Lost in the Big Picture?

I have to say the Australian media are a pretty negative bunch! The general tone in a few recent articles seems to be that it is all a bit hard in Afghanistan, and Australia should get the hell out of here.

Of course it is easy to give up on a situation as complex as Afghanistan. The list of problems seems insurmountable - difficult war with too many casualties, hopeless security, corrupt government, terrible infrastructure, environmental problems, appalling land water and air pollution, overwhelming poverty, oppression of women and minorities, poor education, lack of even basic health services etc etc.

For more than 30 years, the country has gone backwards. How many years will it take to start going in the right direction is anybody's guess, but the only way to make sense of such a mess is to look at the micro scale, and how individual lives can be improved. The number of projects and activities here aimed at improving the day to day lives of the locals has to ultimately add up to something.

In this blog I have mentioned a few individuals we have helped, like the Taliban commander now turned nursery grower. But it is also the people employed by the project, many of whom without the money and opportunity from this and similar projects would be in extreme poverty or left the country altogether. One young guy who lived in Iran for most of his life and returned to Kabul in 2005 was telling me that he can't believe the improvement in his life and life in general over the last 4 years. There is no doubt Kabul is far ahead of most parts of the country - but one step at a time!

So I will continue to remain positive - partly as it is the only way to make sense of being so far from home!

And this is where I will comment on the military activities in Afghanistan, without which the humanitarian work is basically impossible - the two go hand in hand. I am no fan of war or military activity, but sometimes it is necessary to allow good things to happen.

Let me give you the example of Kunduz, a province in the north of the country. 3 months ago I went there and visited lots of our project sites (the photo on this blog of the Afghans all trying to pay for the fish is from Kunduz). However, the area has a strong Taliban group, and due to a low military presence, the area has now become so unsafe we cannot travel there. Kidnappings and roadside bombs are common, and there is nightly gunfire and fighting. Until the security improves, we cannot help the hundreds of farming families in that area we had been working with until recently.