Explaining why he was there

Why am I here?
That’s not so much a philosophical question at this point as it is situational.
“Here” is Kabul, Afghanistan, and I’m finding myself wondering now and then why I am here.
The short answer is, I was asked.
The longer answer is that this project gives me a chance to return to the free press development work that has been a big part of my life for the past dozen years.
When I was deported from Kyrgyzstan upon arrival there in 2009, I thought that my unofficial second career in this sort of work had come to a forced conclusion. I’d been put on a blacklist by the Lukashenka government in Belarus and am no longer welcome in six or seven countries, including Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajkistan. (Kyrgyzstan may have dropped the blacklist, but that’s uncertain at this time.)
At any rate, when my old friend Peter Eichstaedt asked me if I’d be interested in conducting a seminar on media business sustainability, I said yes.
The fact that Peter is country director in Afghanistan for the Institute for War and Peace Reporting only made me hesitate for a couple of seconds.
What the heck, I figured, how different could Afghanistan be from the other places I’ve done similar work?
The answer to that question is still open to debate.
So far, the hardest part has been getting here. I left home on a Friday morning, arrived in Washington on Friday afternoon, then flew to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, arriving there on Saturday night. If that sounds exhausting to you, you’re right. It is.
It also didn’t help that I had a middle seat and was next to a linebacker who was probably 6’4” and 260 pounds. Sleep — real sleep — wasn’t an option.
That’s why we stayed about 30 hours in Dubai before the next leg of the journey, arriving in Kabul on Monday afternoon.
And while I’m in Kabul as I write this, I still haven’t reached the place where I’ll be conducting the seminar.
That’s Mazar-e Sharif, the largest city in the Balkh province, far in the north of the country.
If all goes well, I’ll arrive there on a Wednesday morning.
So, leave Jay County on Friday morning and get to the place where I’m supposed to do some work on Wednesday morning. Not an easy commute.
The other factor of course is Afghanistan itself.
Its history is incredibly complicated and incredibly violent. And though it was occupied by the Soviets, it’s not truly a post-Soviet country like the other places where I’ve done this sort of thing.
My impressions are still taking shape and will have to wait for another column.
As to the first sentence of this one, it’s not entirely accurate.
When I wrote, “Why am I here?” I was in Kabul. But the fact that you’re now reading those words means I’m safely home.[[In-content Ad]]