STAYING SAFE IN KABUL
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90
% of you who have written me this trip have included in your email "be safe" or
"stay safe". You've driven me into a heightened and probably irreversible state
of acute paranoia and anxiety. I'm writing this newsletter in the hall linen
closet. I've taken a couple of other precautions.
You probably noticed, I haven't provided the name of my hotel. So the only people who could know where I'm staying is anyone in Kabul who follows the taxi
with the 6ft, clean shaven, white Anglo-Saxon male, wearing
sunglasses, staring at the floor, and hunched down in the back seat. That would require them to risk being charged with profiling.
I change my arrival and departure
time for brea kfast, don't eat at the same table, and sit with my back to the
wall. The waiters sample my food before serving it to me.
Bottom line is that if you're
engaged in humanitarian aid, it's hard to stay away from humans. Moreover a lifetime of experiences have led me to conclude that 99.9%
of humans are on balance good. Flawed maybe but not evil. The .1% who commit
horrendous acts receive a disproportionate share of media coverage. Consequently, our
perception of mankind and Afghanistan is skewed.
Admittedly, kidnappings and
terrorist acts in Kabul have risen significantly. One needn't travel very far
south before entering areas that aren't safe. While writing this newsletter, I
received two emails from supporters, advising me of the recent destruction of a school
in Helmand Province and the acid attack on girls walking to school in
Kandahar.
Notwithstanding increasing threats from the Taliban, enrollment in the girls' classes we fund is
rising. I have several requests to
add more classes. One teacher is preparing a budget to increase the size of the
room she is using in her home to teach students.
I'm here as evidence of our continuing commitment and to deliver
the message that we will supply as many teachers, school supplies,
and books as we can, for as long as we are able. It's the least we can do for
the Afghan families and girls who refuse to give way to terrorists. Compared to their lives, mine is safe.
Enjoy your weekend and stay safe,
Budd
ps --In twelve hours we begin
distributing 16 tons of fertilizer to 185 farmers. 24 hours from now I'll be "another
day older and deeper in debt". -- name that tune and be entered to win a Kabob dinner
for two in Kabul. (Transportation cost not included.)
pps -- for you young folk, do a google search using "owe my soul to the company store".
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