This one is from Ramazan Bashardost, of tent-dwelling, corruption-fighting fame:
“There’s not a political decision to fight corruption,” Bashardost said. “That’s the problem. And why not? The officials’ friends, their families, are involved in corruption. A politician here will sell his own mother for $1,000.”
That last line made me laugh out loud.
Here’s a description of Bashardost’s unconventional (to put it mildly) style of politics:
Ramzan Bashardost drives a beat-up black 1991 Suzuki with a cracked windshield and often sleeps in a tent—habits hardly befitting a respected member of parliament. His relatives think he is crazy. But Bashardost, 46, now running for president, said he is making a point against persistent corruption in the Afghan government. He said he has turned down free land and fancy vehicles offered to officials. He even rejected a free couch.
I think precisely as Dr. Bashardost because we all know how corruption has spread itself through the whole Afghanistan. Dr. Spanta told us in Sweden once “While in Sweden you condemn bribery in Afghanistan not taking bribe is wrong while bribes are everyday actions of the highly appointed politicians”.
I fully support Mr. Ramazan Bashardost in the upcoming presidential campaign and I hope Miss Malalai Joya will also become a part of his campaign.