Word: bashardost
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2009-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
When he's not canvassing the Afghan backcountry in his beat-up Toyota mini-bus, Ramazan Bashardost, 48, arrives at his presidential campaign headquarters - a gray tent - at 5:30 each morning. It sits across the street from the Afghan parliament and is open to the public, without the gun-wielding bodyguards that surround other high-profile candidates. "My name means 'friend of humans'," he offers, by way of explanation. "I am here for everyone...
...ethnic Hazara member of parliament has made a name for himself in recent months with a non-stop, everyman campaign by car, bicycle and on foot that has spanned 24 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces. In a country where ethnic fault lines are steeped in bloodshed, Bashardost is trying to bridge the divide by appealing to common grievances such as corruption, insecurity and a lack of basic services. His trademark black vest features an embroidered white dove of peace. But he talks tough about President Hamid Karzai and self-serving warlords he says have betrayed the Afghan public through their...
...Bashardost believes that mounting disgust with warlord-dominated patronage networks has led Afghans to begin to shift away from traditional ethnic-tribal politics toward issues of substance like jobs and education. He says that the fact that he has never fought in a war or joined a faction makes him more appealing to disillusioned voters. "You can't find another candidate who thinks about all the national interests of the Afghan people more than Ramazan Bashardost," he says, lapsing into the third-person as is his habit. Few, however, share his assessment of the way Afghan politics works...