Inside Afghanistan - getting around

My work does not call for much traveling, so it is usually just staying put in Kabul. But in the last few years some work did come up which required travel to some other major cities in the country. Last month when the travel issue came up, it was the second time. My first visit out of Kabul was to Gardez, in early 2005. Gardez is the capital of the Paktia province and is just 70 miles south of Kabul. A colleague and I made this journey in a Ford SUV. We were armed with a Thuraya satellite phone to keep in touch with our office, in case our cell phones didn't pick up the signal. My colleague was a former Mujahideen soldier and the trip was peppered with stories about the war. There isn't a single Afghan without a life story to keep you engrossed and usually at the edge of your seat. (Pic below: Road to Gardez). The security situation has since then worsened in most parts of the country and Gardez is now out of bounds for expats.



Last month the travel was to the north and west of the country. These are relatively safer than the south and east. But again, road travel has almost become impossible now, though it would have been the best way to see more of the countryside. So flights were the only option. The main Afghan city in the Northern region is the pilgrimage city of Mazar-i-Sharif. The Hazrat Ali (Prophet Mohammad's son-in-law) mosque or the Blue Mosque is the most popular landmark here. There are some commerical flights operating between Kabul and the regional headquarter towns. But we couldn't manage a ticket on that. Finally we had to use a special flight which was available for NGO staff, a 14 seater Beechcraft. Another Afghan colleague accompanied me on the trip. The flight passenger list mailed to us mentioned 7 other people from another NGO taking the flight - 4 of them heading for Kandahar and a the 3 others to Mazar-i-Sharif. There was also some cargo that had to be dropped off at Herat. Though we wanted to get to Mazar-i-Sharif, the flight would be giving us a tour of the country. It had to fly Kabul - Kandahar - Herat - Mazar.




It would take only 40 minutes if it were to fly directly to Mazar from Kabul but now it would take almost 6 hours on the circuitous route. When we finally reached the airport we learnt that the party of 7 had cancelled their plans of traveling. So it was just the 2 of us and the cargo to be flown. So Kandahar was taken out of schedule and that saved us almost 3 hours. It was an interesting flight, James Bond style. The co-pilot gave us the normal safety advices and we set off feeling like we were flying in our private airplane. (Below: inside the beechcraft).



We did not have a confirmed transport to our next destination which was Herat. But during the 2 days in Mazar we managed to get tickets on a local airline to Herat. Herat is on the Western part of the country that borders Iran, and in the past was the literary centre of the country. It was said that if one even just stretched his legs in Herat then he could be sure to kick a poet. The city was that infested with literary giants. Now Herat is limping back into its former glory. On the trip to Herat, there was no place at the Mazar airport enclosure to seat all the passengers after the security check was complete. We were led to an area beside the tarmac to under a huge tree. We were to sit here and wait for our flight. The entire place was infested with monstor locusts. It was like the plague of locusts that God brought upon the Egyptians when the Pharoah denied Moses's plea to free the Israelite slaves. After what seemed an endless wait fighting away these creatures, we finally boarded the flight to Herat.




We spent another 3 days in Herat before we got back to Kabul.

Kabul-Delhi-Kabul

A quick family visit took me back to Delhi last fortnight. Every trip home drives home the fact that the grass is literally greener on the other side. Though many parts of Afghanistan are very green, what you see around you in Kabul is brown all over; treeless hills, dusty roads and mud houses. Though Delhi may not be as green as we would like it to be, it is enough to soothe parched eyes. Surpisingly though, as we move along some of the roads leading away from the Kabul city towards to Paghman mountainside there is lot of green, with beautiful chinar and pine trees lining the entire route.

Though the journey to Delhi was only one hour and forty minutes in the air, over land I had spent another 4 hours just getting into the flight. A bottle of olive oil seen in the x-ray machine was mistaken to be liquor and the bag was asked to be opened up. The combination lock wouldnt open at the opportune moment and a struggle ensued. In the resulting melee or elsewhere in the numerous searches, I lost my pair of glasses. The rest of the journey was uneventful. Compared to what a trip out or into Kabul involved earlier, this was a cakewalk. At Delhi, I sit in the pre-paid taxi and say "salaam aleikum" to the hindu taxi driver and he looks at me as if i've landed from space. I grin and make up for the faux pas by saying - "kya karen bhaiya aadat ho gayi hai". The 'aadat' doesn't end there. On numerous occassions much to the embarrassment of onlooking family members i've stood with right hand on chest and bowed head while greeting people or thanked somebody saying "ta-shakur". Thankfully I wasn't back from a trip among the Maasai tribe or I would be spitting on people in greeting or farewell.

The other thing that I thanked God for was for the freedom that we had in India. There is a kind of relaxed feel which failed to come to me in Afghanistan. Small things which went unnoticed before made you feel good - the shopping complexes, the bright colors, the neon lights, the bustling restaurants, boys and girls sitting around laughing and chatting, the noisy parks. Every now and then I would turn to my wife and say, "I wish we had our Afghan friends over to see this". When I see a bollywood movie now I can see it with the eyes of an Afghan and understand completely, why he would love it.

All good things seem to end quickly and so did the Delhi trip. A week went by in a matter of hours. So I said "Khudafiz" to everybody and headed back to duty-station.

War and Peace

The security manager at our office hardly sleeps. No, its not that he stands guard protecting us throughout the night but he hasn't given up on his military training and his acquired habit. The first mail that we get to see as soon as we switch on our computers every morning is the mail from him about the security situation in the country. He would have sent it usually at 4 am right after his daily round checking on the guards at the various office facilities and residences. These mails give us snippets from the 34 provinces across the country. The reader's focus is usually the central region which includes Kabul and few other neighboring provinces. There are also city specific mails which are sent to warn us of roads that are closed; demonstrations, processions and meetings that might be potentially unsafe and threats of attacks that are so regular now.

This afternoon my colleague and I had a meeting at a Government office. We had made an office vehicle booking for the trip as we are not allowed to use public transport for anything owing to safety reasons. Half an hour before we were to leave the security manager called to say that there was a security threat in the area and we couldn't move out. We called the government office and postponed our meeting to another day. This is becoming a usual affair now. Yesterday, the entire team from our organization who work on-site at a Ministry came down to the office since the Ministry was evacuated following a bomb threat. Things are hotting up in Afghanistan. I remember a safer Kabul in 2003. The anti government elements have had time since then to re-group and strengthen themselves.

The British Ambassador to Afghanistan said yesterday that Britain has to be involved for many decades in Afghanistan to help with sustainable rebuilding and development. He likened the work to a marathon rather than a sprint. I am not sure if they ever imagined such involvement when they began the war. The same statement could, or rather must come from the American side soon. With Governments changing in these countries it remains to be seen whether the new people in power will share the views of their predecessors. The ANA (Afghan National Army) and the ANP (Afghan National Police) are being trained to gradually take security into their own hands. But until they are confident to do that the foreign forces may have to maintain their soldiers in the country.

The Taleban have already captured some districts down south in Kandahar province and they are moving up gradually. Their spokesperson said in an interview today that Kabul city is going to be their next target. Their tactics he said was going to be the same as is being used in Iraq. He said that there were many volunteers queueing up at their suicide bombing centres. Whatever said and done it will be an uphill battle for bringing back peace and stability in the country. An Afghan colleague remorsefully stated over lunch today, "This country has seen 35 years of war, I was born in war, grew up in war and will die in war". Presence of foreign forces sometimes doesn't look like a great solution. How long will they keep up here. It has to be the Afghans who finally have to look after their homeland. They are a people with an indomitable spirit, building their lives from scratch every time it is destroyed. But they are in disheartening times as there continues to be war and rumors of war all around.

When I look around and see children, specially girls, going to school and young people playing football in the parks, I pray that these don't ever stop for anything. The younger generation has not seen and lived in the beautiful mountainous land that their history books talk about. They cannot fathom why this land would be coveted by the likes of Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan and why Mughal Emperor Babur would make it the capital of his empire. Many things that we would take for granted in our home countries is something that the people here yearn for - just a simple, peaceful life, where their families can live secure, can work freely and their children can be educated. Is that too much to ask for? Is that an impossible dream?

Kabul Diary - to Bollywood with love

While the West is a sought after destination for many in the sub continent, India is seen as a desirable location by many Afghans. Indian movies and TV serials have a big role to play in this positive perception about the country. The Afghans are smitten by Bollywood and the fares that it churns out so regularly. Indian TV serials like ‘Kyunki Saans Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’, ‘Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki’ and ‘Kasauti Zindagi Ki’ have been dubbed into Dari and have become instant hits. Tulsi as KSBKBT is popularly called here after the lead character is a must watch serial. Posters of the female actor playing the role are seen all over Kabul. This is a far cry from the days of the Taliban rule when there was a total ban on music and movies. My conversation with Aman who drives the office vehicle usually goes thus:

Aman – How are you?
Me- Am fine Aman how are you?
A – Am fine. How is Dharmender?
Me - He is fine too
A – What about Amitabh Bachchan?
Me – Good
A – Shahrukh Khan?
Me – Suffering from a slight stomach ache today
A – Oh! What about Sunny Deol?.....

Most conversations about India end up in Bollywood. The common question that I always (any Indian I assume) face once my nationality is established is whether I know any of the movie stars personally or have met any of them. Well the closest I came to is seeing Rakesh Roshan, Jeetendra taking walks on Juhu beach. Here are some of the reasons why Indian movies and serials find such favor with the Afghans.

Firstly the language is understandable. Most of the Afghans had moved as refugees to Pakistan and India. Urdu was something they had to learn to speak, in order to study, to work, to survive in these countries. This was their training ground for the language and the Indian movies in Hindi acted like a teacher. Even here among those we meet, if some local cannot converse with you in Hindi you can be sure that he doesn’t watch too many movies.

Indian movies show a lot about the Indian culture woven into the society. Afghans identify with this. They learn from it. Movies with stories about joint families are accepted as it is a system followed in Afghanistan. A colleague says, “From the Tulsi drama people are learning how to have a good family life and how to manage to live within a joint family. It teaches the parents how to behave with their children and specially the daughter-in-law. It also points out that being rich is not important than having a good character”

Women have a voice and they express themselves freely. Women work outside home without an eyebrow being raised. A girl student I met said – “Here women don’t have the freedom to speak out. There are women who do it but they are few. But women in India are more vocal. They say what they feel about things and it is not a bad thing”

Women dress decently and exquisitely and move without a veil. People dress in bright and colourful clothes. The girl student – “We watch Indian movies and dramas and try to follow the fashion and style of the actors. We love wearing Indian dresses and jewelery”

Love can be expressed freely (perception maybe :))

Infrastructure is good. Good education and jobs are available – A colleague–“We see how Indians are studying in colleges and Universities and what opportunities they have for education. We see the problems that they have, both social and financial, and how they deal with that. We look forward to have similar opportunities. Indian should try and open up their Universities here and they will do well”

Festivals and customs are interesting – A young lady working as a translator on my project– "The new movies are not good. The older movies from the early 2000 showed so much of the Indian culture and families. My father watches Baghban every day. He likes what he sees. Those are the kind of movies that Afghans like. They are free from Western influence and show how India is”

Another colleague– “Indian serials are more popular than the movies. Serials can be watched by the entire family. Most movies are mainly for the youngsters. Serials teach a lot of things. I have learnt about life”. Everything that Afghans know about India comes from the movies. And perception is reality.

I borrow view CDs of Hindi movies from my Afghan colleagues. They seem to have anything you name. Its not only about the movies, it’s also about the music. You can hear it everywhere, in every hotel, in every party, in every vehicle. Every conversation I have ends with the Afghan saying, “Mujhe Indians se bahut pyar hai, India hamara bhai”. When I hear that I cant help saying a silent prayer of gratitude to the stars of tinsel town who make my stay here so much pleasurable.

Kabul Diary - of Naan and Grenades

Afghanistan is not much of a culture shock to any Indian. And certainly it didn't pose a threat (culturally that is) to a mallu, born in bengal, partly educated in mumbai and working in delhi. It is almost 4 years now since I first set foot in Kabul. I didn't know what to expect, that first time. The media certainly hadn't given much confidence to make the trip. But it was my first 'international' trip. The passport had been express delivered within 7 days of applying and the visa had been stamped on without much hassle. As soon as I knew I was going, I had shot a letter off to the contact point in the client office in Kabul. Not with queries about anything on the work that my colleague and I were going to do. But, about all the other worries. Where would we stay? Anything particular we should carry, not carry? What's the weather like? Can we eat during the day? The last question was suitably placed because the Ramadan period had just begun - a month of fasting between sunrise and sunset.

I had tried growing a beard in preperation. The beard, I later realised, per se wouldn't have saved me by any means from Afghan anti-government elements except maybe the shabbiness could have resulted in disinteresting anybody with malign intentions. The Taliban regulation said that the beard should be long enough to stick out some at the end of a fist clasped around it at the chin.



We flew Ariana Airlines the national Afghan carrier. Though we did not expect, surprisingly there were women attendents on the flight, wearing caps that had an attached netted veil. We also didn't expect to be served any food in flight owing to the fasting period. But there was a meal served for those who wanted one. The flight was a quick one, just one hour and forty minutes. I felt thrilled just to think that we were travelling over Pakistan and over the Hindu Kush. Fifteen minutes before landing a co-passenger pointed outside at a dune like span of mountains. These were the famed Tora-Bora caves area in the White Mountain range that was believed to be housing Bin Laden and hundreds of Taliban who had fled the international forces. The announcement then came in Dari and English, we were about to land. Looking out we could see the plane descending past brown mud coloured mountains with white snow toppings. Settlements and roads came into view. It was like a large maze of walls, an expanse of brown everywhere. The city seemed to be very flat with hardly any buildings that were two storied or more.

Kabul was much colder than we had expected. As soon as we walked down to the terminal the cold wind was almost unbearable and I had to pull out a jacket to cover up . At the airport, we learnt that there were no conveyor belts at the airport yet and so passengers had to scrouge through the stacks of luggage that the attendents laid out. After literally pushing through a crowd of baggage hunters and recovering the ones we owned, we finally made it out to the placard weilding driver who was there to pick us up. We checked into Gandamack Lodge, a quaint place, high fortified walls (which we realised is not unique to any hotel or residential building in Afghanistan), european style fireplaces and display of swords and guns and other weaponry. Later we learnt that the Lodge was formerly Bin Laden's fourth wife's home, and he had liked to stay there on all visits. That fact surely added an air of mystique to the place. Though the entire setup at the Gandamack looked old fashioned, the amenities, the meal menu and the associated costs were sure to put you in modern times. If you were a reporter planning to get to the battle front lines, the lodge even offered body armours that you could rent out.

The menu was very European and after a week of spaghetti this, and bolognaise that, my colleague and I were looking for something Afghan. On our way back and forth from work we had seen the Haji Baba Restaurant quite close to the Gandamack. We made up our minds to go to go there in the evening when the fasting period was over. During the day we were eating in the office canteen where it was okay for foreigners to eat. During Ramadan working hours were reduced by an hour for the locals so that they could rest and also prepare for the break of fast in the evening. The Afghans also woke up early before sunrise to eat a little something before the fast began.

We stepped out at 7pm from the Gandamack. The streets were dark and empty. The security manager at the client office had warned of possible kidnapping attempts on foreigners and had even circulated a list of do's and don'ts in case one got kidnapped. The things on the list sprang up inside my head as we stepped out of the hotel gates. The Indian Embassy was right around the corner and we tried making conversation with the guards outside. They were Afghan but could converse in Hindi and we asked them about how safe it was to just walk down to this restaurant. They laughed a bit but didn't say a word in encouragement. We didnt know what to make of that but we decided to go anyways. As we walked down the narrow, dark potholed footpath land mines and kidnappings occupied my mind. We made it to Haji Baba without any difficulty. There was only one other table at the restaurant that was occupied. The menu had only various kinds of kababs and meat dishes listed on it. Any dish we ordered would come with Afghan rice pulao (buttered rice with fried raisins, nuts and carrot shreds), Afghan naan (large 2 foot long tandoor made bread), salads, curd and soft drinks. The naan was the staple food of the Afghans. The poor man ate just dry naan with a cup of tea while those fortunate cooked up some vegetables or meat to go with it. During meal times it was a common sight to see naan everywhere - bakery shops with naan hanging from hooks all over the glass front, delivery boys with stacks of naan loaded on their bicycles or balanced on their heads. The meal at Haji Baba was excellent and we felt good to have risked the kidnapping.

We decided to carry the cans of Coke that we got in the meal package, for the road. As we stepped out of the restaurant it was eerier than before. There were no vehciles on the road and the darkness was more ominous. I was about to open my can when my colleague pulled at my sleeve. I looked at him and then in the direction his eyes were focussed on. About 20 metres away under a tree the silhouette of an battle tank was visible. A ISAF soldier was atop the tank with his gun pointed straight at us. We were briefed earlier that the international military had a reputation of shooting at sight if they were suspicious. While driving on the road if a international military vehicle passed by, all other vehicles slowed down and gave way to let them pass. The scare of car bombs was such a big threat that at any suspicion the military could fire at the other vehicle. We realised the cans could look like grenades in the dark and the hiss of escaping CO2 after pulling out the lid could get us both killed. We slowly stuffed our hands and the pseudo grenades into our jacket pockets and walked quickly looking straight ahead. The roving eye of the soldier and his gun point followed us all the way. I turned back to look only after we were nearly at the turn towards our hotel. The tank was now barely visible in the dark. I realised we didn't have to do much in this country for adventure. Surely there was more to come.