By Kai Pflug
What interesting things can you write about a person whose Wikipedia entry seems to go on for several pages (which automatically outs the author of this post as at least a middle-aged book reader – the reference to several pages for an online entry probably makes no sense) …
It’s probably best to start with a few facts:
• Born in 1948
• Regular soldier in the German Bundeswehr from 1967-1972
• Studied medicine
• 1980-2002 again in the Bundeswehr as a military doctor and in various other roles, often in UN missions
• Since 1998, he has been setting up Kinderhilfe Afghanistan, which provides humanitarian aid in the eastern provinces of Afghanistan by building schools, orphanages, medical stations and training centers.
To add value to the Wikipedia entry, I read a few interviews with Mr. Erös. Here are a few of his statements:
“Since NATO withdrew in an uncoordinated manner, hardly anyone is interested in the country [Afghanistan]. Yet the people urgently need help. Food, medical care and education, or at least what is understood in Afghanistan as education.”
“I have made 1,000 parachute jumps, fought in the jungle with the French elite troops in French Guiana. That and my access to the Taliban have helped me a lot. The current heads of government know me as the only doctor who helped in the war with the Russians. So I have carte blanche and have had no problems so far.”
“Between 2001 and 2021, around 150,000 Afghan civilians were killed. US journalists report that 490 children were killed in fighting in 2011 alone; more than half of them by US forces, so-called collateral damage!”
“Where is the German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who advocates a feminist foreign policy, today in terms of supporting Afghan girls and women?”
“If the organizations [NGOs] do not directly confront the Taliban, then they have nothing to fear in Afghanistan. The Taliban hope that the NGOs will come back into the country.”
“The media always decide directly which side they are on. For example, the Taliban are automatically evil. That’s true, but there is a lot in between.”
“Why are almost no journalists reporting from the country where NATO was stationed for 20 years before it left in a completely uncoordinated manner?”
“We don’t have a lying press, but a gap press. It’s not great to go to Afghanistan as a journalist. But you can bear it in a 5-star hotel in Kabul. There they then hire locals to answer questions for them, talk to people and film.”
For this very reason, it is certainly best to hear Mr. Erös speak directly. And that is possible. StayIN has invited Mr. Erös to give a lecture entitled “Quo Vadis Afghanistan” in Hamburg on September 18th. We are very proud to have him as our guest and hope that many people will listen. Our guest and his topic are worth it.
Here are the details of the event:
Location: Mindspace Hamburg, Rödingsmarkt 9, 20459 Hamburg
Date: 18.09.24
Time: 18.30
Originally posted 2024-08-20 03:52:31.
