Retired Tübingen geologist Abdul Rahman Ashraf will be Afghanistan’s ambassador in Berlin. Ashraf came to study in Bonn with a scholarship in 1968. After completing a doctorate in geology in 1978 he wanted to return to Afghanistan, but the Soviet invasion put an end to his plan. Ashraf decided to stay, became the first Afghan to receive political asylum in Germany and accepted German citizenship. He conducted research and taught at the Eberhard Karls Universität in Tübingen, where his special area was climate research. Ashraf examined fossilized pollen and plant remains and drew conclusions about the earth’s climate millions of years ago. His research earned him an international reputation. After the collapse of the Taliban he returned to his country. Ashraf was chancellor of Kabul University and has been an advisor to the Afghan government on mining and energy since 2002. He is regarded as a supporter of negotiations with the Taliban to achieve a lasting peace settlement. “The saying that you can only achieve peace if you also talk to your enemies is gaining significance in Afghanistan,” says Ashraf. He aims to convince Germany to assume a key role in reconstruction and is increasingly supporting economic cooperation. “You can never create lasting peace with weapons, but you certainly can with jobs.” Additionally, he intends to better inform German taxpayers about what happens to their money in Afghanistan.////
