There were many things about Kabul that were much different than I expected. I think the most surprising thing for me was how much I liked the city. I expected to find a war zone where people rush from place to place with the ever-present threat of death always in the back of their minds. Instead, I found bustling streets lined with clothing shops, cafes and restaurants and Kabul itself was more reminiscent of a post-Soviet era city than one of the world’s most dangerous places.
Trendy young men and women (complete with sunglasses and loosely tied head scarves which showed a substantial chunk of hair) strolled with their friends, mothers helped wobbly toddlers walk, fathers carried babies and old men sat and watched the world go by. Old women walked the sidewalks like they were part of the “auntie-brigade” that you find present throughout much of Asia (sometimes, these women are some of the most terrifying people you will encounter. Just ride the suburban train in Mumbai if you don’t believe me.) Overall, the sense of “normalcy” really caught me off guard despite being told this very thing by people who had recently traveled there.
While in Kabul, I was lucky enough to have some candid chats with young Kabul-ites. Complaints about girlfriends and boyfriends sounded just like the ones I have heard echoed around the world. I posed for Snapchat selfies and spent a few giggly minutes playing with the different filters with a 22 year old woman who just graduated from university, doesn’t want to get married but really wants a job. She gave me a keychain to remember her by. I played with little kids and made them laugh hysterically at my wide array of goat and dog photos. I had a little girl teach me how to juggle at the children’s circus. I got caught in snowball fights amongst some of Kabul’s snowball champions. Everything seemed so normal.
That is until I was asked by teenage girls at the National Museum why I came to a war zone for vacation. I later spoke to a 15 year old girl whose father was kidnapped and held for ransom. She also told me that she doesn’t like going to school because of security on the way to school. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to worry about being kidnapped or attacked on your way to school. She also told me that Afghani women dress so well when they are out in public because they aren’t allowed out very often and want to make the most of it. She also told me that Afghani women wear very sexy dresses to weddings and that some of the dresses looked like bikinis.
The smiling faces of the people and their welcoming words are at times in direct contrast with what you see all around you. Military and security personnel are everywhere and cement and sandbag blockades offer little protection from suicide bombs. The senseless violence that the city continues to endure is hard to understand when you “feel” safe. Before I went, I knew that the security situation could change at any moment but I didn’t really understand how that would feel. I expected to feel “on-edge” and hyper aware of my surroundings. I didn’t expect to feel so “normal” knowing the ever present pain and suffering that the city (and the country) endures.
