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Afghans believe country headed in wrong direction, but optimism rising slightly - survey

 

Afghan children sit on a bullet-riddled concrete block in Kabul October 21, 2013. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail/Files

 

KABUL (Reuters) - More than 60 percent of Afghans still believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, but signs of better governance and rebuilding has slightly lifted the national mood, according to a survey by the Asia Foundation.

 

Just over half of the 10,000 people surveyed said they had confidence in President Ashraf Ghani's government, which has struggled to establish security in the face of a growing Taliban insurgency. Last year, just under half of Afghans said they had confidence in Ghani.

 

However, nearly 39 percent of those surveyed said they would be willing to leave if they had the opportunity, the second highest figure in the survey's more than decade-long history.

 

The main reason was increased security concerns. More than 70 percent of Afghans fear for their personal safety.

 

Attacks are up across the country. In May, more than 150 people were killed by a blast in Kabul's diplomatic zone - one of the deadliest since the Taliban's ouster in 2001.

 

On the day the survey was released, more than 20 policemen were killed in fighting with Taliban insurgents in the southern province of Kandahar.

 

The survey which was conducted in all 34 provinces of Afghanistan in July, primarily in rural households, pointed to a mixed picture, with steady gains in education and health over the past decade and a half matched by continuing concern over corruption, unemployment and security.

 

Around a third of Afghans, or 33 percent, believe the country was heading in a positive direction, up slightly from 29.3 percent last year to buck a years-long declining trend.

 

"After a historic decline in 2016, confidence in public institutions has slightly improved; growing confidence in the Afghan National Security Forces stabilised in 2017," Abdullah Ahmadzai, Asia Foundation's country representative in Afghanistan said in a statement.

 

The increase in optimism applied across ethnic groups except Uzbeks, who make an important minority in Pashtun- and Tajik-dominated Afghanistan.

 

While there was a slight rise in positive sentiment, it was down significantly from a peak in 2013 before the withdrawal of most foreign forces. Back then nearly 60 percent of Afghans were positive about their future.

 

The survey comes as the United States in August announced a boost in U.S. troops to Afghanistan, which could push optimism higher in the coming months.

 

(Reporting by Girish Gupta; Editing by Michael Perry)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-11-14

[tryasimight]

As much as I understand and feel for these and many other people why the hell don't they stnd up and fight?

The Poms did years ago, with the help of the allied forces, why can't these people....god knows they have had the backing of the world for 10 years or more. Just have the balls to say no to two things.....one is to your religion and the second is to your men....see the first no........while these people continue to accept this there i no hope.

 

Afghanistan was not like this 40 years ago before the Russian invasion and the growth of the mujahadeen and it does not need to be like this again....but as allah says allah only helps those who s themselves.

 

The same goes for many countries in times of strife....fight back...why do we see so many 'refugees' of fighting age who have left their wives and daughters behind?? Because it is such a terrible place? Good idea to bugger off and leave them to fend for themselves boys........bullshit.