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Rebuilding Their Native Land
Afghan-Americans Fled Soviets, Now Seek Ways to Help
 Listen to the report from Weekend All Things Considered
 View a photo gallery of a recent US-ARC event.
Dec. 23, 2001 -- Soon after Sept.11, Abdullah Sherzai's life turned into a whirlwind. By day, Sherzai works as a neurological research doctor in Northern Virginia.
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Voices of Hope:
Extended audio of US-ARC members
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But now he spends virtually all his evenings and weekends on a quest to help rebuild his homeland, Afghanistan.
Sherzai and other Afghan-Americans are putting together a non-government organization, the U.S.-Afghanistan Reconstruction Council (US-ARC).
Like Sherzai, most US-ARC organizers are people from upper-class Afghan families; many fled Afghanistan during the 1980s Soviet occupation.
In the aftermath of Sept. 11, as the world's eyes turned to Afghanistan, Sherzai and fellow Afghan-Americans have seized new opportunities to help their native land, as NPR's Emily Harris reports for Weekend All Things Considered.
The increased interest in Afghanistan has given Sherzai a breakneck schedule. In the space of a few days recently, he recounted, "I have had a meeting with Afghan engineers…with financial people … with the group in charge of a sister city (project) … with TV people."
Add to that another meeting to refine the structure of the US-ARC, and a town-hall gathering for 300 people at a Northern Virginia community college.
Plus, Sherzai is trying to position the new council to win international aid dollars and development grants, to put as much money as possible directly into Afghanistan.
US-ARC envisions adopting one small city at a time, and helping with everything from computer training to land mine clearance to mental health counseling.
Members are discussing such near-term projects as doctor exchanges, job creation for young men, and education for women.
But Sherzai's dreams go beyond that, to a broader vision of Afghanistan and the United States becoming "sister countries" that share the traditions of east and west, Muslims and Christians.
There are hurdles in US-ARC's path. Political disagreements in Afghanistan are often mirrored among Afghans now living in the United States.
Some of the group's members say they feel guilty about having escaped the country's war-torn years, and are wary of being perceived as outsiders flying in to dispense advice.
Still, they say, there is a tremendous amount of work to be done -- and the time to act is now.
Browse NPR broadcast coverage on Afghanistan.
Other Resources
There are many different government and private organizations, including Afghan-American groups, working on relief efforts and reconstruction. Here are some of the links.
US-Afghanistan Reconstruction Council
Afghans For Tomorrow
PARSA
The Afghan Network Foundation
Refugee Women in Development
The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan
Help the Afghan Children
The Red Cross
The United Nations Development Programme
The United States Agency for International Develoment
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