The 119 emergency system has improved relations between Afghanistan’s police and its citizenry
AFGHAN MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR Photos by AFP/GETTY IMAGES
The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a country that has linked the Middle East to South Asia for centuries. As such, Afghanistan has suffered a great many wars from essentially being “No Man’s Land” during the “Great Game” in the late 19th century and throughout the decadelong Soviet occupation beginning in 1979. Because of this constant occupation and war, Afghanistan has not been able to modernize fully and has been in a perpetual state of corruption. However, as a result of Western influence and backing over the past decade, Afghanistan has begun the process of changing this perception, not only in the eyes of the international community, but more important, in the eyes of Afghan citizens.
In recent years, the Ministry of Interior and its Afghan National Police (ANP) have been heavily criticized. Accused of taking bribes and outright theft, the ANP has engendered a feeling of distrust over the years among a majority of Afghans. In an effort to eliminate corruption within the ANP and gain much-needed confidence and trust of Afghans, 119 Emergency Services Call Centers (ESCCs) were established in 2009 with financing from Afghanistan’s NATO allies. The ESCCs allow Afghans to call anonymously for assistance in any type of emergency, crime or natural disaster. This includes everything from insurgent activities such as the placement of improvised explosive devices to petty theft and everything in between.
Additionally, citizen complaints regarding ANP officers are encouraged so that issues of corruption can be addressed. While this is a step in the right direction, Afghans have little incentive to embrace the ESCCs, as long as the predisposed belief of corruption within the ANP remains.
To increase public awareness of the ESCCs, as well as to highlight the positive actions of the ANP while responding to emergency situations and helping their communities, a television and radio series named Reaction 119 was developed. It features live footage of ANP officers responding to distress calls received by the ESCCs.
Since the show started airing on Ariana TV and Youth FM 97.5 in 2014 and before that on National Radio and Television of Afghanistan, actionable calls placed to the 119 ESCCs have increased 128 percent. On average, the 119 ESCCs received about 2,300 actionable calls per month in 2015, compared to 1,000 calls per month in 2014. This improvement is testament to how the 119 ESCCs, which operate 24 hours a day, have rapidly become a trusted medium for civilians to share pertinent information with the ANP.
“The 119 helpline has proved immensely helpful in restoring our confidence and faith in security institutions, especially in the cases of emergency situations,” Baseer Khan, a resident of Kabul, told the nonpartisan Afghanistan Justice Organization. “Earlier, very few people knew about this program, but now a large percentage of people are aware of it and understand its importance.”
There have been numerous success stories resulting from the 119 call centers that have allowed Reaction 119 to capitalize upon and demonstrate to Afghan citizens that the ANP is working to help communities become safer and more prosperous. One of the most notable episodes aired in October 2015 and depicted the rescue of an 8-year-old boy in Herat who had been kidnapped and held for ransom for several days. The valiant efforts of the ANP to save this young boy and arrest his abductors led to a social media outburst praising the ANP for its actions. Media outlets throughout Afghanistan such as ShabhayeKabul and WaisBarakzai have replayed clips of the rescue from the episode.
There are also many other ANP success stories involving arrests of insurgents planting roadside bombs and storing weapons in hidden caches. Read about them on the Reaction 119 Facebook page by following this link: https://www.facebook.com/119MOI.