Reading to Be Done Before This Discussion: : Stefan Schutte. 2004. Urban vulnerability in Afghanistan. Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit Working Papers. Read pp. 1-28. you may read the rest if you wish.
Note: This article is only available as a PDF file. If the article does not show up when you click on the link go to the root web site (http://www.areu.org.af/) and do a search for it. If the web site is unavailable try again later. I will place a copy of the article in the tray by my office door that you may borrow for an hour max if you can not get to the article online.

& The "Window on the World" feature on Afghanistan pp 368-370 in Knox and Marston is also useful background reading for this discussion.

Things to Bring to Discussion:  Notes on the article and/or a printout.

Due in Discussion This Week: Questions as usual.

Due in Discussion Next Week:  Questions

Concepts/ Ideas / Places: development, uneven development, Afghanistan

Context:  Before the US invasion of Afghanistan and before the Second Gulf War, political pundits talked much about how US intervention could improve conditions for people living in those countries.  The wars are over and we are now in the reconstruction phase where we are faced with the challenge of helping to improve the quality of life for people in both Afghanistan and in Iraq.  In lecture we will discuss the concept of development while in discussion this week we will examine what it takes to rebuild a country devastated by decades of conflict, poverty, and an overall lack of development.  It turns out to be much more complex than any of the political pundits may have led us to believe. 

To Prepare for Discussion:  The article you read this week reports on a study of the problems faced by the urban poor in three of Afghanistan's Cities. Through focus group interviews geographer Stefan Schutte reveals some of the problems and risks that residents of these cities face in their day to day life. Throughout we hear from some of the people interviewed themselves. Among the vulnerabilities that residents face are lack of secure employment, lack of access to food (even though the food supply is sufficient to feed the population), poor health, and social exclusion. Schutte also describes some of the ways that residents cope with these vulnerabilities. Often, coping involves impossible choices. A family that sends its children to school rather than to work may face the prospect of not having enough income to buy food.

In class we will discuss and consider some ways to reduce the vulnerabilities of the urban poor in Afghanistan based on the reading, therefore doing your reading is vital to the success of discussion this week. As in most academic writing, the first third of the report frames the issue and discusses methodological issues. While this is important, focus your attention on the last two thirds of the reading that reports and analyzes the results and provides policy recommendations. The following questions will help you further focus your reading.

Name: Honor Code:
Questions to be Answered and Turned in at the Beginning of Discussion

1.  What is one cause of unemployment and loss of income among residents of these three cities? What is one coping strategy that they use to overcome loss of income?

 

 

2. What spatial strategies do people in Jalalabad use to cope with income insecurity? Do these strategies work? Why or why not?

 

 

3. What is one cause of food insecurity for residents of these three cities? What is one coping strategy that they use to try to overcome food insecurity?

 

 

4. What is one way that health affects household vulnerability? How do households cope with this vulnerability?

 

5. What is social capital and how does it affect vulnerability?

 

 

6. According to the article why do some men consider joining terrorist organizations as a coping strategy?

 

 

7.     What is one question or issue from the article that you would like to see discussed in class?