A New Type of Mall Rat

Down the hill from our FOB is a very active and prosperous bazaar, one of the busiest and most profitable in our area of responsibility.  There are dozens of shops that sell produce, essentials, pharmaceuticals, meats, shoes, auto supplies, etc.

The bazaar was very busy today and we had a great time walking and talking to local Afghans.  One gentleman I spoke to had a cobbler shop just outside the main bazaar.  His "store" was essentially a small hole about four feet deep and wide, and two feet high.  He locks up his tools and supplies and works right out on the sidewalk.  He is a from a village that isn't very close, yet this bazaar is the only way for him to earn money for his family.

The temperature was about 20 degrees today and he was working with his bare hands.  At least in the sun it felt a bit warmer, but you could see the years of toil his hands endured.  The heavily calloused and cracked fingers still maintained their dexterity as he carefully threaded a new sole on a shoe.  The white hue on his finger tips were a sign of just how cold his hands were, yet he kept working.  He was polite, but I didn't get the sense my intrusion was welcomed, only tolerated.

We continued to walk the bazaar and spoke with a number of other people.  One gentleman we encountered wanted to ask us more questions than we asked him.  His first question was direct and to the point - if we are losing soldiers in Afghanistan, why stay?  The question took me a moment to try and formulate an answer, mostly because my gut response was "I wonder the same thing!"  I explained to him that we continued to support the Afghans and wanted to work and fight terrorism side by side with them, eradicating the cancer that has consumed their country for decades.

He then asked why we didn't do more to kill the Taliban.  This was a more difficult question to answer because most of the men at FOB Airborne want to do just that, it's their whole reason for coming to Afghanistan.  But I had to explain to him how difficult a task that was without hurting other people.

The Taliban are exceptional urban survivalists.  They fight amongst the people, use homes and civic buildings for cover, and are hardly ever out in the open.  When they are out in the open, it's like fish in a barrel with our advanced technology.  But when not, it's extremely difficult to isolate bad guy from good guy.

One example of this is a recent mission to a highly kinetic area.  We were building a clinic there to try and bring health care to people in a very rural area that were far from any other clinics or services.  During this mission, the Taliban opposed our movement and took up a fighting position in the clinic.  The clinic was targeted by our aircraft and nearly razed, a clinic that was 90% complete and a year in the making.  Had there been people in the clinic, we would have had even fewer options.  But such are the actions of cowards, putting innocent lives in danger in order to pursue their own goals.

The man agreed with my assessment and described at length his hatred of the Taliban.  The destruction they bring to villages, the intimidation, the arrogance.  He agreed with me that the Afghan people need to do more to drive out the Taliban from the village strongholds but we also agreed that the Taliban terrorize their own people as much as others.  We parted company and I wished him health and happiness as we promised to look for each other when I visited the bazaar again.

Most shops are run by older men doing business there for years, yet there is no shortage of shops run by teenagers.  I had the pleasure of meeting one of these young gentleman today who is from a small, nearby village.  He is in the tenth grade, only fifteen years old and spends his time between school in the village and the shop in the bazaar.  His English is very good by village Afghan standards and he has a smile that is as welcoming as it is big.

Many students in the U.S. that work during high school do so because they help pay for car insurance, need gas money for driving to and from sports or a little extra cash for weekend nights out with their beaus.  I know that was me.  My first car cost only $25 and was missing part of the floor under the back seat, but it still took money to run.

This young man commutes to the bazaar on his bike and the money he makes helps support a family of eight.  This is in addition to working hard in school, something that is evident from his excellent English skills and his ability to calculate an exchange rate from dollars to afs in his head.  He is working hard to make the most of his future and hopes to attend a university someday.

It was a wonderful day in the bazaar meeting a young man like this whose own vision of his future is still bright, still full of promise.  I look forward to going back and saying hello to him again.