Beyond a humanitarian crisis: U. of Erfurt statement on the situation in Afghanistan
The Willy Brandt School of Public Policy at CAPAZ partner University of Erfurt, published a statement on the current situation and regime change in Afghanistan in which it makes a series of warnings and recommendations addressed to the German Federal Government, international research centers, and its partner universities on the comprehensive support that should be offered to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
In its statement, the School requests support for the students affected by this crisis and their families still in Afghanistan in the bureaucratic procedures necessary to leave the country. In addition to recognizing the work being done by the DAAD to address these people’s situation, the University of Erfurt has set up a team of German political scientists, politicians, and NGO workers to provide policy advice and facilitate the temporary institutional connection between Germany and Afghanistan. The initiative is called Policy Experts at Risk (PExaR).
The communiqué also highlights the importance of the experience of researchers, professors, and experts who have lived and studied similar situations in their respective countries, which is considered a very valuable asset in dealing with the current situation. The Willy Brandt School of Public Policy extends an invitation to countries like Colombia, which, having dealt with the internal displacement of approximately 5 million people, has experts who could advise on the large-scale migration that the Afghan population will have to face. Colombia also has one of the highest rates of refugee applications in the Latin American region, so it could offer its expertise in human rights and crisis resolution.
In more cross-cutting terms, the communiqué also calls for the consolidation of instruments for education in values that will enable the consolidation of stable democracies. Considering that the recent events in Afghanistan are not isolated events, the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy invited German universities to consolidate initiatives to support the investigation work of researchers in exile. For example, one initiative that could be replicated or taken as an example, says the communiqué, is the Consortium of Universities in Exile at the New School in New York: an alliance of North American, European, and African universities that have pledged to support academics who are threatened or whose lives are in danger in their respective countries.
Finally, the University’ s message is clear: The Willy Brandt School of Public Policy will support its Afghan students and faculty in this difficult time and reiterates its call to the German Federal Government to implement sustainable actions in education that go beyond immediate attention.