Afghans
Saturday, November 4th 2006 - 7:43 PM
I've been here two months now, so that makes me an authority on Afghanistan and its people.
Well, maybe not...
But i'm starting to get the feel of this part of Kabul, at least. And i'm beginning to pick up the language - "kum kum", as they say in Dari ("a little bit"). I'm starting to get to know some of the people i work with a bit better too.
My walk to work, mainly along the road that our house is on, feels like walking through a country village. It's got to the point now where i recognise about half the people i meet walking along that road. It's funny, i'm feeling more at home here than i've felt in a lot of other places i've lived.
Afghans, in general, seem to be very friendly. Whether they're the same to each other as they are to me, though, is something i don't know. But hospitality and friendliness do seem to be important here.
The standard greeting, when you meet someone you know, is something along the lines of "Salam. Chetoor asti? Khub asti? Bakhair asti? Jon a jur ast?" ("Peace. How are you? Are you good? How's your health? Is your spirit healthy?"). That's not all of it - but it's the bits i've learnt so far. You would probably go on to ask about the person's family, etc. And that whole thing is the equivalent to our "Hello".
The standard greeting for a stranger is "Salam aleikum", or "peace be with you". It is also common to place the palm of your hand in the middle of your chest, as a sign of respect, when you meet someone.
I find it weird that people in "Christian" countries have such a bad opinion of Muslims in general. In my experience - and not just in this country, either - Muslims seem to be much more friendly, tolerant and peace-loving than your average citizen of a "Christian" country. That's doubly true if the country in question is England, of course - but then i find it hard to imagine a less friendly, less tolerant and more violent country than that one!
My workmates are a fairly mixed bunch. There are about fifty people working for the organisation i work for - mainly Afghans. The foreigners are two Iranians, a Pakistani, two Australians, one English person, an American, and me - whatever i am these days (British? Australian? I'm not sure any more...) There's also an Afghan woman who lived in France for a long time and another Afghan woman whose parents left Kabul when she was one and who lived in Germany for ten years and then the US for the next fourteen.
Quite a few of the Afghans seem to have spent most of the time that the Taliban were in power living in Pakistan.
And then there's one of the "guards" at the house where i live - who was born in Kabul and has never been anywhere else!
One of the most striking things about the Afghans i work with is their sense of humour. They're almost as bad as the British in that way - cracking silly jokes all the time and forever taking the piss out of each other.
A standard joke technique here is to tell a story about someone who is part of the group you're talking to. That person becomes the subject in the joke you're telling - and you tell it in a matter of fact way, as if you're telling a true story. It's similar to the way British people take the piss out of each other, but the person who is the subject of the story plays no part in it, they just stand there and listen, as if it's a true story being told about them. It's kind of weird, but it's funny!
You can see some of my photos of Afganistan at
WillKemp-Photos.com/afghanistan