Kabul musings

Now that I’m outside Afghanistan and our safety isn’t a concern, I can give more details about our trip.  Also it is 4.17 am and I am jet lagged so need something to do.

The general sense of Kabulis we met is that they are hopeful.  The vast majority want foreign forces to be in their country, and see their presence as a necessary phase in recovering their land.  They hate the Taliban and are suspicious of fundamentalism.  Here is a great article from Licia Corbella at the Calgary Sun that replicates my experience.  (Thanks, Cheryl.)

You could see tangible progress in reconstruction and community development.  In our meetings with the WHO and UNICEF, we heard of positive health care indicators rising each year from 2001 to present.  We saw major roads reconstructed, and good enhancements at the airport with plans for a greater expansion.   In our meetings with the ISAF (UN-authorized NATO forces in Afghanistan) where we went on the base, we saw a commitment to wholistic community development alongside using military means to secure peace.  (We also had a photo-op with some Canadian troops serving in Kabul … awesome experience.)  We met as well with the Canadian ambassador to Afghanistan and heard about our government’s commitment to invest through building capacity through training Afghans to run their own country.  On my own time I also met with a friend who now lives in Kabul and works for an NGO that is helping build democratic systems for governments.

Our visits to the CURE Hospital were amazing.  This is considered one of the best health care facilities in the country.  Any medical professionals from the West who want to donate some time to this hospital are warmly welcomed and needed.  Their emphasis is on training Afghan medical professionals. 

HPIC is assisting at CURE, but has also been invited by CIDA to be a lead partner in health care development in the country.  Afghanistan is CIDA’s #1 priority for international development at present.

Things are admittedly still dreadful in many ways:

• We were subject to a self-imposed dusk-to-dawn curfew as it is really unsafe to be outside the hotel complex after dark, and always had to travel with our group - something I generally did.  While we were in a nice hotel, it did feel a bit like a prison.
• I have never seen the kind of security that was imposed during our time there.  Lots of guns and ammo, x-ray machines, huge concrete barriers, sandbags, jamming devices against IEDs on vehicles, bulletproof glass, ID checks.
• About 50-70% of women still are wearing the burka.  Obviously, an improvement from 100% during the Taliban, but still disconcerting.  It is a horrible piece of cloth that isolates people.  But that is my Western perspective.  For some, it is seen as a protection, a means of ensuring dignity.

All this to say that I am proud Canada is on the ground in Afghanistan – Canada is a lead presence there and esteemed for the leadership role we are taking.  We are pulling our weight both militarily and in building capacity for sustainable communities.  Abandoning either of these lynchpins for development by pulling out or reducing our presence would be to jeopardize the accomplishments and investment that has already occurred. 

But nation-building does take time.  Some are saying it will take a generation to see the changes necessary.  I agree, and support a long-term presence which is carefully and frequently monitored, in conjunction with other nations who are committed to building a nation, at the ongoing invitation of the Afghan government.