mister american dwight david eisenhower. >> you are watching american history tv, 48 hours of programming every weekend on c-span3. to keep upn twitter with the latest history news. , american history tv's real america provides films -- afghanistan is a 1987 one report from the intervention in afghanistan. the video from the national archives focuses on the challenges facing afghan refugees who were children when soviet troops invaded the country in 1979 and grew to adulthood during occupation. the film profiles refugee camps in pakistan at health clinics and the efforts of aid workers from around the world. >> afghanistan.

in 1979, the soviet union determined that afghanistan would be a communist nation forever. the people said no, we will be free. they then picked up their weapons and fought for their freedom the only way they knew how, from the protection of their mountains. and continued their traditional way of life. others were forced to flee the bombs and tanks and took refuge.

in their decade of war, over 1000 villages and towns have been destroyed by tanks and bombs. 5 million afghans, one third of the population have fled their homes as refugees. in the camps, the people survived and found a fragile security for their family. and it is here in the camps that one generation has matured and another generation begun. in refuge is afghanistan's future. in refuge is afghanistan's new generation.

in the hot, desolate refugee camp, a young generation's future begins. a girl is going to makeshift school. she will learn to read and write and once again play games and try to wash away the memories of the terrors of war. but education is very difficult for these children. there is no real organized school available for them. this small house with a courtyard was loaned to them by a man who saw them sitting idle at home without anything meaningful to do. the teachers say they have good

minds and they learned quickly. if they had a real school that they could attend on a regular basis, they would do well. with education, the girls and teachers know that they can participate in the development of their country as well as anyone. [children singing] the school is organized with nearly 300 students. they are considered large. >> these children have gone through many difficulties. when the atrocities and depression increased, their houses were burned. they were forced out of their homes and villages. they could no longer live there. living conditions were no longer safe. finally during the last seven years, they had all fled

afghanistan and settled here. we respect our social norms and values. it is the responsibility of the teachers to teach them geography and the social structure. wherever we afghans are we never , lose our traditions and way of living. we know they will always remember our country and have some affection for it. we have done this and continue to do so. >> we want the children to understand and feel the hardship their parents have gone through for the sake of their homeland. we do not want them to forget their country. >> for children born in refuge, we tell them stories of the country they should never forget

so our goal is that when this older generation is gone from this world, jihad must not stop. this young generation should carry on this duty they succeed in their goal. god willing they do not forget this responsibility. >> one member of the new generation joined jihad is a photojournalist. he learned to use a video camera at the afghan media resource center. on july 20, using an amateur camera, he documented an attack -- moreck by mu hygiene hydrazine -- near kabul. trucks move in convoys and only with support from soviet tanks. the kabul government outposts

housing soviet and afghan troops was meant to protect the highway. a soviet tank leads the convoy down the treacherous highway. the trucks keep distance from each other to avoid being trapped if one of them gets hit. >> one of the young mujahadeen fires his rpg and scores a direct hit on the soviet tank. the crippled tank moves to the road, trying to shelter itself near a huge rock. [gunfire]

an armored personnel carrier and supply truck are also hit. the convoy stalls, waiting for more support. another group of tanks appear. they tried to escort and save the convoy. another supply truck is hit and bursts into flames. a nearby government post has now spotted the mujahadeen's position and opens fire with heavy mortar rounds. soviet tanks opened fire from the road below. they pulled back from their position and gathered to discuss the success of the attack. this was a coordinated attack by 11 different commanders on the four mile stretch of highway.

muhajadeen was one of the 11. >> this is the 10th year we have undertaken jihad and the eighth year of the russian invasion of our country. at that time, our children were eight and nine years old. now they are 15 and 16 since the russians came. this boy sitting next to me was eight years old during the russian invasion. this year he took part in jihad with me in this operation. and never with the people and children of afghanistan, whether he is one year or 100 years old, he will not accept russian soldiers in their homeland. >> after losing many tanks, personnel carriers and

jets retaliated against a nearby town. >> on the second day of the operation, which is three or four kilometers from the district, two jet bombers came on our position. both were shot down. one fell in a place in the sorrow be -- so ruby district. another fell in another district. >> approximately 2 million afghans are refugees inside afghanistan. over one million of them have fled the bombs in destruction in the countryside to kabul. they seek and a cut of work to support their families, but even

here they cannot escape the sound of aircraft and tanks. soviet planes constantly drop heat flares for protection against rocket. tanks patrol inside and around the capital's perimeter. soviet troops protect the presidential palace as well as major streets, like chicken street, where soviets shop for the famed arts and crafts of afghanistan.

many parts of kabul are in ruins. everywhere are reminders that they are under siege from people who want to keep their freedom. he lives in refuge in pakistan. part of the new generation, he was 17 when the war began. -- ing >> working in the military committees, there are different jobs we do there. one of my work is i'm responsible for -- whatever they do, they directed to me. [indiscernible] because it is much quicker. that involves me that i have to go there also. [indiscernible] to get very much close with their problems and to see their strength in numbers.

think, a sacrifice generation. we are here to fight the soviets and to free our country. we should not think very much about our future. we should think right now what we can do to stop the soviet from what they are doing in our country. >> the refugee camp in pakistan is now the temporary home of over 60,000 refugees. this doctor and nurse help provide medical care for the new generation in the camp they -- in the camp. each day they provide primary , health care each day or more than 150 patients. >> according to our program, we have special cards here. so when we spot a malnourished child, or someone is brought to

the clinic, we will weigh them first. then we will take their medical history to find the reason for the malnutrition. he is then registered as a malnutrition child. we give milk, raisins, vitamin a and vitamin b tablets, and multivitamins are given to the weak children. we give them whatever is available in the clinic. >> here there are epidemics. the camps are occupied by people of different provinces and from different camps. different types of diseases are spread from one group to the other. many people are affected by this type of sickness, both in their homes and in the outside environment. >> with 4 million refugees living in pakistan, the cities

have swollen with people. public health services, sanitation, electricity, and other public services have been extended to their limits. clean water is a prerequisite for health, although here it looks like fun for all generations on a hot day. this water is part of a giant irrigation system that feeds pakistan's western lands. it is water for the land, or animals, for bathing, for washing clothes, and for some a source of cooking and drinking water. when it is their only source of water, it is also water for disease. there are many regional and worldwide organizations like the united nations, the red cross and red crescent that are

helping to keep the refugee problems under control. this clinic is operated by the united medical center of afghan doctors. >> usually, on days the weather is hot, we have many people with congestion problems such as dysentery, diarrhea, malnutrition. tb. also some with respiratory problems. it increases day by day, particularly among the refugees. tb, skin disease, and other contagious diseases are increasing. those diseases which relate to the living conditions of the refugees do not change. there is no unified preventive program against these diseases for all of the refugees, and

therefore can bring these diseases under control properly. our main problem is obtaining the necessary and needed medicine to supply, but we are not able to treat a patient as it is necessary or required. we are always faced with shortages of medicine. we do not have enough to treat the refugees. >> mohammed hussein is a commander in northern afghanistan. brave ands are very they are very strong. they always fight in jihad. in many places when we were fighting with the enemy, these boys did not leave their positions. many of them have been killed in our battle. they could have run and escaped but they stood their steadfast. they are brave. they do not give up the fight.

>> now we have obtained some heavy antitank weapons so the russians are afraid to use tanks as frequently. instead they have increased their air operations. them, theirt soldiers come from the soviet union. every time the russians launched an operation, they come directly from the soviet union. they do not come from the provincial capital in afghanistan. large numbers of planes are coming from the soviet union. sore were no planes before now we know they cannot fight us with just soldiers and tanks. we are located on the soviet border.

there is only one river between them and us. they have many operations against us and killed many of our women and children, so we decided to respond. alonehey do not leave us hour on land and yet we have attacked down and punished them on their own soil. sufficient medical care is nonsufficient inside of cap -- afghanistan. thousands die throughout their country. several international organizations are training members of the new generation as paramedical doctors and surgeons. they provide badly needed medical care in all of the provinces. this medical training school is operated by the international medical corps. these paramedics have worked in field clinics inside afghanistan

for six months. with additional training on animals they will advance their skills and returned to afghanistan again. he was 10 years old when the war began. >> on the first day of our foundl, the government out our plan to establish a clinic. the next day government forces shelled the village with long-range artillery. majong was 16 years old. >> i saw many dead people and wounded people. lots of experience. the people live very primitive lives. there was no doctor or health worker to help them. there are now 40 international

-- >> there are now 40 international manic all -- medical corps clinics inside afghanistan. that duringported heavy fighting he had 200 surgical cases over a two-month period. young afghans are also pursuing other serious locations. -- vocations. there is a school of journalism operated by the international rescue committee. students learn and international language and the craft of objective journalism. i first started, objectivity was not even on the scale. the definition of news writing and journalists and separation of professional action and personal feelings, we

can make it through hours of willviews before anyone become less than objective. that is an incredible step. they realize the importance of remaining objective. to be able to do the reporting. now who wrotedent a story about his best friend mohammed who asked him to go to jihad with him. this handset no, i have been , iepted -- this man said no have been accepted into the journalism course and i think i will stay here and when i am finished i will go with you. one day this man went home for lunch. his family gathered together and told him to sit down, that a murder had been brought back

from the front. back from the front. they told him gently it was his friend and he had been beheaded. before going back to class in the afternoon, he was asked by his father to go with some other road,d dig a grave by the and bury his friend, which he did. and he made it to class that day and the next day, and he has been very consistent. he has probably written the most powerful stories that i have seen yet. >> there are hundreds of thousands of powerful stories in afghanistan. prisons,f bombings, and torture, and there is a new generation with stories of families lost of hunger and

war,trition, disease, of and of a generation of sacrifice. and there is the beginning of moonlight and another new generation. ♪ >> you are watching american

hours ofv, 48 programming on american history every weekend on c-span3. follow us on twitter at princeton history for information on our schedule and to keep up with the latest history news -- follow us on history for-span information on our schedule and to keep up with the latest history news. professor neil ferguson discusses the first volume of his henry kissinger biography. mr. ferguson argues that kissinger's approach to foreign policy is grounded in idealism rather than the ruthless realism he is popularly known for. the wilson center and national history center cohosted this event. it is an hour and a half. >> good afternoon, everyone. thank you for coming out today. my name is eric