Good Governance in Afghanistan (damn it feels good to be a Gangsta)

(names and places are left out of this blog post)
One of the keys to winning in Afghanistan is building local governance.  A government that can provide security and services for its people is a stable government.  There are some success stories when it comes to local governance.  One city in particular has a mayor it can be proud of.

My friend the mayor used to be a warlord.  Well, warlord really has a negative connotation, I prefer the term businessman.  I mean, he does have a formidable weapons arsenal but who doesn't these days.  He looks like Edward Norton's character from Fight Club.  Like a guy who could beat you with his cast and then go back and finish eating his bowl of rice... but I'm getting ahead of myself.  US politicians should take some notes from this mayor, he went from being on the High Value Target List to mayor in a year.  So there is hope still for Rep. Weiner.

This mayor is very progressive.  He has a goal to "green" his city by planting 10,000 trees.  A noble cause indeed.  Well, Mr. Mayor had some of his employees (henchmen) go down the main street and dig holes in front of all the shops.  He then went to all the shop keepers and said, "you put a tree in here by tomorrow or I will shut your shop down...oh by the way, my cousin is coming and he'll sell you a tree."  Sure enough by the next day the entire street had freshly planted trees.  A couple of years and that main street will look great.

One of the dangerous of all the money being poured into Afghanistan by the international community is rising inflation.  Mr. Mayor is very conscious of this, and so to protect the everyday people, he instituted fixed prices in all the local restaurants.  One day the mayor was eating in one of the local restaurants and was overcharged for some rice.  Not a man to take things lightly, Mr. Mayor went to the back of the restaurant and beat the owner with his cast.  (Mr. Mayor had previously broken his arm but I wouldn't be surprised if he just keeps the cast on because he likes it.)

I look forward to watching this man's political career.  He's a regular Willie Stark.  And in this country I think thats what's needed.

Wedding Season

Its wedding season here in Afghanistan, and I had the opportunity to crash an Afghan wedding.  Well I didn't actually crash it, I was invited.  If you thought weddings were a big deal in the states, you should see an Afghan wedding.  Weddings can run as much as $20,000.  Which is an awful lot when you consider the average annual salary is only $2,000.  The government is actually considering measures to cut down on these extravagant weddings. "Costly Afghan weddings under government scrutiny"

But in humble Badakhshan, the weddings are a little more tasteful.  One of our employees, Kanishka, recently got married.  I talked to him about it a few weeks before and he was very excited.  This would be the first time he would see his fiancee.  The weddings are typically week long events, and each event is exclusively male or female.  We were invited to eat at Kanishka's house on the final wedding day.  Kanishka and the men in his family were hosting visitors all day long.  I'm told that the mayor, the police chief, and even a few warlords stopped by.

We met his family and ate with his brothers and father.  Unfortunately we couldn't stay for the evenings events.  A famous singer from Kabul was going to perform, along with a band.  Actually, Kanishka's brother offered to bring the singer over early so we could hear him, but I didn't want to trouble them.
 

Although it was no mexican wedding, it was still alot of fun.  Congratulations Kanishka!  mey-borak boshein!

Welcome

کش آمدی and welcome to my blog.  I am writing this to give one soldiers account of the war in Afghanistan.  This is my third year long deployment but my first to Afghanistan.  This is a beautiful country, with a very interesting culture and people.  The people, in fact, are the most hospitible I have ever encountered.  They give so much for people who have so little.

I realize that what is printed in the news and the "war stories" that people tell when they return are very different from the day to day life here in Afghanistan. Like most people, Afghans only want a peaceful life, and the prospects of a better future for their children. 

I hope that this blog gives you all another perspective on Afghanistan, about its people and our mission. 

از بلوگ من کش آمدی.  من ینجا می نویسم بهترکای یک عسکر نظر از افغانستان بتم.  ینجا سوم فرستاده است، اما تنها اولا دفه از افغانستان است.  افغانستان جوی بسار مقبول است، با فرهنگ و مردم زاد جالب است.  در حقیقت، مردم افغانی دوستانتارین از کی من ملاقات کرده ام.  آنها بسیار دهند وخت کی کم کم دارند. 

 .می فهمم کی چی کی اخبار کتابی است و داستان کی مردم گفتند بازی وخت بسار مکتالف از زندگی هرروز است. 

آرزو دارم کی ین بلوگ با شما را میدهد یک نظر دیگر از زندگی افغانی، مردم افغانی، و ماموریت ما.