It's a good day – we have both warm water and electricity in the morning for the first time since I arrived. One of the attractions of this particular hotel was that it is serviced by a large diesel generator, but it broke down almost immediately after we arrived. In the past weeks we have received unreliable electricity from the municipal service for a few hours at mid-day, when we are usually out, and in the evening from 7:30 to midnight. This schedule, plus the fact that even during these times the electricity will often shut off without warning has made it difficult to charge the batteries for my computer and cameras.
Reliable electricity is a privilege enjoyed by very few people in Afghanistan. Most neighbourhoods in Kabul receive electricity for only a few hours a day, while much of the country has no electricity whatsoever. On a positive note, we did see transmission towers being constructed during our trip north of the city last weekend.
The difficulty of transportation and communication is very frustrating. I'm also totally dependent on Hamayon to interpret Dari/Farsi for me and we are both dependent on others to interpret Pashto. The Persian-based Dari/Farsi language is the most commonly spoken language in Kabul, but Pashto is also common here and is widely spoken in the east and south of Afghanistan. In addition to these two most common languages there are another twenty-two dialects and languages such as Urdu and Tajik spoken in various regions of the country.
Most of the day was spent negotiating travel arrangements; it was late afternoon before we could get out of the hotel and do some filming in the streets. Considering Kabul was hit by a freak storm – the remnant of a monsoon passing through from Pakistan – it was not a bad time to be stuck in the hotel. Two days of rain have turned the city into a cesspool of mud and sewage.
Our hotel is on the Kabul-Kandahar highway; despite reports I have read that this road was completed in 2004, the supposed four lane divided highway is anything but complete. It looks more like an abandoned demolition site with patches of pot-holed asphalt joining sections of dirt road. With all this rain everything has turned to mud and vehicles are axle-deep in water in the potholes.
I find it surprising that this highway remains in the condition it is in, if for no other reason that it poses a significant security risk for the ISAF convoys that use it regularly. At the best of times traffic can only crawl at little more than a walking pace as drivers are forced to zigzag across the road to avoid huge potholes. The site of the ambush of an ISAF convoy we witnessed in my first few days here offered a perfect place to hide a landmine without detection, because there is so much construction debris and piles of dirt everywhere along the roadway.
The ISAF convoys bully their way through the streets intimidating drivers to make way on the road. We have heard reports of the large ISAF armoured personnel carriers purposely hitting other vehicles and in some cases driving over top of cars and crushing them in order to get through traffic. Apparently the ISAF drivers are instructed not to stop and cannot stop even if they have caused injuries. One man told us about his friend who was struck by an ISAF vehicle as he rode his bicycle; he was left on the road to die.
Travelling through the city at dusk after the rain has stopped is a surreal experience. Steam is rising from the ground and as fast as the mud dries it again turns to dust to be picked up by the wind. The effect of the mist and dust highlighting the wreckage of the city creates the most eerie sunset I have ever experienced. As we drive back towards Koteh Sanghi, a rainbow appears in the sky, but instead of the mythical pot of gold at its base, I only see destroyed buildings for miles. I hope the videos I shot of these scenes can come close to capturing the experience.
Kabul, Friday 29 June 2007
We must have had something bad in our dinner last night. Both Hamayon and I are sick this morning. Unfortunately we have an appointment for lunch on the other side of Kabul. Demonstrating the Afghani hospitality we have been met with everywhere we go, our host's wife has prepared enough of a feast for ten people. Hamayon and I nibble at the food with profuse apologies for our lack of appetite. I have barely enough energy to eat, but I make an effort to at least sample each of the delicacies our host's wife has obviously taken a great amount of time to prepare.
Our host – a medical doctor – explains that the kind of stomach upset we are experiencing is so common that he is totally sympathetic and not offended by our lack of appetite. He tells us about the problems of sanitation in Kabul. The water for the apartment building in which his family resides is supplied from a well that is situated much too close to the building's septic system. This is typical throughout the city. Private homes use dry latrines and larger buildings use shallow septic beds that leach into the groundwater that is used for drinking. Surrounding the building in which we are staying are a number of small mechanics shops. These mechanics dig grease pits in the dirt into which they drain motor oil, brake fluid, coolant and any other liquid contained in a vehicle. I'm sure it does not take long for these contaminants to enter the ground water.
But even though everyone knows their water is contaminated, bottled water is far too expensive for most people and even the cost of propane or electricity for boiling water is too high. People are forced to use the only water available consigned to the fact that they and their families will often become sick. After heavy rains such as we experienced during the last two days, the problem is compounded as contaminated surface water leaches into the ground water.
For the first time at a social gathering we are introduced to a male host's wife, but not until after lunch has been eaten and the dishes are cleared away. Our host, who works for an international NGO let us know he is aware of gender issues – undoubtedly he is more than any other men we have met so far. I suppose this indicates some progress, but it doesn't seem very substantial.
Kabul, Saturday 30 June 2007
We had planned to leave Kabul tomorrow, but Hamayon is still feeling sick, although I have recovered with the exception of a bit of a sensitive digestive system. Hopefully Hamayon will recover enough to make our arrangements tomorrow so we can leave early Monday. We will meet friends in Bamiyan and then assess the situation for travelling beyond there. I don't expect to be able to send emails or make phone calls for the next week, so don't be concerned if you don't hear from us before next weekend.
The BBC reported this afternoon that a three hour NATO aerial attack earlier today in Helmand Province may have killed as many as 50 to 80 civilians – On with the sports scores with the Western forces pulling decisively into the lead in civilian killings. Excuse my cynicism; I have been reading "Hocus Pocus" a novel by the master of cynicism Kurt Vonnegut.
I didn't realise, when I picked it up for some light entertainment as a diversion while in Afghanistan, that "Hocus Pocus" is the fictional memoir of an American Vietnam veteran named Eugene Debs Hartke (his grandfather was an ardent Debs supporter), who among other events in the story, recalls the people he killed in Vietnam while he contemplates the futility of American imperialism. I can't help but imagine, while reading this novel, what some of the NATO soldiers serving in Afghanistan will have to contemplate for the rest of their lives, if they fail to accept the legitimacy of their mission.
In Vonnegut's story, the protagonist progresses from being a killing machine known by the other soldiers as "The Preacher" to become a media liaison for the U.S. army. Watching the news here in Kabul as American media liaison officers spin one story and local film footage tells another I can't help but think of Vonnegut's tale of media spin, deception and the futility of imperial wars.
The news tonight showed an uncomfortable looking American army lieutenant colonel at a press conference in Kabul stating there is a possibility some civilians might have been killed during the NATO bombing raids today in Helmand, as local film footage showed bloodied bodies being loaded into ambulances and trucks. The American officer did express regret on behalf of the American people, nevertheless, in case any civilian casualties were later confirmed.
Another news item this evening was coverage of the visit to Kabul by the Australian foreign minister. The foreign minister stated categorically that NATO troops will never target civilians and it is the cowardice of the Taliban who hide among the population who are to blame for the rising toll of civilian casualties not NATO tactics. The foreign minister also added that the Taliban have killed far more civilians than the Western forces of NATO, ISAF, and the American coalition. The minister's aides should have done a bit more research before briefing the minister, but these sound bites are not intended for the Afghani people anyway; they are intended for the audience in Australia who have little access to any other information.
The fog of war is nothing new and it should come as no surprise that it is as thick in Afghanistan as anywhere else.
Kabul, Sunday 1 July 2007
It's Canada Day, but I don't expect many people outside of the Canadian Embassy and Camp Kandahar really gives a hoot here. I don't expect we will see fireworks tonight or on the fourth of July.
Hamayon is still feeling under the weather this morning, but we will try to get our preparations finished today, so we can leave Kabul tomorrow, if he is feeling well enough. •
No comments:
Post a Comment