Walking the streets of Kabul

A little while ago I resigned from the best job I’ve had so far. In some ways it was a very difficult decision and in other ways it was very easy to make. The time I have spent overseas in the last two and half years have changed my life in so many ways. In the end I was being forced to do things that I felt were wrong. In one way it was a lot of fun to resign, I was taking a very strong stand for what I believed in and standing by my beliefs. Over the last year it has become clear to me how important it is to take action when we see something that is wrong. In resigning it brought to light what our true mission is to many people that otherwise were blisfully unaware of what was really going on here. Whether it will make a difference in the long run for the direction of the organziation I don’t know, but at least I know more people have been made aware of the situation here and will be forced to think about what they are supporting.

Now my wife and I are spending some time in Kabul house sitting for a missionary family that is on leave for the holidays. We really enjoy this country and the challenges that it brings with it. We’ve spent a lot of time just walking around the neighborhood and its made me realize a few things. First, it has shown me the damage and power that fear can have. All I hear in the news and even from the embassy here is how dangerous it is, to stay off the roads, reports on bombings, and reports to be cautious of kidnappings, muggings, and other crime. When that is all that we hear we assume everyone is out to get us, it puts fear in us. Living in fear is no way to live. Walking around town I’ve realized how nice the majority if people are. We went to a small shop near our house to buy some vegetables and another shopper there invited us to his home, when would that happen in the US? If we were in a store and saw someone of dressed in what has been labeled, “Taliban style,” how many of us would start a dialogue with this person let alone invite them to our home? Our neighbors wave to us from their window as we play with the rabbits in our yard. The other night I heard a knock at our door and when I looked through the peephole I couldn’t see anyone. I opened the door and there were two little boys probably 4 years old and 7 holding up a plate of nan with sugar coating. Nan is a wonderful bread like pastry that is very cheap and very tasty. I took the plate inside filled it with candy and gave it back to the boys, their eyes lit up and with quick shouts of, “tashakor,” Dari for thank you, they ran back to their house down the street. Another time just walking down the street an elderly lady wrapped in a shawl, walked by us and as she did she looked up and greeted us with a huge smile in a wrinkled filled face. In this land where according to the security reports everyone is out to get us, how could all these friendly people exist? It just proved to me how powerful the emotion and thought of fear can be. This city is more dangerous than your average city, but the vast majority of all attacks are against the police or international forces here. Very little happens against other foreigners that are living amoung the local population. I think a better security warning should be stay away from the international military convoys and treat your personal security like you would in any other major city.

In most insecure environments it’s the local population that suffer the most and it’s never been more evident to me. Here you have a population who is grateful in some ways for the security that international forces provide, yet at the same time these same foreigners come into a soverign state, act like mindless killing machines and exploit the development work here making millions of dollars that in no way benefits the local economy. They all get branded as possible dangerous Taliban members, and it is implied that no local can be trusted. This fear breeds nothing but hostility and mistrust, when in reality I trust a few of our local friends more because they are much more aware of the situation and can provide much more accurate information than any military analyst. I can see the struggle that many of the civilians face, all they really want is peace and security so that they can go about their lives, watching their children grow up, and hoping for a better brighter future. We all deserve that chance.