Additional enquiry questions

There are many other enquiry questions that could be applied to this issue. Some of these are listed below with examples of the enquiry directions that may result from such questions.

Where are all the elements located?

How are these elements associated with the issue of refugees in Afghanistan and the arrival of Afghan refugees in neighbouring countries?

For example:

the fighting in Afghanistan between the Northern Alliance and the Taliban
the refugee camps
the concentrations of refugees
the movement of refugees within Afghanistan and through neighbouring countries like Pakistan to South-East Asia and eventually Australia

Why are the elements located where they are?

How are they associated with the issue of refugees in Afghanistan and the arrival of Afghan refugees in neighbouring countries?

For example:

Afghanistan's Muslim neighbours, particularly Pakistan
the Islamic religious links with Middle East and South-East Asian countries, particularly Malaysia and Indonesia
the freedom and economic opportunities associated with Australia

How have they evolved?

For example:

the almost continuous conflict associated with an external invasion (the Soviet Union) and a civil war (the Mujahideen and the Taliban)

When did the refugee events mostly occur?

For example:

the events created refugees in every year since 1979
the main events had been the war (a human-induced hazard) and the drought (a natural hazard)

What processes are involved?

For example:

the provision of emergency food, water, shelter and medical assistance in the refugee camps inside Afghanistan and on the borders of neighbouring countries

How do the processes affect the issue?

For example:

the USA airdrops of food parcels for 37,500 Afghanis in October 2001
the USA Air Force General Richard Myers described these drops in the following way:

- from high altitude, without parachutes, in remote areas where it was difficult to get trucks in - worth US$25 million, part of additional assistance worth US$295 million which was provided through United Nations agencies

"We have high confidence we will be able to drop where they're intended, where Afghan citizens are."

(USA Air Force General Richard Myers) [Source: The Australian, "US aid drops to starving refugees", 9/10/01, page 4]

the aid agencies described these drops in the following way:

- a propaganda tool of no value to the Afghanis - the danger being that randomly distributed aid, a symbolic gesture, could breed rumour and produce unnecessary movements in search of food in a country where more than 500,000 were already on the brink of starvation after a four year drought, the worst for 30 years

"Afghanistan (was) also the largest minefield in the world...nasty things happen if people go in search of these food packages...we (had) to say that (we had) severe reservations about this policy." (Oxfam spokesman Alex Renton) [Source: The Australian, "US aid drops to starving refugees", 9/10/01, page 4]

"Dropping a few cases of drugs and food in the middle of the night during air raids, without knowing who (was) going to collect them, (was) virtually useless and (was) dangerous." (Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF - Doctors Without Borders) spokesman Dr Jean-Herve Bradol) [Source: The Australian, "Neutrality: Medecins sans donations", 10/10/01, page 3]

What forms, patterns or distributions are evident?

For example:

the direction of refugee movements and the location of refugee camps

How is it related to the natural and/or social and/or economic systems?

For example:

the four year drought
the continuous civil war
the international sanctions against Afghanistan
the human-rights abuses of the Taliban regime

What conflicts are involved in the issue?

For example:

the differences in opinion regarding the giving of aid between the USA and the aid agencies

How do all the people or groups perceive the issue involved?

For example:

the USA and the coalition of nations (including Australia) - the creation of an additional refugee situation was seen as an unfortunate but necessary outcome because of the need to eliminate or capture the terrorists located in Afghanistan and bring down the Taliban regime who supported the terrorists

Why do individuals or groups see the issue as they do?

For example:

the USA and the coalition of nations (including Australia) - the need for the world to be rid of terrorism - the military response in Afghanistan
the people of Afghanistan - innocent victims of war

"We come now to the question of bombing Afghanistan back to the Stone Age. Trouble is, that's been done. The Soviets took care of it already. Make the Afghans suffer? They're already suffering. Level their houses? Done. Turn their schools into piles of rubble? Done. Eradicate their hospitals? Done. Destroy their infrastructure? Cut them off from medicine and health care? Too late. Someone already did that. New bombs would only stir the rubble of earlier bombs." (Source: Tamin Ansary, "Bomb us back to the Stone Age? Been done", The Australian, 21/09/01, page 15)

What interests are represented by the groups/individuals involved?

For example:

the USA as leader of the "free-world"
the Taliban as protector and teacher of the true Islamic faith
Afghanistan as a 'country without a leader'
Osama bin Laden as a 'fanatical leader without a country'

What alternative decisions could be made?

How would these concern the arrival of refugees at Afghanistan's borders or in neighbouring countries?

For example:

the USA and the coalition of nations (including Australia) - halt the bombing, work through the UN and aid agencies to provide massive assistance to the long suffering people of Afghanistan
the neighbouring countries - throw-open their borders to allow the refugees to move into a safe haven (Note: When the bombing of Afghanistan began all of Afghanistan's neighbouring countries closed their borders)
the neighbouring countries - allow the free flow of aid into Afghanistan. (Note: After the re-opening of a major bridge between Uzbekistan and northern Afghanistan in early November 2001 it took several weeks before aid flowed in substantial quantities. Look for the Oxus/Amu Darya River.)

What would be the impacts of these alternative decisions?

What would be the impacts on the neighbouring countries, Australia and the rest of the world?

For example:

the need for a massive amount of development assistance from the "free world" - impact on the innocent people of Afghanistan - more likely to stay in their homeland than to migrate as refugees to foreign lands

How is the issue likely to be resolved?

Consider the arrival of refugees at the borders of Afghanistan or in neighbouring countries.

For example:

the need for international cooperation

How should the issue be resolved?

For example:

the "free world" - work towards establishing a democratic government in Afghanistan - the suffering of the people of Afghanistan had gone on too long

How would you respond?

For example:

work towards stopping the people of Afghanistan from continuing to be 'victims'

How would you justify your response?

For example:

the people of Afghanistan had endured so much over many decades
the whole world would become a safer place if the suffering of any group of people was reduced or reversed - all people working towards equity and social justice for all

Geography-Environment-Society