The Economist - UK (2022-02-19)

50 Asia TheEconomistFebruary19th 2022

manitarian catastrophe. Aid agencies

warn,loudlyandrepeatedly,ofunimagin­

ablemisery.Almosttheentirepopulation

couldbelivinginabjectpoverty—under

$1.90 aday—by themiddle oftheyear.

Some60%ofthecountryisatriskofacute

hunger.Alreadysomefamilieshavebeen

reducedtoeatingdryflour.Peoplearesell­

ingbodypartsandchildren.

Therestoftheworldhasnotignored

thecrisis.Donorscommitted$1.8bninhu­

manitarianassistancein 2021. Lastmonth

theunlauncheditslargest­everappealfor

a singlecountry,hopingtoraiseanother

$4.4bn.Getting donorstostump upthe

cashisnottheproblem.Thedifficultyis

gettingthemoneyintothecountry,asMs

Aken’sexampleillustrates.

Americaandtheunhaveclarifiedthat

sanctions don’t apply to humanitarian

work.Butrisk­averse banks remain un­

willingtotransferfundsintoAfghanistan.

Some85%ofngos saywithdrawallimits

andtheinabilitytotransfermoneyarese­

riouslyhamperingtheirwork,accordingto

a recentsurveybytheNorwegianRefugee

Council,anotherbigngo(seechartonpre­

viouspage).Thecouncilitselfhasresorted

tobuyingbasicitems,includingblankets

andfood,inPakistanandbringingthem

overtheborderbyroad.Eventheunis

struggling.Ithastakentostuffingbank

notesinplanesandflyingthemin. Thatis

expensive, and moving so much cash

aroundthecountryisrisky.

On February11th PresidentJoe Biden

crushedhopesofa recovery.Ofthe$9bn­

oddofAfghanistan’scentral­bankreserves

heldabroad,$7bnisinAmerica(therestis

mostlyinEurope).TheWhiteHousesaidit

wouldunfreezethatmoney,usinghalfofit

foraid and settingaside theother half

pendingjudgmentincasesinvolvingthe

familiesofvictimsoftheSeptember11that­

tacks,whoaresuingforcompensation.

Thedecisionhaselicitedcriticismfrom

allcornersofAfghansociety.TheTaliban

governmenthasdarklythreatenedto“re­

consideritspolicy”towardsAmericaifthe

executiveorderisnotrescinded.Ordinary

Afghanshavetakentothestreets,making

thereasonablepointthattheAfghanpeo­

plehadnothingtodowiththe9/11attack­

ers,mostofwhomwereSaudi(although

theterroristgroupbehindtheattackswas

shelteredbytheTalibanlasttimetheywere

inpower).ShahMehrabi,a memberofthe

Afghancentralbank’sboard,describesthe

moveasflagrantlyunjust.GraemeSmithof

the International Crisis Group, athink­

tank, saysthedecisionisakintoKingSolo­

monliterallycuttingthebabyinhalf.

Whatever the Biden administration

doeswiththemoney—apartfromkeeping

itfrozenorreturningittoAfghanistan—it

isineffectseizingAfghanistan’scentral­

bankassets.Withoutfundstobackitscur­

rencyorrepaycommercialdepositorsof

dollars,thebankandthebankingsystem

willlosewhatshredsofcredibilitywere

left.That couldcausethesortofhyper­

inflationGermanysawinthe1920s and

Zimbabwein2008­09,fearsKhalidPayen­

da,Afghanistan’s financeminister until

August.Inflationissoaring(seechart).

Thatwillonlyexacerbatethecountry’s

alreadygrimsituation.Humanitarianas­

sistanceisanexpensivewaytosavepeople

from indigence and, in any case, no

amountofaidcanreplaceafunctioning

economy.Atsomepointglobalinterestin

Afghanistan will fade.“These aidlevels

aren’tgoingtostaysohighforever,”says

MsAken.Whatthen?n

Scaling new peaks

Afghanistan, consumer prices

% change on a year earlier

Source: World Bank

2

15

10

5

0

-5

2020 2021

T

he eyeswaterasyourcorrespondent

enters Sakimoto Distillery. Large vats

of rice bubble over open flames, filling

the air with boozy fumes. The solution

will be distilled into awamori, a liquor

native to the islands of Okinawa, the

most southern and western of Japan’s

prefectures. Sakimoto Toshio, the dis­

tillery’s boss, pours out a sample of the

stuff, which with an alcohol content of

60% is about half as strong again as a

typical spirit. Your correspondent’s

throat burns as it goes down. 

Awamoriwas invented in Okinawa in

the 15th century. It uses long­grain rice

and, to stimulate fermentation, black koji

mould, distinguishing it from shochu, a

better­known Japanese spirit invented in

nearby Kyushu, which uses white koji

and short­grain rice or other starches.

The punch it packs reflects local condi­

tions: its strength helped preserve the

drink on the hot, humid islands in the

days before refrigeration. The throat­

burning 60% variant emerged on Yona­

guni, Japan’s westernmost island, where

Sakimoto is based. Known as hanasake, it

is said to have started life as a disin­

fectant for medical use on ships, and

later came to play a role in rituals such as

funerals. When locals actually drink it,

they usually cut it with ice and water and

have it with roast pork. 

Awamorihas lately fallen on hard

times. Two­thirds of the 45 members of

Okinawa Awamori Distillers Associa­

tion were in the red in 2020. Production

volumes that year dipped by nearly 20%,

the fourth straight year of decline. Youn­

ger Japanese are drinking less booze, and

they prefer softer stuff or mixed drinks.

That has forced the industry to ex­

periment.Japan’sexternaltrade organi­

sation has sought to market shochu and

awamori as premium drinks for dis­

cerning foreign tipplers, but few are

biting (or sipping). Distillers have re­

leased flavoured awamoridrinks, organ­

ised awamorifestivals and enlisted influ­

encers to appeal to younger consumers—

with mixed results. Nakamura Shunki, a

researcher at Okinawa’s manufacturing

promotion office, reckons it helps if the

drink looks Instagrammable. 

Mr Sakimoto has got the idea. He

launched a collaboration with Rebun,

Japan’s northernmost island, which

supplies mineral water to make a “lim­

ited edition” awamori. The “preffect” of

bringing together Japan’s extreme north

and west has helped sales, he says. Wise­

ly, he also watered it down: its alcohol

content is a more palatable 43%.

Japanesebooze

Awamori? Go on then

YONAGUNI

Okinawa’s distillers are trying to posh up the local firewater

Goes straight to the head