The Day that New York Times Came to Town!

During my first trip back home to the US from Afghanistan, met with friends who looked at me pitifully and wondered how I was doing! “Being in Afghanistan must be tough, with all that’s going on!” looking at me and shaking their heads. “You must be depressed to work so much and see no results!” another friend wondered. My view of Afghanistan was different from my concerned friends. Since I lived and worked there, I gave them my version of events and explained that yes, it was a tough environment but things were being done that was bringing positive change to the country. Like most Americans, my friends got their news from their radio, newspaper, internet and other avenues. Where ever they got their news from, it occurred to me that the American tax-payers was not aware of how his/her tax was being used in the war in Afghanistan.

 

So when I returned back from the US, I decided to do my part, and bring some perspective to the happenings in the Afghanistan, or at least in the small area that worked in. The first thing I did was, I went to the USAID office in Kabul, and talked to the communication person. I asked if it was possible to send a newspaper reporter to Shindand District. I explained that the report would give a chance to hear from rural Afghans, talking about USAID’s and international community’s performance, in their district over the past decade.

Our communication person readily agreed and said that he would find a reporter. After a couple of months, I heard back from USAID saying a New York Times reporter would be coming to visit Shindand. I was very happy to have such a reputable newspaper like New York Times visiting our humble district! I went around informing various communities of the impending visit of a foreign journalist to their village, where they would be able to talk about the changes that they have seen in their area and also talk about other development concerns they might have. The communities gave their support and ensured me of providing security to the reporter.

A few weeks later, the New York Times reporter and his translator arrived and I picked them up from the Shindand Airbase. The next two to three days this young American reporter got an unprecedented access to rural Afghanistan, speaking to whoever he wished to speak to and go where ever he wanted to. I thought he was in Shindand to ask questions about development issues and issues focused on the lives of Afghans, ten years after the war had begun. The initial questions were a false dawn of things to come, “how are things going in your community?” and majority of people he spoke to talked about the transformation of programs that USAID had initiated and how things were changing gradually for the better. A couple of minutes later the real questions would begin which was about “who killed who?” Each group we met they were asked about a particular assassination that had taken place in Shindand in 2011, and most questions revolved around that issue! Some people asked me whether he was a reporter or a part of the US government or the military. I assured them that he is an American reporter with interest in finding out more about the lives of Afghans!! It would be safe to say that we all risked our lives to ensure the New York Time Reporter could speak to as many people as he could, in their own villages.

 

 

After dropping the young reporter back at the airbase to fly back to Kabul, I was still optimistic that a long article about Afghan’s view of how things have changed in their lives, would splash all over the New York Times front page or at least somewhere in the back pages! After a few weeks, not hearing back from him. I reached out to the reporter and asked what happened and when should we be expecting the article to be published! He said unfortunately, his editor did not find the story interesting and therefore they were no longer interested in writing about it!!!

I was very disappointed and informed my friends in Shindand about what had happened. Most people were not fazed by it, as it was not the first time a foreigner came to them disguised as someone who wanted to hear their views!

Well, at least the reporter had three cups of tea! Kim Kardashian is now married to Kayne West and The House Wives of Atlanta are coming back for another season!