Bamiyan - Day Two (R&R)

Remember the bolani pancake from the night before? Well, about half an hour after I consumed it, I realized that I would never be able to forget it. I will spare you the details, suffice it to say that I got about two hours of sleep maximum, had crazy stomach cramps and wore a trail to the bathroom – in the pitch dark (no electricity). There’s nothing like being in a new place to help you get to know yourself better. I can handle turbulence in a small aircraft, insane roads, men with guns and bad food but – can you believe it – I had to ask Tariq to walk me to the bathroom in the middle of the night: scared of the dark. Good grief. Despite the rough night, I got up in the morning for our site visit to a traditional underground potato storage facility built by the Citizens Network for Foreign Affairs (CNFA) - www.cnfa.org, and American organization focused on private sector development around the world. Having had some meetings with CNFA in Kabul, and having reviewed their technical designs, I had a hunch that theirs was the design we needed to use in our villages this year. Seeing the success of the facilities and the farmers’ satisfaction with them in Bamiyan, my hunch was confirmed.

On our way to the storage facility, we passed the New Zealand Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) compound. It was pretty easy to identify the compound by the larger than life-size mud Aardvark statue nestled between the layers of barbed wire. The PRT teams are the formal agencies for the delivery of American and international assistance to areas in Afghanistan outside of Kabul, and are responsible for helping to maintain the peace (and, in the south, fighting the Taliban insurgents). The PRTs are intended to focus on activities that promote stability, such as small infrastructure projects, such as community irrigation systems, clean water supply, road improvements, small power systems, and the construction or rehabilitation of government buildings, schools, and hospitals. With the excellent security situation in Bamiyan, Nazir (our host and guide) informed us that the kiwis have been able to spend their military money on these types of development activities. Other than the New Zealanders, the Japanese, German and Americans have had substantial presence in Bamiyan city (population about 100,000). On our drive home, I noticed a big billboard on a hilltop with the grim face of Abdul Ali Mazari, a prominent commander during the war.

After our facility tour was complete, I sent Tariq on assignment to interview potato seed experts and dragged myself back to our guest house and into bed…and regained consciousness just in time for supper. In the meantime, Tariq and Eli had completed our research and had stocked up on provisions for our trip to the remote Aujar Valley the next day. In the bags of crackers, Pringles, Coke and Miranda were also the most humungous mangoes I had ever seen (how they got to Bamiyan from Pakistan in pristine condition, I could not guess.) My stomach still shaky, I did manage to partake in the cuisine at the second-best hotel in town, the Roof of Bamiyan. There were cabbage rolls on the menu (not an Afghan dish), and it was nice to have some good old Germanic comfort food.