DIARY FROM AFGHANISTAN (4)

(Gloria Company, president of ACAF)

More diaries - 2006 - March 2008 - June 2008 - November 2008 - January 2009 - March 2009

Looking back...

"It has been seven days since I arrived back from Afghanistan and the view that I have of this country today is one of total chaos within an external appearance of normality. The majority of the territory is completely war-torn, though this is undeclared. It is under discussion, but there is no interest in declaring the failure of the international community, as much on the part of NATO as on that of ISAF and various other international agencies. There is a lot of interest, but little compassion toward the Afghan village.

After six years of regular trips and more than two years working in the area, my perception is that although many changes have taken place, they have been badly planned, as much by external forces as by the Afghans themselves. The latter already believe themselves adult enough to move forward alone, and their only interest is in the money I can provide. They are not self-critical, and they do not recognise the lack of understanding between themselves, nor the necessity for further years of external aid if they are to learn to work adequately. The Afghan pride is too strong to let it be known".

I wrote these lines shortly after returning to Spain last June, I took them out again to see if the current perception was the same... This world is always changing... (Gloria Company, president of ACAF)

29.10.2008

Wednesday, departure from Madrid for Dubai.

30.10.2008

Thursday, arrival in Kabul.

Arrival in Kabul at 10.30, local time (three and a half hours ahead of Spain). We did not sleep that night, after 26 hours from the departure of the first aeroplane, having been awake for 3 hours before as well. We took three aeroplanes, with a total of 11 hours of true flight time, the rest spent on changing terminals, waiting, resolving customs problems, dealing with the police and buying tickets from Afghan airlines. A real mission to carry this all out at night, while tired, in Islamic countries, with the unexpected grand opulence of the terminal in Dubai contrasting with the third-world appearance of Afghanistan.

The arrival at Kabul airport after such a journey is now a routine all too well known. Unknown, however, is the entrance to the proper city of Kabul. My perception (apart from the usual chaotic transit) was that "something had happened". This something, we found out later, had been a double-suicide bombing of the Ministry for Education, with 24 dead and many more injured. Welcome to Kabul! What a week of attacks this city has had! Result: Our movements restricted to zero because it was Friday and a holiday week, and we had to remain in our accommodation until the departure of the aeroplane from Herat on Saturday morning. At least we can say we recovered completely from the weariness from the journey.

01.11.2008

Saturday, Kabul-Herat.

Second meeting with the Afghan personnel from ACAF, personnel from the Ministry of Women (their president was waiting for us in Kabul to speak with the Minister, but had to leave quickly due to the death of her only niece of 7 years who had drowned in a stream; this interview is still pending - we will see that it gets done on our return) and our dear beneficiaries, self-burn victims, self-immolation victims, and those that are neither one nor the other but who receive some sort of support from our centre, whether it be training courses or psychosocial support.

Our centre breeds noise and confusion like all things Afghan, but also happiness, and hope for the future. I am happy, I love seeing so many women working together, talking together, listening intently to the teacher's explanations and smiling with gratitude. This is when I say to myself: everything has been worthwhile, let's keep going, we're doing well. Afterwards, perhaps due to the work itself, the restructuring and expansion, I find it harder to feel the good of what has been achieved.