Hopes for the homeland

15 years have passed from the Afghanistan bombings followed by the September 11 attacks in 2001, and reconstruction efforts have started following the fall of Taliban. However, Afghanistan is still one of the least developed countries and there are significant development needs. In response to the situation, the youth of Afghanistan set out to overseas universities in effort to cultivate expertise for re- building their country.

In Japan, the “Project for the Promotion and Enhancement of the Afghan Capacity for Effective Development (PEACE)” takes leadership in their support. Since 2011, 507 students have arrived in 34 universities nationwide with the support of a study plan agreed by JICA and the government of Afghanistan. JICA is a Japanese institution that provides international support to developing countries. The goal is to train human resources that will contribute to the reconstruction of their homeland. The young participants are members of government offices and universities and since many of them were born after the war broke out, they are sometimes referred to as “the generation that has never seen peace in their land”.

The students deepen their understandings in agriculture which is one of their main industries, rural development, and infrastructure development. They aim to obtain their master’s degree after approximately 3 years of education. Differences in culture and customs make life in Japan difficult, but they continue to strive with help of their professors and other fellow Japanese students.

In this show, we look into the daily life of the young students of Afghanistan. With videos messages between them and their families, we ask about their childhood, the feelings that they have for the ones back at home and document the young generation that put their heart to the reconstruction of Afghanistan.