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CNN Live At Daybreak

Tough Tribe of Afghanis Struggling for Survival and Hoping for Better Future

Aired March 26, 2002 - 05:35   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Among the ruins of the ancient Buddhas the Taliban destroyed in Afghanistan -- remember them -- a tough tribe of Afghanis are struggling for survival and they're hoping for a better future.

CNN's Nic Robertson has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Huge holes, where 1,400-year-old statues of Buddha once towered above Bamiyan until the silent tale of Taliban excess. In the caves below the dynamited mountain face where the Taliban destroyed the ancient idols last year, there is vocal testimony to the Taliban's harsh rule.

"The Taliban killed people and destroyed our houses," Naru (ph) says. With his wife, mother and brother, his is just one of 1,200 Hazara families taking refuge in the only accommodation available 8,000 feet up in the mountains. Daily chores perched high on the rock face, a dangerous ordeal. "We don't have doors or windows, and all our blankets were destroyed," says his wife, Nacbet (ph), as she bakes bread in the cave.

Parts of this provincial capital are destroyed beyond repair, and in outlying areas in this almost exclusively ethnic Hazara region, whole villages were burned, people say. Under Taliban rule, ethnic Hazaris (ph) here think they were singled out for particularly harsh treatment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The Hazaris were fighting the Taliban for their lives. Others were fighting for power in government. The Taliban were much more cruel to the Hazaris than anyone else; although our fight with the Pashtun community goes back before the Taliban.

ROBERTSON: At the city's education office repairs are underway. The Taliban turned it into a bakery. Now it's being readied for the new school year. Twenty seven thousand children age seven to 13 in Bamiyan province are destined to benefit from these educational books. Officials are also hoping to restart Bamiyan University for all the students, some of whom they hope will study Hazara history. Although they stress learning will be for all ethnic groups. KAZIM TURA, BAMIYAN UNIVERSITY: We only want their minds for Afghanistan. We don't want (UNINTELLIGIBLE). You only want their minds.

ROBERTSON (on camera): Hazaris make up at least one fifth of Afghanistan's population, they say. Most live in the central highlands around Bamiyan, although others are dispersed across the country. Among Afghans, they have a reputation for fierce fighting and independence. However, Hazaris feel they have always had to struggle for a fair share of power.

(voice-over): So surprisingly, perhaps among the broken rock remains of the ancient Buddhas here in this close-knit and isolated community, to hear this Hazara refuge, Naruz, describe the Taliban's destruction of the city's ancient stone companions as a national loss, not a local one.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Bamiyan, Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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