Afghan storytellers

By Mariana Baabar

Eventually they make their way into the legendary Kissa Khani Bazaar in Peshawar, where once their identity is disclosed, there is an invitation for 'kawa' or green tea, and soon there is a sizeable number of eager ears to hear the latest from inside Afghanistan.

Weary Afghan travellers who are in the provincial capital, this time to escape the death and destruction of the ruthless American bombings echo the feelings of many Afghans when they say, "We are used to war. It is the technology which changes. But what amazes us is that on September 11 the world changed in a few moments but it is now three weeks and nothing has changed for Afghanistan as yet. We are still waiting."

These Afghans are amazed and shocked that the schools, bazaars and other institutions had closed down in Peshawar. "But the war is going on inside Afghanistan. What is the problem with Pakistanis? What little schools, bazaars and other institutions we have are functioning inside Afghanistan and there are no demonstrations on the streets where, as far as possible everyone is going on doing their business", one Afghan remarked.

But it is the food drops by the Americans which one Afghan saw being sold in Peshawar that had him laughing, "So now the Pakistanis will be eating this food which is not halal. We had been told that these Americans are cleverer than the Soviets and they have a powerful army. But why are they putting cutlery inside these packets? If we get food to eat, we use our hands. Many Afghans will not touch this food because we do not think it is halal. The women fear that there are birth control medicines in the food so that no more Osama bin Ladens are born."

Call them naive, stupid, innocent, ignorant or untutored, but these simple Afghans interpret the war and world affairs in their own way. It has been this logic that has seen their survival. They ask, as the crowd around them grows bigger, and even women in chaddars are allowed to move forward to listen. "I want to know why the Americans are insulting us in this manner. For even minor insults we fire our guns without hesitation. Suppose on September 11, there was another hijacked airline which was dropping nan, dal, gur and naswar on the twin towers. How would the Americans have reacted? They would have probably sent it to the FBI to have it tested", adds the Afghan.

Demarcation is being done in some of the areas which are literally wastelands inside Afghanistan. "But today we are busy in this demarcation as this would mean life or death for us. It could mean that we have food to eat or else starve to death. We are selling the scrap of these bombs that fall for Rs110 per kilo in Peshawar and this means thousands of Afghanis. So now the bombs or any splinters which fall on the ground belong to the person who has demarcated that land it as his own. We are also waiting for the tanks to roll in. We can do nothing with the planes that are flying continuously over our heads. We can seize and sell the tanks to the Pakistan Army as we did when we captured them from the Soviets. "He says that the aluminium from scud missiles also got them good money."

The wily Pathans have a knack for doing business even in the most absurd circumstances. "And why shouldn't we?" Some people I met before coming to Peshawar say that they made a lot of dollars by taking unsuspecting foreigners around the Khyber Agency and told them that this was Afghanistan. "If Allah has made them so ignorant that they are willing to put on a woman's burqa, then what can we do?", he asks.

But there are few takers when this Afghan starts to boast that five Americans have been handed over to Osama Bin Laden. "The BBC did not report about this, so we do not believe you", the shopkeeper who pours him kawa says. "No, no it is true. There were some guides from the Northern Alliance to whom these Americans from the special forces came and said to take them near the outskirts of Kabul. Well these guides knew that Osama Bin Laden had offered $50,000 for an American if captured alive, $3000 for his uniform and $1500 for his military equipment", the Afghan continued. Apparently these guides took these five Americans to Osama Bin Laden and received what was due to them. "But they have become very rich as they had already been paid handsomely by the Americans in the first place", the Afghan said. Believe it or not, but it is these kind of stories which will be repeated from mud house to mud house and find their way into the drawing rooms of University Town in Peshawar.

Date/Time Last Modified: 6/17/2002 3:36:16 PM

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