The young Canadian soldiers had heard all the hype. There was going to be violence leading up to the first national election in afghanistan.
When they first arrived at the airbase outside of Kandahar, the briefings were grim. Violence was flaring up all over afghanistan. Remote control bombs were exploding and people were being killed.
The young Canadian soldiers were expected to put a new program in place — the PRT (Provincial Reconstruction Team) — part of which was to set the groundwork for a free and democratic national election to be held September 18, 2005.
I, for one, believed it was not going to happen. There was going to be violence, suicide bombings. There was no way that the al Qaeda was not going to use everything in its power to disrupt the upcoming elections.
There were in fact explosions and people were killed. Two young children in an old town, a bus loaded with recruits for the police department. a hand grenade dropped between an american Humvee’s trunk and fuel container. and at this point, it certainly was not looking good for a violence-free election.
We heard that young afghanis were being offered money to throw a hand grenade and then run. The Canadians were involved in collecting ordnance and electronics in a bomb-making factory in Kandahar. There was enough explosive and electronics to make more than 10 remote-controlled bombs. It was a colossal find. The fact that a local gave the police the location was another indication of how things were changing in Kandahar.
Young Canadian soldiers, with the briefings and the violence going on around them, did not shrink from going out on the streets of Kandahar. I was privileged to be allowed to patrol with them. No, not in their armoured G-Wagons, but dismounted, walking through the markets of the old city. Something the americans had not done. Thousands of afghanis looked at us in astonishment.
Oh, there were some flashing eyes, and we certainly were given the finger treatment. as the young Canadian soldiers walked slowly through the market and bazaar, shaking hands, stopping and talking to the local merchants--not for seconds, but for long minutes. Not telling them what to do, but asking them what they wanted, what they needed.
Canadian Major Lutiz always ended his discussions with the local people with a question of his own. If there was one thing you could change, if there was one thing that you want, what would it be?
They were astonished that somebody was asking them for their input.
Invariably, the answer was about security and schools. More security, more schools.
always the Canadian patrols were led by local policemen. The soldiers would stop and pick up afghani police at their substations. at first, the police would beat the children who attempted to get close to the Canadian soldiers. Quietly, through the interpreters, the Canadians made the point that the children were welcome.
I will never forget the look on the faces of the policemen when the children started to follow the Canadians. Then the children would take our hands and patrol with us. The images of Canadians with their weapons slung barrel-down over their backs, wearing their helmets and flak jackets, but playing soccer with the kids were very strange indeed. But I watched it play out many times. Friends were made in seconds and when the Canadians came back on patrol, the kids were always there to welcome them.
Their parents, and the local businessmen soon followed. Wonderful discussions. Here were soldiers asking them what they wanted.
The Canadians were always careful never to make promises. But there’s one promise they made and kept: that they would come back. and they did. and things changed.
It was election day. The senior NGOs said that military presence at the polling booths would scare people off. Quite the contrary! Whenever Canadians patrolled past, the people flocked to the polling booth--they felt safe with Canadian soldiers there.
In a society where women have had no rights, just coming to do a very simple thing, like putting an X on a piece of paper--was a new experience--but it had enormous impact. In the election for a new president 42 percent of the women embraced the opportunity and helped elect a new president, Hamid Karzai.
Oh, for the predicted violence? It never happened.
The Canadian Military can take huge credit for what they have accomplished in afghanistan over the years. I watched them in 2002 in the Kandahar region. They were the sharp end of the spear then. Tora Bora, The Whale.
Later I watched as they worked the crowd and protected the Loya Jirga site so that afghanistan could have a constitution. and I was privileged to cover the election in Kabul for their new president, Hamid Karzai.
The Canadian Military, through its inimitable presence in afghanistan has helped bring the society from anarchy and violence to a fledgling democracy. They make a difference.
Canada Free Press columnist Garth Prtitchard, is an award-winning documentary filmmaker living in alberta.
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