I've been really bad at blogging lately. Things have been pretty hectic since July. I spent all of August traveling through Central Asia, which was AMAZING. It was great to experience the other countries in the region - I visited Uzbekistan (Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva, Urugench, Nuxus - and everything in between), Tajikistan (Dushanbe and Khorog + a drive through some small towns to the Uzbek border) and Kyrgystan (Bishkek). Three and a half weeks of being disconnected from the office definitely tested the control freak in me.
Some general observations from the trip in case you are toying with the idea of visiting Central Asia:
1. English language speakers are limited. Therefore, arranging transportation, booking flights, etc. could take up to a day. Once we would arrive in a major city we often spent an entire day with a travel agent to make sure everything was booked properly. A Lonely Planet guide is key to navigating Central Asia. We lost our Guide upon arrival in Bishkek and would have been completely lost if we hadn't found another.
2. You will be a tourist attraction. Most people we met did not understand what we were doing and why there would be tourists in the region (this was especially the case in Tashkent and some of the smaller towns of Uzbekistan). I was a complete rarity and had people shouting Hindustan at me…very entertaining!
3. The food, although good for the first few days, gets exhausting. Imagine eating meat, laghman (this noodle soup), naan and rice for four weeks straight. This led us to exploring and finding some interesting restaurants. Imagine eating pizza in a cave restaurant in Bukhara on a fish tank with sheesha and fake animals surrounding you. Imagine eating dinner at a Korean disco in Tashkent? Very bizarre.
4. The mosques, mausoleums and monuments are spectacular. The one thing we found in Uzbekistan (especially Khiva, Samarkand and Bukhara) is that a lot of them have undergone reconstruction; most of the time not in the proper way. At one site, we saw a guy painting one of the domes blue, as opposed to fixing the tiles properly. A lot of the sites are also filled with people selling tourist garbage. This means you're standing in a 1000 year old mosque and people are yelling at you to come over and buy a postcard. It takes the sanctity out of the whole experience.
5. The drive to Khorog from Dushanbe (16 hours) is phenomenal. At one point on the drive you look across the river and you see Afghanistan. There are men running around in shalwar kamizees and everything and on the other side I'm in a tank top and short pants....very bizarre. We took the flight back from Khorog to Dushanbe - probably the most beautiful and mind-blowing flight I have ever taken, mind you my hands were digging into the seat in front of me the entire time.
6. All the countries, although so close to one another, are very different. There are a lot of issues between the various groups (Uzbeks, Tajiks, Kyrgz, Russians). The one major trait that runs throughout these countries is the hospitality of the people. It was really interesting to see that in some countries the Soviets made better infrastructure investments.
Please visit the links below to see some selected pictures from the last couple of months:
Kabul Random Photos - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2462055&id=48904585&l=759c0e0bb0
Uzbekistan - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2480953&id=48904585&l=1b2825832c
Kyrgyzstan - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2480976&id=48904585&l=d3c43e83f3
Tajikistan - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2480981&id=48904585&l=ac01af2024
If that wasn't enough traveling I ended up taking a quick trip to Karachi for Eid to visit a friend of mine. I had never been to Pakistan and was quite lucky in obtaining a visa and getting flights out there so quickly. I really liked Karachi and was VERY spoilt over the five days. I would really like to go back to Karachi and then also visit Hunza, Gilgit, Islamabad and Lahore....next time hopefully.
Dubai and Karachi - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2480991&id=48904585&l=abf3f4f7d7
And now I'm off again, still trying to sort out the details, to Dubai, then New York and then home for about a week. I am very excited to get back to the western world, sleep in my own bed, see all my friends and family. It has almost been six months since I've been home...looking forward to it. I should know my plan in the coming few days.
Again, sorry for the delay in posting. Hope to see most of you soon and sending lots of love your way!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Afghanistan's TV 'Election': Better Than the Real Thing
By Aryn Baker
TIME Magazine
It is Mujiburahman Poya's youth that makes his face jump out from among the posters of the 41 candidates for Afghanistan's presidential election next month. Surrounded by images of the grizzled faces of older men sporting traditional hats or business suits, 18-year-old Poya's poster declares him "The Real Afghanistan" and promises that if elected, he will enrich the country rather than himself. No matter how appealing voters find that message in a country plagued by corruption, though, it will be at least another 22 years before they can tick Poya's name at the polling booths. (Afghanistan's constitution sets the minimum age for a President at 40.) Poya isn't actually running for election; he is a contestant on The Candidate, a reality-TV show that follows six Afghans ages 22 or younger as they compete to develop the policies, campaign and support necessary to win a poll of viewers voting by SMS text messages on their mobile phones.
And in a lackluster presidential race (the outcome — the re-election of President Hamid Karzai — is all but certain), The Candidate may be the only thing getting Afghans to think about the policies they would like to see a President adopt. (Watch a video on the challenges for the U.S. military in Afghanistan.)
There had been some hope for a genuinely competitive election last spring, when several popular politicians announced plans to run for President, but Karzai responded by winning endorsements from key power brokers and making shrewd political alliances with former rivals, giving himself a commanding lead. A recent opinion poll found Karzai enjoying only a 33% approval rate, but that was still miles ahead of all his competitors. That prompted a Western diplomat to lament that Karzai was both "unpopular and unbeatable."
Despite high voter-registration figures, a combination of security fears, the potential for vote-rigging and indifference toward the candidates has many analysts fearing a dangerously low turnout that could undermine the legitimacy of the winning candidate and hand the Taliban a powerful propaganda tool. "I don't see much enthusiasm for the elections," says Haroun Mir, head of the Afghan Center for Research and Policy Studies, a Kabul-based think tank. "There is a feeling that nothing will change, the old power brokers will still be in charge, so why bother?"
Producers of The Candidate, which airs on the privately owned Tolo TV network, are hoping to help by focusing Afghans on what they want from their political leaders. And Tolo has a successful model for its idea of tele-democracy: its wildly popular show Afghan Star, which mimicks American Idol and allows millions of viewers to vote via text message each week for their favorite singer. "One of the key successes of Afghan Star was that it demonstrated the concept of voting. So we started to think, How do we do the same thing in terms of elections?" says Tolo chief Jahid Mohseni. "One of the critical problems we have in Afghanistan is that we have a personality approach to politics — it's all about who the person is, his family or his ethnicity. It's never about policy and it is never about the outcome you want. So we thought a program based on a competition about policies could change that."
Each week, the show's contestants debate a policy topic such as security, education, health care and the economy.
Although a rotating panel of judges rate the candidates based on presentation, strategy and persuasiveness, viewers get the final say, voting one candidate off the show each week, starting with the fourth episode and culminating a week before the real election. The show's debates have become part of the country's everyday political discussions, blurring the line between reality TV and political reality. "These six candidates are better than the real candidates because they talk about platforms and have a vision for what needs to be done," says presenter Jawed Jurat. Already, he says, some of the real candidates are copying the platforms of their youthful television counterparts.
The show's contestants are given $1,300 a month to spend on real-world campaigning — posters, rallies and travel to other provinces. For Ahmed Farid Danish, a 20-year-old from Kabul who dresses for TV in a crystal-studded tuxedo jacket and iridescent lavender tie, going out on the campaign trail was the hardest part. The son of a prominent politician, he had always thought about running for higher office. "Now that I am having to meet all these people and talk about the issues in public, I think maybe I don't want to run for President," he confided the week before he was voted off the program.
Not so for Ajuba Dadqiq, 19, the only female candidate. Vivacious and stunning, the schoolteacher covers her head in a handmade silk scarf with the bold black, red and green stripes of the Afghan flag. She says she has always wanted to be President. Being on The Candidate, she says, is the first step in a long political career. "By the time I reach the legal age to be President, I hope the people of Afghanistan are ready to accept a female President. If they are not, I will work hard to make the people ready."
Two weeks ago, 18-year-old Poya became the first candidate voted off the show. But instead of making a graceful concession speech, he refused the sixth-place plaque and stormed offstage. Outside the studio, he spluttered his anger and vitriol, hinting darkly that the vote was rigged and elections were useless. "After this, it is clear that I must move ahead by force, not by talent," he shouted. "Afghanistan is not ready for democracy. If people want it, there is hope, but now no one is thinking about their future. They are not thinking about who they choose, so that is why they suffer." The moment was captured by behind-the-scenes cameras, offering a reality-TV moment uncomfortably close to Afghanistan's reality.
TIME Magazine
It is Mujiburahman Poya's youth that makes his face jump out from among the posters of the 41 candidates for Afghanistan's presidential election next month. Surrounded by images of the grizzled faces of older men sporting traditional hats or business suits, 18-year-old Poya's poster declares him "The Real Afghanistan" and promises that if elected, he will enrich the country rather than himself. No matter how appealing voters find that message in a country plagued by corruption, though, it will be at least another 22 years before they can tick Poya's name at the polling booths. (Afghanistan's constitution sets the minimum age for a President at 40.) Poya isn't actually running for election; he is a contestant on The Candidate, a reality-TV show that follows six Afghans ages 22 or younger as they compete to develop the policies, campaign and support necessary to win a poll of viewers voting by SMS text messages on their mobile phones.
And in a lackluster presidential race (the outcome — the re-election of President Hamid Karzai — is all but certain), The Candidate may be the only thing getting Afghans to think about the policies they would like to see a President adopt. (Watch a video on the challenges for the U.S. military in Afghanistan.)
There had been some hope for a genuinely competitive election last spring, when several popular politicians announced plans to run for President, but Karzai responded by winning endorsements from key power brokers and making shrewd political alliances with former rivals, giving himself a commanding lead. A recent opinion poll found Karzai enjoying only a 33% approval rate, but that was still miles ahead of all his competitors. That prompted a Western diplomat to lament that Karzai was both "unpopular and unbeatable."
Despite high voter-registration figures, a combination of security fears, the potential for vote-rigging and indifference toward the candidates has many analysts fearing a dangerously low turnout that could undermine the legitimacy of the winning candidate and hand the Taliban a powerful propaganda tool. "I don't see much enthusiasm for the elections," says Haroun Mir, head of the Afghan Center for Research and Policy Studies, a Kabul-based think tank. "There is a feeling that nothing will change, the old power brokers will still be in charge, so why bother?"
Producers of The Candidate, which airs on the privately owned Tolo TV network, are hoping to help by focusing Afghans on what they want from their political leaders. And Tolo has a successful model for its idea of tele-democracy: its wildly popular show Afghan Star, which mimicks American Idol and allows millions of viewers to vote via text message each week for their favorite singer. "One of the key successes of Afghan Star was that it demonstrated the concept of voting. So we started to think, How do we do the same thing in terms of elections?" says Tolo chief Jahid Mohseni. "One of the critical problems we have in Afghanistan is that we have a personality approach to politics — it's all about who the person is, his family or his ethnicity. It's never about policy and it is never about the outcome you want. So we thought a program based on a competition about policies could change that."
Each week, the show's contestants debate a policy topic such as security, education, health care and the economy.
Although a rotating panel of judges rate the candidates based on presentation, strategy and persuasiveness, viewers get the final say, voting one candidate off the show each week, starting with the fourth episode and culminating a week before the real election. The show's debates have become part of the country's everyday political discussions, blurring the line between reality TV and political reality. "These six candidates are better than the real candidates because they talk about platforms and have a vision for what needs to be done," says presenter Jawed Jurat. Already, he says, some of the real candidates are copying the platforms of their youthful television counterparts.
The show's contestants are given $1,300 a month to spend on real-world campaigning — posters, rallies and travel to other provinces. For Ahmed Farid Danish, a 20-year-old from Kabul who dresses for TV in a crystal-studded tuxedo jacket and iridescent lavender tie, going out on the campaign trail was the hardest part. The son of a prominent politician, he had always thought about running for higher office. "Now that I am having to meet all these people and talk about the issues in public, I think maybe I don't want to run for President," he confided the week before he was voted off the program.
Not so for Ajuba Dadqiq, 19, the only female candidate. Vivacious and stunning, the schoolteacher covers her head in a handmade silk scarf with the bold black, red and green stripes of the Afghan flag. She says she has always wanted to be President. Being on The Candidate, she says, is the first step in a long political career. "By the time I reach the legal age to be President, I hope the people of Afghanistan are ready to accept a female President. If they are not, I will work hard to make the people ready."
Two weeks ago, 18-year-old Poya became the first candidate voted off the show. But instead of making a graceful concession speech, he refused the sixth-place plaque and stormed offstage. Outside the studio, he spluttered his anger and vitriol, hinting darkly that the vote was rigged and elections were useless. "After this, it is clear that I must move ahead by force, not by talent," he shouted. "Afghanistan is not ready for democracy. If people want it, there is hope, but now no one is thinking about their future. They are not thinking about who they choose, so that is why they suffer." The moment was captured by behind-the-scenes cameras, offering a reality-TV moment uncomfortably close to Afghanistan's reality.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
One Laptop Per Child
This week I had the pleasure of attending the extension of the OLPC project to Kabul. Roshan supports the project, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, 
Ministry of Communication and the United States International Development Agency. Last March, we celebrated the official launch with 400 laptops being distributed in Jalalabad and in Kabul they will distribute 2,000 laptops between four high schools.
This time I was very fortunate to attend the ceremony in Kabul at one of the local schools. I was one of the few women in attendance, which was really interesting. We got a tour of the classrooms and met with some of the students. The girls were especially excited to meet with me. They kept trying to speak with me in English and take pictures of me with the webcam on their laptops.
Ministry of Communication and the United States International Development Agency. Last March, we celebrated the official launch with 400 laptops being distributed in Jalalabad and in Kabul they will distribute 2,000 laptops between four high schools.
This time I was very fortunate to attend the ceremony in Kabul at one of the local schools. I was one of the few women in attendance, which was really interesting. We got a tour of the classrooms and met with some of the students. The girls were especially excited to meet with me. They kept trying to speak with me in English and take pictures of me with the webcam on their laptops. Monday, June 1, 2009
Back to Bamyan
Hi Everyone!!
I just returned back from Bamyan again and let me tell you what a trip it was.
The UN flight up to Bamyan was completely booked so we ended up having to drive over 10 hours from Kabul to Bamyan. For someone who gets car sick easily (especially where nine and half hours of the way there is no proper road) it was quite the experience. The mountains were absolutely stunning; we saw everything from chickens to camels to
lambs to donkeys and tons of friendly children who were very excited at the site of foreigners. We arrived in Bamyan late Thursday and stayed again at the Silk Route, which overlooks the Buddhas.
I just returned back from Bamyan again and let me tell you what a trip it was.
The UN flight up to Bamyan was completely booked so we ended up having to drive over 10 hours from Kabul to Bamyan. For someone who gets car sick easily (especially where nine and half hours of the way there is no proper road) it was quite the experience. The mountains were absolutely stunning; we saw everything from chickens to camels to
lambs to donkeys and tons of friendly children who were very excited at the site of foreigners. We arrived in Bamyan late Thursday and stayed again at the Silk Route, which overlooks the Buddhas.
Just to put the healthcare system into into perspective for you Bamyan has many health care 
challenges – the population is estimated at over 500,000 and they have some of the highest levels of maternal and child mortality rates in Afghanistan. For every 22,500 births, there are 382 maternal deaths and 3,937 infant deaths. The hospital is located in the city, so many of the patients travel (usually walking on foot for at least two days) to seek medical attention. The hospital has expanded since Aga Khan Health Services took over in 2004. The hospital compound doesn’t have a formal waiting room, so often you see people just sitting outside waiting to see a doctor, children with IV attached to them sitting on the dirt ground and a lot of chaos. They have about 300 people come in each day. It's heartbreaking to watch!
We spent all day Friday at the hospital putting up the tent for the event, printing materials, going through scheduling and running errands. I got a chance to visit the Midwifery School, which is a new project developed by AKHS. They just began the fourth session a couple of weeks ago. The women get hands-on training at the school; there are lots of mock labs set up for them to practice. The course runs 18 months and the women have to perform a number of deliveries on their own to graduate from the program. It was really interesting to meet with women there, many of whom only had grade ten education and were no older than 23. When the women found out that I was Ismali they got rather excited and started telling me about when His Highness visited the hospital and school in 2006.
Saturday I was back at the hospital and close to losing my mind. Things were very chaotic and I needed to breathe. My co-worker Evan who came with me to Bamyan decided we should sneak off for a bit and climb the Buddhas. I’ll be completely honest, I was quite scared 
about climbing them. It’s quite steep and slippery and the last thing I needed was to fall and break something the day before the event. We managed to make it all the way up the small Buddha and the view from the top was spectacular. We ended up going back to the hospital to finalize everything for the next day and then had a quiet evening at the hotel with some yummy Indian food made by the Japanese-Afghan owner of the hotel.
I woke up Sunday with an insane amount of adrenaline. We were at the hospital at 6am ready to go. The difficult thing about this event is we had two locations to plan for (Bamyan and Kabul) and my team had to manage the 15 VIPs flying in on a chartered flight that morning. We had some very high-profile guests attend and you have to guarantee their security and make sure everything follows diplomatic protocol. My tipping point that morning was after we had everyone arrive and seated having our security representative pull me aside to tell me that their was an intelligence report of a suicide bomber disguised as a journalist trying to get into the event (at this point I had 12 journalists in the tent with all the VIPs). Last minute, we had to put additional security representatives to watch carefully each of the media.
The thing that really surprised me was how the Minister of Public Health and Governor of Bamyan both thanked His Highness in their speeches. They regarded him very highly and it was really nice to see how much they value the work of the Network.
Our MC for the event was this beautiful Hazara girl who had never done anything like this before. I had coached her leading up to the event; we had a few small hiccups but otherwise it was okay. Our translator for the event turned out to be awful, so last minute one of our Legal guys (who thank god we had put last minute on the plane) stepped in to manage the show.
Once the event finished the VIPs were taken on a tour of the hospital and then a lunch was hosted by the Governor at the Silk Route. In between this the Minister of Public Health decided he wanted to hold a totally unexpected press conference. We finally just had to cut it off and send the VIPs for lunch overlooking the Buddhas. Lunch went smoothly except for the fact that I had the Minister of Public Health’s Secretary throw a complete fit because I had one of the guys ask him his name. He stormed out of the event and caused a bit of a show, none of which fazed the Minister.
We escorted the VIPs back to the airport and the rest of us Roshan staff who were there jumped on the plane back to Kabul. We landed and were back in the office by 4pm. Yesterday and today I have been completely out of it. I’m just mentally so exhausted from the last three weeks – it’s been endless hours of preparation, late nights and weekends at the offices, countless phone calls, SMS, and e-mails. It is honestly such a sigh of relief.
Having to be a key lead on something like this pushed me beyond my limits. It’s probably been the toughest three weeks in my role at Roshan. I’m happy to say overall it went well and that after planning an event in the middle of nowhere in Bamyan I can probably plan an event anywhere in the world haha.
My apologizes for the super long blog entry. I hope you find it interesting. My mom had sent out a video a couple weeks ago – this should give you a better idea of Bamyan if you haven't seen it http://www.globalhealthtv.com/news/the_cost_of_war_to_a_health_system/ I’ll post some more pictures later this week.
Note – the pictures in this entry are a mix between ones from my last trip two weeks ago and this trip.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Bamyan
I'm in Bamyan and it is absolutely fabulous!!!
We spent the day around the hotel (my room overlooks where the Buddhas use to be). Very exciting stuff! Our hotel is wonderful; my room is furnished with beautiful Afghan furniture, I have a heater keeping me warm and running water, which I was initially quite worried about! Couldn't be more comfy! The hotel is called the Silk Route and is owned by a Japanese-Afghan women. The hotel is a cross between the two cultures - we had Japanese food for dinner!
I only have power for another 10 minutes so will write more tomorrow :) We are spending the whole day at the hospital. I met with the Head of the Hospital for dinner this evening and it seems like it will be an interesting experience. I'm expecting it to be an emotional day from the way he was talking about his patients and the community which the hospital serves.
Anyways, more later.....
We spent the day around the hotel (my room overlooks where the Buddhas use to be). Very exciting stuff! Our hotel is wonderful; my room is furnished with beautiful Afghan furniture, I have a heater keeping me warm and running water, which I was initially quite worried about! Couldn't be more comfy! The hotel is called the Silk Route and is owned by a Japanese-Afghan women. The hotel is a cross between the two cultures - we had Japanese food for dinner!
I only have power for another 10 minutes so will write more tomorrow :) We are spending the whole day at the hospital. I met with the Head of the Hospital for dinner this evening and it seems like it will be an interesting experience. I'm expecting it to be an emotional day from the way he was talking about his patients and the community which the hospital serves.
Anyways, more later.....
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Back in Kabul
Hi Everyone!
Hope you are doing well. Sorry for the delay in writing; things have been so hectic since I got back. Work is keeping me rather busy. I also started Dari classes (again), let's see if I can keep up this time.
I’m off to Bamyan next Tuesday to visit the Bamyan Hospital (operated by Aga Khan Health Services). Roshan has launched a Telemedicine project which connects Bamyan Hospital to the French Medical Institute for Children (FMIC). Through this link doctors can get a second-opinion on difficult medical cases. If the case is still difficult to diagnose, the FMIC can send scans through the Telemedicine link to the Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. I will be spending three days in Bamyan and am very excited to visit the region. Bamyan is famous for the Buddhas that were destroyed during the time of the Taleban. The Buddhas were included on the 2008 World Monuments Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites by the World Monuments Fund.
In other news, the only known pig in Afghanistan, housed at the Kabul Zoo has been put in quarantine. The pig was a gift to the zoo from China. In Afghanistan, pork and pig products are illegal and people visiting the zoo are even more nervous because they believe they could be infected with swine flu.
An article from Reuters quoted Aziz Gul Saqib, director of the Kabul Zoo who said, "For now the pig is under quarantine, we built it a room because of swine influenza. We've done this because people are worried about getting the flu."
Otherwise nothing to report. Happy Thursday!
Hope you are doing well. Sorry for the delay in writing; things have been so hectic since I got back. Work is keeping me rather busy. I also started Dari classes (again), let's see if I can keep up this time.
I’m off to Bamyan next Tuesday to visit the Bamyan Hospital (operated by Aga Khan Health Services). Roshan has launched a Telemedicine project which connects Bamyan Hospital to the French Medical Institute for Children (FMIC). Through this link doctors can get a second-opinion on difficult medical cases. If the case is still difficult to diagnose, the FMIC can send scans through the Telemedicine link to the Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. I will be spending three days in Bamyan and am very excited to visit the region. Bamyan is famous for the Buddhas that were destroyed during the time of the Taleban. The Buddhas were included on the 2008 World Monuments Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites by the World Monuments Fund.
In other news, the only known pig in Afghanistan, housed at the Kabul Zoo has been put in quarantine. The pig was a gift to the zoo from China. In Afghanistan, pork and pig products are illegal and people visiting the zoo are even more nervous because they believe they could be infected with swine flu.
An article from Reuters quoted Aziz Gul Saqib, director of the Kabul Zoo who said, "For now the pig is under quarantine, we built it a room because of swine influenza. We've done this because people are worried about getting the flu."
Otherwise nothing to report. Happy Thursday!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
More Drama in Kabul
I'm writing this entry on my BlackBerry as I'm driving through the city. I feel this would be a good time to write as I'm feeling a lot of emotions right now: scared, frustrated, uneasy, nervous and mostly not wanting to be alone.
In light of all the attacks in Kabul today all staff have been evacuated from the office. Its a scary feeling to be driving through the deserted parts of the city, very few cars, lots of security vehicles, not many people moving about as usual. From what we know the Taleban still have hostages inside the ministry, I'm sure we will all be updated in the next few hours. We've been told that there could be more attacks today so as I sit in the car for the first time I am worried and my stomach is uneasy.
I don't write this entry to worry you but write it in hopes that all of you out there reading appreciate the security in living in a safe country. I've been scared a few of my days in kabul but I think of my Afghan collegues who have lived in fear for years. At the end of the day I can always go back home, go to my peaceful existence, but my colleagues have lived, do live and will live with the instability at least for the next few years. This experience has pushed me like no other and for that I'm thankful. And at the end of the day I've really realized how lucky I've been for all 20 something years of my life. If anything say thanks today for the freedom you have and if you have a second wish, pray, do whatever you do and hope
that one day the people in this country have the same luxury that we often taken for granted.
In light of all the attacks in Kabul today all staff have been evacuated from the office. Its a scary feeling to be driving through the deserted parts of the city, very few cars, lots of security vehicles, not many people moving about as usual. From what we know the Taleban still have hostages inside the ministry, I'm sure we will all be updated in the next few hours. We've been told that there could be more attacks today so as I sit in the car for the first time I am worried and my stomach is uneasy.
I don't write this entry to worry you but write it in hopes that all of you out there reading appreciate the security in living in a safe country. I've been scared a few of my days in kabul but I think of my Afghan collegues who have lived in fear for years. At the end of the day I can always go back home, go to my peaceful existence, but my colleagues have lived, do live and will live with the instability at least for the next few years. This experience has pushed me like no other and for that I'm thankful. And at the end of the day I've really realized how lucky I've been for all 20 something years of my life. If anything say thanks today for the freedom you have and if you have a second wish, pray, do whatever you do and hope
that one day the people in this country have the same luxury that we often taken for granted.
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