The history / politics / geography bit first – to set the scene, and also to get it out of the way for those of you who hated history at school! Skip past the bit in Italics if you aren’t interested, although it gives a good overview and sets the scene.
Afghanistan was created as a nation in 1747 by Ahmad Shah Durrani, with its capital at Kandahar. The country has a long history of warfare, mostly against invaders such as Alexander (the Great) of Macedon, Arabs, Turks, Mongols (Genghis Khan), Persians, and the British. Its recent history is no exception. The Soviet Union invaded in 1979, to support a local socialist government. They were forced to withdraw 10 years later by anti- Communist mujahideen rebels, who were supplied and trained by the US, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran and others. Fighting subsequently continued among the various mujahideen factions, giving rise to a state of warlordism. The Taliban grew out of this chaos, providing a solution to what was by this time a civil war. Backed by foreign sponsors, and inspired by a conservative sect of Islam, Taliban developed as a political force to end warlordism and bring security to the country. They eventually seized power and captured about 95% of the country, aside from some area in the northeast.
After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the US, the Taliban refused to hand-over Osama bin Laden and Al Qaida militants. The US and allies decided to take military action with support from anti-Taliban Afghans and Pakistan's government, causing Taliban's downfall. In December 2001, representatives from all ethnic groups of Afghanistan met in Germany and agreed to form a new democratic government with Hamid Karzai as Chairman of the Afghan Interim Authority. Following a nationwide election in 2004, Hamid Karzai was elected as President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. A year later, in 2005, legislative elections were held and the country's parliament began functioning again. In addition to occasionally violent political jockeying and ongoing military action to root out anti-government elements, the country suffers from poverty, corruption, and widespread opium cultivation.
In 2005, the United States and Afghanistan signed a strategic partnership agreement committing both nations to a long-term relationship. In the meantime approximately 30 billion US dollars are being spent on the reconstruction of the nation, most of this funding coming from America while some from European and Asian countries such as Britain, Germany, Japan, India, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran and others. Save the children is one of the main NGOs who spend this money in an attempt to build a better Afghanistan for children and families.
Safety and Security - Afghanistan is a volatile country, and downright dangerous in the southern and eastern areas... non-essential travel is highly discouraged by every government and NGO. The Taliban has now declared abduction of foreigners to be one of its primary goals. In July 2007, twenty-three Koreans were kidnapped from a public bus in Ghazni province, south of Kabul. Two of them were murdered while the rest were set free several weeks later after controversial negotiations with the Korean government.
While the northern part of the country (where I spent half my time) is generally considered to be a lot safer than the south and east, occasional incidents can still occur anywhere and a seemingly safe place can become the opposite in an instant. Several German media reporters were killed in the northern parts of Afghanistan, most likely by criminals or anti-westerners.
Land mines remain bad news in the country. Afghanistan is considered one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. According to a 2007 report by al-Jazeera news, approximately 60 people are killed each month in Afghanistan due to landmines. In the past, the numbers were much greater.
Largest Opium producer in the world…. (Latest figures from the UN estimate that Afghan opium generated $4 billion income in 2007, 93% of the world’s supply and equivalent to over half of the official economy. They produced so much that they couldn’t even shift the last 30% of it. It grows EVERYWHERE, especially in the warring regions…. I’ll let you decide what the TRUE reason is for the warring in Afghanistan??!!!!!!!!!
OK, so now the history/ politics / geography lesson is over, what can I say about Afghanistan? Before the Russian invasion in 1979, Afghanistan was considered to be one of the nicest and most hospitable nations in the world. That wonderful hospitality, along with the stunning panoramic vistas and the abundance of drugs, made this quite the destination for the intrepid traveler, hippie, or general trashbag in the 1970’s! But since then, the country has gone through a terrible time, what with the Russian invasion and occupation, the overthrow of the Soviets by the Taliban (backed by USA) and subsequent crackdown and ultra-conservative, medieval and torturous rule by these barbarians, then the “invasion” or overthrow of the Taliban by the US and allied forces and continuing fighting to this day, is it any wonder things have changed? That’s not to say Afghans are not friendly. In fact, they are some of the most hospitable, welcoming and friendly nation of people I have ever met. And despite the ruin that the Russians, Americans and the Taliban (the worst of the perpetrators, destroying all cultural heritage, ancient Buddha statues, making all men grow beards or else they were imprisoned, stoning women to death for accused adultery, separating women and men so that they couldn’t even go out together in the streets as man and wife, ruining education and forbidding girls to go to school, making all women wear burkas so that NOTHING of their skin was exposed, otherwise they were damned as prostitutes… and the rest) have caused to the country, it still has a raw charm and natural beauty that is unsurpassed.
Sunday 20th April – Landed in Kabul, dazed and confused after over-nighting in Dubai airport. Things were crazy (immigration, baggage claim and customs), but not by far the worst I’ve seen. Met outside the airport by Siddiqui, who led me out through the complex network of carparks (inaccessible to the public, for security reasons – well, not without a small fee) to our driver who was waiting to take me to the SC office on the other side of Kabul. As is the norm in these insecure countries, the drivers vary their routes, so that suicide bombers, terrorists, kidnappers etc. can’t predict where you are going to be. Arrived at the office, met Umair and the guys, had lunch, had my security briefing, then had to leave and head to Cedar House to get some shut-eye, as I was dead on my feet. Cedar House (for any planning a trip to Kabul in the near future) was basic but clean and decent enough for a couple of nights. It’s right near Flower Street and Chicken Street, both famous landmarks in Kabul, however given the fact that we can’t go out, that didn’t really make much of a difference. Travelling from compound to compound sure as hell is fun!!! L Worked the next couple of days, visited a Korean restaurant hidden down a backstreet in a compound (everything is in compounds, and restaurants are hidden as they get bombed if foreigners start frequenting there), registered with the Ministry of the Interior (how many gun-wielding security guards can check one person?) and did a bit of shopping (in a secured but decent shopping mall). The Serena Hotel, a nice 5 star number (the only one in Afghanistan) was where I should have been staying, but that got suicide-bombed (6 of the f*&#er$) a few weeks back, just after all of our SMT had left there for lunch and whilst one of our staff was still there. So, despite the owners putting up new huge reinforced gates, it’s not been added back to the UN secure list, which is a bugger for me as that rules the gym out and Afghani’s eat a hell of a lot and are ridiculously hospitable so cook you LOADS and LOADS of delicious (yet often greasy) food and it’s a sin to waste!
Wed 23rd April – Took a private PACTEC jet flight (put on by the EU/ECHO for INGOs), from Kabul to Maimana, in the northern provinces, an hour from the borders of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, to start our work in the field. The plane was tiny and, being late, we were ushered (like VIPs) through the many, many security checks to get to the tiny private jet area, where there were a number of other UN and NGO workers waiting to get their tiny planes (the wait took an age, as we waited for the fuel tanker to come and fill the plane (see pic), but eventually we were off, over the snow-capped mountains surrounding Kabul to the northern provinces. What a stunning sight, the whole way there. Flying into Maimana the scenery changed, with MUD hills that looked remarkably like sand-hills, and that turned green when there was rain and no drought. It was unbelievable. You will be able to see from the pictures what I mean.
Maimana is the capital of the northern province of Faryab and is part of what is now referred to as Afghan Turkistan. In previous times / centuries, it was an important trade route and was the gateway to Turkistan from Herat and Persia. Now, the province is mainly famous for fine handmade carpets / rugs, woven mainly by Afghan Turks and Uzbeks (who are more numerous in population in the northern provinces, which border Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Given that I was in this remote and inaccessible part of the world, and that these were considered to be the finest handmade (Persian) rugs in the world I couldn’t not buy one. So after some shopping in the bazaars and haggling with the carpet traders, I managed to bag myself (literally) a hand-woven top-notch (silk) rug and free hand-woven bag which doubles as a cushion, for the bargain price of $320 (they go for thousands at home). Don’t know what I am going to do with a rug, when I aint got a house, but at least I got an Afghan rug!
Maimana is considered to be “tense”, according to our security rating system, but it felt relatively safe (whenever I say that something breaks out - touch wood!). It is a tranquil, peaceful, clean-feeling place with a small town feel to it, and definitely has a real provincial Afghan or Persian feel to it. Despite the security level being raised to “tense”, we were able to take a walk around the town, bazaar, football pitch and park, guided by our office operations coordinator, Guman, an Afghan-Uzbek, who explained what it was like during the times of the Taliban….. Men had to grow beards. If you didn’t have a beard, you were thrown in jail for 4 weeks until you grew one. Women and men were not allowed to walk down the street together. Men and women were separated in everything they do (to some extent, they still are). If a woman wanted to go to her mum’s house round the corner, she had to go in a group with other women. But here’s the thing. How did those women get to each other’s houses? Her own husband wouldn’t even accompany her, as if the Taliban decided that they didn’t believe you were married… well you were running the risk of being accused of adultery. And we all know the penalty for that: public stoning to death!! To get round this, a whole family (i.e. grandparents who could vouch for you) had to go together. It was very restricting for all parties concerned, and people were constantly living in fear. Today, women still walk around wearing burkas, completely covered up. Not even a slit for their eyes. It’s strange to see, and I often wonder how the women feel. I am scared to talk too much to females in that ultra conservative culture incase my friendliness (or nosiness) is misconstrued as flirtation, or sex-seeking, which is what it all boils down to, according to some!
Anyway, Maimana was a lovely experience; really relaxed. The guest house/ office compound we have there is lovely and tranquil, with vegetables and flowers growing in a patch in the garden, our own little loving dog to keep guard, a homely residence with all hand-made and crafted goods, helpful servants / cleaners / cooks / guards and drivers and hot running water. I didn’t want to leave. The staff were unbelievably friendly and talented, and the programs they are implementing, and the tools they use, were impressive too. Some of the best I have seen. Very dedicated people. And very hospitable too. Since I arrived in Afghanistan, I was fed and watered more than anywhere I have ever been. Huge feasts / banquets are put on and my concern for waste was always dismissed: I was a guest in their country / town / office / home and it was their duty / right / desire / tradition to be hospitable. I have never seen anything like this in my life. It makes me feel like I’ve been a bad host in the past.
Friday 25th April 08 – Today we left Maimana and headed via Andkhoy to Shiberghan (2 other towns where we have house / office compounds). Not before stopping off to buy our carpets, however…. Today we also discovered that one of our staff (an engineer) in Maimana died from a heart-attack. He was 43 years old. He also left behind a wife: a wife who worked for us as well (during the Taliban, it was common / essential to hire couples. If women were allowed to work, they had to have their husband as a chaperone and therefore it was common to hire couples). For us it was essential and necessary in order to achieve a gender balance and implement our programs, especially with young girls. An interesting cultural trait I noted today was that when an Afghan is informed that someone has died, they begin tutting loudly and repeatedly. Imagine a number of Afghans in a room, or in a car (where I was informed) all tutting at once, and you may comprehend the twisted way in which it can sound like a flock of twittering birds.
After sitting and drinking tea and chatting in several tongues with the carpet sellers at the morning bazaar, we headed off through the arid Afghan countryside from Maimana to Shiberghan. Maimana is immediately surrounded by brown muddy hills. Mud hills that look like huge sand dunes in a desert sea. However in less arid times these muddy hills turn green, as shoots of grass burst through the hard, dried surface of the mud. The hills themselves are mesmerizing. However against the backdrop of a clear blue sky, they look even more surreal, like a brightly painted landscape in a vivid painting. The hills continue almost all the way to Shiberghan, and the 4.5 hour drive through the small villages and semi-arid desert is extremely pleasant and one not to be missed. Along the way, you will see houses made entirely of dried mud, which blend neatly into the background and scenery, people harvesting (or trying to harvest) the little crops they have, lots of adults and children riding donkey and carts loaded with people or goods along the roads and burnt out army tanks strewn at the side of the road. Despite the latter reminder of the turbulent past, the journey will bring a warm smile to your face the whole way.
Arrived at the Shiberghan compound (after stopping off at our compound complex in Andkhoy) at 5pm and settled down for the night pretty early after watching a couple of cheesy movies in one of our program staff’s living room.
Saturday – was a working day. Slept like a log. Woke up at 8am, had meetings and chats all day (the staff all came in on their day off to help), including with Dr Tarik, our wonderfully friendly and charismatic Pakistani Deputy Director of Programs (DME), who explained a lot about the work we are doing in Health in Afghanistan. SC are pioneering some research in how to increase the health and nutrition of children, and how to lower infant and mother mortality at childbirth. We have already proven that by taking a traditional abortion drug straight after childbirth (aided by our community health workers who we train in the villages), the women rejects all the waste and placenta from her womb and the vessels contract, reducing the risk of bleeding to death. It’s shown to increase the chance of survival by 40% and now the Afghan government are trialing it in 14 provinces, saving hundreds of women’s lives and increasing the quality of life and chances of survival for thousands of children. If / when adopted on a national scale, this will have a profound impact. This… all made possible by looking at how we design our programs, having control sites and monitoring and evaluating results effectively. Inspiring stuff!
Sunday 27th April – Left Shiberghan, in the north, at 630am and began our marathon 13 hour journey back to Kabul, through the historic countryside and over the rugged mountains of Afghanistan. Driving out of Shiberghan towards Balkh the countryside became fertile and flat. The roadside was strewn with burnt out army tanks the whole way, and after 2 hours of driving, we reached the ancient city of Balkh. Few cities in Central Asia can compete with Balkh for importance in history or prominence in legend. Almost all great empires have passed through this ancient and historical place from the Mogul empires of Genghis Khan to the Macedonian empire of Alexander the Great!. Despite its importance as a major trade route between the West, China and India, Balkh was a cradle of religion, meeting point of cultures and a capital of an empire. The old ruined walls round the city and the mosque and surrounding complex (as well as the tomb of Rabia Qozdari) there are a must-see. In short, the (romantic) story of Rabia goes like this: Rabia was a remarkable character at the time, one of the first women to write Persian poetry. She was the daughter of the governor, who fell platonic love with her brother’s slave in order to experience the feeling of love and get closer to God/ Allah and his love! On discovering this platonic love (despite the fact they had never indulged in “profane love” with each other) her brother, in shame, stabbed her to death. With her blood she is said to have wrote on the wall her final verses.
Leaving Balkh, the next stop along the route if Mazar-i-Sharif, which has, in recent times, eclipsed Balkh in the province in terms of prominence and size. The main sight to see here is the massive and imposing blue tiled mosque, which is reputed to be the final resting place and “Shrine of Ali”, who was the Prophet Mohammed’s son-in-law. However that claim is disputed and another site, closer to the actual place where Ali was assassinated in Kufa, Iraq in AD 661. All knowledge of his burial place was lost until the 12th Century when it’s existence was revealed to a Mullah in a dream. Mazar’s claim builds on the story that “Ali’s companions placed his body on the back of a white she-camel which wandered until she fell, exhausted, and this is where the body was buried. So they built a mosque there and people queue up and traipse through looking and praying at what might not be anything, really! The Mosque itself is huge, imposing and stunning. The bright blue tiles sparkle in the sunlight and contrast, funnily enough, with the clear blue sky on a good day. There are separate entrances into the actual shrine, but don’t try getting in to see it if you aren’t a Muslim and can’t recite the Fatiha from the Quran. Believe me, I tried. And there aint no sense in arguing with a man with his finger on the trigger of a machine gun!
From Mazar-i-Sharif heading South, you will hit the quaint little town of Samangan, where you feel like you have stepped back to a time where there are little to no cars, everything and everyone is transported by “droshky”, everything is a market and the streets are lined with beautiful trees. The sight to be seen in the surrounding area here is the complex of Buddhist caves known as “Takht-i-Rustam”, or Rustam’s throne (Rustam is the main character in the Persian national epic, the Shahnameh). The English Literature poem “Sohrab and Rustam” tells the tragic story of Rustam, who volunteers to lead his army into battle and is killed in combat by a soldier who turns out to be his biological father. Only when the father notices a jewel on his arm (which he asked his mother some 30 years previous to give to any son she would bear as he was leaving her), did he realize it was his own blood he was fighting against and had just slain. Very Greek tragedy!
The site contains burial mounds, the main one of which is a stupa (impressively carved out of one huge piece of rock) and is said to contain relics of Buddha (along with other treasures). Apart from this huge rocky, mountainous stupa / pagoda there is a complex of caves carved into huge ornate rooms some resemblant of churches but carved by hand hundreds/ thousands of years ago inside the mountain. It’s really and truly awesome (in the English use of the word). It is (since the destruction of the massive Buddha at Bamiyan by the Taliban) the most important Buddhist site in Afghanistan today and definitely worth spending some time at.
Heading south from here, there are a couple of places you can stop off along the way, e.g. a natural mountain thermal springs said to have healing properties. The Lourdes of Afghanistan, if you will! But we headed straight for the Salang (mountain) Pass. The Salang Pass is in the second highest mountain range in the world. It has held an important place in history, proving too difficult to overcome for some invaders, and being a key strategic stronghold either for the Afghans or for invaders. The Russians built the tunnel that goes through the Salang Pass, and what an impressive tunnel it is. It is the highest tunnel in the world, is 3 miles long, cutting right through the mountain, and was the place of much fighting during the wars, with the belief that whoever held it had a strategic advantage over the enemy. Despite the dry and arid landscape of the previous week and a half, we were now high up in freezing cold, snow-capped, perilous peaks. Although a magnificent drive, I can’t help but compare it to the 2-3 day drive through the Indian Himalayas I did, from Srinagar in Kashmir to Leh in Ladakh, near the borders of China and Tibet. But then I doubt any mountain drive could ever rival that!
Heading back to Kabul from the mountains to the north, the scenery becomes flatter, more fertile and more developed. Points of interest along the way include an army tank dump-yard containing destroyed, burnt out and decommissioned army tankers from the Afghan, Russian, American, French, British, German and other allied armies, which acts as a museum (although not open to the public, but visible from the road).
Once back in Kabul, it was back to work in the traditional fashion, for a day, then out to the field 2 hours north of Kabul to visit some of our projects in villages out in the middle of nowhere. We visited a boys school where we are helping with the reconstruction and also providing a library of books and training teachers. We then went on into the hills and got lost (though the scenery was fantastic so no complaints) then got back on track and found the community we were supposed to visit. Our project workers had to come down to welcome us at the bottom of the hill because our car couldn’t make it up the hill. I don’t know. You spend thousands of dollars on 4 wheel drive cars to be able to negotiate the terrain and then the driver can’t get the vehicle up a bloody hill!! One had to question the effectiveness of use of resources J (well, it’s my job). We walked up this mud hill on the side of the mountain, on narrow cobbled paths surrounded on either side by increasingly huge and imposing mud walls built to look like a fortress. Apparently the scene resembled the village towns in Yemen. At a certain point along this desolate street with the fortress walls on either side we came upon a door. I had no idea what lay behind it, but when the door opened I was greeted by a scene that had been lifted from a movie set in biblical times or, dare I say it, a Monty Python sketch. This whole village was right there in front of us, houses built at various levels, some seemingly on top of another. It was very simple, rural, but extremely quaint and beautiful at the same time. Some of the villagers ran out to greet us, including one or 2 kids from the group that we were teaching, as guided us into one of the structures. There, sitting on the floor, cramped into a tiny mud-brick room, were around 30 kids from that village / community. At first, as is always the case, the kids were shy and retiring, so we just sat on the edge and observed the “goings-on” whilst one or two of the local people we employ and volunteers from that village explained what was going on. Basically the kids were being taught about nutrition, what the body needed and what the different food groups can offer us. I asked them a few questions, and tried to joke a bit with them about their eating habits and preferences (playing stupid) to get them to feel a bit less shy and relax a bit, and they began showing me what they knew. They separated the pictures of food into different groups depending on what they did for us. I asked them what they had for breakfast and what they got from that. I asked them how they shared that information with their families and how they tried to educate the wider community: they explained to me how they did a presentation to the village elders, how they went around in groups educating the others in their homes etc. They also demonstrated an iodine test on salt to be able to tell which had a higher salt content and they explained the science behind it (yes, kids in a mud-hut in the mountains in Afghanistan). When I asked, in practice, how it had changed things for the better and ensured their health and the health of the community, they told me how before their mothers used to sell eggs and vegetables at the market and mainly feed the children carbohydrates, whereas now eggs and vegetables are being kept and rice and bread are being sold at the markets instead. The results? Children are less sick and babies and infants are growing more. It was amazing! Such a simple thing that we don’t think about. And here I am sitting there, watching these kids explain things to me that I didn’t even know at their age, whilst teaching me a thing or two in the process. They also showed me the books they had received from us, and when I tested them on the content and moral of some of the stories, they could tell me in the most articulate way the correct answers to my questions, exceeding all my expectations. The whole experience was unbelievably inspiring. After saying our goodbyes we left the walled village, descended the hill, filled up our water bottles from a natural fresh-water spring and headed back in the scorching heat to Kabul.
After 2 weeks in Afghanistan I thought that I would have been itching to get out however, despite being restricted in some ways from doing anything and going anywhere we wanted, I could quite happily have stayed on for another week or so. The combination of fascinating history, vastly different culture, breathtaking scenery and unrivalled hospitality made me warm to Afghanistan in a way I would never have imagined. Saying goodbye to my colleagues was, as always, sad, but it ended on a happy note as I was given a departing gift: the traditional Afghan hat I had been going on about for the previous 2 weeks! Now all I had to worry about was smuggling my hand-woven rug out of the country without paying the astonishing $5 carpet-tax! I’ll leave you to imagine how that one ended…. J
Afghanistan was created as a nation in 1747 by Ahmad Shah Durrani, with its capital at Kandahar. The country has a long history of warfare, mostly against invaders such as Alexander (the Great) of Macedon, Arabs, Turks, Mongols (Genghis Khan), Persians, and the British. Its recent history is no exception. The Soviet Union invaded in 1979, to support a local socialist government. They were forced to withdraw 10 years later by anti- Communist mujahideen rebels, who were supplied and trained by the US, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran and others. Fighting subsequently continued among the various mujahideen factions, giving rise to a state of warlordism. The Taliban grew out of this chaos, providing a solution to what was by this time a civil war. Backed by foreign sponsors, and inspired by a conservative sect of Islam, Taliban developed as a political force to end warlordism and bring security to the country. They eventually seized power and captured about 95% of the country, aside from some area in the northeast.
After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the US, the Taliban refused to hand-over Osama bin Laden and Al Qaida militants. The US and allies decided to take military action with support from anti-Taliban Afghans and Pakistan's government, causing Taliban's downfall. In December 2001, representatives from all ethnic groups of Afghanistan met in Germany and agreed to form a new democratic government with Hamid Karzai as Chairman of the Afghan Interim Authority. Following a nationwide election in 2004, Hamid Karzai was elected as President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. A year later, in 2005, legislative elections were held and the country's parliament began functioning again. In addition to occasionally violent political jockeying and ongoing military action to root out anti-government elements, the country suffers from poverty, corruption, and widespread opium cultivation.
In 2005, the United States and Afghanistan signed a strategic partnership agreement committing both nations to a long-term relationship. In the meantime approximately 30 billion US dollars are being spent on the reconstruction of the nation, most of this funding coming from America while some from European and Asian countries such as Britain, Germany, Japan, India, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran and others. Save the children is one of the main NGOs who spend this money in an attempt to build a better Afghanistan for children and families.
Safety and Security - Afghanistan is a volatile country, and downright dangerous in the southern and eastern areas... non-essential travel is highly discouraged by every government and NGO. The Taliban has now declared abduction of foreigners to be one of its primary goals. In July 2007, twenty-three Koreans were kidnapped from a public bus in Ghazni province, south of Kabul. Two of them were murdered while the rest were set free several weeks later after controversial negotiations with the Korean government.
While the northern part of the country (where I spent half my time) is generally considered to be a lot safer than the south and east, occasional incidents can still occur anywhere and a seemingly safe place can become the opposite in an instant. Several German media reporters were killed in the northern parts of Afghanistan, most likely by criminals or anti-westerners.
Land mines remain bad news in the country. Afghanistan is considered one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. According to a 2007 report by al-Jazeera news, approximately 60 people are killed each month in Afghanistan due to landmines. In the past, the numbers were much greater.
Largest Opium producer in the world…. (Latest figures from the UN estimate that Afghan opium generated $4 billion income in 2007, 93% of the world’s supply and equivalent to over half of the official economy. They produced so much that they couldn’t even shift the last 30% of it. It grows EVERYWHERE, especially in the warring regions…. I’ll let you decide what the TRUE reason is for the warring in Afghanistan??!!!!!!!!!
OK, so now the history/ politics / geography lesson is over, what can I say about Afghanistan? Before the Russian invasion in 1979, Afghanistan was considered to be one of the nicest and most hospitable nations in the world. That wonderful hospitality, along with the stunning panoramic vistas and the abundance of drugs, made this quite the destination for the intrepid traveler, hippie, or general trashbag in the 1970’s! But since then, the country has gone through a terrible time, what with the Russian invasion and occupation, the overthrow of the Soviets by the Taliban (backed by USA) and subsequent crackdown and ultra-conservative, medieval and torturous rule by these barbarians, then the “invasion” or overthrow of the Taliban by the US and allied forces and continuing fighting to this day, is it any wonder things have changed? That’s not to say Afghans are not friendly. In fact, they are some of the most hospitable, welcoming and friendly nation of people I have ever met. And despite the ruin that the Russians, Americans and the Taliban (the worst of the perpetrators, destroying all cultural heritage, ancient Buddha statues, making all men grow beards or else they were imprisoned, stoning women to death for accused adultery, separating women and men so that they couldn’t even go out together in the streets as man and wife, ruining education and forbidding girls to go to school, making all women wear burkas so that NOTHING of their skin was exposed, otherwise they were damned as prostitutes… and the rest) have caused to the country, it still has a raw charm and natural beauty that is unsurpassed.
Sunday 20th April – Landed in Kabul, dazed and confused after over-nighting in Dubai airport. Things were crazy (immigration, baggage claim and customs), but not by far the worst I’ve seen. Met outside the airport by Siddiqui, who led me out through the complex network of carparks (inaccessible to the public, for security reasons – well, not without a small fee) to our driver who was waiting to take me to the SC office on the other side of Kabul. As is the norm in these insecure countries, the drivers vary their routes, so that suicide bombers, terrorists, kidnappers etc. can’t predict where you are going to be. Arrived at the office, met Umair and the guys, had lunch, had my security briefing, then had to leave and head to Cedar House to get some shut-eye, as I was dead on my feet. Cedar House (for any planning a trip to Kabul in the near future) was basic but clean and decent enough for a couple of nights. It’s right near Flower Street and Chicken Street, both famous landmarks in Kabul, however given the fact that we can’t go out, that didn’t really make much of a difference. Travelling from compound to compound sure as hell is fun!!! L Worked the next couple of days, visited a Korean restaurant hidden down a backstreet in a compound (everything is in compounds, and restaurants are hidden as they get bombed if foreigners start frequenting there), registered with the Ministry of the Interior (how many gun-wielding security guards can check one person?) and did a bit of shopping (in a secured but decent shopping mall). The Serena Hotel, a nice 5 star number (the only one in Afghanistan) was where I should have been staying, but that got suicide-bombed (6 of the f*&#er$) a few weeks back, just after all of our SMT had left there for lunch and whilst one of our staff was still there. So, despite the owners putting up new huge reinforced gates, it’s not been added back to the UN secure list, which is a bugger for me as that rules the gym out and Afghani’s eat a hell of a lot and are ridiculously hospitable so cook you LOADS and LOADS of delicious (yet often greasy) food and it’s a sin to waste!
Wed 23rd April – Took a private PACTEC jet flight (put on by the EU/ECHO for INGOs), from Kabul to Maimana, in the northern provinces, an hour from the borders of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, to start our work in the field. The plane was tiny and, being late, we were ushered (like VIPs) through the many, many security checks to get to the tiny private jet area, where there were a number of other UN and NGO workers waiting to get their tiny planes (the wait took an age, as we waited for the fuel tanker to come and fill the plane (see pic), but eventually we were off, over the snow-capped mountains surrounding Kabul to the northern provinces. What a stunning sight, the whole way there. Flying into Maimana the scenery changed, with MUD hills that looked remarkably like sand-hills, and that turned green when there was rain and no drought. It was unbelievable. You will be able to see from the pictures what I mean.
Maimana is the capital of the northern province of Faryab and is part of what is now referred to as Afghan Turkistan. In previous times / centuries, it was an important trade route and was the gateway to Turkistan from Herat and Persia. Now, the province is mainly famous for fine handmade carpets / rugs, woven mainly by Afghan Turks and Uzbeks (who are more numerous in population in the northern provinces, which border Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Given that I was in this remote and inaccessible part of the world, and that these were considered to be the finest handmade (Persian) rugs in the world I couldn’t not buy one. So after some shopping in the bazaars and haggling with the carpet traders, I managed to bag myself (literally) a hand-woven top-notch (silk) rug and free hand-woven bag which doubles as a cushion, for the bargain price of $320 (they go for thousands at home). Don’t know what I am going to do with a rug, when I aint got a house, but at least I got an Afghan rug!
Maimana is considered to be “tense”, according to our security rating system, but it felt relatively safe (whenever I say that something breaks out - touch wood!). It is a tranquil, peaceful, clean-feeling place with a small town feel to it, and definitely has a real provincial Afghan or Persian feel to it. Despite the security level being raised to “tense”, we were able to take a walk around the town, bazaar, football pitch and park, guided by our office operations coordinator, Guman, an Afghan-Uzbek, who explained what it was like during the times of the Taliban….. Men had to grow beards. If you didn’t have a beard, you were thrown in jail for 4 weeks until you grew one. Women and men were not allowed to walk down the street together. Men and women were separated in everything they do (to some extent, they still are). If a woman wanted to go to her mum’s house round the corner, she had to go in a group with other women. But here’s the thing. How did those women get to each other’s houses? Her own husband wouldn’t even accompany her, as if the Taliban decided that they didn’t believe you were married… well you were running the risk of being accused of adultery. And we all know the penalty for that: public stoning to death!! To get round this, a whole family (i.e. grandparents who could vouch for you) had to go together. It was very restricting for all parties concerned, and people were constantly living in fear. Today, women still walk around wearing burkas, completely covered up. Not even a slit for their eyes. It’s strange to see, and I often wonder how the women feel. I am scared to talk too much to females in that ultra conservative culture incase my friendliness (or nosiness) is misconstrued as flirtation, or sex-seeking, which is what it all boils down to, according to some!
Anyway, Maimana was a lovely experience; really relaxed. The guest house/ office compound we have there is lovely and tranquil, with vegetables and flowers growing in a patch in the garden, our own little loving dog to keep guard, a homely residence with all hand-made and crafted goods, helpful servants / cleaners / cooks / guards and drivers and hot running water. I didn’t want to leave. The staff were unbelievably friendly and talented, and the programs they are implementing, and the tools they use, were impressive too. Some of the best I have seen. Very dedicated people. And very hospitable too. Since I arrived in Afghanistan, I was fed and watered more than anywhere I have ever been. Huge feasts / banquets are put on and my concern for waste was always dismissed: I was a guest in their country / town / office / home and it was their duty / right / desire / tradition to be hospitable. I have never seen anything like this in my life. It makes me feel like I’ve been a bad host in the past.
Friday 25th April 08 – Today we left Maimana and headed via Andkhoy to Shiberghan (2 other towns where we have house / office compounds). Not before stopping off to buy our carpets, however…. Today we also discovered that one of our staff (an engineer) in Maimana died from a heart-attack. He was 43 years old. He also left behind a wife: a wife who worked for us as well (during the Taliban, it was common / essential to hire couples. If women were allowed to work, they had to have their husband as a chaperone and therefore it was common to hire couples). For us it was essential and necessary in order to achieve a gender balance and implement our programs, especially with young girls. An interesting cultural trait I noted today was that when an Afghan is informed that someone has died, they begin tutting loudly and repeatedly. Imagine a number of Afghans in a room, or in a car (where I was informed) all tutting at once, and you may comprehend the twisted way in which it can sound like a flock of twittering birds.
After sitting and drinking tea and chatting in several tongues with the carpet sellers at the morning bazaar, we headed off through the arid Afghan countryside from Maimana to Shiberghan. Maimana is immediately surrounded by brown muddy hills. Mud hills that look like huge sand dunes in a desert sea. However in less arid times these muddy hills turn green, as shoots of grass burst through the hard, dried surface of the mud. The hills themselves are mesmerizing. However against the backdrop of a clear blue sky, they look even more surreal, like a brightly painted landscape in a vivid painting. The hills continue almost all the way to Shiberghan, and the 4.5 hour drive through the small villages and semi-arid desert is extremely pleasant and one not to be missed. Along the way, you will see houses made entirely of dried mud, which blend neatly into the background and scenery, people harvesting (or trying to harvest) the little crops they have, lots of adults and children riding donkey and carts loaded with people or goods along the roads and burnt out army tanks strewn at the side of the road. Despite the latter reminder of the turbulent past, the journey will bring a warm smile to your face the whole way.
Arrived at the Shiberghan compound (after stopping off at our compound complex in Andkhoy) at 5pm and settled down for the night pretty early after watching a couple of cheesy movies in one of our program staff’s living room.
Saturday – was a working day. Slept like a log. Woke up at 8am, had meetings and chats all day (the staff all came in on their day off to help), including with Dr Tarik, our wonderfully friendly and charismatic Pakistani Deputy Director of Programs (DME), who explained a lot about the work we are doing in Health in Afghanistan. SC are pioneering some research in how to increase the health and nutrition of children, and how to lower infant and mother mortality at childbirth. We have already proven that by taking a traditional abortion drug straight after childbirth (aided by our community health workers who we train in the villages), the women rejects all the waste and placenta from her womb and the vessels contract, reducing the risk of bleeding to death. It’s shown to increase the chance of survival by 40% and now the Afghan government are trialing it in 14 provinces, saving hundreds of women’s lives and increasing the quality of life and chances of survival for thousands of children. If / when adopted on a national scale, this will have a profound impact. This… all made possible by looking at how we design our programs, having control sites and monitoring and evaluating results effectively. Inspiring stuff!
Sunday 27th April – Left Shiberghan, in the north, at 630am and began our marathon 13 hour journey back to Kabul, through the historic countryside and over the rugged mountains of Afghanistan. Driving out of Shiberghan towards Balkh the countryside became fertile and flat. The roadside was strewn with burnt out army tanks the whole way, and after 2 hours of driving, we reached the ancient city of Balkh. Few cities in Central Asia can compete with Balkh for importance in history or prominence in legend. Almost all great empires have passed through this ancient and historical place from the Mogul empires of Genghis Khan to the Macedonian empire of Alexander the Great!. Despite its importance as a major trade route between the West, China and India, Balkh was a cradle of religion, meeting point of cultures and a capital of an empire. The old ruined walls round the city and the mosque and surrounding complex (as well as the tomb of Rabia Qozdari) there are a must-see. In short, the (romantic) story of Rabia goes like this: Rabia was a remarkable character at the time, one of the first women to write Persian poetry. She was the daughter of the governor, who fell platonic love with her brother’s slave in order to experience the feeling of love and get closer to God/ Allah and his love! On discovering this platonic love (despite the fact they had never indulged in “profane love” with each other) her brother, in shame, stabbed her to death. With her blood she is said to have wrote on the wall her final verses.
Leaving Balkh, the next stop along the route if Mazar-i-Sharif, which has, in recent times, eclipsed Balkh in the province in terms of prominence and size. The main sight to see here is the massive and imposing blue tiled mosque, which is reputed to be the final resting place and “Shrine of Ali”, who was the Prophet Mohammed’s son-in-law. However that claim is disputed and another site, closer to the actual place where Ali was assassinated in Kufa, Iraq in AD 661. All knowledge of his burial place was lost until the 12th Century when it’s existence was revealed to a Mullah in a dream. Mazar’s claim builds on the story that “Ali’s companions placed his body on the back of a white she-camel which wandered until she fell, exhausted, and this is where the body was buried. So they built a mosque there and people queue up and traipse through looking and praying at what might not be anything, really! The Mosque itself is huge, imposing and stunning. The bright blue tiles sparkle in the sunlight and contrast, funnily enough, with the clear blue sky on a good day. There are separate entrances into the actual shrine, but don’t try getting in to see it if you aren’t a Muslim and can’t recite the Fatiha from the Quran. Believe me, I tried. And there aint no sense in arguing with a man with his finger on the trigger of a machine gun!
From Mazar-i-Sharif heading South, you will hit the quaint little town of Samangan, where you feel like you have stepped back to a time where there are little to no cars, everything and everyone is transported by “droshky”, everything is a market and the streets are lined with beautiful trees. The sight to be seen in the surrounding area here is the complex of Buddhist caves known as “Takht-i-Rustam”, or Rustam’s throne (Rustam is the main character in the Persian national epic, the Shahnameh). The English Literature poem “Sohrab and Rustam” tells the tragic story of Rustam, who volunteers to lead his army into battle and is killed in combat by a soldier who turns out to be his biological father. Only when the father notices a jewel on his arm (which he asked his mother some 30 years previous to give to any son she would bear as he was leaving her), did he realize it was his own blood he was fighting against and had just slain. Very Greek tragedy!
The site contains burial mounds, the main one of which is a stupa (impressively carved out of one huge piece of rock) and is said to contain relics of Buddha (along with other treasures). Apart from this huge rocky, mountainous stupa / pagoda there is a complex of caves carved into huge ornate rooms some resemblant of churches but carved by hand hundreds/ thousands of years ago inside the mountain. It’s really and truly awesome (in the English use of the word). It is (since the destruction of the massive Buddha at Bamiyan by the Taliban) the most important Buddhist site in Afghanistan today and definitely worth spending some time at.
Heading south from here, there are a couple of places you can stop off along the way, e.g. a natural mountain thermal springs said to have healing properties. The Lourdes of Afghanistan, if you will! But we headed straight for the Salang (mountain) Pass. The Salang Pass is in the second highest mountain range in the world. It has held an important place in history, proving too difficult to overcome for some invaders, and being a key strategic stronghold either for the Afghans or for invaders. The Russians built the tunnel that goes through the Salang Pass, and what an impressive tunnel it is. It is the highest tunnel in the world, is 3 miles long, cutting right through the mountain, and was the place of much fighting during the wars, with the belief that whoever held it had a strategic advantage over the enemy. Despite the dry and arid landscape of the previous week and a half, we were now high up in freezing cold, snow-capped, perilous peaks. Although a magnificent drive, I can’t help but compare it to the 2-3 day drive through the Indian Himalayas I did, from Srinagar in Kashmir to Leh in Ladakh, near the borders of China and Tibet. But then I doubt any mountain drive could ever rival that!
Heading back to Kabul from the mountains to the north, the scenery becomes flatter, more fertile and more developed. Points of interest along the way include an army tank dump-yard containing destroyed, burnt out and decommissioned army tankers from the Afghan, Russian, American, French, British, German and other allied armies, which acts as a museum (although not open to the public, but visible from the road).
Once back in Kabul, it was back to work in the traditional fashion, for a day, then out to the field 2 hours north of Kabul to visit some of our projects in villages out in the middle of nowhere. We visited a boys school where we are helping with the reconstruction and also providing a library of books and training teachers. We then went on into the hills and got lost (though the scenery was fantastic so no complaints) then got back on track and found the community we were supposed to visit. Our project workers had to come down to welcome us at the bottom of the hill because our car couldn’t make it up the hill. I don’t know. You spend thousands of dollars on 4 wheel drive cars to be able to negotiate the terrain and then the driver can’t get the vehicle up a bloody hill!! One had to question the effectiveness of use of resources J (well, it’s my job). We walked up this mud hill on the side of the mountain, on narrow cobbled paths surrounded on either side by increasingly huge and imposing mud walls built to look like a fortress. Apparently the scene resembled the village towns in Yemen. At a certain point along this desolate street with the fortress walls on either side we came upon a door. I had no idea what lay behind it, but when the door opened I was greeted by a scene that had been lifted from a movie set in biblical times or, dare I say it, a Monty Python sketch. This whole village was right there in front of us, houses built at various levels, some seemingly on top of another. It was very simple, rural, but extremely quaint and beautiful at the same time. Some of the villagers ran out to greet us, including one or 2 kids from the group that we were teaching, as guided us into one of the structures. There, sitting on the floor, cramped into a tiny mud-brick room, were around 30 kids from that village / community. At first, as is always the case, the kids were shy and retiring, so we just sat on the edge and observed the “goings-on” whilst one or two of the local people we employ and volunteers from that village explained what was going on. Basically the kids were being taught about nutrition, what the body needed and what the different food groups can offer us. I asked them a few questions, and tried to joke a bit with them about their eating habits and preferences (playing stupid) to get them to feel a bit less shy and relax a bit, and they began showing me what they knew. They separated the pictures of food into different groups depending on what they did for us. I asked them what they had for breakfast and what they got from that. I asked them how they shared that information with their families and how they tried to educate the wider community: they explained to me how they did a presentation to the village elders, how they went around in groups educating the others in their homes etc. They also demonstrated an iodine test on salt to be able to tell which had a higher salt content and they explained the science behind it (yes, kids in a mud-hut in the mountains in Afghanistan). When I asked, in practice, how it had changed things for the better and ensured their health and the health of the community, they told me how before their mothers used to sell eggs and vegetables at the market and mainly feed the children carbohydrates, whereas now eggs and vegetables are being kept and rice and bread are being sold at the markets instead. The results? Children are less sick and babies and infants are growing more. It was amazing! Such a simple thing that we don’t think about. And here I am sitting there, watching these kids explain things to me that I didn’t even know at their age, whilst teaching me a thing or two in the process. They also showed me the books they had received from us, and when I tested them on the content and moral of some of the stories, they could tell me in the most articulate way the correct answers to my questions, exceeding all my expectations. The whole experience was unbelievably inspiring. After saying our goodbyes we left the walled village, descended the hill, filled up our water bottles from a natural fresh-water spring and headed back in the scorching heat to Kabul.
After 2 weeks in Afghanistan I thought that I would have been itching to get out however, despite being restricted in some ways from doing anything and going anywhere we wanted, I could quite happily have stayed on for another week or so. The combination of fascinating history, vastly different culture, breathtaking scenery and unrivalled hospitality made me warm to Afghanistan in a way I would never have imagined. Saying goodbye to my colleagues was, as always, sad, but it ended on a happy note as I was given a departing gift: the traditional Afghan hat I had been going on about for the previous 2 weeks! Now all I had to worry about was smuggling my hand-woven rug out of the country without paying the astonishing $5 carpet-tax! I’ll leave you to imagine how that one ended…. J
