Afghanistan

A Glimpse of Kabul, Afghanistan
One Mission Member's Tale from the Road
4 -7 February 2002

After more than 20 years, ADB sent a mission team to look at how it can help in the rehabilitation of the war-torn country. Clare Wee, ADB's Senior Counsel, reports.

Preparing for Kabul

TEAM WORK. ADB's first mission team to Afghanistan in over twenty years.

We travelled to Kabul from Manila via Dubai and Islamabad. My preparations for the trip required copious revisions to my packing list. I have lists for everything, but developing the list for my trip to Kabul was one of the most difficult. Finally, equipped with sleeping bag, sleeping pad, ground sheet, two camping pillows, thermos, stove, chocolates, instant miso soup, tomato soup, chicken soup, instant noodles, raisins, energy bars, my warmest clothing, pocket torch, flashlight, battery-operated fluorescent tube, and three headscarves of varying shades of dark, I joined the rest of my group - two economists, one communications specialist, and one environmentalist - on ADB's first mission team to Afghanistan in over twenty years. Although individuals from ADB had previously visited Afghanistan, this was the first full-fledged team to be sent to Kabul. We were a multicultural ADB team -- from Bangladesh, Norway, Afghanistan, USA and Singapore.

So what was the need for a lawyer you might ask? Well, the thing about being a development lawyer is that there is little "hard core" legal work. As a development lawyer, there's a lot less paper and a lot more diplomacy. On this trip our mission was to establish contact with the new Afghan Interim Authority to discuss future programming, legalize security arrangements with the United Nations, and provision for our new office in Kabul.

No one could have escaped hearing about Kabul since 11 September 2001. To put recent CNN images of Kabul in perspective, I visited Mr. Books bookshop in Islamabad, in search of a historical guide to Afghanistan. While I did not find the authoritative Dupree History of Afghanistan, I did chance upon a guidebook written by Mrs. Dupree. I was struck by Nancy Dupree's first recital on Kabul:

I knew that much of this had changed under the Taliban, but I could not have imagined what I was to see.

After waiting a full day for weather conditions to clear, we finally boarded a UN charter flight in Islamabad with a motley assortment of journalists, Afghan bureaucrats, embassy staff, and international civil servants for companions. It was an uneasy companionship, with few open smiling faces except for the flight attendant who offered us each a glass of water as refreshments on the flight.

Unusually, I kept a constant watch out of the Fokker's windows, and was rewarded with stunning views of high rugged, barren and jaggedly mountainous landscape. After some time, the views softened and the valley that hosts Kabul came into sight.

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The views expressed in this travelogue are the author's own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of others, or of ADB.

Next Arriving in Kabul