed in the critical first 30 months and US$10 billion in the first five years.
"I think we'll do pretty well on the first year number and against the two-and-a-half year and five year numbers, there will be some impressive commitments too," UN senior official Mark Malloch Brown told a briefing yesterday.
Ensuring speedy aid for Karzai's month-old administration is critical for its survival.
"The needs are staggering, enormous and urgent," UN special envoy for Afghanistan Lakhdar Brahimi told a news briefing.
Millions of refugees must be resettled, schools reopened and landmines removed, roads and bridges rebuilt and the farming sector revived.
Establishing peace in a land still plagued by feuding warlords and roving gangs of bandits is also a priority.
Donors agree that rebuilding Afghanistan matters, but have been quibbling over time-frames for pledges and how to channel the aid. Japan is eyeing a pledge of US$500 million for the first two-and-a-half years, while EU officials have spoken of spending US$500 million annually over a five-year span.
A Saudi newspaper quoted Karzai as saying that Saudi Arabia -- a former ally of the toppled Taliban -- had pledged $20 million in urgent aid as a first installment.
Many in the US feel America has already done its bit by fighting the war, and Washington may pledge only for the first year. Diplomats said the sum might be around US$300 million.
Big donors, seeking to ensure their taxpayers know where the money goes, want to give the money directly to pet projects.
The World Bank has strongly recommended that aid money be funnelled though an umbrella trust fund for ease of coordination.
But Japan, the US and Saudi Arabia have said they would be providing aid through bilateral delivery channels, while the EU has said some of its money would be spent bilaterally and some would be turned over to a fund to be run by the World Bank.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and US Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill also arrived yesterday for the conference.
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