Flatline

I heard rumours that someone had a heart attack here, leading to a realization that the state of health care here is still woefully inadequate. While I have seen a Crime Scene Investigation van (CSI: Kabul starts filming this fall), and the aformentioned Ford Police trucks I have not seen a single firetruck or ambulance. Everything is operating in silos - with each major player responsible for the care of their own people. It makes for a fragmented and disorientating experience. We are really lucky to have the resources at our disposal to be able to walk into a hospital, anywhere across Canada, and be seen within an amount of time relative to the urgency of our condition. Here, amidst ridiculous traffic, convoluted roads (with random road blocks) and no sense of structure it would be rather difficult to accomodate any serious emergency.

I was speaking to an expat about the role of government and their performance in the years since the Taliban and he made an interesting point. With the stifling regime, many intellectuals either left the country or were killed. When a government needs to be rebuilt, former fighters become politicians - often in an area in which they have no expertise. The emphasis in countries like this is the need for the preservation of local customs and cultures while merging international development experience to assist in the provision of basic services. The state of the patchwork roads, I'm told, is the result of inexperienced and ignorant governance. There is also a need for those who left the country during the war to return, with education and resources, to rebuild the country.

It is not feasible to simply open schools here - the lag between those in school and the leaders can result in many more who fail to have access to life saving programs. Secondary education is free here - at least at government universities like the highly regarded Kabul University. Private Universities are also springing up - like the American University here which is very expensive and seems devoted to training the sons of influential politicians and offering them opportunities to travel to the US. I was speaking with an African colleague who astutely noted that in the US one lives in a world of perceived wealth - you go to school forever, accruing debt, then you begin to work, living on debt, and finally die, passing on your debt. You think that you have it all - a car, a house, a job - but in fact, live paycheck to paycheck. Your whole life is controlled by others - everything you think you 'own' actually belongs to someone else. He argued that while the average African may not be able to at least enjoy this perceived luxury, the goal should be instead that even the poorest of poor have an opportunity for higher education and a chance to change their life.

It may be some time before every Afghan has a chance to return to school (especially women), but there is hope that as institutional change occurs and the subsequent generations gain experience, education and perspective, perhaps it can find the balance between modernity and morality.