Afghanistan
In 2012 I lived and worked in southern Afghanistan as a civilian employee of the U.S. government. I worked with farmers, tribal elders and local government officials. Eleven years of America at war and I was still required to live on a heavily protected military base. Whenever I left the base to work with the Afghan populace, I was required to wear protective gear, travel in armored personnel carriers and be escorted by heavily armed soldiers .
◊ ◊ ◊
Some of the faces of Southern Afghanistan: 1) Tribal Elder 2) A young man who beat me at arm wrestling.
◊
I can no longer hear the sound of a helicopter without thinking of Afghanistan.
◊
◊
Marching off to talk with a village.
◊
◊
Most of my work was in the rural areas, working with farmers to assist in developing more lucrative export markets for crops like melons and pomegranates. I was always accompanied by a small U.S. military and Albanian Special Forces contingent. Required to always stay in line while walking down roads and through villages, several men would walk in front of me and several behind. In this picture, a group of Albanians and Americans bring up the rear.
◊
We usually had a soldier out in front of the line who would scan for land mines. If I wanted to leave the line and talk to a farmer I had to ask permission from the commanding soldier and have the area scanned for mines in front of me.
◊
◊
Sometimes our meetings would take place in fields or orchards. Here we’re waiting in a pomegranate grove for tribal elders to arrive for a meeting.
◊
After the meeting.
◊
Pictures from a meeting with tribal elders in the village of Loy Karez.
◊
◊
◊
◊
◊
◊
Once a week we would meet with the District Governor and his Executive Officer.
◊
A marijuana field in the Shadizi area of Spin Boldak, Kandahar province.
◊
It was located right behind – and tended by – an Afghan Border Patrol Outpost.
◊
Visiting a village to check on a project on the outskirts of Spin Boldak, we were met by a running hoard of children and young boys wanting to pluck anything they could from our vests.
◊
◊
◊
Whenever I’d travel between Spin Boldak, where I lived on the Pakistan border, to Kandahar, I’d travel on a CH-16 chopper. They always came in pairs. One would land and pick me up; the other would hover as a protective measure. This picture was taken out of the back of the CH-16 looking at the accompanying chopper.
◊
Does it surprise you that I was also well-protected from inside my own chopper?
◊
Armored personnel carriers – MRAPs. This is what I traveled in when leaving the base. These vehicles were developed for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. They’re specially designed and heavily armored against IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices).
◊
◊
Inside one of the Mother Ships with two Albanian friends – one an escort and one a gunner for the MRAP.
◊
◊
After my colleague finished her one-year assignment, I inherited some infrastructure projects in the urban areas in and around Spin Boldak.
◊
Here we’re doing some monitoring and evaluation of a sidewalk and water drainage project.
◊
Walking the streets of Spin Boldak.
◊
Imagine living in a place where, if you are a woman, you may not walk alone in public. Its name is called Afghanistan.
◊
The Burkah
◊
At the market
◊
◊
This is what a Southern Afghanistan dust storm looks like: A solid wall of fast-moving sand and dust. When you see this you get inside as fast as possible and always make sure you have your scarf handy just in case there’s no shelter.
◊
·
All Content Copyrighted © Stephen Tavella
