Excitement about Kabul

After I wrote that I'm heading back to Kabul (in "Now it can be told (because I've just learned it)" my friend Ben (of Ben-Bob's Blog: Until Proven Otherwise fame) asked if I'm excited to be heading there.

YES.

I really loved Kabul and Afghanistan when I was there in 2004 and 2005. As I tell everybody who will listen (and others who just pretend to) I think Afghanistan is the most beautiful country I've ever seen. Even though I disliked many aspects of working for Oxfam GB (where I was for my last six months in Afghanistan) I miss many friends, restaurants, and the gorgeous landscape of mountains, plains and flowers. Kabul is surrounded by spectacular scenery and the whole country is breathtaking.

I'm also really excited about my new job there with Equal Access. I believe I will have more responsibilities and those responsibilities will be much more interesting than those I have now. I will work with a smaller, more professional team of about twenty people and and it sounds as if I will be much more empowered and much more trusted. I think I'll be contributing to strategic planning instead of reacting to strategies which I am not able to influence, understand, or believe in.

I had to insist on leaving my current job but it was hard to turn down the job offer from Merlin in Pakistan. That job attracted me because of the management style of the Country Director (who I worked with in Liberia), because it would also have been amongst beautiful mountains and because the needs are great. But like here, it would have involved doing work that the government can and should be doing. That was in fact one frustration here that I couldn't blame on Merlin. I believe Afghanistan, like Liberia, has a sincere government that really needs and welcomes help.

Yes, Ben-Bob, I'm excited to be going to Kabul. Please come and visit.