The Last Journey
“School Days”
Today is Sunday, September
5. It was the first day of school in
these parts in the little town just outside the COP. The community is called, “cooch-a-ray”. I do not know the exact spelling of it. For the past few days, preparations have been
being made for this event. Education is
something that the Taliban frown upon yet the kids here really seek out to
learn. Tents were set up just to the
east of the COP as temporary facilities for school while the permanent
structure is being built. Final touches
were put in place around 0600 hrs with the Marines setting up concertina wire
where the entrance to the school is. By
about 0700 hrs, students began trickling in for the first day of school. The turnout was the big mystery. By an hour later, the place was filled with
children mostly from ages 9-12 and the place was bustling with activity. By all practical measurements the first day
of school was pulled off at this point with success.
Education
is the key for the next generation of Afghans.
There is no disputing that. The
children are for sure eager to learn and like children everywhere across the
globe, they are equal in desire and for all practical purposes void of the
matters of war that cause so much problems in this type of setting. Throughout the morning I observed a steady
stream of children coming into the school area registering for class and taking
their places in the tents. The tents
were set up by Marines and Afghan police and the joint effort proved
worthwhile. Many of the Marines on this
day had purchased local attire in advance and when the time came for the
students to arrive, there were Marines looking like Afghan locals standing
guard to make sure all went well. There
were also various patrols in and around the area keeping a watchful eye on the
school in the event that the Taliban tried to cause problems on this day.
I spent a fair bit of the
morning photographing the whole scene at school. During this time I befriended three
students. Their names are; Barrelli,
Ahmed Ali, and Samuela. These three
students captured my attention right from the beginning. The one named Barrelli is small in stature
but seems to be quite bright and picks things up right away. He is very mannerly and eager to get right
down to business. He has some English
skills. The one named Samuela is quite
attentive and is probably the most eager to want an education. He also seems to be the one that will most
likely to problem solve the quickest among all the students I observed. Ahmed Ali is the strongest physically of the
three but is just as intelligent. He is
kind of the glue that holds the three of them together. As I watched him I could see him being the
one that could become the most bored in the shortest amount of time if school
is not a success. I snapped many a shot
of the three of these guys and as the morning unfolded I kept an eye to see how
their reactions would be with all of today’s events.
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The children arrived mostly
on foot but many were dropped off via motor cycle. Some rode bicycles and one or two actually
drove small motor cycles. A few parents
came with their children. But not very
many. And never was a mother seen. This was pretty much a male only event, but,
there were about four little girls that walked by more than once observing but hurriedly
scurried off when asked to come.
Schooling for young girls is definitely a cultural no-no. One of the girls was reported to actually be
crying and really wanted to come to school.
There are three females here at the COP, one linguist and two female
engagement team members specifically here to accommodate the female local
population. Part of their job is and
will be to assist with young girls wanting to attend school. This is a fairly new program here and still
in the developing stages. Once again,
time will tell how success will be measured.
During the opening of the
school, the owner of the property that the temporary school is set up on came
by and observed all that was going on.
He was quite happy to see all the children in attendance. An older man, quite tall and with a full
white beard came by. His face was quite
weathered but he was in good shape. He
seemed to carry some authority as do most men with full white beards. He came by and also was quite pleased to see
the children all around enjoying the event.
I took his photo on several occasions as he chatted with the Marine
officers via the translator.
There
were also some older men that were not as enthusiastic about the school
event. They engaged in some
conversations with the Marine officers once again via translators. Just by watching their body language and listening
to the tone in their voices it was obvious they were not all that happy about
the kids attending classes. This was
expected but is not the majority around here, at least so far as I have seen up
to this point. During some of these
conversations a truck with many “elders” drove by with all of them
filling up the back portion of the bed of the truck. It was like they were driving by to see what
was actually happening. Again, all this
was expected. All in all, putting things
into perspective, the first day of school here is not all that much different
than the first day of school back home.
Yes, there are men with guns
making sure that the well being of the students is first and foremost. But, when I think about it, the same things
could be said for many schools in the inner cities across 
time being at least for
about four hours, that there was a war going on all around us and that this is
the drug infested capital of the world in the middle of Islamic fundamentalists
seeking to radicalize the entire population.
What I saw this day was typical nine, ten, eleven and twelve year olds
really desiring to obtain an education.
Coming to school not only provides them with such an opportunity it
gives each and every one of them a break from the difficult daily life of a
young Afghan child here in Helmund province, Afghanistan. It was just one of those scenes that
I’m glad I was a witness to at this time in my life.
School
for this day was pretty much done by about 
else in the world when
school is let out for the day. Bicycles
were gathered, kids were running and playing, students were comparing their new
backpacks that had been distributed to them and typical young kid activities
were taking place. It was the end of the
first day of school in “cooch a ray”
I
talked with one of the Lt’s here who helped set this whole thing up. We discussed the book, “Three Cups of
Tea” by Greg Mortensen and his new book, “Stones Into
Buildings”. Mortensen is quite
famous for building schools in this region.
We both agreed his help here would be quite beneficial. In a small way, what I saw today is on the
same scale as what Mortensen accomplished.
In these parts, a lot can be done with very little.
Later in the afternoon
someone from the bazaar area fired a weapon at post one here at the COP. This is pretty much unheard of here, as most
do not attach from or on the bazaar. All
of us knew that it was a statement of sorts concerning the matter of the first
day of school. A patrol was quickly sent
out to look for and apprehend the person or persons responsible for this
attack. I accompanied the Marines on
this patrol and one suspect was apprehended.
Later, on a subsequent second patrol, which I did not attend, another
suspect was taken in and detained for awhile.
By the late afternoon, a large crowd of locals had gathered at the ECP
demanding that the suspects be released.
There is a system for all this and it pretty much is based on the elders
or other persons in authority vouching for the person being detained. Eventually those detained were released, but
not before large crowds gathered and began to border on becoming a bit
routy. I was there with my camera just
in case it became a bit more interesting.
One never knows what can happen here.
It’s always something different on the same day over and over
again here. This is Helmund province,
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Jim
Spiri