Monday, June 28, 2010

I visited Kabul in late May to see the charity I am supporting,  Afghan Action.  It was an excellent trip and very interesting to be in Kabul at this pivotal moment in Afghan history.

Kabul

Kabul is overpopulated and chaotic.  All the greenery that was there during my previous visit in 1968 has vanished and is replaced by piles of grit and debris.  Apart from many soldiers and police, there is little sign of a functioning government.  No paved streets, no functioning drains or sewage processing, no streetlights and most certainly no rubbish collection.  And 10 x the people.  However, the Aga Khan Foundation has recently restored the Babur Gardens beautifully, and their hope is that this will be the nucleus around which the beauty and fertility of old Kabul may re-emerge.

We hear about concern of Afghan government “capacity” which is a polite way of saying that most government people do not do their jobs.  Either they cannot, or they choose not to - because they can get away it.  This is at the very heart of Afghanistan’s problems.

Unexpectedly, there is an intensity to life in Kabul that is enjoyable.  If I may make a clumsy parallel, despite the discomforts of snow and wind, mountains attract you back because of the intensity of the experience.  A hint of danger adds spice to life!  So it is with Kabul, and I recommend the experience.

Turquoise Mountain

I was accommodated by the Turquoise Mountain Foundation, a City & Guilds accredited organisation which is preserving traditional skills (jewellery, calligraphy, woodworking and ceramics) and re-establishing the old craft quarter of Kabul.

It is a very hopeful and impressive outfit.  For example, today, uncut gems are sold for a pittance and leave the country on a donkey’s back, by-passing customs.  In teaching gem cutting, a skilled class will be created who can generate revenues and prosperity from Afghanistan’s huge mineral wealth. See www.turquoisemountain.org for more details.

Afghan Action

Afghans must rely on themselves rather than the government.  And it also means that those who set out to gain skills and create a livelihood for themselves are incredibly important to Afghanistan’s future.  That is why Afghan Action is in its own small way so significant. 

The training school sits in a quiet compound on a quiet back street.  Samim the General Manager welcomed me to his office, gave me water, introduced me to Fawad his assistant, and then showed me around.

The training room has a nice ambience, and the chief trainer Habib is enthusiastic and engaging.  The girls and boys were working hard together, and it was reassuring to see a relatively high proportion of girls.  I had no idea what an incredibly labour intensive business this is - with one square metre taking a whole month of work to complete, thread by thread.  The girls in particular demonstrated great speed and dexterity. 

The courtyard is agreeable too, with its green space, water pump and shady tree.  A delightful oasis in a turbulent and dusty city.

There is a classroom, where students learn Dari (Persian) and English in the afternoons. Fawad is the English teacher. They are taught the rudiments of business too.  (Fawad also manages marketing, accounting, and studies in the mornings too!  A busy young man.)

A measure of Afghan Action’s achievement is that 350 young people have been given skills to enable them to earn a living.  And all from an establishment that costs just $5,000 per month.  So if we reach our target, we shall have helped to keep them going for nearly 6 months!

Samim has a commendable ambition to expand operations by making and selling handicrafts.  He is starting up this activity in an adjacent unused building. Girls (who need a livelihood perhaps even more than the boys) will make embroidered pashmins (scarves) and other accessories.

Samim and Fawad gave me lunch before I left.  Chicken, potatoes and rice - and good it was too.  We had an interesting chat about Afghan politics and the presence of foreign troops. “Undesirable but necessary” was their considered view.  In fact, in four days in the country, I saw not one foreign soldier, but many Afghan soldiers and police.  Nonetheless the heavy helicopters passing overhead en route from Bagram to Helmand, and the air of tension amongst the foreign community, attest to the ongoing conflict in other parts.

I can report that all is well, and Afghan Action is helping in a practical way to create a better future for the young people of Afghanistan.  Since my visit, Samad, the previous more seasoned general manager has returned to Kabul – and he is supporting Samim in a non-executive role as the growth plans for Afghan Action are rolled out.

August

Yes - I have finished all the Munros except that very last one - so you may book your travel arrangements with confidence!  I shall write soon with confirmatory pictures.  Here is the last one that I climbed:

It is on Skye, and is the highest peak on the island, called Sgurr Alasdair.  We climbed in blustery rain up that thin gray line of the stone slide, and then up the corrie that you see filled with snow.  It’s like a huge sand dune, with half the progress of every step eliminated by noisy stones sliding down under your feet.  Stop - and you start returning to the bottom without moving a muscle!  A bit like reforming Afghanistan.

If you have not yet contributed - please do - and better still sign up for August 29 at the Bridge of Orchy Hotel!  I hope very much that Chris Beales of Afghan Action will be with us in person.

Best wishes
Michael