.30 Days Through Afghanistan-Day 3 Vlog and Blog
"No Armor and Afghans
Kabul | Day 3 – My family probably thinks I’m crazy for what Ken and I did yesterday. We walked through the streets of a Kabul suburb in civilian clothes and no body armor.
The fact remains though, that we’re not crazy and we did it for multiple reasons. The first is because we wanted to talk with Afghans; we wanted to connect with them. From past experience, that’s almost impossible when you’re wrapped in kevlar and carrying weapons. Another reason we did it was to send a message – the people of Afghanistan are not our enemy, they are extremely hospitable, friendly and warm.
I’ve been to a few impoverished countries in my life, including the Philippines, where my wife is from. I’ve noticed one similarity between them all; when life for people is tough, they draw closer to one another. Communities bond together and families become inseparable. Since arriving here in October, and having a lot of chances to talk, both in and out of armor, with Afghans, I’m completely comfortable saying I love the Afghans and I hate the insurgents.
It’s an interesting experience when you’re riding in an armored SUV looking out of your plated windows and you see the Afghans carrying about their daily business. They’re used to seeing our vehicles driving all around. When you get out of the vehicle though, that’s when their expression changes.
They look, whisper to one another, and wonder what’s going on. "
War on Terror News
Kabul | Day 3 – My family probably thinks I’m crazy for what Ken and I did yesterday. We walked through the streets of a Kabul suburb in civilian clothes and no body armor.
The fact remains though, that we’re not crazy and we did it for multiple reasons. The first is because we wanted to talk with Afghans; we wanted to connect with them. From past experience, that’s almost impossible when you’re wrapped in kevlar and carrying weapons. Another reason we did it was to send a message – the people of Afghanistan are not our enemy, they are extremely hospitable, friendly and warm.
I’ve been to a few impoverished countries in my life, including the Philippines, where my wife is from. I’ve noticed one similarity between them all; when life for people is tough, they draw closer to one another. Communities bond together and families become inseparable. Since arriving here in October, and having a lot of chances to talk, both in and out of armor, with Afghans, I’m completely comfortable saying I love the Afghans and I hate the insurgents.
It’s an interesting experience when you’re riding in an armored SUV looking out of your plated windows and you see the Afghans carrying about their daily business. They’re used to seeing our vehicles driving all around. When you get out of the vehicle though, that’s when their expression changes.
They look, whisper to one another, and wonder what’s going on. "
War on Terror News
posted by madtom at 12:53 AM
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