I was lying on my Afghan bed on the roof terrace of our house the other day and as I closed my eyes I noticed the different sounds around me. The late autumn sun was warming my clothes. It was generally quiet, so I could distinguish the more intricate sounds. 

The generator humming in the back of the house.

Children chattering in the street.

A flog of pigeons flying back and forth below the blue sky between the bare Kabul mountains Their wings make a particular sound as they carve the air and there is one bird which must have a ring attached to its legs. It jingles when it passes.

A kite fluttering overhead. A boy in the street was flying the paper specimen on a long string.

And then the two-o'clock Azan set in. We have a couple of mosques in the vicinity and they all call at the same time.

Kabul in sounds - peaceful. If this only can be sustained

The weather has been beautiful, like most years in this continental, high-altitude climate.

We have moved to a new house as our staff strength is increasing due to the World Bank sponsored industrial park near Jalalabad.

I moved to the top floor together with my housemate. There we have a big terrace and no praying eyes from male guards or visitors. First I had moved into the ground floor but then the guards were assigned to the next door room which made for little privacy. And my boyfriend felt uncomfortable, too, as the guards and their many daily visitors would watch him like monkeys when he visited.

It's a nice neighbourhood  and from our top-floor we can observe the whole area and have a view onto the mountains.

Personally things are fine - even though last week my boyfriend and I had a bad fight over him assuming that I am seeing other men. We made up after three days - but the hurt and panic which besieged me was terrible. My fear to lose him over a misunderstanding took over these three days. In such times you can't think and work - your thoughts about the impending loss are too strong.

There have been a number of kidnappings and murders in town. - Again I had to delete another phone number. This time it was Jason Bresler's the GM of the DHL office here. He was part of our biking group and had been shot by one of his guards when returning back to the office with his deputy. Both men died later. - One British aid-worker was killed by the Talibs accused of preaching Christianity. - One French aid-worker was abducted the other day for ransom. - A Canadian journalist was also abducted at Lake Qagar. Nothing has been heard of here since. It was said that her fixer was in on the deal.

These cases throw up the questions whether it is better to have protection or whether it is increasingly those who are supposed to protect you who will turn on you as soon as they have the opportunity.

I have personally always wondered whether or not the "guards" will not side with attackers just to save their own lives if push comes to shove?

I am against all these gun-slingers being hired to tell you what you can and can't do. As I have stated in the past - low profile is your best protection. Not to go in local taxis is ludicrous - in all the abduction cases there was none done by a taxi driver.

Overall security seems to be decreasing - not so much from insurgency side it seems but through lawlessness caused by impunity. And the culprit is this western-supported government which is incapable of removing corruption and implementing the rule of law. The jails should be full by now, but instead most criminals - especially the high-profile ones - bribe themselves out of jail or out of police custody.

Without wanting to repeat the points of my previous blog entry - I am calling again for a different system for Afghanistan. A liberal, overly democratic approach can not clean up the deep mud which threatens to engulf this country. Only after it has been cleaned up and after the clean stage can be maintained - in about 30 years - can we think of transiting to a full parliamentary democracy where people have a qualified opinion for the benefit of the country - and not only for themselves.