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Afghanistan | ||
JD, Haji & JD are Driving Through Kabul | ||
2009-08-06 | ||
Kabul International is a busy airport. Several regional airlines run daily flights around Afghanistan and between international destinations like Dubai and New Delhi. The baggage claim system in the new terminal works well and as an airport, it could compare with smaller, regional airports in places like Topeka, KS. I was met by two local Afghans who took me on a driving tour of Kabul and then on to Bagram. JD is short for Jawad, he is a Hazar, an ethnic group in the north/central part of Iraq. And Haji, my driver, is Haji because he has made the Haj. Haji fought for the Taliban back in the day before taking up a career as a chauffer. We took the scenic route, winding through Kabul from the airport to the Intercontinental Hotel, where I we had lunch with a friend of mine from Iraq who is working with NDI running a team of election monitors. The drive in a regular Toyota 4-Runner was a thrill. No armor, no weapons, just three guys driving across townbut that isn't what made it a thrillKabul is a relatively safe city and driving low profile, looking like every other Afghan on the road, is the safest way to move around the city. What made it dangerous is Afghans love playing chicken on the pot-hole strewn roads which lack lane markings or any of the conventions of western roads. And Haji is one fearless Pashtun. I'm beginning to think a traffic accident is going to kill me before a bullet. The Afghan voting system is very rare. In fact I had never heard of such a thing until it was explained to me today. I'm not even sure if I can describe it yet. But it looks like campaign season. Signs are everywhere. Candidates are advertising. Karzai signs are everywhere. The national candidates are all running negative campaigns. No one has a positive agenda. Much of the politics is based on ethnicity and tribal loyalty so the national candidates are trying to build ethnic/tribal coalitions.
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Posted by:trailing wife |