Afghanistan Pride

One observation of Afghan people is their sense of pride; they will do anything to hide feelings of shame from others.  It is one of the important aspects that we need to pay attention to in relation to our staff management, as pride is an inevitable part of what motivates Afghans, including those who work at our office.

When we held a security workshop for the drivers, we were surprised to hear one of the drivers describe how it was the most unbearable shame to be asked not to resist and to obey the orders of the armed group when caught by them. 

Pride in Afghanistan has survived in the way that throughout their history, the Afghans have never surrendered during war or invasion. Through this they feel that they have never lost the respect of and for the individuals, families, and even their nation despite the suffering of everlasting war and poverty.  The driver’s statement symbolized their worry that by not resisting, their actions would betray Afghanistan’s sense of pride.

  Due to its geopolitical importance, Afghanistan has always been used and suffered interference from the stronger countries. Consequences of this include twenty-five years of long civil war coupled with internal conflicts from religious and political aspects that can be triggered at any time by external interference.

Pride in Afghanistan is crucial to rebuild the nation while co-operating with and integrating the religion of the country.  Outsiders like us should not impose the projects and interfere their life, and need to strongly support and unobtrusively co-operate to accomplish the rebuilding of Afghanistan together with them.

t that it is necessary for us, who support the people, to learn further a sense of delicate balance between respecting local cultures and maintaining the policies and standards for our activities.

Staff in JEN Afghanistan Office