An officer and a Lady
Yesterday… I had a wonderful official dinner at Governor’s house… it was a great opportunity to meet diplomats, NATO and UN officials, tribal elders, senior government officials.
Governor’s House is housed in the erstwhile palace of Ahmed Shah Abdali… who fought and defeated the mighty Marathas in the third battle of Panipat. He is known as Ahmed Shah Durrani… among the locals… his descendants- called Durrani Pashtuns have been the traditional ruling community in Afghanistan… King Zahir Shah, for instance, was a Mohammedzai… a Durrani sub-tribe… and the present president H.E. President Hamid Karzai is a Popalzai… again a Durrani subtribe.
The Palace is a delight to watch… if properly portrayed... can be in the same league as that of many wonderful palaces in India… the carvings and architecture is astoundingly beautiful… it is said that Ahmed Shah Abdali built this palace to showcase his status… of a ruler, who ruled vast tracts from Iran to India… he ensured that his palace is second to none…
Just across the street is the famed mosque of Kandahar… the cellar of which has the Prophet’s cloak. The cloak was seen, last, when Mullah Omar wore it and proclaimed himself as leader of all believers…. It is disturbing that his act generated veneration, and not disgust. Mullah Omar, was in fact, doing something blasphemous… comparing himself with the Prophet… and deriving political mileage and power… from the unparalleled position of the Prophet (Peace be upon Him).
During the dinner, I met two very interesting people…
In Kandahar Province, the NATO (or ISAF) offensive is led by Canada… I have often ridiculed the “defensive” nature of NATO-offensive in Afghanistan… the NATO is scared to take body-blows… often travels around in strange looking armored vehicles… one that I have never seen and would never see, elsewhere. They don’t ever set their feet on the ground, and therefore, are far removed from any successful counter insurgency strategy.
Canadian forces head for the province is (or was) Fred Vance… I have heard his name, quite often, since I landed in Kandahar… but never met him… I met him, for the first time, yesterday… after his farewell party…. Normally, I would have just bid him farewell… with terse sounding “All the Best”… but yesterday, I was moved after hearing his farewell note…
He said that he was very sad leaving the place, where he has seen the best of humanity and the worst of humanity… and that after serving this place… he finds tremendous courage within himself… to remember the best and forget the worst aspects of humanity… he then added that he wants to come back to this place, without a uniform, one day… and prays God that such a day comes soon….
He echoed what I have been feeling so intensely… I have also seen best and worst of humanity in this place… the human disaster and the human resilience… which has given me immense courage to admit, where did I fail as a human… a few days ago… when I went to India… I sat down with my father… and said sorry to him… for mistakes, that I did knowingly or unknowingly… I knew that may be I wouldn’t have a second chance… Life is too short… it gave me a surreal sense of relief to see him smiling and satisfied… that after all; I have been a good son.
I, like Fred Vance, wish to return to this land and backpack this entire region without an escort. I shook hand with him… and told him how I felt the same thing… he smiled… and I could sense that despite a deluge of people coming to him to congratulate … he would remember my face and my words… like I would, his face and his words.
Rouieda El-Hage, a wonderfully affable person, works with UN Human Rights wing… and has been recently posted in Kandahar, after a stint in Kabul… She is a Lebanese… with a long career with Office of Commissioner of High Commission of Refugees, Geneva. She has worked among other places… in Egypt… among the Copts… I wondered if she was an Orthodox Christian, herself… and foolishly asked if she was a Copt or a Maronite… she smiled… “No I am a Muslim”.
She has worked among the conservative Pashtoon society… often taking dangerous road trips to Taliban ridden provinces near Kabul… trying to educate women about their rights… within the Sharia, the Islamic jurisprudence. She reminisced how the Pashtoon women were astounded to know about their rights within Islam… they said- nobody told us that we had so many rights within Islam…
She was very happy to have come over to this place… she said that her Muslim background helps her a lot in connecting with people… women turn up to discuss their most personal problems… men turn up saying you are one of us… our sister… she remembered… how once she called her brother up… and told him that I came to Afghanistan… away from my family… and now have found hundreds of brothers… and then smiled genuinely. It was a delight to hear about her experiences… and wondered if Muslim world can play a more productive role in this country… it made me reflect at the nature of UN… which is dominated by a particular race… where even a powerful country like China is treated with a bargepole… and where no Muslim country has enough power… where India… the largest democracy is an untouchable.
I accidentally happened to occupy the dinner seat beside her… and to my delight found her to be an Arab, and Arabic speaker… tried speaking Arabic with her… was pleased to know… that I am not a spent force viz. speaking Arabic… just that I have to think a bit before speaking… so another stint in Arab world and I would be comfortable again…
We, somehow, instantly became friends… and promised to keep in touch and catch up for a lunch either at my place… or within the UN Guest House…
Like, I always say, I am serendipity’s favourite child… I keep on stumbling wonderful human beings… add two more to the list… may their tribe grow… they enrich me… they make me a better human being…
Governor’s House is housed in the erstwhile palace of Ahmed Shah Abdali… who fought and defeated the mighty Marathas in the third battle of Panipat. He is known as Ahmed Shah Durrani… among the locals… his descendants- called Durrani Pashtuns have been the traditional ruling community in Afghanistan… King Zahir Shah, for instance, was a Mohammedzai… a Durrani sub-tribe… and the present president H.E. President Hamid Karzai is a Popalzai… again a Durrani subtribe.
The Palace is a delight to watch… if properly portrayed... can be in the same league as that of many wonderful palaces in India… the carvings and architecture is astoundingly beautiful… it is said that Ahmed Shah Abdali built this palace to showcase his status… of a ruler, who ruled vast tracts from Iran to India… he ensured that his palace is second to none…
Just across the street is the famed mosque of Kandahar… the cellar of which has the Prophet’s cloak. The cloak was seen, last, when Mullah Omar wore it and proclaimed himself as leader of all believers…. It is disturbing that his act generated veneration, and not disgust. Mullah Omar, was in fact, doing something blasphemous… comparing himself with the Prophet… and deriving political mileage and power… from the unparalleled position of the Prophet (Peace be upon Him).
During the dinner, I met two very interesting people…
In Kandahar Province, the NATO (or ISAF) offensive is led by Canada… I have often ridiculed the “defensive” nature of NATO-offensive in Afghanistan… the NATO is scared to take body-blows… often travels around in strange looking armored vehicles… one that I have never seen and would never see, elsewhere. They don’t ever set their feet on the ground, and therefore, are far removed from any successful counter insurgency strategy.
Canadian forces head for the province is (or was) Fred Vance… I have heard his name, quite often, since I landed in Kandahar… but never met him… I met him, for the first time, yesterday… after his farewell party…. Normally, I would have just bid him farewell… with terse sounding “All the Best”… but yesterday, I was moved after hearing his farewell note…
He said that he was very sad leaving the place, where he has seen the best of humanity and the worst of humanity… and that after serving this place… he finds tremendous courage within himself… to remember the best and forget the worst aspects of humanity… he then added that he wants to come back to this place, without a uniform, one day… and prays God that such a day comes soon….
He echoed what I have been feeling so intensely… I have also seen best and worst of humanity in this place… the human disaster and the human resilience… which has given me immense courage to admit, where did I fail as a human… a few days ago… when I went to India… I sat down with my father… and said sorry to him… for mistakes, that I did knowingly or unknowingly… I knew that may be I wouldn’t have a second chance… Life is too short… it gave me a surreal sense of relief to see him smiling and satisfied… that after all; I have been a good son.
I, like Fred Vance, wish to return to this land and backpack this entire region without an escort. I shook hand with him… and told him how I felt the same thing… he smiled… and I could sense that despite a deluge of people coming to him to congratulate … he would remember my face and my words… like I would, his face and his words.
Rouieda El-Hage, a wonderfully affable person, works with UN Human Rights wing… and has been recently posted in Kandahar, after a stint in Kabul… She is a Lebanese… with a long career with Office of Commissioner of High Commission of Refugees, Geneva. She has worked among other places… in Egypt… among the Copts… I wondered if she was an Orthodox Christian, herself… and foolishly asked if she was a Copt or a Maronite… she smiled… “No I am a Muslim”.
She has worked among the conservative Pashtoon society… often taking dangerous road trips to Taliban ridden provinces near Kabul… trying to educate women about their rights… within the Sharia, the Islamic jurisprudence. She reminisced how the Pashtoon women were astounded to know about their rights within Islam… they said- nobody told us that we had so many rights within Islam…
She was very happy to have come over to this place… she said that her Muslim background helps her a lot in connecting with people… women turn up to discuss their most personal problems… men turn up saying you are one of us… our sister… she remembered… how once she called her brother up… and told him that I came to Afghanistan… away from my family… and now have found hundreds of brothers… and then smiled genuinely. It was a delight to hear about her experiences… and wondered if Muslim world can play a more productive role in this country… it made me reflect at the nature of UN… which is dominated by a particular race… where even a powerful country like China is treated with a bargepole… and where no Muslim country has enough power… where India… the largest democracy is an untouchable.
I accidentally happened to occupy the dinner seat beside her… and to my delight found her to be an Arab, and Arabic speaker… tried speaking Arabic with her… was pleased to know… that I am not a spent force viz. speaking Arabic… just that I have to think a bit before speaking… so another stint in Arab world and I would be comfortable again…
We, somehow, instantly became friends… and promised to keep in touch and catch up for a lunch either at my place… or within the UN Guest House…
Like, I always say, I am serendipity’s favourite child… I keep on stumbling wonderful human beings… add two more to the list… may their tribe grow… they enrich me… they make me a better human being…
1 comment:
Amen!
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