The Dangers of Assisting Civilians: Kandahar ACAP Field-Officer Captured by the Taliban

July 20, 2008

I went this morning to the Kandahar IOM/ACAP office. I met the staff and talked with one field officer who travels around the southern provinces to find affected civilians and to verify information that has been submitted to the ACAP office (ACAP is the "Afghan Civilian Assistance Program" - mainly USAID funded. See link above). He has worked with the ACAP program for three years. He told me that his job was rewarding but also dangerous: a few months ago, he went into a remote village to survey an ACAP-funded construction project when he suddenly found himself surrounded by gun-wielding Taliban fighters. The Taliban accused him of supporting the international forces. This ACAP worker told me that he is only alive today because, as he was being taken away by the Taliban, a close friend saw him and negotiated his release. Such stories emphasize how difficult it is to assist civilians in this charged atmosphere, where foreign aid projects are frequently targeted by the Taliban and where Afghan NGO workers are often kidnapped because of their “foreign involvement.”