Blogs from Afghanistan, Asia - page 7

Off we went to Lashkar Gar the capital city of Helmand Province.... previously real bandit country for the British Army and even now held somewhat tenuously. Our compound in 'Lash' had been attacked by the AOG (Afghan Opposition Group - a polite name for the enemy - the Taliban) a couple of weeks previously. Two Talibs had disguised themselves in burqas, taken a taxi to the back of the compound and climbed over the wall at a blind spot. Very fortunately one of our expatriate close protection officers (mostly ex British or South African Army with a sprinkle of Foreign Legion) saw the attackers and raised the alarm; a fire fight ensued with both sides exchanging multiple rounds before the attackers were shot dead. But by that time they had wounded some of our staff. It ... read more

It is HOT in Kandahar at this time of year.... VERY HOT! The journey from Kabul was not the most pleasant of my life - delayed flight, old ex-Turkish Airlines 737 and a mad scramble for the bags - Kandahar Airport (aka KAF) has not yet invested in a carousel system. Then into the body armour for a dash to our secure company compound in the centre of the city. Secure is, of course, a relative term since KAF is regularly rocketed and our compound is right where NATO-ISAF forces have yet to "clear' the Taliban. We are the only NGO remaining in the city which is the heartland of the Taliban (aka "Afghan Opposition Groups" - why does officialdom always try and dumb things down?). The compound is like a fortress or a maximum security ... read more

During the first couple of weeks of working in Kabul the company secure compound had no room for visitors so we were compelled to stay at the Heetal Plaza Hotel, down the hill about two minutes drive away. Even so we had to go in armoured cars and wearing body armour accompanied by our excellent close protection officer Dan Saville, so tragically lost last week in the air crash near the Salang Pass (see my post 'Hope and Remembrance'). In fact the hotel was not so bad. Once through the very tight security (there had been a car bomb on the opposite corner!) there was at least an open garden or courtyard in which one could sit and contemplate the sniper nets (torn with holes from the explosion) and the razor wire. The rooms in the ... read more

Well, after holidaying in Thailand and transiting Dubai I finally landed (late in April) in that most wonderful of countries, Afghanistan. I'm only being partially ironic. Indeed there is much to Afghanistan that could be wonderful. But the present reality is one of unmitigated tragedy. Landing on a grey, raining day in Kabul and being hustled into body armour and escorted by a team of "shooters" is not the most inspiring of welcomes. Neither is reading day after day of security briefings that report explosions and deaths. Operation Moshtarak (the latest surge in Helmand) was according to one report an unmitigated disaster in that more than 70% of the local people are MORE disaffected after the clearing for the Taliban than before - I'm on my way there now, so we'll see. Having said that, on ... read more

PLEASE ** do not forward this blog or its photos. If anyone is interested in seeing it, have them email me. ** Following the training exercise in Southern California, I spent a week in the Whistler area with Erin while she worked at the Olympics. We flew to Saskatoon together and I was able to spend 2 days there before heading back to Ottawa. A few friends came over on the last night I was home and saw me off. What followed were 2 additional weeks in Kingston and a final one in Ottawa. We did receive an unexpected long weekend when we were given the last Monday-Tuesday off. Erin and I quickly made arrangements for her to fly to Ottawa and we spent 4 days taking in some sights and relaxing. The bulk of my ... read more