Here are some more images from my hike in Herat - there really were some hairy rock-climbing bits (with minimal, minimal protection!)
Showing posts with label herat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label herat. Show all posts
Monday, August 18, 2008
Hiking in the Mountains Above Herat
Hiking anywhere in Afghanistan probably wouldn’t be on the top of a security officer’s list of things to do… but I couldn’t resist the offer to go hiking and rock climbing with my ACAP translator and some of his friends. I have loved rock climbing in California and across Europe – so I thought this would be a cool way to expand my climbing experiences!
We left at 5.30am. This was a shock to the system because Erica and I had been up until midnight, signing karaoke with the Italian PRT soldiers. Erica was sick so she stayed in bed…. So I was left hiking with a group of six Afghan men.
The first thing I noticed was the large gun that was strapped to one of the men’s backs…. That made me a little more nervous about the risk of a Taliban or bandit attack. But I soon forgot about these concerns. The hike was stunning. And it was tough – these guys are clearly as crazy as I am and were attempting to scale all sorts of vertical cliffs. They made a small effort at safety by having one rope that we wrapped around our waist as we climbed. The guy at the top then held this rope (with his bare hands). Not exactly sure what would have happened if any of us had fallen!
We hiked for 4 hours up to an incredible vista. Then we started shooting the gun. Now that was fun!! I fell on my back from the kick-back from the shot and caused a lot of laughter. Then we ate naan bread, drank tea, talked about Islam and Sufism. We ended our hike at a Sufi shrine at the bottom of the mountains. An incredible morning!
We left at 5.30am. This was a shock to the system because Erica and I had been up until midnight, signing karaoke with the Italian PRT soldiers. Erica was sick so she stayed in bed…. So I was left hiking with a group of six Afghan men.
The first thing I noticed was the large gun that was strapped to one of the men’s backs…. That made me a little more nervous about the risk of a Taliban or bandit attack. But I soon forgot about these concerns. The hike was stunning. And it was tough – these guys are clearly as crazy as I am and were attempting to scale all sorts of vertical cliffs. They made a small effort at safety by having one rope that we wrapped around our waist as we climbed. The guy at the top then held this rope (with his bare hands). Not exactly sure what would have happened if any of us had fallen!
We hiked for 4 hours up to an incredible vista. Then we started shooting the gun. Now that was fun!! I fell on my back from the kick-back from the shot and caused a lot of laughter. Then we ate naan bread, drank tea, talked about Islam and Sufism. We ended our hike at a Sufi shrine at the bottom of the mountains. An incredible morning!
Italian soldiers in Herat - and karaoke!
The Italians in Herat have been extremely hospitable. Afghanistan is roughly divided between different nationalities – the British in the south, the Americans in the east, the Italians in the west… When we first arrived in Herat, we visited the PRT and we were given an incredible lunch of Italian food (proscuttio, good cheese, even white wine with lunch!! – in contrast, the British and Americans seem to eat nasty processed food and not a drop of alcohol is allowed on their bases!). The charming Italian soldiers then asked us back to their karaoke night. So we went and ate pizza, drank beer and sang along with bad Italian pop songs… quite an experience!
Ingenious Sewing Machine
The houses in the refugee camp did not have electricity. But this family had made a very effective sewing machine out of part of a bike and elastic chords. They had cemented the bicycle wheel into the floor and one of the children seemed to have the job of turning the wheel by pushing the pedals. The chords linked into the sewing machine – and presto! The sewing machine was fast and allowed the daughter in the family to embroider large pieces of material. This was one of the main ways the family made money to survive now they have been forced from their war-torn village.
Some Images of the BDP camp in Herat
As mentioned in the blog entry below, we visited a refugee camp in Herat where there were Battle-displaced families living and hiding from the fighting in their villages. Here are some more images of this desolate camp.
Battle Displaced People in Afghanistan (Herat)
“Battle Displaced People” (or BDPs) is a term used to describe individuals who are forced to flee their homes because of fighting. There are a specific subsection of Internally Displaced People (IDPs). There are thousands of BDPs in Afghanistan and the numbers are growing.
Today, we visited a refugee camp on the outskirts of Herat, on the road that heads out to Iran. It is a desolate stretch of road – beautiful in a harsh, dusty, mountainous way. But clearly a tough environment to live amidst.
The camp that we visited was built twenty years ago and has accommodated Afghans as they have fled various different conflicts. The camp is a permanent living-place with small, dark houses made from mud and straw. There are a handful of water pumps where the people can get water. But there is no electricity and no arable land.
We spoke with one family that has lived there for the past 2 years. They fled their village after their uncle was shot in the stomach and killed. He was attempting to help a group of children hide in a mosque during an intense battle between ISAF and the Taliban. After the uncle died, the family immediately left the area. The head of the house told us: “We only grabbed the most important belongings. Many of our things are still up in the village. But we cannot return now. We will die if we visit our home and land again.”
This family is desperate to return to their house in the village. The wife summed up the sense of desperation and the loneliness. She explained: “We have nothing here. Up in our village, we had fruit trees. My husband had a job on the land and he could provide for us. We had relatives and support. I could chat and discuss problems with people. Here, we have nothing. I have all these children and I can’t feed them. It makes me desperate. I make lunch, but then there is nothing left over for dinner. We desperately need help. We desperately need the fighting to end.”
Today, we visited a refugee camp on the outskirts of Herat, on the road that heads out to Iran. It is a desolate stretch of road – beautiful in a harsh, dusty, mountainous way. But clearly a tough environment to live amidst.
The camp that we visited was built twenty years ago and has accommodated Afghans as they have fled various different conflicts. The camp is a permanent living-place with small, dark houses made from mud and straw. There are a handful of water pumps where the people can get water. But there is no electricity and no arable land.
We spoke with one family that has lived there for the past 2 years. They fled their village after their uncle was shot in the stomach and killed. He was attempting to help a group of children hide in a mosque during an intense battle between ISAF and the Taliban. After the uncle died, the family immediately left the area. The head of the house told us: “We only grabbed the most important belongings. Many of our things are still up in the village. But we cannot return now. We will die if we visit our home and land again.”
This family is desperate to return to their house in the village. The wife summed up the sense of desperation and the loneliness. She explained: “We have nothing here. Up in our village, we had fruit trees. My husband had a job on the land and he could provide for us. We had relatives and support. I could chat and discuss problems with people. Here, we have nothing. I have all these children and I can’t feed them. It makes me desperate. I make lunch, but then there is nothing left over for dinner. We desperately need help. We desperately need the fighting to end.”
Cluster Munitions Survivor and Campaigner
We talked today with an incredible 18-year old man, Ahmed, who had both his legs blown off when he was 10 years old. He was out at a picnic with his family and his cousin picked up a piece of metal he found on the floor. He realized too late that it was probably dangerous and threw it away – but it exploded and killed the cousin and severely injured Ahmed.
Ahmed told us that he was taken to the hospital and put on the pile of dead people. But his uncle came and saw that he was actually still alive. “But I think the doctor thought it was better to die,” Ahmed explained to us, “there is a view in Afghan culture that it’s better to be dead than to try to survive with no legs.”
Ahmed was in hospital for months. When he finally recovered, he tried to return to school. The teachers at first refused to allow him back in the classroom. “They said that they couldn’t manage with me there – they asked how they would take me to the toilet.” Ahmed, however, insisted and pointed out that Afghanistan had many people with disabilities and that they couldn’t simply be excluded from schools and public places. Ahmed then began to campaign for the rights of people with disability. He has attended conferences in Ireland, Norway and France. He intends to the visit the US later this year. He is campaigning for Afghanistan to sign the anti-landmine treaty and to ban to use of cluster munitions. “I am a clear example of the way cluster munitions destroy the lives of civilians,” he told us. “Innocent people should not have to suffer like this.”
Ahmed told us that he was taken to the hospital and put on the pile of dead people. But his uncle came and saw that he was actually still alive. “But I think the doctor thought it was better to die,” Ahmed explained to us, “there is a view in Afghan culture that it’s better to be dead than to try to survive with no legs.”
Ahmed was in hospital for months. When he finally recovered, he tried to return to school. The teachers at first refused to allow him back in the classroom. “They said that they couldn’t manage with me there – they asked how they would take me to the toilet.” Ahmed, however, insisted and pointed out that Afghanistan had many people with disabilities and that they couldn’t simply be excluded from schools and public places. Ahmed then began to campaign for the rights of people with disability. He has attended conferences in Ireland, Norway and France. He intends to the visit the US later this year. He is campaigning for Afghanistan to sign the anti-landmine treaty and to ban to use of cluster munitions. “I am a clear example of the way cluster munitions destroy the lives of civilians,” he told us. “Innocent people should not have to suffer like this.”
The Women’s Section and Greasy Food in Herat Restaurant
We went for lunch with our translator today. We were ushered into the “women’s section”… a small room behind a beaded curtain. Once we were inside, there were such strange “sexy” photographs on the wall. As women, we’re put in a private place so the men can’t see us (or so we can hide from the men??) BUT the photos on the wall totally sexualized women. So what are we women supposed to be?? Private non-sexual beings or Bollywood temptresses?We were given traditional Herati food – big bowls of greasy meat, greasy rice and greasy beans…. Eugh. I could barely move afterwards! The Bollywood superstars on the wall certainly aren’t eating this stuff!
Friday Mosque, Herat
The mosque in Herat is called the “Friday mosque.” It’s one of the most famous tiled mosques in the Islamic world and it’s beautiful!! The courtyard inside is cool marble, with men sitting and lying everywhere – chatting, sleeping, reading. The tiled mosaics are stunning. It was a treat to walk around it and relax for a short while!
Herat
Erica and I arrived in Herat today – what a beautiful city!! There are pine trees lining the street and open green spaces. There are football teams playing in wooded areas – such a welcome change from the dust of Kabul and the tension of Kandahar!We hope to talk to some people who were injured by landmines and cluster munitions – the area around Herat was heavily affected by cluster munitions so there are a significant amount of people missing limbs. We’ve also planned to talk with the Italian PRT (provincial reconstruction team – Italian military working to build projects to help civilians) and with soldiers working to provide humanitarian aid in Royal Command West. We’ll be busy!
Wheelbarrows
The wheelbarrow is a heavily-used item in Afghanistan. When I arrived in the airport in Herat, there were dozens of small boys jostling with their wheelbarrows to carry passengers’ bags. When their work was over, they lay back and relaxed inside the wheelbarrows, arms behind their head…
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