1.1 GEOGRAPHY – DESERT TERRAIN
Located in southern Afghanistan, Helmand Province is bordered to the west by the provinces of Nimroz and Farah, to the north by Ghor Province and to the east by the provinces of Daikondi, Uruzgan and Kandahar. Helmand shares a 160km-long border to the south with Balochistan province of Pakistan.
Its topography is dominated by irregular highlands which increase in height in the south and the north. Alongside the southern border of Helmand and Nimroz and west to the Lora River lie the Chagahi (Chagayi) mountains.
The Helmand River is the longest river in Afghanistan, flowing through the main desert region, providing irrigation. However, the water flow of Helmand River has dramatically declined from 2211.7 million m³ in 1991-92 to only 48 million m³ in 2000-01. Beyond the river valley, the area south of Lashkar Gah has been classified as barren and stony ground under the FAO land use system. Helmand Province has suffered severe droughts throughout history. During the drought of the late 1990s, water supplies were very limited in the southern reaches of the river with dire consequences for the farmers’ livelihoods. In 2001, almost 95 per cent of all crops were destroyed by drought. Persistent droughts have also resulted in massive internal displacements – it is estimated that around 85% of the local population in Helmand Province are Internally Displaced People.
1.2 HISTORY
Helmand, which means ‘many dams’ takes its name after the Hazar Shakha River (Thousand Branch River) that flows through it. Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand Province, emerged as a riverside barracks town for soldiers accompanying the Ghaznawi nobility to the city of Bost a thousand years ago. The region was discovered by archaeologists on the left bank of Helmand River. Castles, temples and orchards built during the Ghaznawi period were destroyed by King Alauddin Ghori in 1150 and later by Changez Khan and Taimor. Qala-e-Bost, the great fortress of Bost, is an impressive ruin at the junction of the Helmand and Arghandab rivers, south of Lashkar Gah. Earlier this year, construction has begun on a cobblestone road from the capital to the Qala-e-Bost Arch.
The last time British troops were in Helmand was during the Second Anglo-Afghan war in the late 19th century. In spring 1880, the British fought a disastrous battle along the Helmand River – the Battle of Maiwand. This lengthy and ferocious battle resulted in the almost complete destruction of the Royal Regiment. Evidence of the low morale of the British following the battle is a letter sent by a British officer to his generals in which he warns that “Playing chess by telegraph may succeed, but making war and planning a campaign on the Helmand from the cool shades of breezy Shimla (in India) is an experiment which will not, I hope, be repeated”.
In recent times, Helmand Province became known as “little America” when it became the centre of a US development programme in the 1950s. As part of the programme, a network of irrigation canals was built and a large hydroelectric dam was constructed. The modern city of Lashkar Gah was built as headquarters for the American engineers working on the Helmand valley irrigation project. As a result, the capital was built in American style, with broad tree-lined streets and brick houses. However, the programme was abandoned in the wake of the Soviet invasion. Since then and during the Afghan civil war, the landscape of the capital has changed considerably.
Historic Invasions of Helmand Province
In 334 BC Alexander the Great began his thirteen year (22,000 mile) march from Macedonia to the Punjab. After defeating the Persian Emperor Darius, in a series of spectacular battles in Asia Minor, Alexander marched relentlessly eastward conquering all before him. After four years of campaigning he had subdued the entire Persian empire but for one indomitable province. This province was Bactria-Sogdiana - known today as Afghanistan. Here Alexander was forced into a war of attrition by wild tribesmen renowned for their skill on horseback. Alexander spent a further two years pacifying this single Persian province and nowhere in all his conquests was he forced to expend so much time, energy or man power for so relatively little. Alexander made Bactria-Sogdiana the most heavily fortified province in his empire. Eventually Alexander was forced to take a barbarian bride from among the Sogdiana natives in order to pacify them and allow him to continue his conquests by crossing the Hindu Kush.
In the early 13th century the infamous Mongolian Emperor, Timujin (better known as Genghis Khan) embarked on one of the worlds greatest military campaigns. By 1225 the Mongol Hordes had defeated every army they encountered in campaigns from Korea to the Ukraine. In 1221 Genghis Khan personally led a large raid through Afghanistan and India before turning back to Mongolia. Although the Mongols did not stay long in Afghanistan the conflict was infamously bloody with heavy casualties on both sides. The modern province of Helmand lay directly in Genghis Khan's path and some of the toughest fighting took place in this southern province. While the campaigns of the Mongolian hordes took place almost eight hundred years ago they have left an indelible mark on the people of Helmand.
|
1.3 ETHNIC COMPOSITION
Afghanistan’s ethnic groups emphasise loyalty to the local social group with ethnic divisions being an integral part of the socio-economic dynamic. In Helmand Province, Pashtun is the dominant ethnic group with Tajik, Hazara and Balouch comprising smaller ethnic groups.
Helmand Province is divided to thirteen districts and over a thousand villages. Helmand’s population consists of various Pashtun tribes with the Alizai, Ishaqzai, Barakzai and Noorzai being the most prominent. Tribes are permanent political and social units in Afghanistan, exerting the most significant influence over the allegiance of the individual. Over recent decades and during the long wars, neighbouring countries and, in particular, Pakistan have supported tribal factions competing for power.
The map below indicates the principal tribes within the thirteen districts, although it should be noted that in reality these cross the actual district frontiers. Only the four most prominent tribes are shown; smaller percentages of the population in each district belong to other tribes.
1.4 ECONOMY
Helmand’s economy and settlements are essentially structured around the Helmand River and the valley irrigation system. Developed in the 1950s with substantial American financial support, the Helmand-Arghandab irrigation system has been seen as a beacon of the modernisation of the Afghan state. The irrigation project created one of the most extensive farming zones in southern Afghanistan, opening up many thousands of hectares of desert to human cultivation and habitation.
The project focused on the three large canals of Boghra, Shamalan and Darweshan. The new communities of Nad Ali and Marja were inhabited mainly by Pashtun migrants from across the country. Responsibility for maintaining the canals was given to the Helmand-Arghandab Valley Authority (HAVA), a semi-independent government agency whose authority in its heyday rivalled that of the provincial governors.
Prior to 1978, the important industries in Helmand were carpentry and stone cutting for the production of marbles, whilst some vegetable oil companies were present. Handicrafts like rugs, carpets and tinsmith were also common.
During the long wars over the recent decades, however, this irrigation and economic infrastructure has been almost entirely destroyed and the unemployment rate has risen dramatically. Currently, the main economic activities are farming and livestock. The total irrigated area in the province is 205,000 hectares and the main crops cultivated are wheat, corn and opium poppy. The importance of poppy can be highlighted by comparing it to the land dedicated to wheat production in 2005.
According to the UNODC Afghanistan Opium Survey 2005, Helmand has the second largest relative importance of opium poppy cultivation over wheat cultivation among all provinces in 2005, with the area under poppy equivalent to 33% of the area under wheat cultivation. In particular, 26,500 ha were dedicated to poppy cultivation compared to 80,000 ha dedicated to wheat cultivation.
In 2005, the average dry opium yield (kg/ha) in Helmand Province was estimated at around 38kg/ha, compared to the average yield of wheat which was estimated at 2700 kg/ha.
The total opium yield reached 1,000 metric tons at a price of US$5,400 per ha – that is almost ten times more than the equivalent price of wheat. Hence, the total value of opium produced in Helmand Province reached a staggering US$143 million, compared to the total value of wheat produced at only US$44 million (see Section III on the motivation for opium cultivation).
The province has the largest area under opium cultivation in Afghanistan – Helmand accounted for 25% of the country’s total poppy cultivation in 2005, compared to 23% in 2004 and 19% in 2003.
Predicted increases in 2006 are so significant they represent an increase of 50% in opium cultivation reaching 40,000 ha.
Around 55,000 households, that is approximately 380,000 people, are reliant on opium poppy cultivation in Helmand, which represents more than a third of the province’s total population.
As a border economy, Helmand has a long history of smuggling and trade with Pakistan and Iran, both as a major opium producer and as a key conduit for opium trade from other Afghan provinces.
|