ENG 3053
My Show and Tell
Aloha classmates,
Thanks for letting me share some of my experiences regarding our current topic. I've been contemplating whether to share because I am still healing from my deployment experiences.
Our last assignment brought back some wacky memories, but since the iron is still hot, I might as well share.
My first tour in Afghanistan lasted a year in 2008, when I was embedded with the Afghan Forces in support of Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix.
One of my interpreter's mum made the burkha I shared in class.
Please check out the video below. I'm a Navy Corpsman specializing in battlefield medicine, which is why I get stuck with Marines and Army peeps in the sandbox. During my 2008 tour, I wrote and created a video about the kiddies in Afghanistan. The pictures and videos you see are from me, and with the help of my interpreter, "Andy," I was able to write the narration. The voice you hear is my buddy "Liv." She is a British Medical Operations Planner. I used her voice cause having a British accent narrator would make my homemade video much more sophisticated, LOL.
Just for fun, I included the images below that I can share.
We were surrounded by Opium fields and weeds growing throughout random cracks like.... weeds. These people have ZERO clue who Mickey Mouse is. Nomads throughout the country who keep to themselves think we are still the Russians hanging out in Afghanistan. Nomads do not care for the Taliban, Mujahideen, or the Afghan government. Also throughout the country, you will run into fortresses built during Alexander the Great's time in the country. Of course, they were made out of mud.
The CNN Reporter I talked about is Atia Abawi. I found her website to see what she's doing now, and it seems she's become an author writing about women's and human rights, much like Sadaawi. I am going to reach out to her. Sadaawi’s book really opened my eyes.
It's a weird story of how I ran into her. In Afghanistan, my tiny 14-man team lived in a small forward operations base controlled by the British. Atia was assigned to create a story about the front-line British forces deep inside Helmand Province. When she found out there was a group of American knuckleheads in the base, she asked to meet us.
She arrived, and we had a good chat. That's when I found out she was a fellow Orange County Resident.
Lastly, through my interactions with Afghans, I learned the following:
- According to Andy, Afghan wives are very picky when choosing a wife for their sons. Once a woman marries, they leave home and stay with their husband's family. With that, the older lady wants to ensure their daughter-in-law can take care of them when they become old and require assistance. Andy says this is called "life insurance" for the family.
Women cannot leave the home without the burka. They must also be accompanied by a man from their household when in public.
The houses have mud walls around the perimeter of their lots to ensure no one can see into their homes. Many times, several homes are inside the perimeter of the mud walls since they are all family. Women do not wear burkas when they are at home.
Lastly Lastly, don’t let the British give driving directions. It might not end well.
