Afghanistan is considered the world's most corrupt country, ranking roughly on par with North Korea and Somalia in an annual survey of 176 nations published on December 5 by Transparency International (TI). TI is a Berlin-based global corruption watchdog that compiles annual corruption rankings. In the last year's survey, Afghanistan was slightly above North Korea and Somalia, tying with Myanmar in 180th place.
“Most Corrupt Country Cup”
Afghan civil society groups used the opportunity provided by the release of the survey to organize anti-corruption rallies. Such rallies were held in eights out of the country's 34 provinces. The goal of the events was to “[promote] national unity, eliminate corruption, and bring peace and stability to the country”.
On December 8, civil society activists in Bamyan (aka Bamiyan) province awarded [fa] an effigy of Afghan President Hamid Karzai with the ‘Most Corrupt Country Cup'.
An effigy of Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, with the ‘Most Corrupt Country Cup' in Bamyan. Image provided by Mahdy Mehareen.
An elderly laborer from hands the cup to Karzai's effigy. Image provided by Mahdy Mehareen.
Dawood Wasl, one of the organizers of the event, said [fa] in a BBC interview [fa]:
شما شاهد این واقعیت تلخ هستید که در۲۰۰ متری من، مردمی هستند که درقرن ۲۱ درمغاره هایی زندگی می کنند که ۲۰۰۰ سال قبل ساخته شده اند و وزیران کابینه سفرهای میلیون دلاری می‌کنند و خرج یک شب شان برابر با اعمار سرپناه برای مغاره نشینان می شود
You see a harsh reality that within 200 yards [of me], some people live in caves dug 2,000 years ago, while Cabinet Ministers travel abroad on trips that cost millions of dollars. One night of their stay [in luxurious foreign hotels] costs as much as it would cost to provide shelter for those who still live in caves.
Corruption has been among the main challenges faced by Afghanistan over the last decade, hitting the poor segment of the population the hardest, according to the country's anti-corruption authorities.
Foreign countries have provided Afghanistan with billions of dollars in aid. Yet many Afghansbelieve [fa, pdf] that most of the aid money ends up in the pockets of high-ranking government officials. Chairperson of Transparency International has suggested that “As much as $1 billion of the $8 billion donated [to Afghanistan] in the past eight years has been lost to corruption”.
A banner hanging from “The Lantern”, a symbolic sign indicating that the residents of Bamyan province still do not have electricity. Image provided by Mahdy Mehareen.
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