Afghan President Ashraf Ghani ridiculed over social media for calling his countrymen migrants Dishwashers
Shares
KABUL: President Ashraf Ghani sought on Monday to stave off widespread mockery of remarks that were taken to imply that educated Afghan emigrants could only hope for work as dishwashers if they looked for employment abroad. The comment, made in an interview with Deutsche Welle television during a trip to Europe last week, brought down a torrent of abuse and ridicule from Afghanistan's extremely active social media users. In remarks apparently aimed at encouraging well-qualified Afghans not to move abroad, Ghani, whose own children are reported to live in the United States, noted that many struggled to find employment on a level matching their qualifications. "If they live abroad they become dishwashers. They don't become part of the middle class," he said. A wave of comments on social media sites attacked Ghani and sarcastically noted his own successful international career. He earned a doctorate from New York's Columbia University and taught at universities in the United States before working for 11 years at the World Bank. "Ashraf Ghani has served his 35 years as a dishwasher in America. How do you expect Mr. President to face the reality when he can’t face the questions?" wrote one commenter on Facebook. (Reuters)
