PAKISTAN AND AFGHANISTAN - "WE WANT TO BE THERE ALONG THIS JOURNEY WITH THEM"

Ongoing tensions in the Pakistan/Afghanistan region are a fact of life — but so is hope, believes Marvin Parvez, the Church World Service Pakistan/Afghanistan regional representative.

With needs increasing in an area that has been riven by war — but that also shows some hopeful signs of change — Parvez notes that the upcoming 50th anniversary of work by Church World Service in Pakistan this fall is an opportunity to take stock. Appropriately enough, the theme of the anniversary is “50 Years of Partnership in Practice.”

“Our 50 years have been about relationships and trust, and the hope and happiness we have brought to these communities,” Parvez says, noting that Church World Service has often been the first agency to bring food and health care to an area.

SERVICE: Tell us about the overall situation in the region right now.

Marvin Parvez: Conditions remain difficult in many ways. Forty million people live below the poverty line in Pakistan and for many, things are not getting better because of policies that benefit the rich and further marginalize the poor. Some problems are much bigger than they were 50 years ago, and there are problems now, as a humanitarian agency, we didn’t face before, like security. A minimum level of security is still required to allow our team to operate. But at the same time, our programs are running smoothly.

SERVICE: And you see signs of hope?

Parvez: Yes. The most meaningful work I’ve ever done is in Afghanistan. We have provided health care in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, since the mid-1960s. The homes in the Shomali Valley we have helped construct will be completed in August. And
we’ve helped with schools and education in both countries — Pakistan and Afghanistan. The future of the region lies in education. Terrorism succeeds because people can’t read or write.

SERVICE: Where else do you see hope?

Parvez: The CWS quilt-making program is one of the largest employers of women in Kabul. To a lot of people here in the West, a quilt is nothing, but there are 700,000 widows in Afghanistan, and a dollar is two days worth of food for a family. A lot of women had to beg, or prostitute themselves. They don’t have to do that anymore. Another area we’re proud of is the housing reconstruction in the Shomali Valley. Those houses provide a warm place in winter. Building the houses has impacted the whole community. Now the market and other businesses have started up because of the new houses for families.

SERVICE: How has anti-Americanism affected you?

Parvez: Being Christian and being affiliated with American churches can be difficult at times — though CWS hasn’t had a problem. We make our position clear: We are a humanitarian agency.

All the time the Afghans say thank you to CWS. We responded to an earthquake near Mansehra, Pakistan. One hundred families were provided with food and shelter. People recited Arabic prayers for CWS.

We want to be there along this journey with them.

Marvin Parvez, CWS Regional Representative in Afghanistan and Pakistan, is a Pakistani Methodist.

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