12 August 2009

Northern Afghanistan: “Things worked differently in other countries I have worked in,” says Tuch, a UNV volunteer Electoral Outreach and Training Adviser with the UNDP/ELECT project in Afghanistan. “Here you have to find new ways to work with people. You need to put yourself in their shoes.”

Tuch says he was inspired by the UNV volunteer Electoral Officers he saw working with the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) mission during 1993. “I remember how happy I was to see them helping my country,” he comments. He himself has since worked on electoral support missions in Kosovo, Liberia, Nepal and Timor-Leste.

This is in fact Tuch’s second tour of Afghanistan: he survived a bomb blast there at Christmas in 2003 but still opted to return to support the ‘Enhancing Legal and Electoral Capacity for Tomorrow (ELECT)’ project in partnership with UNDP.

As a UNV volunteer Electoral Adviser with ELECT, Tuch works in a team alongside an ELECT Public Outreach Adviser, an ELECT Provincial Electoral Adviser, an Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan (IEC) Provincial Public Outreach Officer and an IEC Provincial Electoral Officer. “Each day,” he says, “we plan where the IEC will conduct its public outreach to encourage people to register and vote.”

Another part of Tuch’s role is to help recruit local people as Civic Educators and District Electoral Field Coordinators or Polling Officers. These people will be critical in the smooth operation of the August ballot.

He emphasizes the importance of listening to Afghans and building their capacity. “These people have been through so much war,” says Tuch, who himself was internally displaced during the civil war in Cambodia, “that for them it’s hard to understand things like elections and deadlines. You can’t push them, you have to work with them, assist and advise and motivate them.”

In a country where society remains very conservative, another major challenge is to engage women in the electoral process. Many women are illiterate and cannot read the relevant information; women may also be threatened if they attend public outreach events.

The UNV volunteer and his team work with the Government Department of Women’s Affairs to encourage women’s involvement, but occasionally have to come up with customized solutions. “In one village,” Tuch recounts, “no women came to the outreach event. So we spoke to the local mullah, reached an understanding, and the next time the women attended.”

Though a veteran of several missions, Tuch concedes that Afghanistan in 2009 is one of his toughest. “In Afghanistan, you can’t move everywhere,” he explains. “You always have to be aware of security, and it’s the top priority. It is much harder to work at the district level and at the grassroots, which does limit our work.”

However, he feels that he is making a difference, and notes that even though the provincial ELECT team is often unable to travel to communities, the local mullahs do come to meet with them instead.

With a background in education and psychology, Tuch notes that supporting elections in Afghanistan is sometimes stressful for all involved. “This election is very complex as it involves security issues, massive ballot papers, and segregation of men and women. But I feel proud to be a UNV volunteer, happy to work on this tough mission – and make a difference.”

Tuch has a message for the Afghan people he works with too. “During spring, I have seen that the mountains of this province are alive with flowers,” he concludes. “If the Afghan people all register to vote, then a fair election can hasten peace and development in this country and it will remain as beautiful as it is in the spring.”

For security reasons, the full names and locations of the people mentioned are not disclosed.