A Canadian civilian with the Kandahar PRT

The whole article at FrontLine magazine (Issue 1, 2009) is well worth a read:

Living & Working in Afghanistan

By Janette Brodeur
FrontLine Defence Magazine

The plane lifts off and I am actually on my way. I have been anticipating this trip for over a year now. Settling into my seat, I close my eyes and wonder what it will be like for me, a woman, working on a construction site as a Project Manager in Kandahar, Afghanistan, with the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team (KPRT).

I tried not to have any preconceived ideas as I planned for my six-month stay with the KPRT, and to mentally prepare myself for whatever may come. So many friends and ­relatives have asked why I wanted to go to Afghanistan. “There is a war going on and people are being killed,” they would say, with worry in their eyes.



As I sit in the plane, I contemplate that question again, and the same answers come to mind as when I considered this option a year ago. I am going for the challenge, for the adventure, and because I want to help make a difference in a place where the small victories add up to help this sad war-torn country along its journey toward democracy, good governance and – hopefully – peace...

Abdullah, the Site Rep on the Accommodation building, was very nervous and apprehensive around me at first. After the first week, however, I received an invitation from him to have a cup of Chi Tea. I take this as his acceptance of me – not necessarily as a woman, but as the person responsible for this construction site. It has become a morning ritual and the conversations are always interesting.

Over the course of our conversations he tells me about his family and I ask at what age his children will be going to school. He tells me that his sons will start school at age 8 and that his daughters will not be going to school. I tell him that in Canada it is very important that everyone, both boys and girls, receive an education. He very abruptly states that it is not important for him. I change the topic. I feel sad for his daughter who will grow up without an education and will likely be married by age 13 or 14. Abdullah married at age 17 and his wife was 13. He is now 21 and they have two children. He tells me about his brother who is 25 and has been married since he was 15, and has 6 children and two wives. He also tells me about another man on site, Baba, who is 45 and has four wives, the youngest being 15. I ask Abdullah if he will take a second wife and he laughs and says, “one is enough!”

It is so strange to me, that so little importance is placed on education for women, however, that is the sad reality here. Indeed, looking at pictures taken outside the wire, you would think you are looking at a scene from a movie depicting biblical times. A world caught between the 21st Century and ancient times, struggling like a breeched baby to be born.



It takes about a month for the Afghan contractors to get used to me, but they do. Now, every time I go to the construction sites they wave and smile and say good-morning. I always get a very warm welcome from the supervisor of the Ablution Project. He does not speak a word of English. Everyday he takes my hand in both of his and says good morning in Pashtu. He is always smiling and very gracious. It takes a couple of weeks for the site Engineer to warm up to me, but he does, and we have a very good working ­relationship. He is very articulate and intelligent. He has ­travelled outside of Afghanistan; he tells me that he has lived and worked in London, England for 5 years...

The hardest part of being here is attending the “Ramp Ceremonies.” This is a special ceremony that is done when a soldiers is killed. I have attended five ramp ceremonies since I have been here, so many lives gone. It is very difficult; words cannot express the feelings, the sadness, the anger, or the frustration. The magnitude of these feelings is like a suffocating weight and is felt by all members of the KPRT as they stand at the Ramp ceremony in memory of lives given so selflessly.

The most amazing thing is how the soldiers carry on, they pick up the pieces of their shattered heart and go back outside the wire the next day. It’s business as usual. They have an important job to do and they do it.

Canadian soldiers are brave beyond belief, they are here because they believe in what they are doing, they are professionals and excellent at what they do. I have always had a respect for our soldiers and for what they do, but I now have a new found respect for what the Canadian Forces are doing here. We owe all soldiers a huge debt of gratitude for the life of freedom and abundance that we have in Canada. And the work being done here is so important...