Arrived Kabul

Three of us flew from Dubai to Kabul today and arrived mid-morning. I would say that most of the passengers on our flight, a Boeing 737, were westerners. Flying in over the mountains surrounding Kabul was beautiful.

Kabul airport is divided in half -- one side is military and the other civilian -- and this was the first time I went through the civilian side. It was quite an interesting experience. The airport building is small, old and gray with no amenities. The plane-load of people were bussed to the terminal to line up in the hot, dingy interior to process through customs. Then we all crowded around the one baggage belt in the terminal and the melee of sorting through baggage began. It was like an oven in the small room, and people talked and shouted while the old baggage belt creaked under the strain of so many heavy bags.

The passengers began trying to find their bags, but within minutes the airport's luggage handlers emerged from the loading area and began helping us. Although they spoke almost no English, they were able to figure out the descriptions of our bags and then like monkeys would hop around on the belt reading tags and locating them, at times riding the belt all the way around into and out of the baggage room. Then they'd jump across the middle, set the bag at someone's feet and then hop on the belt to search for the next bag. Before long the room was stuffed with people and luggage stacked everywhere, with barely an inch to move. And everyone was drenched in sweat.

Then men who appeared more senior to the luggage handlers, appeared with sturdy luggage carts, loaded bags for various groups and helped lead passengers through another security check. I guess that was just in case someone had managed to smuggle something bad in from Dubai. However, I noticed that no one was actually watching the monitor as our bags went through the X-ray machine! So much for that final screening!

Everyone walked through the drive-way and a parking area to the parking lot where families waited to greet loved ones. (I guess for security reasons people are no longer allowed to pull up directly in front of the airport.) There were lots of reunions, flowers and hugs going on around us in the burning sun, and then one in our group spotted our driver.

Kabul apparently hasn't had rain for awhile and is quite dusty, as it was when I was here two years ago. It's also the middle of summer, so it's very hot. The main difference between Kabul and Dubai is that Kabul has a dry heat, which I much prefer to the incredible humidity we experienced in Dubai. (By the way, I think I forgot to mention in my last entry the joke told by the tour guide, which is that Dubai has only two seasons, hot and hotter!)

After a short drive from the airport we arrived at our little compound and I was pleasantly surprised at the facility. We have a main house with an office, meeting room and several bedrooms, each with its own bath. There is also a small cottage out back in which two members of our team, husband and wife, reside and maintain a guest room. There is a well-kept rose garden in the front yard as well. It is all surrounded by a large brick wall and the entrance is covered by heavy gates, as are most compounds like this in Kabul.

Each room has air conditioning and is outfitted with a few basic pieces of new furniture as well as nice bed linens. It's not by any stretch of the imagination close to home, but it's a far cry better than the facilities I had the last time I was here (no offense, Chief).

After taking a few minutes to unpack, we had lunch with the public affairs officer from the US Embassy and then met with our government manager for our project.

Visually, Kabul hasn't changed much. It's still dusty, dirty, crowded and damaged from years of war, but there is evidence of continuing change and improvements. For instance, school had just let out and there were hundreds of girls in their school uniforms walking home. It was good to see young children out on the street and to be engaged in learning. There are several new buildings, including an impressive new headquarters for one of the regional airlines, a couple of new hotels, and of course the new US Embassy.

Traffic is as bad as ever -- one thing freedom brought was cars and taxi cabs, both of which crowd the small roads.

I feel like there are more shops open, and many of them seem better than the few that were opened two years ago.

One thing that seems so unique to Kabul is that often from the street all one sees is dust, trash, and gray stone walls with dilapidated wooden or steel doors across the driveways. But often what's behind them is totally a surprise. Today, for instance, we met our government contact at a new coffee house. We pulled up in the dusty street and when we walked through the gate we found ourselves in a garden with tables, chairs, and awnings for customers. The shop itself was painted and decorated in a cute, exotic fashion. Inside they sold smoothies, cappacino and a variety of other beverages. I had a raspberry iced-tea. Aside from the dust blowing, it was delightful in a primitive sort of way.

I noticed very few military present on the streets as we drove through town, and people seemed to be busy carrying on with life and commerce. As I said, it's still very dusty and dirty, but my first impressions were that people seem happy. I guess I'll learn more as the work progresses.

Except for needing a shower and a good night's sleep, I am fine and really looking forward to the work I'll be doing. It's very much within my core capabilities -- assessing current communications and media operations within one of the ministries, developing a plan for an enduring structure and processes, and then training and mentoring the minister and his public affairs staff to effectively communicate with the people of Afghanistan as well as the media. Of course this work will go on long after I've left, but I like being here to develop the foundation.

Cheers!