Posted By: Rebecca W., working with CIVIC’s Erica Afghanistan
[Written 7/20/08] I went this morning to the Kandahar IOM/ACAP office (ACAP is the program created by the United States to help war victims and IOM is the agency that implements it across the country). I met the staff and talked with one field officer who travels around the southern provinces to find harmed civilians and verify information that has been submitted to the office. He has worked with ACAP for three years. He told me that his job was rewarding but also dangerous: a few months ago, he went into a remote village to survey an ACAP-funded construction project when he suddenly found himself surrounded by gun-wielding Taliban fighters. They accused him of supporting the international forces. As he was being taken away by the Taliban, a close friend saw him and negotiated his release – the only reason he is alive today. Such stories emphasize the difficulty in assisting civilians in this charged atmosphere, where humanitarian projects are frequently targeted by the Taliban and Afghan NGO workers are regularly kidnapped for their “foreign involvement.”Image courtesy of CIVIC
