A Little Bit of Canada in Kabul

We were invited to the Canadian Embassy for Remembrance Day. Each guest received a red poppy to pin on our coats. Then they had a ceremony, speeches, and a minute of silence. After, we were invited to a light luncheon at the ambassador's residence.

We were served smoked salmon on rye, egg rolls with sweet and sour sauce, curry potato salad, sandwiches with the crust cut off, salsa and corn chips, and veggies with ranch dip. All very Canadian. Canada's Ministry of Defense sent representatives to attend the ceremony. The Afghan government sent two ministers: The Minister of Defense and the Minister of Rural Rehabilitation, who happens to be Douglas' boss.

Among the people I met was a woman from Vancouver. I can't remember her name, but she and her husband are in Afghanistan to help farmers grow soy beans. She's lived in Kabul for two years. So we stood together and had our photograph taken with a Mountie.



The Canadian Embassy compound runs a stretch of road behind several guarded barricades. About 30 staff work and live there, along with soldiers who are stationed in Kabul. One young embassy staff told us on that stretch of road, they play ball hockey. When a car comes through, they shout, Car! move the nets, and stand aside. When the car passes, they put everything back in place and resume their game. Just like home, eh?

Except when the Russians found out the Canadians were playing hockey on the street, they wanted to play too. These young Canadians are embassy staff, not soldiers. They didn't spend their youth honing their sports prowess playing hockey. They look more like skinny, little bookworms. The Russians on the other hand are heft International Security Assistance Force soldiers. They patrol the streets looking fierce with guns pointing in the air, in tows of three or four over-sized, mud-coloured hummers. All traffic must stop when their hummers approach, must not interfere with their destination, even if they are just going to Kentucky Fried Chicken for coffee. Or, they could gun you down.

So far, the Canadians have not accepted the Russians' invitation to play street hockey. But how long can they hold out? The young embassy man admitted they were afraid of the Russians and are desperately looking through their conduct manual for a policy that prohibits them from engaging in recreational sports with staff from other embassies. Heck, they could just tell the Russians such a policy exists. They don't have to show them the manual.

In the evening, we went to dinner at the Gandamack restaurant. You have to go through this secret door, walk through a lane to get into the restaurant behind.



The restaurant serves a mix of Afghan, Italian, French, and American food. You get grilled meat, pasta, and burgers. There was a large table reserved for a party of 20. When those guests arrived, we knew most of them were Canadian. They were the ones wearing a red poppy on their jackets. And Douglas recognized some of them from the Remembrance Day ceremony.

Then we went through this set of ancient doors to the basement where the smoky bar was.


In the smoky, low-ceilinged, basement bar, you meet these bad boys, building up their jobs as gun-runners in case their careers as international development workers get boring.

Douglas


Chris


Helge