IRAN EDUCATES, FUNDS, AND SUPPORTS PLACEMENT OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L KABUL 000579 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/FO DAS CAMP, SCA/A, PRM STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG NSC FOR JWOOD OSD FOR SHIVERS CENTCOM FOR CG CSTC-A, CG CJTF-82 POLAD 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