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May 28 Panjshir Trip May 07How familiar, how close ...
It must have been surely my 15th trip to the Panjshir Valley. Yet it is never boring, never old. Always beautiful.
This time the rushing spring waters of the river poured towards us as we drove through the narrow gorge which forms the entrance.
As always I see Amir Sahib there walking the gravel road - now it's been paved - assessing the damage the talibs had inflicted as they attempted to take the valley in July 1997.
Maybe that is the magic this place holds for me that he is everywhere I turn.
This time at his tomb I read the plaque the US army had placed there last week. Thinking of the way they had let him down I couldn't help but cry, cry as I always do when I sit there starring at the blankets which cover his body.
Again we went to Ahmad's house - how beautiful it is - the garden full of flowers, the sky is blue, the mountains raise at either side.
We had a pick nick by the river in Jangalak. Amir Sahib's house peeked from behind the brown brick houses. It was I nice view to behold,
It is a beautiful yet odd feeling how familiar all this has become to me. Everything that surrounded him, surounds me now. I can walk were he walked, his circumstances have become so familir to me as Ahmad and me talk a lot about him and his time. A warmth flushes my heart, very hard to discribe. May 23 A faint attempt void of any credibility"We stand here as partners in Massoud's vision"
What? Come again?
The Marine Corps General James N. Mattis proclaimed this on 15th May 2007, visiting Amir Sahib's tomb in Panjshir.
Massoud's vision? When has the US started bothering with his vision? Is it because they realise six years after his murder that it was his vision which could have united the country, his vision to have avoided the talibs in the first place, his vision, which was the only feasible middle-ground in this diverse country. Six years after the "war on terror" is still going on and the insurgency is not overcome, it appears that yet again the US is looking opportunistically for new partners, particularly in the view that their hand-picked pesident loses credibility day by day and is incapable of leading the country in a decicive manner.
Amer Sahib's vision had been consistant, because his heart and conscience had been consistant. It remained the same in 1992, in 1996 and in 2001. Problem then was that the US' vision as to their interests in the region had in a sudden manner broken away from his. Ever since his vision and his ideals had more or less been ignored and alliances with Pakistan been favoured in short-sighted assumptions of political profitering.
Amir Sahib's values were real and he wanted to realise them, while the values of the west remain largely nagotiable when under pressure.
Having Captain America standing now at his tomb and asserting their allegiance to Amir Sahib's vision borders on insult as it was their decade-long inaction which contributed to his murnder.
Kabul Diaries - I have movedAs of 19th May I have moved house - bigger rooms, nicer garden, I have a balcony, own bathroom, carpeted flooring, cable TV ...
Please see photos in the corresponding album 8 month on - meassuring progressEven a journey of one thousand miles starts with a single step
[Chinese proverb]
It started with a single step indeed. For me and for Ahmad, who I didn't know at the time, it was the hazy notion of "doing something for this country", for the memory of this man I never knew and whose death affected Ahmad deeply.
And now, somehow, after eight months things are getting on, somehow, as far as my personal perception and situation is concerned. Even though we don't know where our journey will take us on this personal level several things are coming to fruition:
May 19 Kabul Diaries, 14th May 07A step forward
They had all come - Marshal Fahim, Dr. Abdullah, Ahmad Zia, Ahmad Wali, Yunus Qanuni, all the commanders, everybody, some 800 people.
5 1/2 years after Amir Sahibs death they finally mastered up the strength to organise an event which could be the turning point in "doing something".
They were all there - all united in a memory, but most drifting apart in what they did with that memory.
As I looked at all the faces - familiar from so many photographs - I couldn't help but wonder why it had taken this long and why most of them had taken personal advantage of their status rather then following their commander's ideals and values? Had they ever understood him or had they just faught for their own try at power which after Amir Sahib's death made them fall apart?
I thought of all the accusation of profitering leveled against many, of Sherpur where many have built the most tacky houses one can imagine, with money from doubtful sources.
They raised 1 million dollars that night. They had expected 4 million - but it's a start, a step forward. It was a historic moment of sorts, and I was glad to be there
The Massoud foundation has to clear some debts now, then Amir Sahib's tomb will be completed and then parhaps at some point there will be money left for our library ... |
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