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KABUL, Afghanistan— “We must strive to contribute to the ‘Team of Teams’ at work in Afghanistan and to achieve unity of effort with our diplomatic, international civilian, and Afghan partners as we carry out a comprehensive, civil-military counterinsurgency campaign.” — U.S. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, International Security Assistance Force Commander.
A dedicated group of coalition troops and civilian members of the ISAF community are doing their part to contribute to the “Team of Teams” by enhancing their cultural awareness and improving their Afghan language skills during an eight-week language class here.
The class is hosted every Wednesday evening by the ISAF Morale and Welfare Activities Office. Each session allows the participants to learn the basics of one of the two main Afghanistan languages, Dari, and everyday phrases used by the Afghans.
“Students attending the classes are taught to read, write and speak in Dari,” said Fahim, information technology technician, ISAF MWA. “Learning the language helps members to communicate and build relationships with the Afghan community.”
Pashtu and Dari are the languages predominately spoken in Afghanistan, but Dari is more commonly used. “Dari is the language spoken by majority of the Afghans and is understood by all our people,” he said. “I think acquiring this skill helps the military to improve their relations and communication with the people, which is viewed postively.”
According to Fahim, he teaches the class by reciting the words and having the students repeat what was said, as well as facilitating small group discussions. He also provides notes and handouts to the members.
Many of the students attend the sessions for personal gain or work-related reasons.
U.S. Army Lt. Col. Kevin Petit, ISAF strategic planner and a student of the Dari class, said the benefits of learning the language will help bridge the communication gap with the Afghan natives.
“The entire campaign is about gaining the trust of the people of Afghanistan,” said Petit. “Speaking the language or showing interest in learning their customs and courtesies helps put the people at ease.”
He added that during his last tour to Iraq, he found that learning the language was greatly received by the people and hopes to use it again.
“My intention was to acquire enough of the language to assist me with my job,” said U.S. Navy Capt. Andy Cassity, HQ ISAF deputy political advisor. “I work on a team with Afghan parliamentarians, and learning Dari makes them more receptive.”
Coordination and engagement officer for HQ ISAF Deputy Chief of Staff, James Lowen, a former U.S. Army foreign area officer studied Arabic for 15 months at the Defense Language Institute, Monterey, Calif., and has an interest in learning other languages. He plans to use his knowledge of Dari to communicate with the local people he meets while here in Afghanistan.
“This is my fourth class, and it has been interesting,” said Lowen. “I began attending the class because I thought it would be nice to be able to speak with the Afghans here.”
So far Fahim has taught more than 200 students how to speak basic Dari since he began the classes a year ago. He emphasized that communication is not only key for military interaction with the Afghanistan natives, but gives military members self sufficiency in the event an interpreter is unavailable.
“Learning the basics of the language will help the military to go out on missions without an interpreter; having conversations with the Afghans can help them become more proficient,” Fahim added. “There are many benefits that they will gain by learning the culture- - it shows interest and will garner respect.”
SPECIAL NOTE: To protect the identity of the Dari instructor, he is referred to as “Fahim”
| Date Taken: | 08.24.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 08.24.2010 12:01 |
| Story ID: | 55108 |
| Location: | KABUL, AF |
| Web Views: | 117 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
This work, Dari Class Gives ISAF Partners Cultural Insight, by SrA Tania Reid, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
