Couchsurfing with the Taliban New York Times - June 8, 2018

I was listening to an interview with Anthony Bourdain and he was reflecting on the division in American politics today and how people have trouble finding connections to others who have different views than themselves and that what he experienced when he traveled was he could sit down and eat and share life’s basic pleasures with others around the world even when their politics were totally opposed. I had a chance to sit down with some Taliban in Afghanistan and hear their issues as humans dealing with war before I knew they were “Taliban.” It was an eye opening, life changing experience for me, in that, it was very normal and human. I travel because I continue to yearn to get deeper than the stereotypes I read about. It’s why I also do political stuff in places like rural Iowa. Underneath it all people have similar needs and wants and we have to remember that before we demonize other. If you can’t go to Afghanistan go out and buy a Trump voter a drink, you’ll feel better about the world.

Couchsurfing with the Taliban New York Times, June 8, 2018

Thinking About Afghanistan Ten Years Later

Ten years ago this week, I went to Afghanistan on a delegation to learn about women after the fall of the Taliban and learned about the many components of rebuilding a civil society after years of war. What I saw there profoundly affected me. The passionate people I met who fought for education for girls and a justice system for woman and promoting human rights  for all wowed me. 

The cross cultural experience was deep and powerful. Afghan hospitality meant we were welcomed and embraced. We were invited to people's homes and met high level women like Army generals and local women in the villages. We met advocates and sat for tea with neighbors in our guest house's neighborhood and heard about hopes a dreams for a better life. We sat across from Taliban elders (which we learned really just meant most people in any leadership position at that time. Not necessarily the evil men we heard about on tv) and heard of the indignities our military subjected them to and learned first hand the difference between winning hearts and minds and making real lifetime enemies. But what was amazing is these men were willing to sit at the table with a group of American women and share their stories and ask for our help to get their friends and family members out of Guantanamo and Bagram. The press makes things seem so black and white, but in person things are so much more nuanced and gray and human. 

I believe deeply in the power of experiential learning and that trip changed me forever. I left a piece of my heart in Afghanistan. I think about the people I met all the time and hope that there is a better future for them and that society can get beyond the cycles of war. 

Don't just bitch and moan! Ways to help the Afghans now

This is a posting by a Sharon Jumper, who went to Afghanistan with me, that talks about organizations that do good work in Afghanistan.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/6/6/104457/9699

Afghanistan: The Threat of Insecurity is holding backing the Strides of Progress

Afghanistan is at a crossroads. The US led coalition forces have not been able to secure the countryside and continued heavy fighting in the South and North is preventing real progress to reach the whole country.

After over 25 years of war Afghans are tired of fighting. While the Taliban was a strict authoritarian governing system the one thing they represent is security. Under their rule the country became safe again. Opium production was brought to a halt and the warlords were largely silenced in parts of the country that the Taliban controlled.

Under the US-led-coalition-forces a much more complicated reality has set in. In order to fight the war of terrorism, the coalition joined with the warlords in the outer regions, ignoring their human rights abuses and flagrant abuse of power. These alliances have made it hard to create a strong central government, which is essential for long term security. They also have made it possible to raise opium production to larger numbers than have ever been see before.

Meanwhile a major change is happening in the war. Nato is taking control of the ground war. As opposed to Iraq, Europe is committed to the war in Afghanistan and with the recent rise in fighting has even agreed to double their forces in the volatile Southern provinces where fighting has heated up. The US on the other hand has said they will reduce the total number of troops they have in the country. This sends a bad sign at a pivotal time. The Taliban believe they can wait out the Western forces and retake control when the West pulls out.

The US has been constrained by Iraq. The forces in Afghanistan have been put on a strict budget. Focus was changed to Iraq when the Afghan situation still needed attention and so the half assed attention they are giving has not been able to secure the whole country and win the hearts and minds of the people.

I believe this is a crucial time for the US to show its commitment to the Afghan war because this is a war people really believe we could win and if we win we could stop the training of terrorists within its borders as well as, really begin to build a civil society there.

Afghanistan thoughts

"The world is now a village. We cannot ignore the problems in one part of the world, for they will spread to other parts of the world." - Dr. Roshanak, a female member of Parliment from the Wardak Province, refering to the need to help Afghanistan rebuild and recover or their current culture of violence will spread back to us.

A Kabul Street

A Kabul street

Reflections on Afghanistan

I just got back from one of the best trips of my life. Yes, for some of you its hard to believe that Kabul, Afghanistan could rate so high up in the tourism landscape, but if travel is a way to push oneself out of our daily routines and see how others live, places like Afghanistan are the best places to travel.

I traveled for two weeks to the other end of the world to learn about the status of women’s lives in the post-2001 Afghanistan. I went on a delegation of 12 people with a San Francisco based group called Global Exchange on what they call a "Reality Tour". Each day we met with brave hard working leaders to explore the many facets of life there. This meant exploring recovery from the devastation of over 25 years of war,

Women in burkas