The mud of the roads looks better covered in snow and my ducks do not seem to mind. Heating in my bedroom would help but is not a big problem. Life continues as normal as Christmas approaches. Most internationals have left for home and I will get a day off. The cabinet has not been choosen and that should warm things up. Only graduates and no one without duel citizenship rules make it difficult. Could be a hot winter.
Winter in Afghanistan
The first frosts killed the roses a couple of weeks ago. Roses grow very well here and have been touted as an alternative to poppies but I think the poppy flower is nicer. Today 22nd December 04 was the first snow in Kabul. Grey skies and slushy mud roads.
It is interesting that as we worry about bombs and kidnappings ordinary death carries on as usual. One man I know recently died from a gas heater in his bedroom. He got up and said hello to people in his house and then said he was not feeling so good so he was going back to bed. He then returned to bed in the gas filed room and died. Another friend suddenly found he had cancer and is in a Dubai hospital having large tumors being removed.
A kidnapping recently resulted in the death of a guard and a Turkish engineer. Luckily he was not white from a first world country otherwise it would have been really serious. Our security officers traveling back to Kabul with the obligatory armed police escort were stopped by local police who wanted to search the IOM cars. The armed escort refused and immediately guns were cocked and a rocket launcher pointed at a car. Things were very tense as they pushed and shouted. One international security officer went quietly from his car to the armored car behind and told the driver to put it into first gear so they could move fast is the shooting started. The car can withstand bullets but not RPG (rocket propelled grenades). Luckily one officer calmed things down along the lines of we are all Afghans. However, Afghans tend to fight each other when they do not have a common enemy. Interesting there first reaction is to cock the gun.
In one of my projects in an insecure area had the cousin of the foreman kidnapped and killed. Investigation discovered that both are cousins of the governor and that is why he was killed. Luckily work has finished with this project but I am not sending anyone to do final monitoring.
Christmas? Now getting sick with throat infection due to too much exercise in cold gym and squash court so probably getting pissed and then in bed sick.
Hope you have a good Christmas
Paul
The first frosts killed the roses a couple of weeks ago. Roses grow very well here and have been touted as an alternative to poppies but I think the poppy flower is nicer. Today 22nd December 04 was the first snow in Kabul. Grey skies and slushy mud roads.
It is interesting that as we worry about bombs and kidnappings ordinary death carries on as usual. One man I know recently died from a gas heater in his bedroom. He got up and said hello to people in his house and then said he was not feeling so good so he was going back to bed. He then returned to bed in the gas filed room and died. Another friend suddenly found he had cancer and is in a Dubai hospital having large tumors being removed.
A kidnapping recently resulted in the death of a guard and a Turkish engineer. Luckily he was not white from a first world country otherwise it would have been really serious. Our security officers traveling back to Kabul with the obligatory armed police escort were stopped by local police who wanted to search the IOM cars. The armed escort refused and immediately guns were cocked and a rocket launcher pointed at a car. Things were very tense as they pushed and shouted. One international security officer went quietly from his car to the armored car behind and told the driver to put it into first gear so they could move fast is the shooting started. The car can withstand bullets but not RPG (rocket propelled grenades). Luckily one officer calmed things down along the lines of we are all Afghans. However, Afghans tend to fight each other when they do not have a common enemy. Interesting there first reaction is to cock the gun.
In one of my projects in an insecure area had the cousin of the foreman kidnapped and killed. Investigation discovered that both are cousins of the governor and that is why he was killed. Luckily work has finished with this project but I am not sending anyone to do final monitoring.
Christmas? Now getting sick with throat infection due to too much exercise in cold gym and squash court so probably getting pissed and then in bed sick.
Hope you have a good Christmas
Paul
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