The combination of sweeping, beautiful landscapes, cities jam packed with yellow taxis, and NGO vehicles, boys on carts with donkeys, people who waunder in and out of traffic without fear, the ubiquitous blue burkhas seen with children in clusters of two or three, followng behind a lone bearded man who leads them along, are just a few of the images that come rushing back at me as I arrive in Kabul again for the first time in 8 months.
I am in Afghanistan for six weeks and have lots to do. Since traveling her on one annual humanitarian trip with a small group of kind, like-minded individuals from the US and Australia, each return increases my love for the people here and the sorrow at their difficulties. I have experienced the inherent joy and amazement that comes from spending time with a group of human beings who are in virtually every observable way, completely different from me as any group of people can be. And yet as I visit and work with them, with my drivers, their families, the students and teachers, merchants in the shops, people on the streets, women in the women's prisons, I am astonished at the universal nature of human connection and human frailty I observe. I have been pleasantly surpised at the similarities, which are not immediately apparent to the casual observer. One must come to understand the circumstances to be able to know a little of the story.
Once I am able to communicate with Afghans through my interpeter, we often laugh at the same things, find similar circumstances amusing or tragic, are exhausted and exasperated by the same kinds of human behaviors and life here seems to encompass a great resiliance I want to learn about.
Yesterday as I was driving to visit the Baghe Badam Kabul Women's Prison, my driver told the story of how is 12 year old daughter had been warned by a Taliban man in their village not to go to school. She disregarded his warnings and eventually after several more warnings, he attacked her with a stick and he broke her leg and she had to be taken to the hospital. Fortunately she received good quality medical care and is healed now, attendng sschool in an anonymous setting, determined at 13 years old to continue to learn and understand the world she lives in. This kind of courage coming from a preteen is hard to fathom when you live in a world where most 12-13 year olds spend most of their time text messaging to one another in a safe, refrigerator filled environment.
As we arrived at the women's prison, I was given a tour of the new facility and because I am a woman and am working with children in Afghanistan, I was allowed to enter the gate into the compound. Forgetting the rules of the road here I gestured to my driver to follow me into the gate but he was stopped by men and women who explained that because he was not coming to visit as a male relative, he could not pass but must wait in the shade until I returned.
The Kabul Women's Prison has 119 female inmates and 57 children, and a large staff of male and female prison officials, guards, cooks, housekeepers and others who keep the place operating. We met with the Commander, who introduced us to the block commanders who work closely with the female inmates. Our plan has been to offer one new teacher or other professional to the site in order to support their existing programs.
The Afghan Women's Educational Center in Kabul is actively involved her and provides a literacy teacher, vocational and sewing instructor and computer trainer. The Commander asked if rather than hiring another teacher, would be consider hiring a physician to come to the prison on a regular basis. We are working on developing this now. In fact, I have to go right now because I am meeting a candidate this morning for an interview.
Will upload photos and more info later.
Diana
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