Blogs from Afghanistan, Asia - page 5

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Asia » Afghanistan » North August 24th 2010

I realised something was wrong in Ishkashim as soon as I arrived. It took an extraordinary event to help me put my finger on exactly what was strange about the place and when it happened I was gobsmacked that I had not noticed before. The event occurred after I had been wandering up and down the town's two central streets, lined with shops selling clothing, carpets and household utensils, for thirty minutes: it was the appearance of four blue ghosts who floated silently down the dusty, pebble strewn main street. This, my first sighting of Aghan women, was in fact no sighting at all, because not one of them was showing an inch of skin or hair; there were not even slits for their eyes in their veils. Before this the street had been bustling, but ... read more
Said Faqir's relatives
A village between Sargaz and Ptukh
Said Faqir's relatives

Asia » Afghanistan » East » Kabul August 24th 2010

Als ik ergens heen moet in Kabul ga ik vaak met een taxi. Het verkeer is meestal een chaos, en je zit dan al gauw een halfuurtje in de file. Dat zijn momenten om met de chauffeur een praatje aan te knopen. Het gesprek gaat dan meestal al heel snel over geld en vrouwen: de meeste chauffeurs zijn niet getrouwd omdat ze het benodigde geld niet hebben. Trouwen en kinderen krijgen staat bij iedereen heel hoog op de agenda, maar trouwen kost veel geld. Eén van de laatste chauffeurs was een jonge kerel van tegen de 30. Zijn ongeluk is volgens hem dat hij 4 oudere broers heeft. Hij was helaas de jongste. Zijn broers zijn nu alle 4 getrouwd, en voor elke trouwpartij moest de hele familie geld bij elkaar leggen. Zijn spaargeld was dus ... read more
traditionele verloving

Asia » Afghanistan » East » Kabul August 21st 2010

Exista mai multe posibilitati de a te aproviziona cu cele necesare traiului in Kabul. Cel mai la indemana par sa fie tarabele (cu fructe si legume de cele mai multe ori), sau comerciantii stradali (care-si expun marfa pe trotuar, ceva in genul pietei de vechituri din Cluj, cel putin asa cum mi-o amintesc eu, din perioada comunista). Dar sigur, pentru asta trebuie sa stii dari, ca sa te poti targui, altfel nici macar pretul nu-l intelegi. De pe strada poti cumpara de toate, de la plasticuri si detergenti la pantofi si saluri. In cazul in care ai nevoie de pungi de plastic sa-ti pui cumparaturile, copiii strazi apar in cateva secunde langa tine. Sunt insistenti, murdari dar de cele mai multe ori cu o mutrita simpatica. Ieri insa un baiat insistent, care ori era prea obosit ... read more
centru comercial
tarabe cu fructe
tarabe

Asia » Afghanistan » East » Kabul August 16th 2010

Afgelopen zaterdag en zondag kreeg ik per SMS een waarschuwing om niet de straat op te gaan, want er waren relletjes in de stad. Twee verschillende etnische groepen, de Kuchi’s en de Hazara’s, waren slaags geraakt met elkaar. De aanleiding was een ruzie over wie de rechten heeft om het vee te laten grazen op een aantal heuvels ten zuiden van Kabul. Dat liep dus helemaal uit de hand. Het kwam op mij over als een Oud Testamentisch verhaal, zo’n gevecht om de weidegronden en de waterputten voor het vee. De Kuchi is nog een echt nomadenvolk. In Afghanistan zijn er totaal 3 miljoen Kuchi waarvan 60% nog helemaal als nomade leeft. Ze zwerven met hun kudden door het land en ze hebben hun traditionele routes en weidegebieden. Vorige week bleken die heuvels ten zuiden van ... read more

Asia » Afghanistan » East » Kabul August 15th 2010

Pe vremea cand ma pregateam sa "emigrez din dragoste" nu prea stiam eu multe despre diferentele culturale, cel mult din carti. E drept ca de copil am auzit de "pastile lor" si ale noastre, era de multe ori vorba de "noi" si "ei", dar cum eu eram din grupul majoritar, putine au fost momentele cand m-am simtit "discriminata" (nu stiam insa ce inseamna a fi discriminat). Dupa ce m-am mutat in Olanda am trecut dintr-o data la "ei" si "eu", ceea ce, chiar cu un sot iubitor ca al meu, devine extrem de stresant dupa un timp. Pe cand simteam ca sunt peste cap de satula sa aud despre "diferente culturale" si mai ales despre "integrare", am nimerit peste o carte dedicata strainilor care vor sa supravietuiasca in Olanda. Se pare ca toti trec prin aceleasi ... read more

Asia » Afghanistan » South » Kandahar August 12th 2010

It's been quiet enough in Kandahar City for the last few weeks, perhaps a lull before the storm or a "Phony War", but according to reports in fact the time when the Coalition has been tightening the so-called "Ring of Steel" around the City as part of "Operation Hamkari". We've had the occasional "crack and thump". For the non-military, an AK round makes a "crack" as it goes overhead... the "thumps" are usually the Bad Guys getting whacked in return... A bit like a Monty Python sketch - Bad Guy pops off a couple of rounds, then a big THUMP and he's gone. Anyway, yesterday afternoon (first day of Ramadan, Wednesday 11th August) things seemed to change. There was a lot of helo activity (Kiowa gunships) over an outlying district to the South-West of the City ... read more
View towards Panjwayi District

Asia » Afghanistan » South » Kandahar August 7th 2010

The shura or meeting is a fundamental part of community life in Afghanistan. In some sense it's democratic. The tribal elders come together to discuss and listen to what their senior members or representatives of the government are saying. In these days the shura is usually attended by members of the ISAF-NATO forces and civilans from USAID. This shura was to discuss a fruit tree sapling planting program under a USAID program (AVIPA-Plus) that aims to stabilize the communities in the Arghandab River valley. Previous posts have discussed the Arghandab which is now also the home of units of the 82nd Airborne Division. We arrive at the District Centre on a beautifully cool morning and wait for the elders to arrive, passing through multiple checkpoints; these people take their lives in their hands to visit a ... read more
Shura in Arghandab
Free saplings

Asia » Afghanistan » East » Kabul July 7th 2010

„The game of flying in Afganistan”, comenteaza pilotul avionului, dupa ce ne-a explicat ca tocmai am evitat sa ne ciocnim cu un avion militar (care se pare zboara fara un plan de zbor). Zburam spre Germania, chiar daca cu o ora intarziere. Drumul de la apartamentul nostru din Kabul la aeroport ar fi trebuit sa fie scurt, considerand ca era ora 6 dimineata. Privesc pe geamul taxiului la femeile de pe strada gatite pentru vineri (sub burca de cele mai multe ori curata poti vedea haine foarte luxoase), la magazinele ce se deschideau, la macelarii ce isi sacrificau caprele direct in strada, in fata tarabei si la turmele de capre inca vii care sunt pastorite de copii. In curtea unui spital vad o multime de paturi cu decedati (singura explicatie pentru cearcaful alb care-i acopereau), si ... read more

Asia » Afghanistan » South » Kandahar July 6th 2010

The following is an article I wrote for www.afghanistan.gc.ca and will appear online later in July... At present, there are about 50 Canadian Civilian Police Officers working in Afghanistan, these officers, known as CIVPOL, hail from municipal and regional police services across the country as well as from the RCMP. Our mission involves improving the capacity of the Afghan National Police (ANP) through training and mentoring. This is accomplished in several ways. The training component refers to good old fashioned classroom instruction in a police academy setting. Young recruits are put through their paces and senior officers are taught leadership skills that will enable them to lead their officers into the future. A few of our CIVPOL officers are also senior mentors. They regularly visit high ranking ANP officers at Police Headquarters to discuss various ... read more
Me with a weird grin
The initial ascent
curious kids

Asia » Afghanistan » East » Kabul July 5th 2010

Dupa mai bine de o luna in Kabul, ne pregatim de plecare. Am lasat totul pe ultima zi, prea multe nu avem de luat cu noi. Calatorim „light” dupa cum spune sotul meu, dar trebuie sa luam toate valizele cu noi, pentru ca sa putem aduce urmatorul „transport” in august. De dimineata o surpriza, sotul meu cade victima deranjului de stomac. Cu toate precautiunile luate, eu mi-am luat portia de boala 3 zile, micuta e fost si ea afectata o zi, noroc cu medicamentele noastre aduse de acasa, foarte importante, data viitoare o sa venim cu provizii mai serioase. In timp ce eu sigilez pungile cu faina, zahar si ce mai am prin bucatarie, impachetez in pungi de plastic hainele micutei care vor ramane frumos inchise in dulap, sotul meu zace in pat si micuta vrea ... read more




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