interesting and different view point of the Taliban
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Joined: Oct 2000
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From: Torrance
Here's another article in the LA Times about the taliban and how they might be better than the Northern Alliance.
http://www.latimes.com/features/lifestyle/...3732oct21.story
http://www.latimes.com/features/lifestyle/...3732oct21.story
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From: Melbourne!
Yes, a very sad situation in Afghanistan - it seems that whatever happens the common joe is the one who loses.
I travelled through Afghanistan in 1977- on a motorcycle journey from Australia to Europe - and had a vast array of different experiences. These included in the space of two short weeks:
Having a bus held up up at gunpoint in front of me by armed tribesmen in the Khyber pass.
Having rocks fired at me from slingshots by young (under 10 years old) goat herders
Being stunned by my first sight of women clad head to foot in djellabahs
Being shocked by the harshess and aridity of the landscape - it's a very tough life for people working on the land
Enjoying the fantastic foods available in Kabul yet amazed by the poor quality of food everywhere else.
Being chilled to the bone travelling through the snow covered Salang pass tunnels and half an hour later descending into blazing heat and dry deserts
Enjoying a drunken night with Russian geologists in Mazari i shariff not 10 miles from the USSR border
Getting lost in the north west desert between Mazari and Herat and having to knock on the door of a mud hut to seek shelter for the night.
Spending a magical night in the same mud hut with some of the most gracious and hospitable people (peasants) I have ever met in my life.
Being offfered a lift the following day from a very friendly US delegation of aid workers as I could not find fuel.
Stopping at fuel stops and being welcomed into tea shops (chai kanas) where swarthy tribesmen sit on tables (no chairs guys - the table is for sitting on
) with their rifles slung over their shoulders and encourage you to chat.
Yes, a land of huge contrasts and intense cruelty (by nature and by people) yet still the average person was able to not only subsist but find a little enjoyment and satisfaction whilst going about the most trivial day to day activities.
Afghanistan has always been a wild and woolly place - the Afghans were the only ones who could keep the British at bay during their days of Asian colonisation. Let's hope that they can pick up the positives that exist in Western civilisation (and democracy) whilst retaining the best aspects of a rich and vivid culture that has sustained them for thousands of years.
I travelled through Afghanistan in 1977- on a motorcycle journey from Australia to Europe - and had a vast array of different experiences. These included in the space of two short weeks:
Having a bus held up up at gunpoint in front of me by armed tribesmen in the Khyber pass.
Having rocks fired at me from slingshots by young (under 10 years old) goat herders
Being stunned by my first sight of women clad head to foot in djellabahs
Being shocked by the harshess and aridity of the landscape - it's a very tough life for people working on the land
Enjoying the fantastic foods available in Kabul yet amazed by the poor quality of food everywhere else.
Being chilled to the bone travelling through the snow covered Salang pass tunnels and half an hour later descending into blazing heat and dry deserts
Enjoying a drunken night with Russian geologists in Mazari i shariff not 10 miles from the USSR border
Getting lost in the north west desert between Mazari and Herat and having to knock on the door of a mud hut to seek shelter for the night.
Spending a magical night in the same mud hut with some of the most gracious and hospitable people (peasants) I have ever met in my life.
Being offfered a lift the following day from a very friendly US delegation of aid workers as I could not find fuel.
Stopping at fuel stops and being welcomed into tea shops (chai kanas) where swarthy tribesmen sit on tables (no chairs guys - the table is for sitting on
) with their rifles slung over their shoulders and encourage you to chat.Yes, a land of huge contrasts and intense cruelty (by nature and by people) yet still the average person was able to not only subsist but find a little enjoyment and satisfaction whilst going about the most trivial day to day activities.
Afghanistan has always been a wild and woolly place - the Afghans were the only ones who could keep the British at bay during their days of Asian colonisation. Let's hope that they can pick up the positives that exist in Western civilisation (and democracy) whilst retaining the best aspects of a rich and vivid culture that has sustained them for thousands of years.
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Joined: Jun 2001
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From: Atlanta, GA
The one truly unfortunate thing about this whole situation is that some (of our less educated and/or open minded citizens) have a tenancy to overlay their displeasure with a government (or form of government) onto the citizens of that country. So, in this case, we end up with people who then dislike all Afghanis or Muslims in general.
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