The Office

This is a group photo with my coworkers at the IEC External Relations Department. Keep your eye out for the man second from the right, Mr. Noor Mohammad, as you watch coverage of the election in Afghanistan. He is the IEC Spokesman and frequently appears on international news channels to comment on the process.

Vehicle Borne IED

About one hour ago a vehicle borne IED was detonated on Jalalabad Road killing several people. So far there haven't been any reports on the incident, but I know it was big because its location was about one kilometer from the Commission and we could hear and feel it in the office. The rumor is that there are several more bombers ready to attack. Almost every foreign government and UN agency has prohibited movement for the time being, and the road has been closed, so I may be stuck here for a while.

Today's attack was the fourth in the last three weeks. The first two I blogged about, and the third and fourth happened today (earlier this morning a number of rockets were launched into Sesh-Darak, the neighborhood that houses the NATO-ISAF compound). Although Kabul is big, I seem to be on the Taliban target map as all four attacks have taken place in close vicinity to my house or workplace.

Safety First

One of the more interesting aspects of my current trip in Afghanistan has been the level of security precautions that I encounter on a daily basis. My last trip, in 2006, was spent walking around various cities in Afghanistan, often by myself, without any security precautions taken. Working at the Election Commission has been a completely different experience.

Simply getting into the IEC entails passing through about four different checkpoints, where identification is verified, bags are searched, stationary and handheld metal detectors are used, and motor vehicles and laptops are checked by bomb-sniffing dogs. The compound is surrounded by concrete barriers, lookout towers, HESCO blast walls, an 8'x8' trench, and two layers of barbed wire. The checkpoints and compound grounds are guarded by Global Security, an international security company that is also responsible for safety at the Kabul airport. We feel relatively safe once inside.

The vehicles we travel in are also worth of note. Since my arrival I have been lucky enough to frequently get rides back and forth to the office with the UNDP-ELECT staff that is working at the IEC. Due to the the high-risk involved for election staff, and the location of the IEC on a high-target road which has frequently been attacked with RPGs and IEDs, the vehicles used are Toyota Land Cruisers armoured to withstand direct gunfire from an AK-47 and indirect IEDs of about fifteen kilos. Unfortunately, the Taliban regularly detonates explosives in much higher quantities - the blast yesterday was supposedly around 500 kilos. Because the production of armoured vehicles is prohibited in Afghanistan (imagine the Taliban running around in bullet-proof cars), the vehicles must be imported from Dubai, which results in a unit cost of around $100,000.

In the picture above I am standing with two of the drivers that have driven us for the last two months, Raz and Yousef. Behind us is one of the famous B6 Land Cruisers.

Car Bomb Explodes Near NATO Compound

A car bomb exploded at the heavily guarded NATO-ISAF compound in Kabul about an hour ago. According to BBC World, three people were killed and about seventy wounded. Again, the explosion happened very close to my neighborhood and a few blocks from my daily route to work. The Taliban has promised to disrupt the election process - the elections are now six days away - and it seems, at least for now, they are going after high-profile targets.

Bagh-e-Babur

Bagh-e-Babur (Babur's Garden) is one of the more famous parks and historical sites in Kabul. It is the final resting place for Zahiruddin Muhammad Shah, the founder of the Moghul Empire commonly known in Afghanistan as Babur Shah. Babur, a decendent of Chengis Khan, conquered Afghanistan in 1504 and eventually controlled large parts of India and Central Asia.
The park was restored several years ago by Agha Khan and on any given day you can find hundreds of people there playing cards, eating melon, and drinking tea. Parks in Kabul are very popular as the city is dirty and grass and trees are rare. They are also one of the few places where unmarried men and women can get away with sitting together, talking, and even holding hands without getting arrested. Pictures of my visit are below:


Babur's Tomb
A view of the park from the top of the hill

The entrance to Babur's tomb and some houses behind the park

People enjoying the day at the bottom of the hill

Around Kabul

This summer I have been spending all of my time at the IEC compound and have been unable to get good pictures of life in Kabul. Therefore, for those of you following the blog I am posting some pictures I took in 2006 while working for FINCA International. My job with FINCA entailed walking around the city and interviewing shopkeepers that had taken loans from FINCA. It provided plenty of opportunities for good photos. Enjoy.

Auto Repair Shops
Butcher Shop
A Bazaar in Kabul
Interviewing a Bean Seller

The Accreditation Process

One of the jobs the External Relations Department is spending a lot of time on right now is the processing and production of Accreditation Badges. Being accredited by the IEC and receiving a an Accreditation Badge gives election observers and political party and candidate agents access to polling centers on August 20th so they can observe the election from up close and asssure that it is free and fair.

In the pictures above I am working on processing some of the approximately 150,000 badges that the IEC will issue before election day.

Rocket Lands in Wazir Akbar Khan

Last night the Taliban launched a series of rocket attacks on Kabul. It seems that the main target was the Kabul Airport, but one of the rockets landed about four blocks from my house in Wazir Akbar Khan. It's not clear whether the rocket in Wazir was intentional, or if it strayed off course, but the area hosts a multitude of foreign embassies and international organizations and would make an appropriate target.

After the initial blast in my neighborhood woke me up, I could hear the rest of the rockets landing several kilometers away close to the airport. When the rockets ceased what sounded like a small gunfight began, lasting for about five minutes. Most likely, the security guards and Afghan Police in the area were blindly shooting toward where they thought the rockets were launched from.

The BBC has already reported on the incident. Here is the story.