Afghanistan Notebook

All told, dozens in the Maxwell community have served in Afghanistan over the last 20 years as soldiers, diplomats, humanitarians, educators and more.

Among them is Maxwell Assistant Dean for Washington Programs Mark Jacobson, who assisted in the evacuation effort and provided media commentary about the troop withdrawal. A reservist for over 25 years, he deployed to Afghanistan as a Navy intelligence officer in 2006 and returned three years later as the first Deputy NATO Senior Civilian Representative. During that time, Jacobson worked with Maxwell alumni Omar Qudrat ’10 J.D./M.A.I.R./M.S.P.R, a senior policy adviser at the NATO headquarters, and Hekmatullah Foushanji ’08 E.M.P.A./’09 M.A.I.R., an Afghan National Security Council staffer.

Additionally, John R. Bass ’86 B.A. (IR) served as the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan from 2017-20. He returned to Kabul this past August to help manage the evacuation effort as the last U.S. troops withdrew.

Over the coming months, we’ll be gathering more stories of Maxwell connections to Afghanistan we hope to include in a new online Maxwell Perspective feature, “Afghanistan Notebook.” To share your story, send us an email at MaxwellPerspective@syr.edu with the subject line “Afghanistan.” Submissions should include details about your role in Afghanistan along with your current position, name, degree, class year and contact information.

During his 10 years as executive director of Afghanistan’s Human Rights Commission, Mohammad “Musa” Mahmodi ’08 E.M.P.A./ ’09 M.A.I.R. faced myriad threats as he worked to expand freedoms, educational opportunities and a more democratic society.

continued from page 17 families like his who had financial means. She made a simple bread for her family and others sheltering with them.

“And then a militia came into our house and the first thing they found was the food and they ate it,” he recalls. “This kind of situation is traumatizing. We saw the despair on the face of every kid.”

Determined to bring change, Mahmodi attended Kabul University and obtained his law degree. He wanted to focus on human rights, yet there was little understanding of what that meant, even among those advocating for change. “That was the first challenge to overcome,” he says.

After working for two years to advocate for peace and human rights, Mahmodi was awarded a Fulbright scholarship for graduate studies at the Maxwell School. He came to Syracuse in 2007 to pursue master’s degrees in public administration and international relations.

“It was a unique opportunity, and I am thankful to Fulbright and to Maxwell to get the training,” he says. “Upon graduation I left Syracuse and went back to Kabul and started my new job as executive director of the Afghanistan Human Rights Commission.”

That post brought myriad obstacles. “Civilian casualties—all of those things were still happening,” he says. “Keeping the independence of the commission was another test. There was so much pressure, so many threats and intimidation.”

Mahmodi headed the commission for 10 years, defending the rights of even those facing criminal charges, which didn’t prove popular. He fought to protect freedom of speech and religion, to expand women’s rights, including their access to education. He oversaw 14 offices and some 600 staffers, operating “day and night, nonstop.”

“There was a huge array of human rights violations and violators,” he says. “It was a huge operation to hold them accountable. To be honest, it was exhausting.”

He stepped down in September 2019, just a few months before the opportunity arose at Yale.

This past October, with his home country facing an uncertain fate, he wasn’t sure how his work to advance human rights would continue. “I don’t know how successful I will be because everything I was hoping for is now gone,” he says.

“I have always been an optimistic person; I always believed in better. We have made great achievements, providing a system in which women and minorities could live and work. There was a system of government, not perfect, but a civil society was there. But now, I really feel hopeless and helpless. It is such a tragedy.”

Still, a seed of hope remains.

“I saw the downfall of Kabul but then she survives again and again,” says Mahmodi. “I hope to see it once more.”