Afghanistan in motion

I just stumbled upon this video from where I work in which you get to meet some of the people I work with here, including Robert, Mette, Agneta and a few of our drivers and local staff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Akz2zjOnV4

We are now trying to find flowers for our office that look better than the ones we in Sweden call "hundkex". Finding what you need is not easy here, but on the other hand you often get surprised to see what you can find. Snus, Lonely Planet and the movie "ondskan" are just some items I've seen when visiting one of the few well-sorted shops around here. As long as someone is willing to pay for an item, you can be sure to find it somewhere. That seems to apply to everything except flowers, though.

As you may have heard, we currently have a delegation with Mr. Bildt visiting Kabul. Please see his blog (carlbildt.wordpress.com) for more details on the visit. During a dinner yesterday, he once again impressed with his profound knowledge of the world we live in, and there are not many books on Afghanistan that has not crossed his speedy reading eyes.

On request, I will now report on today's clothing. With my suit and shoes in a cardboard box somewhere on its way from Sweden to here, I currently wear a borrowed, grey suit with black shoes one size too small. With the suit being just a little too big, I say to myself that it's good because it makes me look more like the Afghanis when wearing their long tunics. I chose between a blue tie and a yellow since the opening of the embassy will be celebrated today, and will now wear the blue one as Swedish workers from all over town gather to mingle and catch up this afternoon.

If you have heard about the bombing this morning, I can assure you that I (and also my colleagues) am safe and sound. It's exciting times indeed and I'll report back soon, inschallah!

A few sights in Kabul

Afghan details

Another one bites the dust

The very first impression of Kabul is not the traffic, the burqas nor the power generating hummingbirds – it is the dust. Gone are the clean nostrils I remember from Sweden, nowadays they function as a life-saving filter that keeps my lungs reasonably healthy and hopefully delays the infamous ‘afghan cough’. Initially mistaken for fog, the dust creates a mood-enriching blanket over the whole city which makes the very few existing street lights look even more spookily old than they probably are. It is however not only my aerial organs that get a beating – my clothes, bags and shoes have already turned grayish and avoiding embarrassing dust-smudges on your outfit throughout the whole day should be considered impossible. Our cleaners have nevertheless taken up the fight by using their most powerful weapon, water, to the extent that our floors make the poor Kabul River look skimpy in comparison. The piles of dust, however, never seem to disappear. They even get in your food, and putting a handful of apparently old pistachios in my mouth yesterday, I sure got to know what it’s like to bite the dust.

The whispering game

Without a wide-spread use of media, word of mouth becomes the main route of information for most Afghanis but also for us. You may have heard about an incident involving two westeners and one Afghan guard a few days ago. I've heard the truth about it. Or actually, all the truths. It was an internal showdown between these three guys / There was a misunderstanding / There was a guy in the back of the car / There were lots of people involved / No one else was there / Many people got hurt... There is the official version, our version, the driver's version, everybody knows what happens but tells different stories. When taking photos for the visa, the photographer suddenly had the missing piece of information that noone else but him knew about - they brought Afghan women, and we all know what Afghan men think about that. Yet one piece in the never ending jigsaw puzzle of Afghanistan - the country where the whispering game is played by all.

Living in a bubble

Once again filled with foreign food, although this time Mexican, I begin to realize that the hardship of life in Kabul is not at all what I thought it would be. While living is more than decent, much because safety regulations forces us to eat and stay in places where we pay ten times the regular Afghan prices, the hardship is a result of the just mentioned safety regulations. Not being able to walk in the streets, always minding your speech, being checked in safety zones all the time and seeing the world mostly through glass windows is actually what really makes this place worthy of the hardship label. It has been said that the western countries can offer western freedom but not security. However, it sure seems like the situation for us temporary expats is just the opposite.

Comfortable in Kabul

Slightly jetlagged, a long but comfy flight brought me over the moon-like hills of Afghanistan, to Kabul. On my way, in Delhi, I got to meet my first Afghan acquaintance - a female doctor who was on her way back from a conference in Nepal dealing with medical abortion. How she was ever going to use the knowledge gained in Afghanistan, she did not know, but it didn't matter much since the US paid for her business class flight.



Life in Kabul sure is messy even though it is Sunday, which could be explained by the fact that Friday and Saturday comprise the Afghan weekend. Between the huge walls of the embassies and ignored traffic lights, streets are bustling with cars, animals, men, men and men. It is hard to believe the number of everyday-adventures that constantly take place outside the guarding windows of the truck we're travelling in. This is not driving, the driver tells me, this is Afghan driving.

Within this jumble, the well guarded spots where we work, eat and live become safe havens not unlike home. With the Lebanese and Chinese food from lunch and dinner comfortably in my stomach, I now lay to rest in the guesthouse where I'll be staying these first few days, perhaps weeks. A constant humming noise has followed me throughout the day, and is now to be heard from just outside the window. The sound comes from the diesel generators that provide each house with power. Diesel generators - the hummingbirds of Kabul.

Time to say goodbye

Excited, anxious, alive.

The feeling of leaving has finally arrived, energizing my thoughts and mind. Realizing that this will be my last day in cold, wet, calm Sweden, I try to grasp what awaits me. There is no doubt that there will be more experiences and discoveries than I could ever ask for - probably enough for me to be able to share some with you who stay with me in this blog. My ambition is to let you participate in the daily life of Kabul, and I'll do my best to show you everything that's possible, with respect to safety which will be my main priority. Please also bear that in mind when commenting on the blog, just in case.

So, au revoir! We'll meet again soon, inschallah.