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OR YAVA JONES
A Veterinary Teaching Mission Uncovers The Ties That Bind
A fghanistan conjures images of Osama bin
Laden, the Taliban, roadside bombs and
terminally oppressed women: nothing
very positive. What a nice surprise to spend six
weeks in Afghanistan and discover unparalleled
personal warmth, dedication to learning and re
markable stoicism.
STARTING OVER
Contracted by the U.S. Agency for
International Development, I am in Afghanistan
to deliver a series of training courses to Afghan
veterinarians on how to diagnose disease in
sheep, goats and chickens. Half of the 31 mil-
Dr. Brown and Dr. Karima contemplate a chicken.
lion people in Afghanistan are unemployed,
and of the employed sector, 80 percent work in
agriculture. The average annual income is S800.
Improvement in agriculture is seen as one of
the surest ways to improve the well-being of the
population. Enhancing disease diagnosis in their
sheep, goats and chickens is just one part of the
internationally-funded efforts to help the country
help itself.
The courses are held on the outskirts of
Kabul, at the Central Diagnostic Laboratory, a
large square white structure built in the old bor
ing Soviet architectural style. Much of the inside
of the building was destroyed during the years
of fighting, first with the Russians and then be
tween the Northern Alliance and the Taliban. The
head of the laboratory tells me that every day
they could hear rockets firing overhead, and just
coming to work was a huge risk. So, not much
got done during those two decades, and they
have a lot of catching up to do.
The laboratory facilities for the course are
rudimentary. The postmortem room where we
conduct the necropsies (necropsy is the ’
term for autopsy on an animal) have no
electricity and running water only in
termittently. The drainage system works
poorly if at all There is no disposal sys
tem for the carcasses we are dissecting.
So, what to do with the remains of the
15 sheep and chickens that we will use in
each course? We decide to kill the animals
via halal slaughter (both slaughterer and
animal face Mecca and the throat of the
sheep or chicken is slit, as the slaughterer
intones, "Allah oh Akbar"—God is Great)
and then invite some of the laboratory
employees into the postmortem room to
take the good parts of the carcasses that
can be used for meat. As we complete the
necropsy, the people who want the meat
descend on the carcasses, taking legs,
ribs, the head, liver, kidneys, lungs, tes
tes and skin. Some goes into the lunches
cooked in the employee cafeteria. At the
end, all that is left from each animal is
a small wad of intestine, which is then
taken outside and put in a hole. The dogs
probably dig it up and eat it. Nothing
goes to waste here.
All the doors to the various rooms in
side the laboratory are locked. Each room
has a person assigned to hold the key. The
key men sit at the entrance to the labora
tory. and when the scientists show up, es
cort them to their room and unlock it. Then they
sit in the hallway all day long, with their keys.
Sometimes they also water the plants and some
times they sprinkle water on the hallway floor to
keep the dust down. Some of the key men bring
their children to work with them. Salaries of the
key men? Less than a dollar a day, but they also
get a free lunch, for themselves and their chil
dren. cooked by the kitchen staff.
All of the veterinarians in the courses at
tended veterinary college during the time of the
Russian occupation or the Taliban rule. Because
of the fighting, just attending class involved
considerable risk. Resources were scarce—there
were no laboratories, no textbooks, and often
no classes. Which makes for some knowledge
gaps. There had been no cadavers for anatomy
study, no animals for practice surgery, and any
animal that died in the field was rapidly cooked
and consumed rather then opened and examined
for disease diagnosis. Most of the veterinarians
in the courses have never seen the inside of an
animal a concept that is unimaginable here in
North America. They use every moment of the
course to catch up on lost learning and repeat
edly express their gratitude for this opportunity.
CLOSE CONNECTIONS
The participants in the course, as all Afghans
do, greet each other every morning by shaking
hands and kissing each other on the cheek. They
frequently stand and visit with each other while
continuing to hold hands. Afghans often
put their right hand ove their heart,
incline their head slightly and smile, in
dications of sincerity. On the street, men
often walk hand in hand. Men will share
chairs. There is a very different concept of
personal space here. One of the more poi
gnant episodes during the courses is when
two elderly veterinarians meet again after
years apart. Both had been on faculty at
the university before the Russians invad
ed. One went to Canada, the other stayed
in Kabul. The Canadian veterinarian has
come back to help with the reconstruction
of his home country. During a tea break,
the two men sit side by side and arm in
arm, not talking, just simply happy to be
together and clearly relishing each other's
company: old friends re united and not
afraid to demonstrate affection for each
other.
The physical proximity is a reflection
of the tightly knit social and familial
structure. It may be part of the Muslim
code, to always extend help and compan
ionship to fell /w countrymen and fellow
Muslims. There is a heartfelt sincerity that
is unmistakable. The Afghan people are
fierce defenders of each other, their com
munities and their friends. As an example,
one of the course veterinarians is explain
ing that during the previous week, he was
busy installing new water lines to his home. In
order to do this, he had to dig numerous trench
es. So he called on his relatives and his neigh
bors and everyone worked together. This is just
expected. Next week or the week after or five
Two of the key men at the Diagnostic Laboratory share a chair.
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