By SUSAN WHEELDON, Staff Writer
Somerset — Life in Afghanistan would be a culture shock for most any American. For Southern Elementary School Principal Keith Patrick, the permeation of poverty is what jolted his perceptions the most.
Patrick, a major with the U.S. Armed Forces, spent six months he spent in Afghanistan helping with countrywide development and redevelopment. Patrick was a liaison between the Army Corps of Engineers and the 101st Airborne Division, primarily dealing with construction issues.
Patrick returned to the states just in time for Christmas, and has been back at Southern Elementary for only a few days.
“I think it’s difficult for people to comprehend (what Afghanistan’s poverty is like) when we have everything as good as we do in America,” said Patrick.
Items that are often taken for granted here in the United States — such as a simple toy for a child — are foreign notions to the Afghani people, according to Patrick. The youth there don’t have toys unless it was something sent from the United States. Even the most basic human needs are hard to come by.
“Most people don’t have basic needs such as food, water, shelter and a safe place to live,” said Patrick.
No electricity. No running water. No infrastructure. These absences in everyday Afghani life provide the reason Patrick and his fellow Americans were trying to build roads, bridges and dams, as well as train the natives so they can get jobs in the future.
Patrick noted much of the reason for this sheer absence of human comforts is that Afghanistan has been at war much of the last 30 years.
“You’ve got to have infrastructure before you can provide safety and security for people,” said Patrick.
“What we’re there for is to provide stability, not to be fighting.”
While on base in Bagram, Patrick was lucky enough to have many of the comforts he was used to in the United States, such as electricity, running water and a phone. Once outside of the perimeters of the base, however, Patrick felt has if he had gone back into time — such as 1870 America, farming with oxen, not tractors, just to have food and shelter.
As for waste, there was none in Afghanistan, unlike here in the United States.
“Most of our garbage they would turn into something useful,” said Patrick. “They wasted nothing.”
Patrick explained he even saw tank treads used to help build porches or for speed bumps.
Along with three others, Patrick usually went outside of the airbase once or twice a week and traveled throughout the country in a bullet-proof Toyota Landcruiser to aid construction projects. In doing so, he was able to meet many of the native people of the land.
Patrick said no matter where he traveled, the kids and people of country would like to come and talk to them.
“The kids would spot you a mile away and come running,” added Patrick. “They always wanted an ink pen.”
But Patrick explained education in Afghanistan for the children is nothing compared to the education children get here in the United States, with only about 20 percent of the children attending school.
“Mandatory education wasn’t a concept,” explained Patrick.
For those children who did attend school, usually the girls went to school in the morning and the boys in the afternoon — or vise versa — with the girls’ schools usually being worse than the boys, sometimes only enough to master basic reading skills.
To help the children, Patrick’s school sent items such school supplies and clothes, which were greatly appreciated.
“I could really see how it helped,” said Patrick.
As far as visiting and talking with the people, he said, most were glad the United States were there and would invite he and others in for food and drink.
“We would talk about the construction, family, their battle experience, farming and the weather,” said Patrick.
He believes they are making some good progress, as some jobs are being created and more children are getting an education they were not able to receive under the Taliban.
Patrick said he was glad to return home, as what he missed the most was probably the freedom to get up and go something without being fearful.
