The Perfect Storm

Several weeks ago there was a giant storm system that swept through the western valley of Nuristan. I was practicing Dari that night with one of our team's local cultural advisors when the storm hit. For an hour straight the sky opened up with torrents of rain and nickel-sized hail. The wind ferociously beat against the side of the wooden building, and I thought for sure the roof would fly off at any moment. Yet the B-hut survived; the tent for my concrete class, however, did not (a story for a later blog).

It was evident the next morning that the storm was anything but the usual Hindu-Kush shower. Reports started trickling in of land-slides along the major roadway south of our base. It was about noon when I received word that a major section of roadway had been completely covered by a land-slide, and that several villagers had been killed. About an hour later I found myself in a humvee enroute to the location of the landslide: Sunderwa village.

The ride to Sunderwa village was slightly tense- no one really knew what to expect, and the villagers of that area had a track record of not playing nice with coalition forces. We arrived just as a memorial service was ending- several hundred people had gathered to say goodbye to the seven adults and three children that perished in the landslide. As a gesture of goodwill, our civil affairs team brought some humanitarian assistance in the form of rice and flour. This foodstuff was given to a local police chief to distribute- it is a top priority of the PRT to put the "Afghan" face on activities, and what better way to build support for the local police than for them to provide humanitarian aid in the time of need.

Once the team had dismounted from the vehicles our objectives were to discuss the event with the locals and assess the damage to the area. The damage was immediately evident- about 200 meters of roadway was impassable because of debris.

Walking where the road used to be.

Large debris caused the road to end abruptly.

After getting GPS grid points on the damaged road, we proceeded to walk through what used to be farmland for the village. Approximately 25% of their farmland had been washed away by the flash-flood/landslide, leaving a new river bed in it's place.

This used to be farmland. Now it is a river bed.

Also used to be farmland.

Same story here- some surviving terraced farmland can be seen in the left hand side of the picture.

The flood carved out an impressive new channel for water, as seen above. The villagers, however, asked for a wall to be built that would divert all future water flow through the original channel. Myself and my civilian engineer Will spent the better part of an hour explaining that this was nature's way of dictating where the water should flow. We explained that another storm like this would destroy any wall, and that the new river bed should be utilized for future rain storms. We cautioned that although it was likely to be some time before a storm of this caliber hit again, they should start taking precautions now to prevent a similar situation. The response from the village elders was slightly stunning: "we need this farmland now. In several years, who knows where we will be. We might be rich and no longer here. But we need farmland now."

A final solution has yet to be reached on the issue, and the problem itself is indicative of Afghanistan in general. Some might call the villagers request short-sighted, but 30 years of warfare has made surviving another day the top priority. How can you ask someone to plan for something ten years from now when there is little guarentee they will even be alive at the end of the week?

On a good note: the PRT hired a local contractor to clear the road within 48 hours. Below is the result.

On a sour note: the police chief who was supposed to distribute the humanitarian aid (rice, flour) ended up stealing it all. What an ass-hole.

In other news: congratulations to Charles Bartlett for getting promoted to Chief. Chief Bartlett is the reason PRT Nuristan is able to go on missions. His tireless efforts in the maintenance shop keep our vehicles mission capable.

Me and the Chief!

Elections, Ramadan, Angry Villagers, and the Doucheman

So I recently learned what is by far the best word in both Dari and Pashto. The word is “doucheman”, and it means “enemy.”

There is a distinct air of uncertainty as the election results are still unknown. No further results will be announced until all of the ballots have been counted. It’s anyone’s guess as to when this will happen. Until then, both Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah are declaring victory, and the number of voting discrepancies continues to rise. One news site reported that “all but one of Afghanistan’s 367 districts received ballot materials.” Unfortunately, that one district was Mandol (in Nuristan), where the doucheman attacked the donkey caravan carrying election material and burned all the ballots. So unfortunately, the people of Mandol were disenfranchised because of the doucheman activity.

A great success story in Nuristan is the voting that took place in Barge Matal. Barge Matal has been in the news a lot lately because it has been the scene of some heavy fighting. Coalition forces have suffered some significant casualties in Barge Matal (three individuals from my unit have received purple hearts from their time there), but despite this tremendous hardship the people were able to vote.

Coupled with the election tension is the strain that Ramadan fasting enacts on every local. No food or water from sun-up to sun-down makes for some pretty grumpy Afghans around the hours of 3pm to 6pm. My local national engineer usually has to take a nap around 2pm because of his hunger and thirst (and he looks to be aging by the week). “Tushna wa gushna hastum” he says (I am hungry and thirsty). To which I reply “meyfaamum ke Allah baa tushna wa gushna too raa komak koneid” (I know God will help you with hunger and thirst). He laughs, saying that Iftar cannot come fast enough (Iftar being the nightly breaking of the fast).

We recently took a trip to a trio of villages by the names of Mamoo, Shokut and Zirat in order to assess an on-going PRT road project. During our road assessment, one of the Mamoo locals began accusing our road contractor of destroying a canal that was providing water to his crops. Myself, Will (civilian engineer), and our USAID rep, Katrine, followed this man to the site where he said the damage had occurred. Katrine took the lead on talking to him (through an interpreter). The abbreviated conversation went something like this.

Katrine: Where was your canal?

Man: Right by the road. Your contractor destroyed it.

K: There is no new road work right here.

M: Build me a new canal or I will blow up the bridge.

K: If you blow up the bridge you will not be able to get out of the valley.

M: Build me a new canal or I will become a suicide bomber.

K: Allah wouldn’t like it if you became a suicide bomber.

M: Build me a new canal, your contractor destroyed the last one.

K: There is no evidence of that- the contractor didn’t do work here.

M: I know. I just want a new canal. Build me a new one.

Just a typical day in Afghanistan.

Here are some pictures from that trip....angry man not included.

The New Voice of Nuristan...

Okay I admit that the above is a poorly done photo shop job, but I recently aired a couple of messages at our radio station here in Western Nuristan. I read several sentences at a time in English, which was then translated to Pashto by one of our interpreters. The message that was aired follows, but first a little history.

One of the Taliban’s tactics involves nailing letters to the doors of local coalition supporters at night time. These letters contain all manner of brutal threats, from cutting off noses to killing innocent family members. They are commonly referred to as “night letters,” and the mere mention of these atrocities is proof the Taliban is nothing but a gang of vile thugs who follow a twisted interpretation of Islam. The recent “night letters” have been targeted towards the elections, and so this was our counter to their message:

“Salaam Alaykum. My brothers, some of us have seen crude, threatening letters appear overnight in public places warning not to cooperate with the Government or they would suffer harm. Lately, these “night letters” have been warning against participating in the upcoming Presidential election which is our natural right as citizens. As is well known, such night letters are the work of the criminal Taliban. It is no surprise that they come in the night, like cockroaches scuttling about in the dark, leaving their filthy droppings behind. Such are these letters. They are meant to inflict the only thing the Taliban are capable of giving, fear and pain. Compare this with elections. With elections, we hold those we elect accountable for the job they do. If they do not act in the best interest of the public, we can vote them out of office at the end of their term. With the successful completion of elections, our government becomes stronger and more capable to serve our needs. Already many of us have seen schools and clinics being built. Roads are being paved and businesses are thriving. Do the criminal Taliban offer that? What have they offered us except pain, fear, and brutal repression? Do they build schools? No! They burn them and shoot teachers! Do they build roads? Again, the answer is no, they plant bombs in them that kill innocent Afghans! Their actions speak for themselves. Is this who we should believe in? Is this who we should allow in control over us? If we stand united, we will close out our villages to these filthy Taliban cockroaches, splattering our walls with their letters of hate and fear. We must report suspicious people and activities to the ones who are here to protect and help us. Your government has sent brave men willing to stand against these vile criminals, but need our help in reporting their whereabouts and activities. Villages that band together and do this will cleanse out any infestation of criminal Taliban, and with it, the fear and hate they bring. Do not tolerate them! Give them no safe haven! Lastly brothers and sisters, do not succumb to their attempts to control us through fear of threats against us for exercising our right to vote. Exercise your choice. Participate in building our future. When the day comes, go to the polls and let your voice be heard by casting your vote. Do not let the Talilban take that away from you. If you allow them to keep you away from the polls you will actually be casting a vote for them.”

I think that’s pretty powerful stuff. I believe it had an impact too, because about 24 hours later a 107 mm rocket was launched at our base. It missed, but spending an hour in a bunker did not make for a pleasant Sunday morning.

In other news, the Tupak road that was mentioned in a previous blog entry was recently finished. I’ve included a before and after picture to show just how much of an improvement this road is.Tupak road before.

Tupak road after.

Today is elections day. I'm holding my breath.

One month down...

On the macro level, the national elections are closing in, and the anxiety is starting to build. Things in southern Afghanistan (Helmand) are explosive as the Marines continue to battle with the insurgents there. Helmand is the opium poppy capital of Afghanistan, and therefore is a cash crop that fuels the insurgency. Nuristan has also seen it's fair share of action in the North East, specifically the Bargi Matal district. The crack down on Islamic fundamentalists in Pakistan has been steadily forcing them over the border into Afghanistan, and the mountains of Nuristan provide an excellent hiding place.

Violence aside, the lives of the afghan people continue to move forward. Our PRT has already done a tremendous job at reaching out to the people of various villages. Leaders from the villages (malek) come to the base every week to have lunch and discuss various topics.

My projects are progressing, although at the slow 'afghan' pace that I was warned about prior to arriving. The project of note for this blog is the Nangaresh to District Center asphalt road. It is a 4 kilometer (2.5 miles for us Americans) asphalt road, the first true asphalt road in Nuristan. It connects the district capital of Nangaresh to the Nurguram district center compound, where the district government and ANP reside. Coincidently, it also passes right by our base....

The pictures below are from the ground breaking ceremony. There was over 100 people in attendance, and the contractor did a great job at setting the whole shindig up. There were speeches, a ribbon cutting, a shoveling exhibition, and then food galore.

I arrived early so I could get a good seat.

The district chief of police giving a speech as the local leaders listen intently. I definitely dig his outfit.

Me sporting some festive apparel for the ceremony. I wonder if this outfit will get the cops called on me back home?

The district governor showing he's not afraid to get his hands dirty.

Passing the ceremonial shovel to the contractor.

The bread man!

Naan, palaw, me'waa, OH MY!

Az namaazetaan, tashakur (thank you for your prayers).

Afghan Construction and an Encounter with "Tupac"

I've been in country for about three weeks now, and although the hours are long, it's never a dull day here in Afghanistan. I am managing about 16 construction contracts right now, including the first real asphalt road to be built in Nuristan. Contractors are very eager to obtain work through the PRT, but unfortunately many of the companies do not have the skills or experience to build in Nuristan. The majority of our contractors are out of Kabul or Jalalabad, where access to materials (such as concrete) is quick and easy. Additionally, the work season can continue throughout the entire year. Construction in Nuristan, however, is an extremely difficult beast.

The 'road network' in Nuristan is mostly narrow gravel roads that are only accessible by 4x4 pickup trucks, aka the famous Toyota "Hilux." These roads either end abruptly (and turn into goat trails), or have numerous illegal check points that make shipping materials to the Northern regions of Nuristan extremely difficult and expensive. One of my contractors said he was going to have a helicopter deliver concrete to a job site- and then admitted two weeks later his plan failed and that his alternative is to have donkeys carry concrete over the mountains from Pakistan. A week later I received a progress report that had pictures of donkeys with two bags of concrete on their backs. Now that’s progress!

Material issues aside, the construction season in the northern regions of Nuristan lasts only about six months, as the climate and weather quickly succumb to a six month winter season. The southern regions of Nuristan are a bit more temperate, but maintaining quality work is still challenging as some contractors will take shortcuts at every turn.

The following pictures are from a job site visit of a road that cut through a town called Tupac (no relation to the deceased rapper). It is a very scenic village, bisected by the Nuristan river, with a spider web network of canals providing water to rice patties and corn fields.

The approach to Tupac- the large rocks will be broken down further to construct a retaining wall.

Simple concrete mixer- this is a plus as some contractors tend to mix their concrete on the ground.

The Nuristan river- perfect for a mix of white water rafting and dogding AK-47 fire.

Maneuvering through the rice patties in Tupac. Here is your "visual comparison" to Vietnam.

Taking time out by the river.

Until next time- "pasawn maybeenum!" (See you later!)

I finally made it in country and I am now getting situated with everything. It basically took the better part of 8 days to get from Camp Atterbury, Indiana to Nuristan Afghanistan. Myself and three others were part of our team's advance party, sent forward a couple weeks early to assist in turnover. The following is the stages of our travels.

1) Stuck in Atterbury for an extra day because the C-5 was "broken" (better to be broken on the ground than broken in the air though). This almost killed us as we watched the rest of the team head home for a week of leave (some of them left in style!). After three months of "army" training, we finally took off and landed.....in Dover, Delaware.

2) Stuck at Dover Air Base for two days- but at least we were put up in a Sheraton hotel for the night. Just before boarding the plane (ie on the tarmac and ready to get on) we get the message that they put too much fuel in and that some would have to be removed. This resulted in us spending about two hours just standing on the tarmac (at 2 am) waiting to get on the plane. John and Chief had the right idea....

3) Stuck at Rhine Ordinance Base in Germany for two days after an 8 hour flight. Normally I would jump at the opportunity to be in Germany for a couple days, but since the Army rule was "no alcohol", this translated to "no fun." That and we were put up in a warehouse full of bunk beds.

4) Stuck in Manas Air Base for 18 hours after another 8 hour flight This wasn't too bad since the end was in sight. All that was left was a final flight to Bagram.

5) Stuck in Bagram for 2 days. Bagram is a pretty hectic place, and we were relegated to a tent far on the outskirts of the base. Sleep was the order of the day as we waited for our helicopter ride to our base in Nuristan.

Now I'm here....kind of a fluf post. More to follow after I get situated.

The Final Countdown

After spending the past few months in Indiana, my training is now complete and I will soon be arriving in Afghanistan. As the engineering officer for PRT Nuristan, I will be managing construction projects that are awarded to local Afghan contractors. In accordance with local culture norms, the job will require me to drink lots of tea prior to conducting any type of business. I'm working on learning Dari (similar to Farsi) in the hopes of not being too dependent on interpreters. I'll throw out an occaisional Dari phrase with each blog (transcripted in English of course). For today, I will imagine that you all are saying 'safar bakhayr!' to me (bon voyage!).

Situated on the Pakistan border and nestled in the Hindu Kush, Nuristan has many unique characteristics that set it apart from other provinces within Afghanistan. These include:

• 11+ local dialects spoken throughout the province

• less than 5 km of asphalt roads

• Elevation ranges from 3000 feet to over 18000 feet- the province is essentially composed of three valleys that are separated by towering mountain ranges.

More to follow once I have reached my new home for the next 9 months: FOB Kalagush!

Norfolk, VA

Quick overview for those who I haven't talked to in a while: I am deploying to Afghanistan in the upcoming months to do construction/reconstruction/humanitarian stuff with the Army for the people of Afghanistan. I will be training with the Army for three months and will end up spending about nine months total in Afghanistan (exact location TBD).

First leg of the journey includes a stop at NMPS to be medically cleared and issued uniform gear. I've only been at NMPS Norfolk for a couple days now and already two major events have occurred: 1) I was almost NPQ'd (read: disqualified) for my deployment because of some paperwork mix-up regarding my LASIK, and 2) my arch-nemesis and THE ONLY OTHER CHRISTOPHER SAUNDERS IN THE NAVY is in my class. Yes that's right, LT Christopher Saunders. Two Christopher Saunders' in the same class (class size = 34 people....out of THOUSANDS OF ELIGIBLE NAVY PERSONEL). The Navy really does have a sick sense of humor.
On the left is a pic of the gear I'm taking with me. This includes a heavy duty briefcase, a super small laptop, external hard drive, the Amazon Kindle, and a shock-proof dust-proof water-proof camera. Not to sound like an Amazon salesman, but the Kindle is definitely awesome.