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.