International Political Will

It was two o’clock in the afternoon, and a cold wind blew waves of brown dust down the streets.
I walked out of the safe doors of the guesthouse, past the AK-47-toting guard standing on the sidewalk, his scarf pulled up over his face to guard against cold or dust; probably both.
I try to walk [...]

The feeling of safety evaporated quickly.
Early Tuesday morning, as I sat in the guest house dining room smearing cheese on my flatbread, it happened.
Less than 1,000 meters away, a car-bomber blew up himself and his vehicle next to a military convoy, killing one civilian and injuring four more. (I must note that I didn’t hear [...]

My driver, Durrani, parked the white Land Cruiser next to a roadside market.
Corrugated metal and mud brick shelters line the road, showing their wares for sale to the customers descending down from the mountain villages. Cattle, donkeys and goats on the road far outnumber the cars. Unlucky goats hang upside down with their [...]