Seriously - the Taliban need new PR people. Between blowing up the civilian population of the country they desire so badly to "control" again, and the way the celebrate holidays, they're guaranteeing we'll be here fo many years to come!
Today was the Afghanistan Independence Day from the Russians. What do the bad guys like to do around the holidays? Oh - make their own types of fireworks you could say. Needless to say - I've been pretty vigilant. So, on my way "home" from work - as I'm waiting "in the road" with a couple of co-workers, we start hearing gunfire. And it just wasn't a pop or two - it was rapid, and constant for at least 3 - 4 minutes. And it was CLOSE. We were waiting for our driver, watching the local guards lock & load, and wondered WTF do we do now!?!?! We literally had no where to go. I was kicking myself for having not worn my protective gear (hardly anyone does in my line of work/location) even though I had planned to today - because of the holiday...
Finally - our driver pulls up - we jump in - and tell him to get the F outta here! He slowly turns the vehicle around...and calmly says..."relax...it's just fireworks". And then I remembered the holiday. Really? They allow fireworks in this place?!!??! It was pretty funny - but also a bit of a wake up call. Let's call it a nice "drill". I'll definitely be a wee bit more of my egress routes during all movement, that's for sure. And I may just wear that vest in to work once in awhile - if not every day. We'll just see.
So - after getting "home" - and working for 3 hours on "internet problems" that some of the folks are experiencing (I volunteered to manage the safehouse internet service - not sure that was the wisest move) - and catching up on my computer - I hear a chopper. And then I hear it again. And again. And again. Normally - a chopper or two will fly over enroute from A to B. Not tonight. There were a couple of choppers zigzagging overhead - and I'm pretty sure they weren't your average Blackhawk. I peeked outside - but didn't see'em. No big spot lights like the police choppers back in the states. Just big loud popping/flutter noises...sounded pretty cool really. The finally moved on after about 30 minutes or so.
Anyway - this was a little while ago - and I'm now pushing 1am - for the 3rd night in a row....SO, I better shut myself off & get some sleep...very much looking forward to Saturday and a day of rest!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Day Off Road Trip
Today was my day off. I awoke to the sound of a Chinook helicopter circling overhead for at least 20 minutes. That's how long I hear it after it woke me up at least. By the time I made it outside to check it out - it buzzed over the top of me - and was gone. So much for getting a good picture. It reminded me of when you turn the radio station only to hear the last 10 seconds of song you really like.
I figured I'd better get up & moving - so as not to be a hermit all day and risk waking up my roomate who works nights - or getting more sore muscles due to lying in a bed all & shifting around while I use my laptop. I'd kill for a comfy couch to relax on! Anyway - I went to the base, ate a meal - and was forunate to be offered a road trip to go on. Seems one of my drivers needed another person to go with him to the airport to pick someone up. Something about the ID requirements changing or something. I had mentioned to him how bored I was when I have days off - so it worked out well.
I was really curious what things would look like - since the last time I was on public roads, I hadn't slept in well over 24 hours, and was somewhat "shell-shocked" by what I was experiencing. This time around, I was familiar with my base's location, as well as the rest of the Kabul cluster of base's - and the housing area I lived in - not to mention I've hit old Google maps a few times to get a better idea of what all else is around me. I was very eager to go.
As we left our "secure" area & hit the public road ways - that "edginess" I had shortly after arriving here came back. Although I tried to fake myself out & play it cool. My living area & the base I work at really are smack in the middle of a very busy & bustling city center. It's so hard to believe when living within the confines of armed guards, concertina wire, hesco & metalith barriers, and concrete t-walls everywhere. I took comfort in the relaxed attitude of my driver. Although even though he appeared relaxed, he was still very focused on the task at hand. Driving the roads of Kabul is an experience like no other. There are civilian vehicles of all shapes & sizes. Some with 1 or 2 persons, yet others packed like a circus clown car with very unsavory looking fellows. There are many different flavors of armed personnel along the way. Many being the "ring of steel" - the Afghan police force - as well as the ANA or Afghan National Army. Military vehicles permeate the civilian traffic. As do the typical Iranian/Chinese/Afghan built motorcycles that are so popular. And, let's not forget the animal drawn cart every once in awhile too!
Our ride to the airport was fairly smooth - with only a couple "tight spots" where our movement slowed to a crawl - and we found ourselves boxed in by lots of different vehicles mere millimeters away from our own vehicle. That's just typical of traffic here, but it has a more pronounced feeling of tension when you know that these are the types of situations where vehicle born IED's (VBIED's) and/or suicide bombers like to make their mark. I managed to snap a couple pics, which I'll post below - but, fortunately, things were typically uneventful and rather boring.
On the way back - the gentleman we picked up talked about how not so long ago, folks from my company actually had the ability to drive themselves around in unarmored cars all over the place. Things have definitely changed out here, and not for the better, from what I learned. All I know is, my intention of agreeing to go on the road trip was to break up the monotony & check things out a little. I barely achieved that. However, it also put into perspective the environment that I currently live, travel & work in. It's quite removed from the life that goes on an extremely short distance away - beyond a couple small layers of concrete, steel & armed guards. Unsettling? Yep. And reaffirming that, once my 1 year contract has been fulfilled, I will be getting outta dodge & never coming back to this place. This I know.
(I know - nothing exciting - but it's not exactly easy to take a picture with
an iPhone while trying to be discrete)
I figured I'd better get up & moving - so as not to be a hermit all day and risk waking up my roomate who works nights - or getting more sore muscles due to lying in a bed all & shifting around while I use my laptop. I'd kill for a comfy couch to relax on! Anyway - I went to the base, ate a meal - and was forunate to be offered a road trip to go on. Seems one of my drivers needed another person to go with him to the airport to pick someone up. Something about the ID requirements changing or something. I had mentioned to him how bored I was when I have days off - so it worked out well.
I was really curious what things would look like - since the last time I was on public roads, I hadn't slept in well over 24 hours, and was somewhat "shell-shocked" by what I was experiencing. This time around, I was familiar with my base's location, as well as the rest of the Kabul cluster of base's - and the housing area I lived in - not to mention I've hit old Google maps a few times to get a better idea of what all else is around me. I was very eager to go.
As we left our "secure" area & hit the public road ways - that "edginess" I had shortly after arriving here came back. Although I tried to fake myself out & play it cool. My living area & the base I work at really are smack in the middle of a very busy & bustling city center. It's so hard to believe when living within the confines of armed guards, concertina wire, hesco & metalith barriers, and concrete t-walls everywhere. I took comfort in the relaxed attitude of my driver. Although even though he appeared relaxed, he was still very focused on the task at hand. Driving the roads of Kabul is an experience like no other. There are civilian vehicles of all shapes & sizes. Some with 1 or 2 persons, yet others packed like a circus clown car with very unsavory looking fellows. There are many different flavors of armed personnel along the way. Many being the "ring of steel" - the Afghan police force - as well as the ANA or Afghan National Army. Military vehicles permeate the civilian traffic. As do the typical Iranian/Chinese/Afghan built motorcycles that are so popular. And, let's not forget the animal drawn cart every once in awhile too!
Our ride to the airport was fairly smooth - with only a couple "tight spots" where our movement slowed to a crawl - and we found ourselves boxed in by lots of different vehicles mere millimeters away from our own vehicle. That's just typical of traffic here, but it has a more pronounced feeling of tension when you know that these are the types of situations where vehicle born IED's (VBIED's) and/or suicide bombers like to make their mark. I managed to snap a couple pics, which I'll post below - but, fortunately, things were typically uneventful and rather boring.
On the way back - the gentleman we picked up talked about how not so long ago, folks from my company actually had the ability to drive themselves around in unarmored cars all over the place. Things have definitely changed out here, and not for the better, from what I learned. All I know is, my intention of agreeing to go on the road trip was to break up the monotony & check things out a little. I barely achieved that. However, it also put into perspective the environment that I currently live, travel & work in. It's quite removed from the life that goes on an extremely short distance away - beyond a couple small layers of concrete, steel & armed guards. Unsettling? Yep. And reaffirming that, once my 1 year contract has been fulfilled, I will be getting outta dodge & never coming back to this place. This I know.
(I know - nothing exciting - but it's not exactly easy to take a picture with
an iPhone while trying to be discrete)
Saturday, April 2, 2011
My 2 Cents on My Day Off
So I had a day off today. It started with me waking up & wondering: since I can see daylight coming into my room - past the heavy duty window tint & old nasty curtains - why my roomate who works the night shift wasn't back in the room yet. Maybe he was getting his I.D. card renewed. I felt bad for him since it was cutting into his ever important sleeping time.
So I hopped online - and low & behold - I read reports of "activity" in the news websites. Seems that up in Mazar-e-sharif - which is a fair distance to the north west of Kabul - there were protests that turned violent. Apparently, the protesters scaled blast walls at a U.N. compound and killed a number of people - including some civlians from other countries (no Americans or Afghans).
In addition, and quite a bit closer to "home" - some knucklehead insurgents tried to breach Camp Phoenix by dressing as women - in burqa's - and firing off their AK-47's and suicide vests. They reportedly had RPG's too. Guess how that turned out for them? As expected (see pic below). Now I know why the roomate wasn't back yet; he got held up due to movements being restricted in light of the attacks.
So I hopped online - and low & behold - I read reports of "activity" in the news websites. Seems that up in Mazar-e-sharif - which is a fair distance to the north west of Kabul - there were protests that turned violent. Apparently, the protesters scaled blast walls at a U.N. compound and killed a number of people - including some civlians from other countries (no Americans or Afghans).
In addition, and quite a bit closer to "home" - some knucklehead insurgents tried to breach Camp Phoenix by dressing as women - in burqa's - and firing off their AK-47's and suicide vests. They reportedly had RPG's too. Guess how that turned out for them? As expected (see pic below). Now I know why the roomate wasn't back yet; he got held up due to movements being restricted in light of the attacks.
Yes, he's picking up insurgent body parts.
I just do not understand these suicidal bomber types. Without getting into too much detail - for fear that one of these knuckleheads might be able to read, and could stumble upon this blog - I just can't comprehend what sort of "plan" these idiots "think" is going to "work". Almost always - they decide to attack a base or compound - get nowhere even close - are detected - and then get shot up and decide to explode themselves - causing little to no damage upon their intended target. It's just unfathomable to me. I mean - they have to run through the events in their mind. If only I could see inside their minds to see how it plays out to them prior to launching their attacks.
Now, I know the Taliban like to put an uber positive spin on everything insurgent related - and in this case, they actually reported that the insurgents breached the base, got inside, took control, and that ISAF forces were fighting the insurgents from the outside-in! They are also stating there were "lots" of ISAF casualties - when the reality is, there were none. So, if this is what they spread - and these people have no knowledge of actual events besides what Taliban folks tell them, then, I guess it's no wonder, and I shouldn't be so shocked. I have to remember that my way of life is different in almost every way compared to theirs.
Anyway - I feel pretty secure in light of everything that has happened today. Almost everywhere I go - there are Hesco barriers, concrete barriers & bunkers, and metalith anti-ram/blast walls. Not to mention armed guards and lots of anxious active duty military members (some with individually named rounds just waiting to be "set free"). I didn't like reading that the protester's up in Mazar-e-sharif scaled the UN compounds blast walls - but I feel pretty confident that, where I'm at, plenty of people would take notice and those who attempt to scale would drop like flies pretty quickly.
So, on my day off - I did what every patriotic American loves to do: filed my taxes! How exhilirating it was - not! I will say, that, after having been here for over a month, I do have a new appreciation & respect for the taxes I pay - and did so this year with only a slight grimace as opposed to a full fledged frown. My tax money is all around me here. And it's obvious more needs to be spent. So I'm glad I'm doing "my part".
Before I go - one more item. In regards to the protester's up in Mazar-e-sharif...the people up there were protesting "...because of the burning of the Quaran by an American pastor..." Ok - fine, I get it - protest. BUT - when you maim or kill someone, and use the burning of a book - the Quaran in this case - as justification - keep in mind that you just lost a ton of points in the minds of reasonable human beings. You make yourselves and your religion look extremely bad.
What? Is your relgion not stronger than paper with words printed on it? What - Allah is Quaran you say? Oh, puh-leeze. I thought God was "everything"? And, God - yours, mine or anyone else's - is surely strong enough to withstand someone destroying His written words, isn't he? And, surely, wouldn't this God also take it upon Himself to destroy other living beings if it was so vital to His religious institution? There's just so much hypocrisy in organized religion - it just so happens that Islamist are currently going through their period of "violence in the name of our religion" (ie, like the Christians & the crusades,or the Salem witch trials, etc).
I don't want to get into a debate about Islam, Christianity, or any other religion, but I have to say - for all of this "glory" and "goodness" that is alleged to be waiting for followers of any religion - it sure is hypocrytical to act out in violent ways in the name of Him. Simply put - actions of violence have no part in any religion - period. I'm proud to say I no longer "follow" any religion. I'm a spiritual being having a human existence. I believe in a God - a creator. But I cannot accept that He wishes or expect us to live by strict rules, especially ones that require violence on other living beings. These days, I'm doing the best that I can to be a "good person" - and try to live my life by doing "what's right" and not hurting or harming other people. Isn't that enough?
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