Road Tripping

Here are a few more road trip pictures from this fall in Afghanistan:

Stopping for some watermelon on the road.

Coal miners moving coal on the mountain.
A group pic of my coworkers. I'm on the right in Afghan clothes.
People moving donkeys and goods through the province.

Samangan Shelter Response

NRC has started shelter projects in 14 Samangan Province villages in response to the 2010 earthquake. All the pictures below were taken during our recent monitoring visit to the area.

View of one of the villages from below

A different village from above

The beginnings of a new home

Making mud bricks for the new houses

Another home being built

The Way to Samangan

We just took a roadtrip to Samangan to visit some of the earthquake relief shelter projects we are carrying out. Leaving from Mazar, it was a 4 hour, 60k-70k trip. A few pictures of the road:

From DC to Kabul

We also have some fun in here in Kabul. Here is a picture of me and some of my former Georgetown MSFS classmates having dinner in the city.

A Friend on NPR

A short NPR clip on Afghan expats returning to help rebuild Afghanistan. Weis Sherdel, a friend from Georgetown, was interviewed for the story.

My Favorite Matches in Afghanistan

The Lion of Panjshir

We are four days away from the anniversary of the assassination of Ahmad Shah Massoud, one of Afghanistan's greatest national heroes. Massoud, also known as the Lion of Panjshir, was a graduate of Kabul University who formed what would later be referred to as the "Northern Alliance" and became one of the leading figures in the Soviet-Afghan War. He also helped to form the short-lived coalition government of Mujahiddin leaders that was ousted by the Taliban in 1996. During the Taliban regime, which controlled the most of the country from 1996-2001, Massoud continued his resistance and, against all odds, never ceded control of his ethnic homeland in the Panjshir Valley. In what is generally seen as al-Qaeda's setup to the September 11 hijackings, Massoud was murdered by al-Qaeda operatives on September 9, 2001.

What makes Massoud's story so interesting is that he was more than just a successful commander. In addition to being considered one of the brightest tactical minds in modern times and a national hero, Massoud was a moderate Muslim, devout reader, poet, and philosopher. The anniversary of his death is now a national holiday.

The picture above is of a billboard in the center of Mazar commemorating Massoud's life.

Horses

Yesterday I visited a horse stable in Mazar. The horses were being kept for use in "Buzkashai." It's a traditional and dangerous Central Asian sport in which men on horseback fight over a goat carcass and attempt to carry it over a goal line. The owner of the horses told me that when they are successful in a match one horse could earn him five or ten thousand dollars. The kid in the pictures worked at the stable. He was cool.

Taliban Embed Video

Amazing footage of a Norwegian journalist on embed with the Taliban.

The Blue Mosque

Today is my last day in Mazar-e-Sharif so I went into town to see the Blue Mosque. It's one of the most famous structures in the country and contains what many Muslims believe to be the tomb of Hazrat Ali, the Prophet Mohammad's son-in-law and one of the most important figures in Islamic history. After Ali was killed in present-day Iraq in 661AD, his followers transported the body to Mazar to prevent his enemies from desecrating the remains. Here are some pictures:

The ICRC and Humanitarian Access

Humanitarian organizations in conflict areas like Afghanistan face constant security threats that can hinder movements around the country and limit their access to the populations they are trying to serve. Incidents like the recent killing of ten IAM aid workers in the northern province of Badakhshan exacerbate the situation, forcing humanitarian organizations into difficult decisions to further restrict movements and shutter programs that provide critical relief to vulnerable populations. Perhaps the organization that is most successful at ensuring its humanitarian access and delivering relief in conflict areas is the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Here is a very short interview on humanitarian access with the ICRC's Delegation Head in Afghanistan, Reto Stocker.

Maimana in Black and White

For the past week I've been working up in the north in Maimana. It's a fairly small city of about 80,000 people, 75 percent of whom are Uzbek. Compared to much of the country it's clean, peaceful, and calm. Here are a few pictures we took around town.

New Threads

Just got some new clothes here! My cousin got them made for me at a tailor in Kabul.

Iftar in Maimana

Picture of some coworkers and me having dinner this evening. It is the perfect temperature here once the sun goes down so we decided to eat outside. Qorma, Bolaani, watermelon, bread, and tea.

Meat

One of my favorite parts of being here is all the good food I get to eat, especially the meat. Kabobs, Kofta, Qorma, and everything else. Related to my love of non-vegetarian Afghan food is my attraction towards to the traditional butcher shops. Here is a typical one in Kabul I took a shot of.

I Get Around

Some of you have been asking about the different places I'll be visiting while I'm here. Here's the list: Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif, Herat, Maimana, Jalalabad, and possibly Kunduz. Mazar is located where 'Balkh' is. And Jalalabad is just a little east of Kabul near the border with Pakistan.

This is obviously not the greatest map, but it caught my attention and made me wonder if there were any Jews brave enough to still be living here. Apparently, there was once a sizable Jewish population in Afghanistan, although most were driven out when Genghis Khan invaded in 1222. Today there is one last Jew remaining. Here is a story CNN did about the guy.

Back Again

I just got back to Kabul again for the first time in almost a year. Although there are about to be parliamentary elections held on September 18, I'm no longer at the Election Commission. Instead, I'm working on an assignment with the Norwegian Refugee Council to increase the capacity of their security analysis teams. For the first picture of the recently resuscitated blog, you get a shot from my bedroom window. It's the only photo I've taken so far.