Bad Roads and Drought (Afghan Report 66)

 

(This is the latest in a series of secret reports from inside Afghanistan written by a friend whose identity I am keeping confidential.)

Dear David:

I took a trip to Bamyan not long ago. The road was originally built with foreign aid but was destroyed by mines set by the Taliban during the previous government. Their justification was that all things made by foreigners are dirty. 

Crossing the culverts during those years was like stepping on a sharp razor with bare feet. From our village, which has about 500 families, three young people lost their lives on the highway due to those roadside mines. 

The Americans who came in 2001 to Afghanistan were looking to build the support of the people. Therefore, they tried to carry out activities that would make noticeable changes in the shortest time, like building highways, clinics, schools, and other things that could be built in one or two years. 

Since the Americans left two years ago and the Taliban came to power, it is they who are trying to gain the trust of the people. Therefore they are repairing the roads that they damaged when the Americans were here.

Meanwhile, in our province the people are suffering from drought. One of the farmers said that this year the crops of his fields are half as productive as in the previous years. Since the beginning of spring, he has managed to irrigate his fields only twice. 

Another 50-year-old farmer said that if the drought continues, he will have no choice but to go to Iran to work. Already, one of his sons works in Iran and sends money to his parents every month. But Afghans working in Iran face very bad working conditions.

So there is no good option.

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