2 very strange days..

i try to make it short, it is already 7.30 and i am working now since 12h.. uploading the missing pictures tomorrow morning..

that the last days before you finish a project or leave a country is nothing new.. but this last 2 days are just hilarious.. worse than the last 2 month in afghanistan.. but i seem to have already such an elephant skin that i am just laughing about it..

so it all started with this bloody attack yesterday.. for the first time i am here i decided to go to the office on a saturday.. so much to do and i planned a pizza with the doctor (he never had pizza before).. so anyway after 3 very loud explosions it was clear that the city is white again (no movement).. well time for washing hairs and having a coffee with my house mate..

just when i learned from my doctor that the rockets hit directly in front of our office i didn't feel like washing hairs any more.. and the coffee with the house mate became an inquiry to find out what exactly happened and how the f# 3 rockets are ending up in the middle of the city directly into my little second hand and apple market..

so with mixed feelings i finally started working and went to nabils office.. they have internet and are always a fantastic companions to hang out with.. their office is also very close to my house so i don't have to move too much.. at their office is a guy who has the oldest german schlager and fun german music.. i found this on an AFGHAN computer.. how funny..

the next less funny surprise comes in the middle of the night.. my house mate decided after a drink in l'atmo to finish her soup.. she wasn't sober anymore so fell asleep while the soup was boiling on the stove.. unfortunately she had big fat brigs of meet and bones in there.. yum when this is burning.. but the best was the PLASTIC cutting board that covered the whole mess.. when i woke up from the "smell" the whole house was already under smog..
of course i thought it was a fire in the house.. i couldn't see a meter through this stinky mess.. so i ran out and screamed.. the house mate (her room is right next to the kitchen) was still SLEEPING.. and when she heard my fire serene she jumps out of her room "my soup my soup".. arrggg.. a bloody soup is just poisoning the whole house.. so we spend a couple of hours trying to get the smoke out of the house..
the guard had a very good sleep too.. just half an hour after we started screaming and rescuing the house he came out of his little hut and says: "oh miss rita, do you have guests?" turns around and goes back to sleep..
well since that i am locking my door upstairs!! jihaaa..

and of course it must be after such a night that we decided to leave to the office before the city is white.. so we start working now at 7 in the morning.. yep.. you wake up in the dark at 6 am in a deep frozen stinking house.. but you keep your good spirit and go to work..

the next surprise comes in the ded office.. my wonderful leather coat was in the dry cleaning for almost a week now and i am checking what happened to it.. "well you have to go to the dry cleaner by yourself, there is a little problem" is the answer.. mhmm.. little problem in afghanistan means basically a catastrophe..

last memory of a fine coat

so i go there and find the coat washed but the back is totally ripped of.. the owner of the shop smiles and says "machine".. ok the machine ate my coat..
he argues that he will get the same leather and fix the entire back.. in 10 days maybe..
well my friend i am leaving in 3 days.. his second try is that i should show him where i bought the coat and he will buy the same one for me.. well my friend this is from my favorite second hand market that just got blown away yesterday morning.. so thank you..

pity i didn't make a picture of this mess.. i bet they had a fight over it and one afghan grabbed one arm and the other grabbed the hut and the third was hanging on the second arm.. and than schwupps the leather broke under so much afghan testosterones.. poor jacket.. i loved it honestly..

the rest of the day goes by without any catastrophe.. and the ded offered me to keep the coat that i found in the office and nobody claimed ownership.. it's a black, way to big mans coat.. sorry honey i will look funny when i am promenading with you through New York..

the best part of today was the workshop.. i was so not sure if i could ever reach my goal of really educating theater trainers in such a short time.. but woohooo.. i think i did it..
we had the most interesting workshop on conflict transformation today.. these people have all the theory now so deep under their skin that we could do ANY theatre exercise today and they got it and had brilliant ideas!!
WONDERFUL..

my first movie..

La Chute des villes
Nicolas Lim
France / 2007 / Fiction / 18'30 / Digital Betacam

Synopsis

Long after the collapse of cities, a lone woman reaches an abandoned city, where no trace of human life remains. Nature has already reclaimed its territory. Writing in her diary, this sole survivor shares with us her torment and her quest.

Credits

Director : Nicolas Lim
Script : Nicolas Lim
Camera : Nicolas Lim
Music : Giani Caserotto
Editing : Nicolas Lim
Cast : Rita Stockhowe
Sound Editing : Vincent Hazard
Sound Mixing : Philippe Lauliac

another ugly morning..

I woke up at 8.00 to have a saturday in office.. since i have so much to do and only 3 more working days i thought i would sacrifice my saturday in l'atmo to get things done together with my doctor.
On my way to the kitchen i hear the first bang.. loud this time.. so i say good morning to my new wonderful house mate and we are sure to have time for a coffee together before the curview is lifted again.. usually you have to stay at least 2 more hours at home after an explosion..
but than the second explosion is surprising us and the 3rd one makes clear that this are bad once..
so i call my driver to stay home and my doctor to check on him..
he is already on the street and out of breath.. telling me that he almost reached the office but then the rockets hit into our little market.. the one were i got my second hand coat and shoes and were we get the apples and the bread every morning..
he tells me that it is impossible to reach the office and i should stay home for the rest of the day.. the doctor himself goes back home..

a rocket attack in the middle of the city.. right in front of my office.. jeeeezzzusss i really want to get out of here..

anyways now i am at nabils office.. around the corner from my house.. with internet and electricity it is more likely for me to get some work done..

here are the news of today.. not a happy day..


Five dead in Kabul rocket attack

The rockets were smuggled into the city under a load of hay

A rocket attack near the Kabul governor's residence has killed five people and injured five more.

The blast, which happened at 0820 (0350GMT) on Saturday, was heard throughout the Afghan capital.

A car parked near the house, contained five rockets, but only two detonated, firing up to 20 metres across the street and falling short of buildings.

The governor was unhurt. Initially officials had said the incident was a suicide car bomb attack.

One rocket was apparently fired by remote control, a press officer for the Ministry of Interior said.

The rockets had been smuggled into the city under a load of hay.

Earlier in December, the Taliban carried out two suicide bombings in Kabul, killing 13 people in one attack.

In September, 30 Afghan soldiers were killed when their bus was attacked in Kabul.

some happy pics

on the way to the office



so happy because that day i didn't had to go with my usual driver who drives "maybe" and gives me lessons on the "right" timing for my trips..
so this one here is wonderful and always in a good mood..
and besides the only afghan who shares my feeling of COLD..
see his great cap.. i am jalouse..



and when i said the winter is arriving.. i meant it.. that is my new view into the neighbors garden..

some good news..

Afghan women make call for peace

By Pam O'Toole BBC News

Many women say they are fed up with violence

Women across Afghanistan have been holding meetings to call for peace in their country.

Organisers say that at least 1,000 women turned out to hold prayer meetings in six main provinces and share their experiences.

The event - called the Women's National Peace Prayer - was held in the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand, and at other locations across the country.

Such events are highly unusual in war-torn Afghanistan.

The country remains deeply conservative and patriarchal, particularly in the south.

When several hundred women were allowed to pray for peace publicly in Kandahar earlier this year, it was said to be the first event of its kind.

Now, with violence spreading across the country, women from five other provinces have joined those in Kandahar to raise their voices for peace.

"This is very unusual," said Rangina Hamidi one of the organisers, who argues that the event shows the unity of Afghan women.

"I don't think this has happened in the history of Afghanistan - first of all the fact that six different provinces organised themselves together, for no purpose other than peace.

"They made the same loud cry - that women are sick and tired of killing and the deaths that come."

'Risking their lives'
Organisers say some Afghan women were clearly worried about getting involved in such events.

The Kandahar mother whose idea sparked these meetings had asked that her name not be revealed because her family would not approve.

Rangina Hamidi said those attending the event in the violence-torn province of Kandahar were particularly happy and relieved that their public meeting passed off without threats or violence.

"They were indeed risking their lives," she said, because we really did not know how we would be received.

"And to be honest, we hadn't informed any of the security forces to protect us. We wanted to be as natural as possible.

"So when women take such an action on themselves, they felt proud of themselves and felt proud of their sisters."

Organisers say that Wednesday's meetings marked the beginning of a movement.

The goal now is to spread such events across all 34 provinces.

.

more fat under the skin..

the doctor told me that i put on weight from all the beans.. i didn't take it too serious since he is never very charming.. but the german coordinator told me the same today.. that made me worried..

i still do morning sport every morning.. but it seems not to be enough..
but well, the doctor also said it is good for a woman to have more fat under her skin.. one of the reasons why women can never be as fit as men..
his logic is just fabulous..

the funny thing is that i am weiring so much layers everyday i couldn't even say if i really put on pounds.. so i can only find out when back to sarah.. she is gonna check it out..

but here is already the first proof.. no fat under my skin!!

good buy to the kindergarten girls..

this was such a great workshop.. not sure where i am getting my energy from in the next two weeks..

these women are just amazing, funny, smart and each of them has a f* up story to tell.. they developed in this last couple of weeks a great sense of playing and forgetting about life outside.. in one game we were looking for things that one would like to do and can not anymore..

..playing football, being a kite runner, driving a car or going on bicycle are the big wishes of women between 22 and 50 in afghanistan today..

one of the teachers is working in a mental hospital.. this is going to be my next target.. doing workshops with my young trainers in a mental hospital..
with the train the trainer workshop people it takes much more effort to get them together as a group.. the diversity of age, experience and educational background couldn't be bigger..

i started with the very basics of peace building and theatre work.. slowly we are coming to some actual theatre training.. maybe two or three of them will be able to actually conduct a participatory theatre workshop on conflict transformation after my time here.. but this would be almost 50% outcome.. this might be too much rita.. way to optimistic.. since there are obstacles that can blow you up, marry you away or pushing you out of the country..

there was a poll conducted by several media agencies.. BBC published it under the headline: "Afghans still hopeful on future" .. i asked around and couldn't find any hopeful afghan in my surrounding.. my doctor said got to the point and said: "there is no such thing as hopeful afghans".. but there are also those intellectuals, who spent most of the talib and russian time outside of the country.. in germany or the states they stayed for more than 20 years, learned a little bit of the language and are now back.. basically to show those village people are occupying kabul how the world is functioning..

bombing in the morning..

At least 13 people have been killed by a suicide car bomb attack in the Afghan capital, Kabul, the defense ministry has said.

The bomber hit a bus carrying Afghan soldiers during morning rush hour in the south-west of Kabul.

The defense ministry said six soldiers and seven civilians were killed and a dozen other people were injured.

The blast comes one day after a similar attack on a Nato convoy close to Kabul airport injured 22 Afghans.

The number of dead is expected to rise as several of the wounded have been severely injured.

Witnesses said the bomb was in a small car that drew up close to the bus before exploding shortly early on Wednesday.

The bus carrying the soldiers was destroyed in the explosion.

Target

The BBC's David Loyn in Kabul says buses carrying soldiers and police have increasingly been the target of suicide bombers in recent weeks.

The bombing is the third suicide attack in the city in the last eight days.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates is in Kabul assessing an increase in violence in Afghanistan.

He said the increase was partially due to an offensive against Taleban militants by international troops from the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf).

Afghan military officials say they need more training and equipment to fight the growing Taleban insurgency.

winter arrived..

the mountains are already full of snow..

I had to realize that this is the end of the spring outfit..

now it is time for several layers.. onion style.. and the new jacket.. it took forever to wash and is already more dirty than when i bought it from the second hand stand.. but it is warm and looks not too bad..

a friend said yesterday i am looking like taking off to a polar expedition.. exactly how i feel every morning when i have to leave my bed to reach the oven and than go downstairs to make coffee.. an expedition in the antarctic!!

daily struggles in kabul..

actually banal, but no day is like the other

Thursday, Nov 22, 2007
workshops are the most unpredictable thing on this planet..
today i was standing in front of some silent bodies.. too my surprise it was quite hard to convert the theory on peace building in to something lively and concrete.. into their daily life..

i thought that would be a great discussion today.. but instead they all looked at me and had no clue what to do.. M and his girlfriend are new.. ok.. but the rest seems to just be physically sitting in front of me and left their brains outside..
i was also not really myself.. so it could be both.. the doctor helped a lot to rescue the day.. and i found out that he actually learned already a lot in this past weeks.. today my special honor goes to the doctor..

Sunday, Nov 25, 2007
i get up in the morning, i still feel like shit after a weekend in fever.. but i get up and even manage to wash myself a little before leaving the house (the bathroom is now down to 2 C in the mornings).. my driver is telling me that i should not wear my winter jacket, because it is still warm.. one of the german colleagues calls me a rampensau because my picture happens to be in a brochure of a restaurant.. my doctor assistant greats me with the pleasant welcome of smoking in our NON smoking office, because i was not there.. that is enough for this day.. i call all workshop members and excuse myself for being sick as a pig..
i go back home, make myself a soup.. cry crocodile tears into the pot, because i feel so sorry for myself.. than i fall into a long lasting fever nightmare sleep.. i change my shirt every hour and feel better by sunset..

Monday, Nov 26, 2007
i wake up and energy is back into my body.. i am doing morning sport! and washing my entire body (feeling very wealthy).. enough energy to fight with the dragon.. simple stuff, nothing good enough to be mentioned here.. but a long lasting fight, so that the morning driver asked me after arriving in the ded office if i want to go in the future directly with my driver from my house to the other office.. grrreat.. half an hour more sleep.. and no more drives with the dragon..
i have to tell my wonderful girlfriend about my nightmares.. they just won't let go off me.. was easier to get rid of the fever.. but she can talk me out of it..
the workshop goes great.. everybody is there and 7 people and i are having fun.. in the evening i spent 30$ on pizza and go to bed early.. a wonderful day..

Tuesday, Nov 27, 2007

the radio starts at 6.30 and i listen a while to the news that i am usually listen to during the morning sport.. it is not dark anymore when i am finally swinging my legs out of the bed.. with a very silent (not to disturb the dragon with my good mood) whistle on my lips i prepare my coffee.. this is going to be a hair washing morning.. the oven is awaiting me in the room.. the foam is all over me and than it gives a very deep loud sound.. i think either is the generator of the neighbors exploded or the dragon finally imploded from bad mood.. i carry on taking care for my hairs.. while bbc stops broadcasting and i have to switch to the french channel.. just to listen to some voices in the morning..

while i am drying my hairs in my warm room the boss calls.. and gives me the news..

Suicide car bomber kills two civilians, wounds four in Afghanistan.
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
A suicide car bomber ignited a huge blast Tuesday near two armored vehicles used by US-led coalition troops in Kabul, killing at least two civilians and destroying the wall of a nearby house, witnesses and officials said.
A purported spokesman for the Hezb-i-Islami armed group claimed responsibility for the attack.
The armored vehicles were damaged, but no troops were wounded, said Lt. Col. David Johnson, a coalition spokesman. Four other people, including two Pakistani road construction workers were wounded in the blast, said Dr. Mohammad Musa from Kabul's Wazir Akbar Khan hospital.

The explosion happened in wazir akbar khan, so i call all my friends living there.. nobody injured all good.. so we can enjoy the "white city".. morning at home..
it doesn't take long to figure out that not many died and the city is cleared again.. well back into the car with the dragon..

after another discussion with my driver what time i want him to pick me up and what time he thinks is the best to pick me up, i arrive in my office for not more than an hour work.. because today i promised a friend of mine to come to their house for lunch and they show me how to make quabuli.. the driver decided he is coming in the time he thought it would be best (i really don't want to complain about afghan man but they just PISS ME OFF sometimes) so we are half an hour late in the place he just could not find.. of courses this was not his fault but the fault of the stupid afghan lady who described the way to him.. honestly.. it wasn't that difficult to find.. if he would have just for one second turn off his all dominating knowing dig and listen with his ears to this afghan woman..

anyway we found it and i learned my cooking lesson.. on the way back i tried to make him understand that i don't want my driver to label my friends as stupid just because he does not know the city.. he probably did not understand because his testosterones were boiling the whole day.. so i just left him alone and sit now back in my chair to finally prepare the workshop tomorrow..

i am looking forward to every discussion, fight, sunshine on my shoulders, talks and nice moments in this place.. but i am mainly looking forward to the moment when the plain takes off and crosses the hindukusch.. farewell kabul.. this is going to be my last visit.. i am almost certain..

efficiency?

AFGHANISTAN: Oxfam calls for aid to be more effective, transparent..

Photo: Abdullah Shaheen/IRIN

KABUL, 20 November 2007 (IRIN) - Over US$15 billion of international aid money spent in Afghanistan in the past six years has not met the urgent humanitarian and development needs of the Afghan people because aid has either been insufficient or delivered ineffectively, a British charity organisation, Oxfam GB, said in a report.

"Too much aid to Afghanistan is provided in ways that are ineffective or inefficient," said the report which was submitted to a committee of the House of Commons, in London, last week and made publicly available on 20 November.

According to Oxfam, a big portion of the overall aid to Afghanistan "is absorbed by profits of companies and subcontractors, by non-Afghan resources and by high expatriate salaries and living costs".

"Each full-time expatriate consultant costs up to half a million dollars a year," the report has found.

The Oxfam report points to poor coordination among donors and a lack of transparency in aid spending which badly affects aid effectiveness. It also mentions weak implementing capacity, corruption and lack of resources in Afghan government institutions, exacerbating aid inefficiencies.

Too much aid to Afghanistan is provided in ways that are ineffective or inefficient.

Although agriculture is a major means of income for about 80 percent of Afghans, donors and the government of Afghanistan have only spent $270 million on agricultural projects in the last six years, Oxfam's findings show.

Call for increased use of Afghan resources

Owing to wasteful and ineffective aid totalling over $15 billion, millions of Afghans, particularly in rural areas, still face severe hardship "comparable with sub-Saharan Africa", the report said.

"Millions of highly vulnerable people in Afghanistan still need urgent support and assistance," Matt Waldman, the author of the Oxfam report, told IRIN in Kabul.

The 24-page report calls on donors to increase the amount of aid to the war-ravaged nation, ensure transparency, increase coordination and improve aid effectiveness through increased use of Afghan resources.

Photo: Abdullah Shaheen/IRIN

"The Afghanistan Compact [a strategic framework for the sustainable and balanced development of Afghanistan, agreed between Afghans and donors] sets 77 benchmarks for the Afghan government, but none for donors," said Waldman, adding that donors should take bold measures to change the current direction of aid delivery to Afghanistan.

Among Oxfam's recommendations is the establishment of an independent commission which should monitor aid delivery to, and aid effectiveness in, Afghanistan.

A spokesman for the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Adrian Edwards, agreed that there was a need for the government of Afghanistan to strengthen its institutional capacity to better manage and absorb international funds.

Donors should also improve aid delivery to, and effectiveness in, Afghanistan, Edwards said.

another workshopping day..

now the women are really into it.. the doctor and I got them to understand that it is about teamwork.. and they got it.. wonderful experience..

i only have one more workshop with them.. what a petty!!

the other workshop started as well.. AND I found my young friend M.. he worked with me in the youth theatre project 2 years ago.. of course i immediately invited him to join the participatory theatre workshop.. he brought his girlfriend, who is of course also doing theatre, and she will be part of it too.. so two more young and cool people to train!!

M will be my assistant in the next kindergarden workshop.. the doctor is so busy with getting married, that he has to buy clothing for the new girl and himself.. they are phoning every day a couple of times and they met already once!! he finds her cute and smart.. she is 19.. he is 35.. at least she could choose a little (3 more man were in the raze about her) and she is not getting an asshole as husband.. but the entire thing will cost him more than 15.000 USD.. all the phone calls and little gifts not included.. the man is earning 600 USD now with me.. jeeeeezzz.. he has to borrow the money from friends.. of course once in the car he made a remark about that and i had to say that i am not the right person to ask, since all my money goes directly to the bank account of my girlfriend.. ehem..

i didn't say girlfriend - i said fiancé.. (sorry sarah.. i am passing you off as my soon to be husband:) luckily nobody asked for a picture so far.. usually i had a pic of a male german friend (thank you forever soeren) in my wallet.. this time i totally forgot about that.. mhmm.. have still one pic of chris in my computer.. hopefully he doesn't mind if I take him as my soon to be husband picture..

today we went again to the market.. we always need to buy some stuff for the workshops and that gives me a good escape from the beans at lunch in the office.. so we had qabuli.. rise with raisins.. doesn't sound exiting? you should try beans in oil and oil in beans for 4 weeks.. after that everything is exiting..

picture: (afghani hotel.. women section.. doesn't look inviting.. tastes great!)

"For us ze war is over by tea time, ja"

From The Sunday Times

November 18, 2007
by Jerome Starkey

THEY are on the front line of the war on terror, but German pilots facing the Taliban are insisting they stop at tea time every day to comply with health and safety regulations.

The helicopter pilots, who provide medical back-up to Nato ground troops, set off for their base by mid-afternoon so they can be grounded by sundown.

Their refusal to fly in the dark is hampering Operation Desert Eagle, an allied offensive, which involves 500 Nato-led troops plus 1,000 Afghan troops and police.

Although Germany has sent 3,200 troops to Afghanistan, they operate under restrictive rules of engagement.

They spend much of their time in an enormous base, complete with beer halls and nightclubs, in Mazar-e-Sharif, a 90-minute flight from the fighting. They also have a base at Kunduz.

Germany, which has lost 25 soldiers in Afghanistan to suicide attacks and roadside bombs, commands the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in the north. But its men are not allowed to travel more than two hours from a “role two medical facility” - a hospital equipped for emergency surgery.

The restrictions have fuelled tensions among allied troops. Norwegian soldiers, who were fighting to stem a growing Taliban insurgency in this remote stretch of Afghanistan’s northwest frontier, were forced to desert their Afghan comrades midway through a firefight when German medical evacuation helicopters withdrew.

The Germans contribute unmanned surveillance planes, an electronic warfare team and a hospital to the operation.

One Norwegian cavalry officer, who was engaged in a day-long fight with more than 40 Taliban near Jari Siya in Badghis, said: “It’s hopeless. We were attacking the bad guys, then [at] three or four o’clock, the helicopters are leaving.

“We had to go back to base. We should have had Norwegian helicopters. At least they can fly at night.”

Abandoned by their western allies, the 600 men from the Afghan army’s 209 Corps were forced to retreat until a convoy of American Humvees arrived the next day to reinforce them.

a friday in bed..

ui i feel like new born.. after a very long working day and a very drunk thursday night, i decided to stay in bed and have some fun with agnes and a spiegel to read..
we had a lot of fun and the housemate bitch didn't come out of her room as well.. a very peaceful day!!

now i am out of bed and wait for my lovely lady to call me.. of course i am in l'atmo..

since i am having a lazy day i will write tomorrow more about the live and work in kabul city..

workshop day..

after the bachelor party of the my doctor he came to office with red eyes and very tired..

but we had a big day.. our first workshop together..
we are training some kindergarten teachers in theater exercises..

a good exercise for us.. and he is GOOD.. finally I got him interested in the work.. he is reading, no eating everything I give him, and he is asking questions.. ownership!!.. I am involving him in all the preparations and even in the financial control of the other project.. so now he has the feeling he is my assistant and not only my translator..

on the way to the workshop we almost hit a donkey..

and we got in a sandstorm..


but nothing could stop us to go for our first mission..

the women where all giggle and not concentrating at all.. we had a hard time.. but the doctor is very calm, that matches great with my energy.. so we managed to do a quite good workshop..

winter is coming

kabul is getting colder,

washing in the morning is getting harder,

electricity is getting rare,

the daily beans are destroying my stomach (can you imagine how that stinks??)

work is great,

i started workshops with kindergarden teachers.. very much fun..

this is/was the spring outfit..

I got a new jacket for 200 AF (4 dollar)!!

the cleaning was 500 AF (10 dollar) and is still in process.. the admin guy who is doing that for me is in holidays.. so i have to freeze a couple of more days..

picture will follow..

mobile theatre

tour start
the crew arrived in Kunduz..
the first show is going to take place on wednesday in the new community center of the mediothek..
performances in schools and other NGO's will follow..
so far everything went smooth..

pictures of the dress rehearsal

local market

a very sad day..

the number of people killed and wounded is rising since the sun did the same..

eyewitnesses say
more than a hundred children, women and man were killed..

BBC NEWS
Afghan suicide blast 'kills 40'

Politicians and schoolchildren were among at least 40 people killed in a suicide attack in northern Afghanistan, hospital and provincial officials say.

The scene of the attack in the province of Baghlan was left littered with bodies and splattered with blood in one of the worst attacks in recent times.

The attack was condemned by the Afghan president, the White House and the UN.

Analysts say suicide attacks are rare in this area, and the bombing shows the reach of the insurgency is growing.

The Taleban, al-Qaeda and other militant groups are fighting thousands of Afghan and foreign troops in Afghanistan.

Bodies

The bomb exploded at a sugar factory in a town in Baghlan province while a delegation of parliamentarians was visiting - at least six of whom died.

Among the MPs killed was Mustafa Kazimi, a former mujahideen fighter and prominent opposition figure.

Schoolchildren who had gathered to welcome the politicians were also killed.

"I saw bodies lying in the streets and some of the people were stealing the weapons of the dead soldiers," local resident Mohammad Rahim told Reuters news agency.

"Children are screaming for help. It's like a nightmare," said Mr Rahim, who said the blast had killed his two cousins, both schoolgirls.

The deputy mayor of Baghlan province said that two disembodied legs were all that remained of the bomber following the attack. The bomber's identity is unknown.

The head of hospitals in Baghlan, Yousuf Faiz, told AFP news agency 40 dead and 120 wounded had been registered at four hospitals.

Meanwhile provincial security chief Abdurrahman Sayedkhail told Reuters he was aware of 50 dead, though some relatives had taken bodies away themselves.

Taleban denial

President Karzai condemned the "heinous" attack - one of the worst since the ousting of the Taleban in 2001 - "in the strongest possible terms", he said in a statement.

KEY BOMB ATTACKS SINCE 2001 29 Sept 2007 Suicide attack on Kabul bus kills 30 10 Sept 2007 At least 20 dead in two suicide bombs in Gereshk, Helmand province 17 June 2007 At least 35 dead in bomb attack on Afghan police bus in Kabul 3 Aug 2006 Car bomb kills at least 21 in Kandahar province 16 Jan 2006 Suicide bomb kills at least 20 people in Spin Boldak, Kandahar province 1 June 2005 At least 20 people killed in bomb attack on mosque in Kandahar city

"It is the work of the enemies of peace and security in Afghanistan," he said.

The attack was "a despicable act of cowardice and it reminds us who the enemy is", said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed "his continuing anxiety regarding the unstable security situation throughout Afghanistan".

A Taleban spokesman condemned the attack and denied the Taleban were behind it.

However, suicide bombs in Afghanistan have until now been exclusively the work of the Taleban and al-Qaeda, our correspondent says.

In separate developments:

• Canadian Defence Minister Peter Mackay narrowly avoided being injured by a rocket fired by insurgents at a Canadian military outpost in Kandahar province. Four Canadian soldiers were lightly wounded
• Taleban militants on motorbikes and in pick-up trucks captured an important district in the province of Day Kundi - the third district captured in a week.

Violence

Until now, most suicide attacks have taken place in the south and east of Afghanistan or, less frequently, in Kabul.

But the UN says the number of suicide attacks is rising sharply. Insurgent attacks have also been on the increase in areas of central and even northern Afghanistan - where violence had tended to take the form of common crime rather than political attacks, says our correspondent.

Fighters loyal to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar - a former mujahideen leader who is battling the Kabul government independently from the Taleban - are known to be active in Baghlan, says BBC analyst Pam O'Toole.

Civilians have often been the victims of the violence in Afghanistan - not only in attacks by insurgents, but also in strikes by the foreign Nato and US forces in the country.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/7081012.stm

Published: 2007/11/06 22:01:38 GMT

© BBC MMVII

last night..

that is why we had to leave so quickly the office last night..
the printing house is just around the corner from the DED office and they already raided the place..
kabul is calm, no protesters so far..
lets cross fingers that it stays like this..
r



Afghan Koran distributor arrested

By Alix Kroeger BBC News, Kabul

Religious scholars are outraged at the new translation of the holy book

The distributor of a new translation of the Koran has been arrested after complaints from religious scholars that the new edition was un-Islamic.

Former journalist Ghows Zalmay is also the spokesman for Afghanistan's attorney general.

He was arrested on the border on Sunday while trying to flee into Pakistan.

Demonstrators protested in two Afghan provinces against the new translation of the Koran into Dari, one of Afghanistan's two official languages.

Religious scholars are outraged at the new edition of the Muslim holy book.

They say that it is un-Islamic, that it misinterprets verses about alcohol, begging, homosexuality and adultery.

They also complain that it does not contain the original version in Arabic as a parallel text for comparison.

Both houses of the Afghan parliament have held emergency debates.

Senators have called for Mr Zalmay and the translator, himself a mullah, to be punished.

One said Mr Zalmay was "worse than Salman Rushdie", whose book, The Satanic Verses, caused widespread outrage in the Islamic world.

Another said Mr Zalmay was under the protection of a foreign security company.

In the northern city of Taloqan 1,500 university students took to the streets in protest, while in the south-east province of Nimruz 1,000 local people, including several mullahs, took part in a demonstration.

The Afghan constitution enshrines freedom of expression, but for many Afghans that freedom has clear limits and they do not include making interpretive translations of the Koran.

angie in afghanistan..

she came by surprise and left so quickly that we only heard her helicopters.. but hey she came the day after i felt so lonely and shit.. you think she came to lift my spirit? it worked!!

her helicopter was not very spectacular.. but her outfit.. damn i missed that..

weekend in kabul

it is weekend and the sun is shining.. good news in the otherwise way to cold place.. cold also in the sense of people.. i was prepared for a bit of loneliness in the first days.. but this is really a bit too much now.. no one around to hang out with.. people here work until late.. go for a drink, get drunk and talk stupid.. mhmm.. maybe i am too old for this and haven't found an alternative yet.. only one lady, a member of the L-world!, but she is working in the provinces and only some times available for hangouts..

thats the sad song of kabul.. :-)

otherwise work is great and the germans are particular nice and ready to break the rules with me..
the new rules say that you are not supposed to go more than 100 meters on your feed, for every way longer than that you have to call a car, that might arrive an hour later since we do not have the capacity to drive everybody to coffee klatsch.. no more local taxis, no more friends pick ups.. that increases the loneliness.. and it increases the distance to the country.. i find it horrible not to talk to the shop owner around the corner.. not to be able to follow an invitation from a colleague to go their house on a friday afternoon since we are not allowed to be in 'non approved' places - which are only armed protected houses, like a couple of restaurants, our own houses and not even all the work places.. the cultural centre is of course not armed.. so technically i am not allowed to be there.. these are actually the rules of UN staff.. that we adopted.. unfortunately we didn't adopt their salary scale and not their housing equipment.. UN buildings usually have everything in their compound, from happily running warm water, to internet connection and a gym..

one of my rule breaking friend and I went on wednesday to the gym,

where we found not only running hot water (hair washing problem is solved for the winter) but also a wonderful little cafe in the basement, where we can also meet some afghans to chat with 'locals'.. haha..
when I arrived the discussion about the new rules where on a high peak and we tried to oppose.. we couldn't stop it and having now a one month 'test' run.. in which we agreed on heavy use of vehicles to crash the system..
but still the next month will be prison like..
lucky german has the l'atmosphere in front of the door.. i do not count if this is more than 100 meters and i still go to my favorite little shop on the corner.. if I try to send my guard to buy me stuff, he comes back with half of it and tells me that is enough for me.. he must be scotish.. taking care that i am not spending one afghani too much..
so far from the very sunny side of the hindukush..