IRAN EDUCATES, FUNDS, AND SUPPORTS PLACEMENT OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L KABUL 000579

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/05/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREF PREL IR AF
SUBJECT: IRAN EDUCATES, FUNDS, AND SUPPORTS PLACEMENT OF
AFGHAN HAZARA REFUGEES IN AFGHAN GOVERNMENT POSITIONS

Classified By: DCM Christopher W. Dell for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D)


1. (C) Summary. The Afghan Graduates Association, with the
support of the Iranian government, is working to place Hazara
Afghan refugee university students educated in Iran into
positions within the Afghan government and private sector.
Iran has committed to providing salaries, contacts, and visas
for Afghan family members to remain in Iran and will soon
formalize its support with an MOU. UN organizations in
Afghanistan ) the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) -
support the Association and its work. The Afghan MFA and
Deputy NSA confirm the program exists and express concern
over Iran,s initiatives to influence ministries, especially
education, culture, and media. End Summary.

Networking Blitz for Afghan Jobs
--------------


2. (SBU) Approximately 300 people attended a January 9
seminar in Kabul hosted by the Afghan Graduates Association,
representing current and prospective IRoA professional
staffers from various ministries and offices who had been
educated in Iran. The guests included representatives from
the office of President Karzai, the Afghan ministries of
Education; Higher Education; Mines; and Labor, Social
Affairs, Martyred and Disabled; as well as UNHCR and UNAMA.
About 100 Iranian-educated Hazara Afghan refugees and 70
students from different universities in Kabul also attended
along with the Iranian Ambassador, Deputy Chief of Mission,
and Embassy staff. At the Kabul seminar, the association,s
director, Dr. Tahir Rezae, cited technical obstacles, such as
lack of jobs and housing, and social obstacles (including
discrimination) against returning refugees and this new,
highly educated generation. He urged Afghan and Iranian
officials to eliminate these barriers.

Afghan Graduates &Polished8 and &Modern8
--------------


3. (SBU) The association claims there are more than 3000
Afghan students in Iran, 1500 of whom are association
members. A contact described the graduates at the Kabul
seminar as highly polished, modern, and well-educated Afghan
Hazaras who have spent most of their lives in Iran. Their
website (www.afghangraduates.com) shows photos of female
graduates, wearing Iranian-style headscarves. Graduates at
their Kabul office, where they work out of the offices of an
NGO called Payam-e-Noor (all Hazara),all spoke FARSI or Dari
with an Iranian accent.


4. (SBU) The seminar focused on ways to integrate these
Iranian-educated Afghan graduates into Afghanistan,s public
and private sector. Dr. Rezae referenced a similar
Association seminar held in Tehran two years ago in which
1,000 people participated, including an eight-member Afghan
government delegation comprised of 2nd Vice President Khalili
(ethnic Hazara),President Karzai,s Senior Advisor for
Economic Affairs Professor Naderi, and Mushahid Hussein,
Director of the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil
Service Commission (Commission). The Association is very
active in Iran and has been building a wide network in almost
every Iranian province since 2000.

Iranian Support: &We Feel Your Pain8
--------------


5. (SBU) The arrangement will be formalized through an MOU
between Iran and the Civil Service Commission. In pledging
assistance, the Iranian Ambassador stated at the conference
(unofficial translation): &We have the same culture and
religion and we are determined to work with you. We have
also had problems after getting our independence under the
leadership of Imam Khomeini and have been under pressure from
those who did not like our religion and system. However, our
country developed despite of the pressure because we worked
for it. We will stay by your side and continue to support
you.8


New Opportunities in The Afghan Public and Private Sector
-------------- --------------


6. (SBU) Government job opportunities were discussed in
education, engineering, and medicine, and Mr. Azarakhsh
Hafezi, head of the Chamber of Commerce, noted that the
private sector was ready to absorb these students,
notwithstanding the &hot8 competition for jobs. (Note:
With 40 percent or greater unemployment in Afghanistan, and
many more employed at a subsistence level, competition for
jobs is indeed hot. Embassy Kabul recently received 4,000
applications for five junior and mid-level positions.) The
Ministry of Education agreed to hire an advisor, secretary,
and two protocol staff from the association, and welcomed
graduates in administration, teaching, and religious
teaching. The Ministry of Education also discussed its new
three-year initiative to employ ten university graduates
(40-50 percent female) as teacher trainers in each district
of Afghanistan. Salaries will range between $200-$500/month,
based on province of employment. MOE representatives claimed
the program has already started in one province, and will be
expanded to the other provinces in the next three months.
MOE told graduates that the program is &at your disposal8
and the ministry is working with the Iranian government to
identify how Iran can support the graduates, involvement in
this initiative. The Ministry of Higher Education noted its
lowering of the minimum age (from 40 to 35) for provincial
university professors, and committed to giving qualified
foreign-educated Afghans - including those from Iran - a
chance to work in higher education.

No English or Experience Required
--------------


7. (SBU) Commission Director Dr. Mushahid noted that while
the Commission works to ensure all government jobs are
obtained through a competitive process, he clarified that
English and computer skills are not requirements but only
&assets.8 Experience as well is only required for &higher
posts.8 Emphasis would be placed on filling jobs in
undeveloped provinces like Nooristan, Ghore, Badghis, etc.
With high Hazara populations in Ghore and Badghis, these
graduates presumably could blend in well with their new
communities.


8. (SBU) The seminar identified continued obstacles that must
be resolved: how to evaluate work experience; lack of job
vacancies; housing needs; access to loans; higher salaries;
the process of document/diploma verification and grade
equivalency; and the difficulties for graduates in moving
between Iran and Afghanistan. The possibility of a special
visa was discussed to allow the families of Afghan graduates
to remain in Iran while the graduates worked in Afghanistan.
With the current wave of Afghan deportations from Iran (Ref
A),such a solid guarantee for a family is worth a great
deal.

Iran: These Afghans Are Good Afghans
--------------


9. (SBU) Iran,s treatment of these students contrasts
starkly with its recent threats to incarcerate and deport
undocumented Afghans (Ref B). UNHCR and other media sources
also cite the systematic rollback of benefits, including
removal of educational subsidies and social services. On
January 9, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty described the
plight of a 17-year old Afghan girl in Iran who was prevented
from attending university, simply because she is Afghan.
Association members are treated differently. The Iranian
government explicitly recognizes the students and gives them
permission to continue their studies. Some of the students
must pay $500/semester (considered expensive),but others
receive tuition waivers, especially those who entered through
Afghan Placement exams. Students with tuition waivers must
still pay $1500 at the end of their studies to receive their
diplomas. A contact with significant experience in Iran told
us that Hazaras in Iran do not trend toward the bottom of the

social ladder, as in Afghanistan, but are wealthy, educated,
and considered intellectuals.

UN Welcomes the Association,s Graduates
--------------


10. (SBU) Post first learned of the seminar from a U.N.
contact who praised the association,s work and believes the
graduates bring skills that could greatly enhance the Afghan
government,s capacity and professionalism. Dr. Rezae
stressed that UNHCR (in Kabul and Tehran) and UNAMA &fully
support8 the association,s efforts. UNHCR Kabul may hire
one graduate as an advisor for the Ministry of Refugees and
Repatriation, and staff expects they will lobby the Afghan
government to hire association graduates.

Karzai,s Office Represented; Senior Afghan Officials Wary
-------------- --------------


11. (C) Mr. Dawood Sabah of the President,s Office attended
the seminar and read a message from the President. After
discussing the lack of qualified personnel in the government
and consequent corruption in governmental institutions, Mr.
Sabah noted President Karzai,s appreciation for the seminar
and hope that the participants develop good recommendations
to bring qualified staff to Afghanistan. Working-level
contacts were reluctant to talk to us but when we asked
senior Afghan officials (including Deputy NSA and the DG for
the Americas at MFA) about the program, they acknowledged its
existence and expressed private concern about Iran,s efforts
to penetrate and influence IRoA ministries. Engineer Ibrahim
noted this and other programs target ministries dealing with
education, culture, and media. The MFA DG for the Americas
stated that Iranian implants in the MFA were of concern to
everyone, from the Minister down.
WOOD