Revival of flag brings hope

Pointing to the newly restored Afghan flag flying high over Kabul, Mohammad Ebrahim - a recently returned refugee - told IRIN that the tricolour is a symbol of his country’s proud past. Ebrahim was a refugee in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar for more than five years. He had recently returned home, and was waiting in the bustling ministry of education, looking for a job. "We are happy and hope that our country will return to peace," he said. After the Taliban were defeated in December 2001, both the 1992 flag and the 1973 flag have been flown by different factions within the Northern Alliance. Afghanistan’s month-old interim cabinet recently decided to readopt the red, black and green flag approved under the 1964 constitution as Afghanistan’s national emblem. In another move designed to assert Afghan identity and to distance the country from its recent past, the interim leader, Hamid Karzai, issued an order to replace the lunar calendar with the traditional Afghan solar calendar. Hakim Taniwal, a recently returned Afghan sociologist, told IRIN on Wednesday that symbols such as the flag, an anthem, calendar and coins embodied a people's identity. "Unfortunately, the radical experiments of left and right over the past two decades in our country wanted to do away with our identity," he said. Taniwal explained that changes of government often extended to changing the country’s symbols, systems and broad policies. "The communists and subsequent regimes sought to impose unwanted symbolism to legitimise their claim to power," he added. The hardline Taliban, strictly imposed their symbols. They changed the flag and the calendar. They changed Radio Afghanistan into Radio Shariat. They even changed the official name of Afghanistan to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Asked what the changes made by the interim administration meant to ordinary Afghans, Taniwal said they signalled the will of Afghans to remain independent. "The restoration of the national symbols of the 1964 constitution also reminds us of our glorious past," he added. Referring to the inclusion of the Islamic Kalimah (i.e. The Word: There is no deity but God: Muhammad is the Apostle of God) on the national flag, he said: "It is to show the world and our people that Afghanistan is an Islamic society, but not fundamentalist as were the Taliban." Commenting on the changes, Jim Williams, a cultural adviser to the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation, said they would restore the hopes of Afghans for a better life. "Symbols are not material things, but their appeal to the human psyche and emotions is immense," he added. "Afghans are a united people, despite all their difficulties. They are resilient and will recover once again." Williams added that the interim administration had appointed a committee to arrange the celebration of Nau Roz, the Afghan New Year, on 21 March - the first day after the sun has crossed the vernal equinox. The Taliban rigorously banned such celebrations.