In January 2002, weeks after the fall of the Taliban, a mad Scotsman walked from Herat to Kabul. Starting in the West near the Iranian border and traversing long-forgotten valleys, this is the history of a country so fragmented many local Afghan leaders have lived their entire lives within 50 miles of their birthplaces. This is a country in need of some old-fashioned smoke signals. No wonder the Taliban took over so quickly.
Traveling by foot, Rory Stewart encounters a very personal Afghanistan. Taking advantage of the Muslim tradition of hosting traveling strangers, each day he knocks on a village elder’s door, who is obliged to provide shelter, often a spot on the floor and a simple meal of rice and beans. Complications arise when Stweart acquires a large Afghanistan mastiff, Babur, who accompanies him for the second half of his journey. Dogs are considered filthy animals and Stewart’s demands for food and shelter for his dog are met with extreme disdain. But they persist through snow and rain and cold winds all the way to Kabul. Humorously, Babur proves barely capable (or willing) of walking long distances and the author finds himself often carrying, cajoling and pushing his dog beyond his geographical and physical comfort zone. It’s not a stretch to see that Babur is an Afghan through and through and their struggles personify our efforts to ‘improve’ Afghanistan.
This book illuminates Afghanistan in a way no newspaper, TV or radio story yet has. Afghanistan is a weather-beaten country where survival has been the norm for centuries. Most recently, along the way Stewart meets people who have fought with/against the Russians, with/against the Taliban, with/against the allied forces and with/against neighboring villages. Women barely factor in this society. 90% of the country is illiterate and life is eked out from agriculture and traditional livelihoods. Life is nasty, short and brutish for most of the outlying areas of Afghanistan. In the coming years, Kabul and some of the larger cities will have better schools, roads and economic prospects but those projects might as well exist on the moon for those who live in the place in between.
mytravelbug
