Last Stop!!

Day 20 and it’s on to our fourth and last visit. Eleven days to go for me to be with my family and friends again. Not that I’m counting or anything…

We were up at dawn, packed and ready to head out after a bite to eat. TP the USDA PRT coordinator in Afghanistan would be joining us on this trip. The three of us took the requisite SUV ride to the USAID Air Terminal and said hello to the local flight assistants who had just seen us arrive the day before. Yesterday, as we returned to Kabul and sorted our luggage, one young lady had asked me the meaning of my name since it seemed so common to be named David. I told her it meant “beloved”. This morning I asked her if she remembered the meaning. “It means very loved,” she said with a proud almost boastful smile. I congratulated her for remembering and told her the David’s would be returning in 5 days.

This morning we would be boarding a Russian Mi8 AMT Hind helicopter for our 2 hour trip south. A 30 year old relic, that 25 plus years ago would have been the target of stinger missiles as it flew over the Afghan terrain…stinger missiles provided by the US and Charlie Wilson’s war, to defeat the Russians as they tried to occupy this country. Oh, the irony – a leased Russian helicopter, with its old Russian crew, run by a South African contractor, paid by USAID to transport US civilians and a multinational list of passengers, to help the very people the Soviets tried to destroy – the weird circle of life in politics and politics in life. The aircraft could fit 20 passengers but with our buddy the South African gunner along with a Gerka up front and an additional rear gunner, their were 14 souls on board not counting the 3 man Russian crew. I must admit it was a little disconcerting to look up and see “GREW ONLY” on the cockpit door – I guess they ran out of C’s. The passengers were a mix of some Afghan locals, an Australian, a couple US military officers in flight suits, a British national and the three of us.

Forty minutes into our flight, scattered amongst the usual desolate environment below, we spotted small pockets of tents with large flocks of animals surrounding them. These were “Kuchies”, nomadic wonderers who move from place to place with the changing seasons, living in their small tent encampments all over Afghanistan. A few minutes later we were obviously getting close to our first stop as we lost altitude rapidly and a large town came into view. Dave K and I immediately recognized the FOB we were landing in. It was the first base we had visited over 2 weeks ago - the Polish encampment where I was indoctrinated into the military life style. It didn’t seem that long ago that we had said goodbye to RT at this very LZ. We lost a few passengers and gained one. Once airborne, with the smell of oil and fuel permeating the cabin, we headed further south toward our final destination. Not long after take-off I noticed the ground below had what looked like giant anthills dotting the valley floor. The holes went on for long stretches in rowed patterns that seemed geometrically designed. These it turned out were ancient water systems, “karezes”, underground tunnels that brought water from the hills and mountains. I am not sure how they worked but for man to have done this hundreds of years ago, in this topography, developing this ingenious engineering marvel, with tools I couldn’t even imagine, it was all very fascinating.

We arrived at our new location which we will call home for the next 5 days. The moment I stepped on to the helipad, I felt a very different vibe than I have throughout my stay in country. There was confusion when our host met us and had to take care of some Afghan civilians who arrived with us and no one knew about them coming. Ignoring us and taking care of these strangers was not a good sign. When we did finally get acquainted and he showed us our quarters I was pleasantly surprised. It was another metal container but it was well appointed with 2 beds and quite a bit of space. We were told to bring a sleeping bag because we might be on cots, so the beds were a bonus. There were even clean sheets and a pillow provided. What luxury! However, the hospitality ended there. A visit to the bathroom/shower facility revealed Russian style showers. The shower was in the same stall as the toilet. The conditions of most of these stalls were deplorable. It turns out that this compound was built by the Russians while they occupied this area. The construction was poor and so were all the facilities. This small “annex” of the FOB is just that. It is a small compound that houses some soldiers, all the civilians and is an afterthought of the two larger FOB’s a couple kilometers on either side of this site. The commander here calls it Smart FOB like the tiny Smart car (actually it's named after a young soldier who was KIA in 2004). The dining facility is equal to the rest of this place, mediocre to bad. The office of our advisor has a corrupt computer with little or no access to the Internet. This has frustrated DK to no end. He lives for the Internet. Our host is quite the character. I tried all afternoon to pin him down on our plans while we’re in the province but he is unfocused and his mind wanders off topic frequently. I am worried but I am determined to get through this last leg of our long journey. Later in the afternoon I managed to sit down with our host and finally got him to understand our goals and how we could achieve them in the 3 days we have to film.

I now understand why I felt the way I did upon landing here. There is great danger around this area and the local population is rife with the enemy. It is said that 9 out of 10 residents are bad guys and they are aggressively trying to control the districts and villages. Of the over 200 schools in the province only approximately 28 are still active. Teachers are threatened and beaten while girls cannot attend any schools. As infrastructure is put in there are attempts to dismantle whatever was done. There is an illiteracy rate exceeding 90 percent. And that is how the enemy gets the upper hand. Keep the population unlearned and ignorant and you wrest control of their lives from them. Fear and intimidation on top of an uneducated populace makes for domination of a people. It is in this atmosphere and culture that this Provincial Reconstruction Team, military, State Department, USAID and USDA are trying to bring some sustainable capacity to the agrarian society that abounds in this province. They are trying to show them better methods of cultivation with improved seeds, introduce new fruits and spices that will thrive in this region, provide better health care and education, improved roads and, militarily, keep the local villagers secure via the Afghan National Police and the Afghan National Army. There is real fear in the eyes of the local civilians who dare to work with the PRT. It will be a challenge getting people to appear on camera but we will make sure we do it without endangering the lives of those brave enough to speak out about the good that emanates from this facility through the team of dedicated and motivated soldiers and civilians.