Colleagues

I never cease to be amazed with the people I currently work with. Then again, I can say that for almost every job I’ve had. From a national standpoint, my colleagues fall into one of three categories: Expats (Americans); Third Country Nationals [TCN] (non-Americans); Local Nationals [LN] (Afghans)

I would guess that less than 25% of us are Americans. I have worked in multicultural environments before, but never in the diversity that this team consists of. What I am most pleased about is that there is a sense of global nationality within the group. Even though we are from just about every nook and cranny across the globe, our nationalities seem to be regarded as only a few words in our passports.

When my wife and I visited other countries, we were always related to as Americans. Being an American, as anyone can imagine, means totally different things to different cultures. An Irishman would be looked at through curious eyes in Laredo, Texas, and probably be referred to as the “Irish So-and-so” by everyone in town before he would be called by just his name. In this group, I am simply Colton, and just happen to be from Texas. Everyone here is used to working with others from diverse cultures, and this really exposes our similarities.

Another thing about this group is their educational background. Sometimes I think I’m the only one here with less than intimidating credentials. What’s even more astounding is that I don’t know one who makes a big deal of it. This is a very academic crowd with very practical experience. I’m guessing over half the group have PhDs. It’s definitely time for me to go back to school!

Setbacks

This job just keeps getting more interesting day by day. One of our local field guys got arrested because the Afghan National Police (ANP) thought he was casing city sites for the Taliban. In reality, he was taking pictures for us related to a traffic study. Unfortunately the poor lad spent two days in an Afghan jail, and they confiscated our camera. We can rest assured that camera will never be seen again. Luckily he was not deterred by his experience, and returned to work the day after he was released. In the future, our local personnel will be sent out with proper credentials. At least we learned a valuable lesson here.

I also got word that another one of our local Afghan workers was kidnapped. This was from a different city. Information is rarely reputable, so it’s only speculation to any particulars on that. The risk here for expats (“first-worlders” and myself) is real, but the locals who take a job for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) like us exhibit a true sense of courage. I admire these brave souls immensely. Sure, we pay them extremely well when compared to their non-NGO counterparts, but they really harbor a lot of risk to improve their communities. I’m finding that there are several local nationals (LNs) who turn down positions from Taliban pressure.

These challenges effect us because we need their help to complete our mission. They know the terrain and can navigate the culture. Any time one of these guys get hurt, abducted, or go missing, it sets us back in our overall mission and moral takes a hit. We do our best to protect them, but it is they who are in the worst of the trenches and on the front lines.

Today the Kandahar Provincial Governor’s house came under attack. This compound is deep inside Kandahar city. This offensive included the occupation of one of our project sites by the Taliban, which was a renovation project for a truck depot we are working on. Another setback because we were very close to starting work on the building they are holed up in. Who knows what condition it will be in when they are dislodged. Our Deputy Team Leader jokingly stated that we will probably have to change the scope of work for this project to include spackling bullet holes and plastering over RPG hits. If the powers that be call in NATO, we will probably have no building left to renovate.

I’m happy to say I am at least 20 miles away from this mess, and in the safety of our cozy little compound, but it really sets us back because it forces our PSDs to restrict our teams movements, slowing our mission’s progress.

Bin Laden Dead, Finally

Yesterday morning I headed to the dining facility (DFAC) for breakfast, poured myself a bowl of cereal, and contemplated what I was going to do for the day. A few minutes later, a co-worker came in and asked me if I heard the news. Not having a clue what he was talking about, he jubilantly said "Osama Bin Laden is Dead" in his thick South African accent. Not sure what I should think, we struggled with the TV to find CNN, and sure enough it was true. Several others wandered in and we were all glued to the broadcast. What a great surprise!

I wanted to continue watching to see the president's speech, but had to get to work. Luckily, my mother is a current events junkie, and kept me up to date via SMS. She even mined a transcript of the president's speech somewhere off the internet for me. Thanks Mom!

Everyone on camp was excited about the news. I could tell the local Afghans expressed a sense of relief. Bin Laden is probably responsible for killing and terrorizing as many (if not many more) Afghans as any other nationalities. Bin Laden's death will not end any problems in this region, but it sure is an immense moral boost.