NANGARHAR KUCHI DIRECTOR: THE KUCHIS NEED

UNCLAS KABUL 000378 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL USAID AF SUBJECT: NANGARHAR KUCHI DIRECTOR: THE KUCHIS NEED HEALTHCARE AND EDUCATION ASSISTANCE ¶1. (SBU) The Nangarhar Provincial Director of the Kuchi Directorate said in a January 27 meeting that the main problems facing the Kuchi people are: 1) lack of education, 2) insufficient healthcare, 3) lack of potable water, and 4) lack of grazing land and veterinary services for livestock. The director also said that the Kuchis had received little support from the central government, despite having 10 members of Parliament. KUCHIS LACKING IN EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Nangarhar Director of the Kuchi Directorate Aseel Jan Niazi asked for Embassy assistance in obtaining aid for his people. He said that the Kuchis of Nangarhar were facing several severe problems, including: 1) a lack of schools; 2) a lack of potable water in the form of pump access to wells; 3) very few clinics or mobile clinics that service the Kuchis directly; and 4) lack of grazing land for livestock. ¶3. (SBU) On education, the Kuchi nomadic lifestyle posed challenges for providing educational services. Even for those Kuchis who stay in Nangarhar, there was a shortage of educational facilities for Kuchi children. For example, the province had only one small, temporary primary school to serve the whole of the population, an estimated 300-400 Kuchi children. ¶4. (SBU) The Director suggested that the best solution for the Kuchis would be mobile schools that could travel with them during their four-month yearly migration. Kuchi camp sites are often well away from urban areas due to the need for room for their livestock. Use of the local schools in the areas to which they traveled was not practical. HEALTHCARE -------------- ¶5. (SBU) On healthcare, Niazi said there was only one mobile clinic in Nangarhar Province to serve the Kuchi people, despite the fact that Kuchis live in 19 of Nangarhar's 22 districts. Niazi asked for help in obtaining more mobile clinics. Of those 19 districts, the majority of Kuchis live in four districts: 1) Bati Kowt, 2) Kameh, 3) Sorkhrud, and 4) Pachiro Agam. ¶6. (SBU) According to Niazi, the Kuchis lack potable water because of their nomadic lifestyle. They don't have regular access to well water, and frequently draw their water from ditches and canals around urban areas. That water is frequently contaminated. The Kuchis, he said, would like assistance in digging wells in Nangarhar. PASTURE LANDS -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The final major problem facing the Kuchis, according to Niazi, was a shortage of grazing lands during their migration, and veterinary services, in general. Kuchis had adequate livestock, but lacked fodder or grazing space during their migration because the lands they crossed were claimed by other tribes. This led to occasional conflicts. Niazi asked for help in obtaining either food or right of way to Kuchi bands passing through other areas to their summer quarters. RELATIONSHIP WITH CENTRAL GOVERNMENT -------------- ¶8. (SBU) The Kuchis, according to Niazi, do not have a good relationship with the central government. He had "not seen anything visible" from the central government, despite the fact that the Kuchis have 10 members of Parliament to represent them. Niazi said that Kuchi MPs only serve in the Wolesi Jirga (lower house),though the constitution requires that the president appoint two Kuchi representatives to the Mishrano Jirga (upper house). (There are in fact two Kuchi members of the Mishrano Jirga - Bulqis Kuchai of Faryab, and Haji Nazar Mohammad of Baghlan.) Kuchis are excited to participate in this year's elections, now that they understand their importance. He estimated that 30,000 - 40,000 new Kuchi voters had registered in Nangarhar in 2008. ¶9. (U) COMMENT: USAID has been preparing an assessment of Kuchi needs to properly plan a way of rendering assistance to them. Conducting the assessment during the winter season was impracticable. The assessment will begin in the spring. WOOD