Monday, January 7, 2008
Sunday, January 6, 2008
The North
On Friday I began my 400 km (8 hour) voyage to northern Afghanistan.
I'm not going to lie and say it was extremely dangerous, nor will I say it was ride in the park. It was what it was - a trip to northern Afghanistan. One thing I've learned about traveling is that it best to co-opt the help of local individuals who are native to the area where one is traveling. If a native of the area gives one save passage, then one can be assured one will be safe amongst that group (and the rest is in God's hands).
My driver and his son, Amed, were friends of one of my co-workers, and they were truly traditional Afghanis to the bone. They had been to Mazar Sharif (the city in the north) a number of times and were fully acquainted with the terrain. Our journey began at 6am in the morning twilight. As we left Kabul and entered into the surrounding mountainous areas, civilization very quickly disappeared. It is hear beyond the walls of the city that Afghanistan's true character begins to show. The mountains are treacherous region, mostly because of the harsh (and freezing) living conditions, and only secondarily because of fighting warlords. The mountains are dotted with dilapidated mud houses, sheltering the rural families within. Every few kilometers, the men and children gather around the roadside in search of any work available from the passing traffic. It is in these regions where the government laws of Afghanistan scarcely reach.
As we tunneled our way out of the mountainous region, we reached more pleasant terrain resembling fields of muddy and rock, occasionally hosting the odd remains of Soviet tanks and heavy artillery. Along the way, we crossed hosts of Afghani villages with their mud houses, the women (some wearing the burqa and some not) occasionally making their presences. The rural areas are far poorer off then the city centers, not unlike most underdeveloped countries. Every few hours, we would pass a convoy of international force with "ISAF" (International Security Assistance Force) draw clearly on their side of the vehicles. I thought it someone amusing that both of us (myself and those in the ISAF vehicles) were internationals; however, their convoy really stuck out like a soar thumb in the rural Afghan terrain.
The city of Mazar Sharif (our northern destination) was not particularly impressive, but I guess everything is relative. One word describes it all - COLD (in our $50 USD room we still had to sleep with our winter jackets on at night). The city has a rich history and is a major center of the country's folklore. In the middle of the city is a mosque like structure which claims to be the burial site of "Hazrat Ali" (whereas the rest of the world views Ali, the fourth caliph of Islam, to be buried somewhere in Iraq, Afghan folklore hold him to be buried in Mazar Sharif). And asking around, the people firmly believed so. Perhaps with all the unrest, believing created a sense of relief (and in any case, I wasn't interested in a heated discussion but rather decided to give tolerance the upper hand). I have to admit that at every step of my trip, the Afghanis I encountered (perhaps with the exception of some of the security forces) where very hospitable people, regardless of the ethnic group from which they hailed from.
I'm not going to lie and say it was extremely dangerous, nor will I say it was ride in the park. It was what it was - a trip to northern Afghanistan. One thing I've learned about traveling is that it best to co-opt the help of local individuals who are native to the area where one is traveling. If a native of the area gives one save passage, then one can be assured one will be safe amongst that group (and the rest is in God's hands).
My driver and his son, Amed, were friends of one of my co-workers, and they were truly traditional Afghanis to the bone. They had been to Mazar Sharif (the city in the north) a number of times and were fully acquainted with the terrain. Our journey began at 6am in the morning twilight. As we left Kabul and entered into the surrounding mountainous areas, civilization very quickly disappeared. It is hear beyond the walls of the city that Afghanistan's true character begins to show. The mountains are treacherous region, mostly because of the harsh (and freezing) living conditions, and only secondarily because of fighting warlords. The mountains are dotted with dilapidated mud houses, sheltering the rural families within. Every few kilometers, the men and children gather around the roadside in search of any work available from the passing traffic. It is in these regions where the government laws of Afghanistan scarcely reach.
As we tunneled our way out of the mountainous region, we reached more pleasant terrain resembling fields of muddy and rock, occasionally hosting the odd remains of Soviet tanks and heavy artillery. Along the way, we crossed hosts of Afghani villages with their mud houses, the women (some wearing the burqa and some not) occasionally making their presences. The rural areas are far poorer off then the city centers, not unlike most underdeveloped countries. Every few hours, we would pass a convoy of international force with "ISAF" (International Security Assistance Force) draw clearly on their side of the vehicles. I thought it someone amusing that both of us (myself and those in the ISAF vehicles) were internationals; however, their convoy really stuck out like a soar thumb in the rural Afghan terrain.
The city of Mazar Sharif (our northern destination) was not particularly impressive, but I guess everything is relative. One word describes it all - COLD (in our $50 USD room we still had to sleep with our winter jackets on at night). The city has a rich history and is a major center of the country's folklore. In the middle of the city is a mosque like structure which claims to be the burial site of "Hazrat Ali" (whereas the rest of the world views Ali, the fourth caliph of Islam, to be buried somewhere in Iraq, Afghan folklore hold him to be buried in Mazar Sharif). And asking around, the people firmly believed so. Perhaps with all the unrest, believing created a sense of relief (and in any case, I wasn't interested in a heated discussion but rather decided to give tolerance the upper hand). I have to admit that at every step of my trip, the Afghanis I encountered (perhaps with the exception of some of the security forces) where very hospitable people, regardless of the ethnic group from which they hailed from.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Afghanistan suffers but dreams
Sorry if I could not respond to people individually - I really would like to but the internet situation doesn't quite allow it.In one of my previous posts, I mentioned how the remains of war were not immediately apparent. Well, I take that back entirely. Once one steps out of the shoes of a foreigner and into the shoes of the an Afghani, war, instability, and suffering become all too present. I think I skipped over the point on electricity too quickly last time. In Afghanistan, stable electricity is non-existent. One of my colleagues gets 4 hours of electricity every two days, and my other colleague gets a luxurious 10 hours each day. This may have been manageable except for the fact that the temperature is always below zero. I have my hotel heater on around the clock, and I still sometimes need more heat. Without electricity, live become far more complicated.
I still pass the garbage dumb twice a day where I can be certain a small child or a burqa clad women will be roaming of anything that can be salvaged. As I was taken around the city, one begins to see a pattern of the rows of houses that are bullet ridden and in a deeply mired state. These houses have been damage by either the Soviet war some 15 years ago or by the more recent war to oust the Taliban. The house owners, poor and hardworking Afghans, lack the fund to make any repairs, and so the houses have remind in its state of disrepair until today. Amongst those begging on the street are the "war veterans" with their prosthetic limbs from mines and other forms of warfare. Unfortunately, not only do they not get a warm war veteran's reception, but there is not a single stable organization whose
function it is to support these individuals handicapped by the war. Speaking with an individual who is engaged in de-mining activities, the countries is still polluted with landmines that go as far back as 20 years (interview attached). These mines still pose a potential threat and disable thousands of people each year.One incredible place I got to visit was Kabul University. It was so amazing because within the poorly lit rooms and freezing temperatures, one could see high aspirations contained within the premise. The university population is about 75000 students. The conditions of the building range from decent to abysmal. Schools and universities have their holiday during the winter because there is no heating in the university. Walking through the icy librar
y, I couldn't imagine how study would be possible in such conditions. The university has a large number of faculties such as law, Islamic law, economics, english, farsi, dari, Turkish, medicine, engineering, etc. The better off faculties are those that are funded by outside countries. Thus Turkish department gets funding from Turkey and has decent resources, whereas the english department gets no such funds and is thus a sore sight indeed.(Pictures from top: (1) houses in the snowy mountains (2) Soviet war remains (3) a colleague in the Turkish department (4) decrepit English department)
Monday, December 31, 2007
Note to self - eating street food may lead to extreme sickness. Funny how hindsight is often where we learn our lessons.
There is an increased sense of vigilance on the streets these days with the death of Bhutto. Instability breeds instability, and there are many people waiting to use any sign of instability for their own purpose. Right before the Eid festivities last week, there were four suicide attacks in Kabul, an attempt to destabilize the smooth runnings within the city.
Sickness has prevented me from being the most "adventurous" the past few days, but I have commenced taking interview with various people in Kabul to get their opinions on the status of Afghanistan, the Taliban, and people's personal situation. I must make a disclaimer that most of my interviews will be from the more educated cohort of the population (i.e. who speak english) and will be slanted away from support of the Taliban (since its supporters are in the South of Afghanistan). A quick few facts about Afghanistan, there are huge rivalries on sectarian grounds. There are a number of ethnic groups in the country - Pashtun, Hazara, Turkomen, Uzbek, Tajik, and Aimaq. And within each of these groups, there are Sunni and Shia denominations. The Taliban are mostly constituted by the Pashtuns, but since the Taliban build on an ideological (versus purely ethnic) base, there are Taliban from within the other groups.
I was reading the Globe & Mail a couple of days ago, and I came across Prime Minister Harper's comments on how important it is to remain in Afghanistan. His vision of defeating the Taliban and setting up a stable governmental structure are simplistic and wholly misguided at best. The Taliban may be a problem but by no means are they the problem. Before the Taliban, the Mujahideen has power in Afghanistan and conditions were not better all. The Taliban only yield the power they have today because of their previous support by the Americas, the very group that is now their worst enemy. But the fight against the Taliban has done little for the majority of people of Afghanistan, who suffer increa
sing poverty, human rights abuses, and no clear indication of better days to come (I have yet to come across a garbage dump that hasn't had children roaming through the items). The so called government here is simply a means of giving legitimacy to warlords who can usurp the country's funds. In considering the plights of Afghanistan, two often overlooked points must be stressed. First, the increase in security needs by international projects in Afghanistan has caused a huge rise in "civilian contractors", which are basically hired militiamen. These militiamen drain a huge amount of the country's resources and funnels them to warlords. Second, the extreme poverty and lack of education of the people here are by far a bigger problem than any threat posed by a sectarian group. The work I do with WCLRF does not target any specific group because all groups suffer massive illiteracy in their populations. The conditions for women and children are like pre-Islamic Arabia, where tribal rules were dominant force. And in this patriarchal tribal structure, women and children are afforded very few rights, regardless of which tribe they belong to.
I did not take as many pictures as I has hoped to because I realized that the reason internationals face so few problems is because there are no civilian internationals in sight! All of them are heavily guarded in their entourage of military personal (even my hotel, a luxury since it has electricity most hours of the day is guarded around the clock). Thus, the climate makes it difficult place for the average tourist, and one doesn't really do a benefit by attracting attention to oneself (luckily, it seems that I look Afghani to most people!).
P.S. Videos will be up in the next 24 hours.
There is an increased sense of vigilance on the streets these days with the death of Bhutto. Instability breeds instability, and there are many people waiting to use any sign of instability for their own purpose. Right before the Eid festivities last week, there were four suicide attacks in Kabul, an attempt to destabilize the smooth runnings within the city.
Sickness has prevented me from being the most "adventurous" the past few days, but I have commenced taking interview with various people in Kabul to get their opinions on the status of Afghanistan, the Taliban, and people's personal situation. I must make a disclaimer that most of my interviews will be from the more educated cohort of the population (i.e. who speak english) and will be slanted away from support of the Taliban (since its supporters are in the South of Afghanistan). A quick few facts about Afghanistan, there are huge rivalries on sectarian grounds. There are a number of ethnic groups in the country - Pashtun, Hazara, Turkomen, Uzbek, Tajik, and Aimaq. And within each of these groups, there are Sunni and Shia denominations. The Taliban are mostly constituted by the Pashtuns, but since the Taliban build on an ideological (versus purely ethnic) base, there are Taliban from within the other groups.
I was reading the Globe & Mail a couple of days ago, and I came across Prime Minister Harper's comments on how important it is to remain in Afghanistan. His vision of defeating the Taliban and setting up a stable governmental structure are simplistic and wholly misguided at best. The Taliban may be a problem but by no means are they the problem. Before the Taliban, the Mujahideen has power in Afghanistan and conditions were not better all. The Taliban only yield the power they have today because of their previous support by the Americas, the very group that is now their worst enemy. But the fight against the Taliban has done little for the majority of people of Afghanistan, who suffer increa
sing poverty, human rights abuses, and no clear indication of better days to come (I have yet to come across a garbage dump that hasn't had children roaming through the items). The so called government here is simply a means of giving legitimacy to warlords who can usurp the country's funds. In considering the plights of Afghanistan, two often overlooked points must be stressed. First, the increase in security needs by international projects in Afghanistan has caused a huge rise in "civilian contractors", which are basically hired militiamen. These militiamen drain a huge amount of the country's resources and funnels them to warlords. Second, the extreme poverty and lack of education of the people here are by far a bigger problem than any threat posed by a sectarian group. The work I do with WCLRF does not target any specific group because all groups suffer massive illiteracy in their populations. The conditions for women and children are like pre-Islamic Arabia, where tribal rules were dominant force. And in this patriarchal tribal structure, women and children are afforded very few rights, regardless of which tribe they belong to.
I did not take as many pictures as I has hoped to because I realized that the reason internationals face so few problems is because there are no civilian internationals in sight! All of them are heavily guarded in their entourage of military personal (even my hotel, a luxury since it has electricity most hours of the day is guarded around the clock). Thus, the climate makes it difficult place for the average tourist, and one doesn't really do a benefit by attracting attention to oneself (luckily, it seems that I look Afghani to most people!).
P.S. Videos will be up in the next 24 hours.
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