Press Releases 2009
Ambassador Wayne Opens Lincoln Center in Gardez
October 8, 2009
U.S. Embassy Press Release
“We hope that this new Center and its members will see the ties between our two peoples grow and flourish,” said Ambassador Wayne.
U.S. Embassy Coordinating Director for Development and Economic
Affairs Ambassador E. Anthony Wayne traveled to Gardez today to preside
over the opening of the eighth Lincoln Center in Afghanistan. He was
joined by the Governor of Paktia, Juma Khan Hamdard, and Lincoln Center
Coordinator Rahim Gull Wafador. Ambassador Wayne also took advantage of
the occasion to honor Wafador and Ajmal Sultani for their heroic
actions in the July 20 attack on the Governor’s compound.
Said Ambassador Wayne, “Lincoln Centers play a unique role in their communities by providing Afghans with a place to meet, hold
discussions, practice their English, read books, watch movies, access
the internet, and obtain information on the United States. Gardez will
join its sister Lincoln Centers in building bridges between the people
of Afghanistan and the United States by providing a window into
American history, life, culture, and up-to-date information about
political and economic trends in the United States.”
The Gardez Lincoln Center joins seven others in Bamiyan, Herat, Kabul, Khost, Kunduz, Jalalabad, and Mazar-e-Sharif, with ten more planned to open by spring 2011. Afghan Lincoln Centers have already hosted more
than 115,000 visitors, including more than 23,000 women, and held more
than 500 programs attended by some 20,000 participants.