Greetings from Kabul Mental Hospital. Thought I would drop by and let ya know how things are out here. After a failed attempt to change the BM venue to Kabul Coffee House, thought would see what you lot are up to!!
It’s quite a wierd place to live in many ways. I have heard that people who were here even six months ago had a different experience, but security is a big issue here right now. I really enjoy the job - it’s very interesting, worthwhile - the charity are working mainly with Afghan people and making a very visible impact in the community. For example, thousands of disabled people are getting artifical limbs / wheelchairs / technical assistance and also access to employment / social and health services. Quite a few women with disabilities are also getting a service, which is a breakthrough. The projects will be taken over by the Afghan Ministry of Health in the next 5 years and many Afghan people are being trained as Physios / in the fitting and making of artificial limbs etc. Afghanistan has the highest rate of disability in the entire world, so it is a very interesting job to do.
However, socially, it is a different story. Given the security there are curfews in place, a list of where we can go and we have to radio in practically every five minutes when we are out. I think there is a worry because NGOs are a Taliban target here. There was an attempted kidnap even last week outside a bar which westerners frequent. I think that’s the thing i will find most difficult - the loss of freedom. However, it will be a good learning experience and a personal challenge. Next week am going out of Kabul to the projects in the west of the country, which will be good.
We have internet in the guest house, which is great, as it keeps me in touch with the outside world!! Probably will have forgotten how to ride a bike on my return!
Cheers folks!! Thanks also for the advice ASBO - nice one!! Happy birthday too - for yesterday or the day before.
BB Monk - welcome to visit me - although it’s not really a tourist destination at the mo:D:D a couple of nice parks though and the legendary Kabul Coffee Shop. And you might like Herat - that is a nice place - and the mountains are beautiful.
Lima three is not my radio name - my radio name is Lima FOUR - but am going incognito in secret :D:D:P LOL Shhhhhh- you know - insecure internet connections etc :D:D LOL
We have the DAY OFF today for the Eid holiday, so decided I would ask my a few folks I know (not that I know many yet) to the guest house for lunch. However, we have a very dodgy old gas oven, which practically exploded in my face just now when I tried to light it. It would be weird working in Afghanistan, where Aid workers have been killed by the Taliban, only to get killed by a dodgy old gas oven I couldn’t light properly!! Having said that - must go and check on it and see what it is doing.
Lovely weather though here - gorgeous sunny day again - might sit on the roof later and look at the kites.
Good to see that you are keeping your spirits up Hels. Might that oven though it sounds like a death trap, make sure that the person who comes round to repair it is CORGI registered! Speaking of that, you said we’d get a warm reception but an exploding oven is just down right hostile!
Make the most of it, because you have some great stories to tell the kids.
And remember if the locals want you to go first, think landmines!:w00t:
Very interesting post, Hels, please keep them coming. It must be difficult to adapt to the restrictions but I think the key is to remember they are there for good reason.
Last night there was a short 3-minute film on tv about a beauty contest in an African country for female landmine victims, “Miss Landmine”. It seemed very good, the audience was very enthusiastic and it was amazing watching the confidence return to the contestants all of whom of course had legs missing. Not sure if this idea would catch on in Afghanistan, mind.
Take care out there, Lima 3/4, and keep up the excellent work you are doing.
hey Hels, really good to hear from you, keep the posts coming, it makes for an interesting read. Have to say, I think you are one brave lady, going out there, in more than one way. But I am sure it will be a fantastic experience and great story to tell your grand children too
You’ll be pleased to know the gas oven failed to kill me and I am still here - also we have power all day today as it is the Eid holiday. So am having a relaxing day, it’s now 4.30 pm and will shortly go and sit on the roof.
Was interesting to hear about the women’s beauty contest and it seems like an excellent idea, but maybe not in Afghanistan. Am not sure that would work here, because of the status of women.
The status of women here has given me much food for thought. In Kabul women can wear headscarves and don’t have to wear the Burka, but in the rest of the country many women are forced to wear Burkas. In Kandahar, women have been murdered for not wearing a Burka. However, when the Kandahar ladies come to Kabul, quite a few take them off and wear headscarves. They have said though that the social pressure is so intense, they have to return to wearing their Burkas when back in Kandahar.
It’s odd, because before I left I had some disagreements with friends about this issue. At the time there was some controversy about women wearing Burkas as teachers and in their professional lives. Many of my friends believed that in the UK, seeing as it is a diverse society, women should have the right to wear Burkas in their professional life. I disagreed, as I see the Burka as a gender issue and for this I was made to feel a bit like some kind of fascist. However, whilst in the UK the Burka is viewed by some as a symbol of ‘rights’, here it is seen by many Afghan women as a symbol of real oppression. It is something many women are fighting against, as it has damaged their eyesight (because of the mesh) makes it difficult to see, or to move around and also to eat. Women who are employed here in the main do not wear Burkas. Burkas are worn by the women who are most controlled and less able to speak out. In many areas women are forced to wear Burkas - it is a matter of life and death - to avoid being murdered. Many Afghan women do not understand why women in the UK are fighting to wear Burkas, when for them, in Afghanistan, it is a life and death issue, a matter of forced oppression and something they are desperately battling against.
Anyway, that’s my rant over here now!!
I will take heed of the security measure Sid, never fear:D:D
Nice to hear from you Hels, not causing too much trouble over there are you
The Burka is a great example of man taking something from scriptures (Christian or otherwise) and getting the wrong end of the stick and screwing things up for ourselves again . . . very sad how mankind can take such a simple concept and pervert it to (in most cases) oppress a group of people for no reason other than fear and their own insecurities.
Agreed!! The Burka has absolutely nothing to do with Islam whatsoever. I think, though, that many people in the UK see it as a symbol of ‘rights’ in a diverse society, hence women fighting for the ‘right’ to wear the Burka in professional life in Britain. However, in the UK we are lucky, because we have the ‘right’ basically to dress as we like. If I want to go out one day with my underpants over my trousers and a pink boob tube, I can, even though that may elicit some reactions!! However, taking a symbol of oppression, like the Burka, and making it a symbol of ‘rights’ is, in my opinion, wrong. This is because here, in Afghanistan, people outside of Kabul, in places such as Kandahar, are killed for not wearing the Burka, simple as. It is a symbol of control, denial of human rights and oppression.
So by saying it is my ‘right’ to wear one as I please as a teacher in the UK, is the same really saying it is my ‘right’ to wear a swastika. The swastika is a symbol of oppression, murder and death. I can wear one in the UK if I like, but it doesn’t take away what it represents. The Burka represents oppression for many women in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It represents denial of education, denial of employment, denial of opportunity, denial of movement, of sight and of choice. If you don’t wear one, in many places, you are dead. It is used to hide abuse and to prevent women from fulfilling their potential.
That is why women here cannot understand why women in the UK want to have the ‘right’ to wear one.
As you can see this is an issue I feel strongly about!!
Anyway, it is dusk here now and am sitting on the roof, looking at the kites. There are a huge number, all different colours and shapes. Amazing!!
Nice to hear that you’re fitting in well over there Hel’s…
The burkha issue is a very difficult one to understand, but you’ve hit the nail on the head there! The views of the people in this country are that they should be allowed to wear it in work etc… Whereas over in Afghanistan the women see it for what it really is, a form of oppression! In some countries, they used to practice foot-binding, but I don’t see many people fighting for the right to do that to themselves!
Anyway, try to get some pictures of the kites to show us. It used to be a big thing over there before the Taliban took over, from what I’ve been told. Good to see it’s been resurrected. In fact I think there’s a film called “The Kite Runner” isn’t there?
Keep low, move fast chic…
Yes I will get some picture of kites Although I saw the film and read the book ‘The Kite Runner’ I didn’t realise quite how big kite flying is out here. During Ramadan I saw very few kites, but now it is the Eid holiday it is amazing. Yesterday I saw loads of people flying them in the market place and in the street and this evening, sitting on the roof, it was incredible. There were kites as far as the eye could see, all different shapes, sizes, colours and patterns, swooping, diving and circling about!! Was quite a sight! On the roof opposite two little boys were flying kites, one dressed in black and the other in white.
I did take some photos, but they didn’t really capture it. Just looked like some specs of cloth in the sky. However, next time I sit on the roof will try and get some better ones.
Lovely weather here too - just perfect at the mo.:)
