By now, the Red Cross office had officially upgraded from the middle-of-nowhere Astana to Gulbahar — a place that, unlike its predecessor, resembled an actual village. Gone were the days of living on the edge of a mountain like a hermit; now, we had real shops, a barber, a local café, and even a few grocery stores. Civilization at last! Life had changed drastically. I no longer […]
Mission Impossible: Panjshir Edition — Part 2 Read More »
And so, the next stroke of genius from the higher-ups landed squarely in my lap. “We need you in Panjshir Valley to rehabilitate hospitals there.” Lovely. Picture this: I was already knee-deep in the chaos of Sarpoza Prison, working under the suspicious glares of guards who would have loved to slap a “spy” label on me for simply
Mission Impossible: Panjshir Edition — Part 1 Read More »
They called it a “welcome tour.” I called it a sneak preview of my impending mental breakdown. My first one-week mission to Simeulue was supposedly to “get briefed” on the projects I’d be handling — but let’s be honest, it was really just an orientation to chaos, remote island-style. Nothing says warm island hospitality like
The Battle of Baturagi: Welcome to My Muddy, Misguided Mission Read More »
Back From Pakistan After returning from Pakistan in late 2001, fresh off the great donkey-powered escape across the mountains (yes, that story), I was immediately thrown back into the thick of it. Assigned as a flying Water & Habitat (WatHab) engineer, I was responsible for restoring bombed-out water networks in five provinces — Jalalabad, Kandahar,
From Cheap Labor to Red Cross Delegate: My Mud Road Journey Read More »