Well for all you who are kindly following my journey I am sad to report that it has come to a grinding halt. Needless to say I am extremely disappointed and also copped a financial beating for cancelling my flights at late notice.
I guess if nothing else I have learnt from the experience and it does highlight some of the complexities of Afghanistan and that culture is so ingrained it is not something you can simply leave behind.
I won't give much details for security reasons but due to something in the family of tha lady I was supposed to travel with, she has been threatened with harm or worse so she understandibly opted not to go. Hopefully we will go next Easter.
Thanks for your support and I will be sure to keep you posted.
Thanks
lolve
Maureen
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
Probably The Most Efficient Embassy in the World
Well I had an email from the Embassy of Afghanistan today to tell me my visa was ready for collection.! I only posted it on Monday! I guess they probably don't have a backlog.
So today I want to share with you the texts of a decree by the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, which was issued on December 17 th 1996 at the order of Taliban leader, Mullah Omah. I will shorten the text but you'll get the idea - there are 16 items;
Temptation - This is why women are forced to cover up and when out in public they must always be accompanied by a close male relative.
Music - Forbidden in shops, hotels and automobiles.
Shaving a beard was forbidden - if you didn't you were put in prison until it grew to the required length.
Daily Prayers - Had to be said in mosques. Shops had to close 15 minutes before and everyone had to pray 5 times a day. Shopkeepers who stayed open went to jail for ten days or worse.
Training pigeons and playing with birds was forgiven.
Drug trafficking was forbidden, along with the use of drugs.
Gambling was forbidden.
Kite flyong was forgiven (For anyone who hasn't seen the movie A Kite Runner - it gives what most Afghans consider to be a very honest view of the Taliban.
No image of a person could be displayed in shops, hotels or taxis as this was a form of idolatry. This was their excuse for destroying the Bamyan Buddhas.
Letting ones hair grow out in American or British fashion was forbidden.
Taking interest on loans was forbidden.
Women were not to wash clothes on the banks of rivers.
Music and dancing at wedding ceremonies was forbidden.
Drum music was forbidden,
Men were forbidden to tailor women's clothing or take their measurements.
Practicing astrology was forbidden.
There were two stories giving examples of this which if not so tragic they would be hilarious that I have to share:
The first is about Titanic - yes as in a sinking ship with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet - my heart will go on so long as I don't live in Afghanistan.
Apparently there were so many bootlag copies of the movie in Afghanistan that it caused many young urban Afghanis to lionize Leonardo. These young men had their hair cut 'Leonardo style'. 28 barbers in Kabul were arrested and put in jail - the young men were harassed and beaten by the Taliban. It became so serious that they called for the killing of Leonardo and Kate because they celebrated love out of wedlock. I wonder what they would make of Sex and the City!
The second story was about a women who witnessed a group of young women clad in black burqua being beaten bloody by the Taliaban in the street. When she later made enquiries about what they had done wrong she was told "They were beaten because they were wearing white socks........That is the colour of the Taliban flag, and women do not have the right to wear white. It means defiling the flag."
As I said yesterday these people deserve our support.
Night
Maureen the Intrepid
So today I want to share with you the texts of a decree by the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, which was issued on December 17 th 1996 at the order of Taliban leader, Mullah Omah. I will shorten the text but you'll get the idea - there are 16 items;
Temptation - This is why women are forced to cover up and when out in public they must always be accompanied by a close male relative.
Music - Forbidden in shops, hotels and automobiles.
Shaving a beard was forbidden - if you didn't you were put in prison until it grew to the required length.
Daily Prayers - Had to be said in mosques. Shops had to close 15 minutes before and everyone had to pray 5 times a day. Shopkeepers who stayed open went to jail for ten days or worse.
Training pigeons and playing with birds was forgiven.
Drug trafficking was forbidden, along with the use of drugs.
Gambling was forbidden.
Kite flyong was forgiven (For anyone who hasn't seen the movie A Kite Runner - it gives what most Afghans consider to be a very honest view of the Taliban.
No image of a person could be displayed in shops, hotels or taxis as this was a form of idolatry. This was their excuse for destroying the Bamyan Buddhas.
Letting ones hair grow out in American or British fashion was forbidden.
Taking interest on loans was forbidden.
Women were not to wash clothes on the banks of rivers.
Music and dancing at wedding ceremonies was forbidden.
Drum music was forbidden,
Men were forbidden to tailor women's clothing or take their measurements.
Practicing astrology was forbidden.
There were two stories giving examples of this which if not so tragic they would be hilarious that I have to share:
The first is about Titanic - yes as in a sinking ship with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet - my heart will go on so long as I don't live in Afghanistan.
Apparently there were so many bootlag copies of the movie in Afghanistan that it caused many young urban Afghanis to lionize Leonardo. These young men had their hair cut 'Leonardo style'. 28 barbers in Kabul were arrested and put in jail - the young men were harassed and beaten by the Taliban. It became so serious that they called for the killing of Leonardo and Kate because they celebrated love out of wedlock. I wonder what they would make of Sex and the City!
The second story was about a women who witnessed a group of young women clad in black burqua being beaten bloody by the Taliaban in the street. When she later made enquiries about what they had done wrong she was told "They were beaten because they were wearing white socks........That is the colour of the Taliban flag, and women do not have the right to wear white. It means defiling the flag."
As I said yesterday these people deserve our support.
Night
Maureen the Intrepid
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Planning My Trip to Afghanistan
As I sit watching tonights news with the headlines farewelling the latest soldiers to loose their lives in Afghanistan it reminds me how much the Afghan people need our help. I was impressed to read a comment in yesterday's paper from the Mother of one of the Australian soldiers who said how proud she was of her son and that he had gone there not because he was told but because he wanted to help the people of Afghanistan. What a great Aussie bloke - she should be proud. My sincere respects and thoughts to his family and friends.
I am relieved to know that more than 80% of Australian soldiers who have been killed since 2002 have met their fate in a province just north of Kandahar, which is in the south east and nowhere near where I will be travelling.
I am heading there via Delhi on July 9th. Today I applied to the airlines for some free excess baggage so that I can take some blankets, clothes and toys for the orphans I am going to photograph. All these items have been donated by generous Australian donors - thank you to them.
A colleague at work is also helping me get the 'appropriate' clothing. Her Mum owns an Indian clothing store in Sydney's West and I need to get some shelwar kameez tops to wear. I have opted for black, brown or navy - anything to hide the grime and dirt.
So the idea is that I travel to a group of orphanages in Kabul and the Panjshar Valley, interview them about their lives and the reality of 'Childhood in Afghanistan' and take their pictures. I think it will be pretty heart wrenching hearing most of these stories.
Apparently 30% of children in Afghanistan have fought in a war - that is a sad and shocking statistic.
I am hoping to travel to Herat and Bamyan too subject to finding the appropriate escort.
So its less than a month - I am practicing my Dari - salamalakam to you all.
Speak soon
from
Maureen the Intrepid
I am relieved to know that more than 80% of Australian soldiers who have been killed since 2002 have met their fate in a province just north of Kandahar, which is in the south east and nowhere near where I will be travelling.
I am heading there via Delhi on July 9th. Today I applied to the airlines for some free excess baggage so that I can take some blankets, clothes and toys for the orphans I am going to photograph. All these items have been donated by generous Australian donors - thank you to them.
A colleague at work is also helping me get the 'appropriate' clothing. Her Mum owns an Indian clothing store in Sydney's West and I need to get some shelwar kameez tops to wear. I have opted for black, brown or navy - anything to hide the grime and dirt.
So the idea is that I travel to a group of orphanages in Kabul and the Panjshar Valley, interview them about their lives and the reality of 'Childhood in Afghanistan' and take their pictures. I think it will be pretty heart wrenching hearing most of these stories.
Apparently 30% of children in Afghanistan have fought in a war - that is a sad and shocking statistic.
I am hoping to travel to Herat and Bamyan too subject to finding the appropriate escort.
So its less than a month - I am practicing my Dari - salamalakam to you all.
Speak soon
from
Maureen the Intrepid
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