Mission Essential

So it's certainly been an interesting week.
First, I popped my suicide blast cherry. Last Tuesday, a suicide bomber rammed his car into a NATO convoy at about 8am. Most of those who were killed were Afghan civilians travelling on a passenger bus.  I was getting ready for work when I got the first text ....

"Explosion heard, please report your location."

Actually I was playing with the kitten and waiting for my ride, so didn't see the text until the next one came; 20 minutes later while I was in the work minivan chatting to the photo trainer about the ash cloud that had once again closed airports in the UK

"Suicide bomb Darulamum road. no movement until all clear. please acknowledge .."

Well, we were on our way to work, miles away from Darulamum which is the old presidential palace (incidentally already bombed out from the civil war), and so we continued down our street, famous perhaps only for its watermelon stands, oh and the lovely flower street cafe nearby.

Once we got to work, it was all about the story. What was the target, were there any casualties and what nationality? The usual stuff journalists crave.

So it wasn't until I started to wrap up to go home that I checked my phone again.

"New threat report indicates that other SVBIED ( for those not in the know .. suicide vehicle borne improvised explosive device) are located in the city and looking for opportune targets. Restrict movement to mission essential over the next 24 hours."

A few minutes later a friend texts with yet another warning of attacks in specific areas of the capital.
I have to say it didn't really help that I had a terrible hangover. I got home, and went to bed.
The next morning, I wake up feeling bright and breezy to:

"Report from BEK and US Mil of imminent attack in Shash Darak district, also of insurgent attack in the area of Jalalabad Road. Limit movement to mission essential only."

It is my first day of training. I'm running a workshop on writing good ledes, so again, it's not really what I need to focus on right now. Plus, the only people going to Jalalabad road are either soldiers going to the ISAF base, or expats looking to buy booze from the ISAF base (more on this later).

But within a few hours, we have information that there has been an attack on the heavily guarded Bagram Airforce base just north of Kabul. At least half a dozen suicide bombers, some in cars tried to enter the base. Dozens of other militants fired grenades and small arms at the base. It was an unprecedented attack, but they never got further than the outer perimeter wall.  One US contractor was killed.

So the training went well and was a lot of fun, although one colleague showed up for the last 20 minutes and another for the last five, and one of the Afghan trainers "supporting me" hijacked the show. When I asked him if he wanted to comment on an issue, he pulled out a powerpoint slide show and began to give his 30 minute presentationon om ledes, all  in Pashto. But everyone enjoyed it - not to mention enjoyed the tea and biscuits which I think is the reason anyone goes to the training room. I have my own reasons to go to the training room, since the new 23-year-old Afghan assistant joined (more about that in another post, I think).

So its 5:30pm, when I get another text:

"Movements to Shash Darak can resume, but threats of a complex (that's attacks on a compound/guesthouse) tonight have not lessened. Palace, ISAF, Embassy have all been mentioned. Once home, stay home, no movement except in emergencies arranged by Des (I have no idea who Des is)."

 Well, that's OK as I like staying in my home, with its bottles of wine and gin, funny little kitten, rose garden and ever growing numbe of housemates (there are seven of us now, including a pregnant woman).

We're driving home in the van, and as usual it's dark and there are only one or two streetlights working. Afghans on bicycles appear out of nowhere in the gritty darkness, or run across the road. We drop one of my Afghan colleagues off first, but the other, who like most people at the office, seem to have at least two jobs, is heading to his other office to play pool. So there I am driving around the backstreets of the capital, looking for this guy's office when I get another text.

"Threat reporting from ISAF. NDS report insurgent planning SVBIED against Serena Hotel, MoE, KMTC (no idea what this is) German and Indian embassies, a guesthouse near US embassy & Parliament members using 2 motorbikes & brown toyota. advise Total lock down until 07:00hrs tomorrow when will be reassessed."

Needless to say I am now scanning before long, toyotas, the faces of everyone driving a toyota - and believe me there are many in Kabul - for signs of someone being newly shaved. Apparenly you need to be clean if you are going to martyr yourself. Some even shave off all their body hair.
I make it home safe and sound, and for once, everyone is home, with a couple of extras too. We break out the gin, the wine and someone makes pasta and heats up some leftovers. The kitten crawls on my lap, an Ipod plays in the background and brown toyotas and suicide blasts are left far behind.