July 26, 2006

Afghan pilgrims-2
The poster of female candidate turned into profitable business.

Afghanistan's capital city Kabul is all bustle and pollution, scarred by war but taking the difficult road to reconstruction. Now life has seems returning, and Kabul struggles to return to its old character. But for the first time visitors, it could be a strange town- where you hardly find any unhurt building.
As the died homes, destructed buildings, drought trees, gardens, mountains and rivers, and much more are making up the first imperative image of the city. But beside of all these negative pictures, the color full life in the streets, moving irregular traffic on the narrow streets of Kabul [which make up by motorcycles, bicycles, lorries, buses, trucks, cars, even tanks] are rare pictures could be seen any where else. And another reality is you will be witnessed of the fact that the decades of war could remove nothing from the hospitality of this nation. Smiling faces could be seen every where and no doubt this is the one of the main attraction, pulling Afghans in exile back to home living luxury life behind abroad.
Like other towns and cities in Afghanistan, Kabul is kind of huge market, that are open all the day, from early morning to late night, sometimes through the night. It was beginning of summer while I was in Kabul, I personally was witnessed of huge crowds of men and women roam around the streets, looking for merchandise to buy or asking for spare changes. And I would say among those: boys were hunting foreign visitors with offers to polish their shows: barbers meticulously trim beards of their customers. Men look serious and important, women look mysterious in their flowing blue or white Burqas.
After almost 5 years of the Taliban rule, which banned any images of people, photograph of Indian movies actors and actresses sell like hot cakes. Their small photos and large posters adorn walls, store windows, and private homes. The pictures of Indian movie stars were in first demand, but images and posters of any women, who looks pretty was also potential business material.
During my 8-day stay in Afghanistan in May 2006, I was surprised learning the fact that the poster of one local female candidate in election 2005 was also turned into the profitable business material among local poster sellers.
The story developed in this way: The Parliamentary election of September 2005 was the first time in recent history of Afghanistan, when citizens given right to vote and to be elected. Using this opportunity the local female journalist Malalai Shinwari also decided to enter in the race of candidates for parliamentary election. She nominated her self as an independent candidate from Kabul, and as part of campaign she also published her posters which carried messages, slogans and her picture too. Her supporters soon started to distribute these posters to the public and as well as being pasted and hanged on the walls and buildings in Kabul. But next day people noticed that the poster of this beautiful Afghan lady Malalai has been removed at that night. Later it has understood that, the taxi drivers, and photo sellers had rushed in, to collect all these posters at night, since next day it was on sale in many local shops for 1-dollar each.
Coming back to the topic, Indian music blares from speakers at every street corner, and tapes with Afghanistan’s own pop singers, recorded before Taliban banned all music with the exception of Koranic recitals, are in great demand. I don’t know what life looked like under the Taliban, but it’s definitely changing, for better or for worse. A street for an Afghan man or women is also a place to gossip and discuss politics. Man and women stand or sit in separate groups for hours, talking, talking, and talking. I didn’t have a chance to ask what those discussions were about, but I assume people in Afghanistan talk about the same things as people all over the world: work, children, money, and sports.
I noticed one characteristic trait of all Afghans, irrespective of their social standing or profession: whenever you show them something that you recently bought in Afghanistan or abroad, they invariably ask ‘how much does it cost’? the question seems very funny, especially when it concerns your notebook computer, or digital camera, items so expensive-actually more expensive then a good bride in Afghanistan- you hate telling the real price to your afghan friend.
To be true Afghanistan is not the only country where such questions are asked. In Pakistan, Iran, India, and in a countries belongs to the former soviet union, where police known for their low government salaries, always ask journalists about the price of Betacam cameras and digital still cameras. And they think you pull their leg when you tell them the real price, which seems to them to be excessively high. Incidentally, people in these mentioned countries and as well as Afghans, consider it OK to ask people, even those whom they hardly know, about their salaries, something believed to be improper in other countries.
Before I travel to Kabul, I was little bit worried about security in the country. But later I heard many people saying that, since the fall of Taliban security has been reasonable to good, with the large ISAF ‘international security assistance force’, providing back-up for the police and Afghan National Army.
But from other side there were reports about notable deterioration in security and criminality with particular impact on the international community, especially since the presidential election in October 2004.
However after arrival to Kabul, I understood that every thing was not the same as headlines of the press tells, after all I found people happy and satisfied from their daily life. It could be because they spend worst days in the past, but the reality on ground was, ‘boat of daily life was moving in this or into other direction, nevertheless of happy or the sad end. But I don’t regret of my this trip at all, since I spend very pleasant days in Kabul, and enjoyed the greatest attention by many that I knew but also those whom I didn’t knew at all. Hospitality seemed as an important part of Afghan culture, I was amazed by all these and tried to be good in my promise to visit as much as possible friends and people. I can’t forget the story of a Friday, when many of former colleagues, close and far relatives organized a picnic party to one of the most visited destination just out side of Kabul. This was the occasion which only could be seen in Afghanistan: since every body in the group put their official statues behind, including a high rank Army official, who even offered his official transport mean to this group of picnic lovers. I have seen lots of incomparable evidence, facts and practice among these incredible people, to the reality of our commercial life in the west. I never heard here some one counting expensive of picnic, and demanding money from some one, as every one was like in a competition to spend more money from others to make this time, comfortable and pleasant for others.
For a while, it was very hard for me to find the answer for my question, that how such a kind people can kill or injure the others? Of course it’s very hard to understand, but one thing was pretty clear: when some thing has imposed by some one else, the mostly poor communities welling or unwillingly find themselves forced to be part in reality of what, on ground. In situation like this real actors have been always few people, but the others [to whom I would say ‘victims’] always been those, who forced into this war of interests, because of their religious believe, tribe, ethnicity, etc. And I think this was the real reason of wars in many parts of the world, except commercial clashes between superpowers, which is today only part of the history.
Dear readers: - In my next part of Diary from Afghanistan- I will tell you about the impact of the decades of war on human life. So keep visiting.


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