Life among death

One thing that never leaves me or anyone else here in Kabul is the everyday reminder of the horrible incidents that have happened and will happen. The centre of the city is not very big, and not a day passes without seeing one or several sights where innocent people have lost their lives. In the hotel lobby, in the gym, outside our new houses, in the buildings we pass every day seen on the pictures above... those are just a few examples of locations reminding us of how safe we are in our countries back home.

You can't of course be scared or sad all the time if you want to get some work done, and among the workers here there is a very special attitude towards safety regulations and threats. One example of this is the ironic "paranoia party" held a few days ago, with the invitation reminding us of that nothing had happened in two weeks. Despite the fact that the joke came true with a bombing the same day as the party, everything continued according to plan. Below are two snapshots from the night.

Afghanistan in pictures

Since I don't get out too often, I don't get the chance to show you much of Afghanistan in pictures. All the photos in this blog are taken by me, but if you want to see more, take a look at this excellent blog which I just found!

http://thruafghaneyes.blogspot.com/

From one isolation to another

Celebrating one month since I left Sweden today, I am still moving around from place to place like a homeless person with a luxurious touch. The last week, and a week or two to come, I'm staying at the fanciest five-star hotel in Kabul (Afghan stars, that is) where I get my bed tucked every night and my underwear dry-cleaned. As you understand, these things can't last forever, so soon I'll be moving to a house which is being renovated by countless Afghans as we speak. Things there won't be too bad either though, with 250 square meters of home, a nice veranda and a stunning view of the colonized mountains surrounding us. What I'm most concerned about is how to decide which of the four bathrooms that will become my favourite... well, the way things are done around here sure is interesting. With all the threats around here you would expect people to be somewhat risk-averse, but the people visiting the soon-to-become safe home of ours currently impose themselves to lethal annoyances by using monster batteries and circus techniques while cleaning windows. If anyone would make the “Extreme Home Makeover – Kabul Edition”, it would for sure receive a PG-rating. Here are some pictures of the work in progress. 

 
  
 

Hangman

Despite the hard work (much made by our fellow neighbours Norway) to promote Rule-by-Law in Afghanistan, the juridical system is not much appreciated and well-functioning yet. About half of the population still thinks that the informal way of solving things is the way to go, and many have been cheering as president Karzai have started to order death penalties again. "Not all that the Taliban did was bad", some say, and a 23-year-old teacher burned in an acid attack on 15 schoolgirls and instructors wants the Afghan government to throw acid on her attackers and then hang them. On the picture is a diving tower close to where we live and work, visible from far away, where the Taliban hung people regularly to spread fear in Kabul. The situation today is similar to the one in Sweden with the Christian Democrats and weddings - the leader feels the pressure from the voters to stick to old traditions in order to maintain his position and support. However, in this case, the leader gets his will through, and we will surely witness more of this as the election comes closer. 

Kabulife #3 - Work

With a big gap in my reporting due to a massive workload, the theme of today will try to explain what I do on a day-to-day basis. I'll start by describing the week that I now leave behind me (since the Afghan Saturday is like the western Sunday).

Sweden will from the 1st of July 2009 have a new country strategy for Afghanistan, and in the beginning of this week a delegation from Sida (including the General Director) in Sweden arrived to immerse themselves in the reality of this country. My responsibilities for this week was to coordinate everybody and their travels between meetings, since we cannot move anywhere without our cars and drivers. This meant some detailed work in excel and a constant accessibility and flexibility since things never turn out the way you plan when having meetings here (people just don't show up, or change their mind hours before the meeting). I have also arranged a week of separate meetings for a person looking at issues concerning Private Sector Development, with this being my area of interest. During the week, I together with this person have been trying to figure out what Sweden can do to promote the development of the private sector in Afghanistan. Which surely is a challenge, I can tell you. It has been an intense week where we have met highly positioned people in ministries, organizations and NGO's, and my business card collector is just about as full as my brain at the moment.

When things are back to normal, I work with assessing project proposals that come to us that deal with education and employment. This means that I compare the activities and goals to the aims of our funds, and commit interviews and follow-ups to make sure that every piece of relevant information is squeezed out of person with involvement in the project. When this is done, I write fancy documents describing the project in order for my 'boss' to decide on it. It is actually a very nice thing to do here, since it gives you opportunities to come out to visit places and people in and around Kabul.

Then, of course, being the youngest at the office, I'm more or less the IT-guy also, helping people with their excel issues and technical questions. It's such an easy way to make people happy.

I hope you're doing good back in Sweden with all the Snow. We also got our first flakes on the top of the mountains surrounding Kabul the other day, and I'll try to be back with a photo-special soon. Until then - stay safe!

Striving to please the thick-pocketed westerners, there are as told a few restaurants with rigorous security, western cousin and high prices. However, it is sometimes hard to copy the western service, resulting in quite a few memorable moments. Here are some happenings from my visit to a French restaurant yesterday:
- I order, and point at a red Bordeaux. I receive a white Alsace.
- When I put my first spoon of soup (appetizer) in my mouth, the main course is served and put beside me.- The red wine is then served, and looking for a good place to put the bottle, the waiter decides that the ash tray will be perfect.
- When ordering water, I get the question 'hot or cold?'.
- When receiving the water, a 1.5 litre bottle without glasses is served.
- I also only have a spoon, which makes it hard when trying to eat the main course steak.
- The person next to us orders a Lemon Tarte for dessert, but laughs loudly when receiving a plate of sliced lemons instead.

Well, I just find this hilariously charming.

I am beggin' you for mercy

A few days ago, President Hamid Karzai decided to make begging illegal. What has been the only way of surviving for millions of Afghans is now considered shameful for the Afghan people, and beggars will be taken care of and sent to big camps. However, first it is necessary to separate poor beggars from professional ones. With a culture that says that you must help anyone who asks for help, begging is one of the most lucrative 'job' available for many people. According to my driver, up to 80% of the beggars in Kabul do it professionally. Can't really blame them, but they better be careful, or be prepared to share some with the not-always-so-perfect police, if they want to continue with that profession.