Wendy Thurman
New member
As I mentioned in response to Asher in a previous post, I've a few images of Farah. Martin Best (who one of these days I am going to have a drink with- this week maybe) did a very interesting write-up of a trip he recently took to Kandahar. In that vein, here's a trip to Farah.
Getting to Farah isn't difficult- it's the getting out that can be problematic. USAID operates air service for it's implementing partners; this service is based in Kabul. If one is in the far-flung corners of the country and the aircraft has a mechanical problem, one is going to be there until it gets sorted. The pilots are South African and the fleet consists of two Beech 1900's and a King Air. Here's a 1900 on the ramp in Kabul:
Farah city is old- very old. There's a large citadel, Shar-e-Farahdun, in the city that was built by Alexander the Great. The thing is huge at over a kilometre across. Despite the fact that there is much unexploded ordnance laying about due to the Taliban's use of the place as an ammunition dump, the Farahis continue to use the citadel for picnics, dogfights, and other such social affairs. A shot of the south-facing gate:
Farah is Taliban country. The recent US airstrikes that resulted in the deaths at least 100 people (the count varies depending on who's doing the reporting) have ony heightened the tensions in the area. We maintain a compound in the city rather than on the PRT (Provincial Reconstruction Team) facility, which is outside of town near the gravel airstrip. Everyone thinks we are out of our minds for doing so, but so far, so good. Nonetheless, we are removed from the daily to-and-fro of the city; fleeting glimpses of what is a visually fascinating place and culture are what we get. This image of two women walking down the street outside our compound I hope expresses that remove, as well as the additional remove of women from Pashtun society in general:
In our compound, we've a well-tended garden which is a pleasant place to spend an evening as the temperature cools:
con't
Getting to Farah isn't difficult- it's the getting out that can be problematic. USAID operates air service for it's implementing partners; this service is based in Kabul. If one is in the far-flung corners of the country and the aircraft has a mechanical problem, one is going to be there until it gets sorted. The pilots are South African and the fleet consists of two Beech 1900's and a King Air. Here's a 1900 on the ramp in Kabul:
Farah city is old- very old. There's a large citadel, Shar-e-Farahdun, in the city that was built by Alexander the Great. The thing is huge at over a kilometre across. Despite the fact that there is much unexploded ordnance laying about due to the Taliban's use of the place as an ammunition dump, the Farahis continue to use the citadel for picnics, dogfights, and other such social affairs. A shot of the south-facing gate:
Farah is Taliban country. The recent US airstrikes that resulted in the deaths at least 100 people (the count varies depending on who's doing the reporting) have ony heightened the tensions in the area. We maintain a compound in the city rather than on the PRT (Provincial Reconstruction Team) facility, which is outside of town near the gravel airstrip. Everyone thinks we are out of our minds for doing so, but so far, so good. Nonetheless, we are removed from the daily to-and-fro of the city; fleeting glimpses of what is a visually fascinating place and culture are what we get. This image of two women walking down the street outside our compound I hope expresses that remove, as well as the additional remove of women from Pashtun society in general:
In our compound, we've a well-tended garden which is a pleasant place to spend an evening as the temperature cools:
con't