Afghanistan My Last Tour

At first glance it doesn’t look like much.  The skeletal wood cross members are constructed of cheap bamboo rods.  The deltoid-shaped face is made of thin crepe paper glued to a bent bamboo frame.  They come in varied vibrant colors and the attached string is really not a string.  Instead it is fabricated rayon line wound around a large

plastic spool with 2 handles protruding from the sides.  What I just described are the composite materials of an Afghan kite.   Kite flying (gudi parahn bazi –Dari for kite playing) has been a part of Afghanistan’s history for the past 100 years.   What most people don’t realize is kite flying and kite fighting were outlawed during the

Taliban era.  The Taliban rulers deemed kite flying as un-Islamic.  They used to beat up the children and break their kites when they were found to be defiant of the decree.  Kite shops were burned and shop owners were beaten and jailed for defying the Taliban law.  So kite making went underground and kite flying was done secretively.  Since the ousting of the Taliban, the skies are once again filled with bright multi-hued kites flying freely above the ground.  Due to the Eid holiday, we have observed more kites too.  One of my teammates was in the gun turret on a previous mission and estimated 100 kites were soaring near the capital city.

So guess what today’s activity was.  Today was Jumaa and the most

popular day for kite flying.  In the afternoon, some teammates and I joined the interpreters for a cultural and mentoring session of kite flying.  They were the teachers and we were the students.  This just wasn’t kite flying; they were engaged in kite combat or kite fighting (the more popular terminology).  I had a misperception about the

rayon line used to fly the kite.  Previously I thought only small portions of the line were coated with glass.  I quickly found out that the entire spool of line has powdered fine flecks of glass glued to the line.  These microscopic shards create a razor sharp tool used to saw through the opponent’s kite line.

Our Afghan hosts wound scotch tape around their

fingers to provide protection against razor cuts.  Based on the amount of cuts they had, the tape offered very little protection.  At one point, D-man allowed me to hold the string.  It didn’t take long before I had a small paper cut and I sensed the wind growing stronger, so I returned the kite steering to the master.  But for the 10 seconds I held on to

the line, I was feeling triumphant and defiant against the Taliban.   It was truly a symbolic victory.

I watched as D-man skillfully pulled the tension on his kite line and it would soar vertically into the cloudless sky.  His opponents were doing the same thing and when they reached a mutually agreed upon height or position, they would engage in combat.  Some ANA soldiers were too aggressive and moved in for the kill too quickly.  D-man tugged on his line and with precision he sawed through their line.  I watched as the ANA kite floated to the ground like a withering leaf falling from a tree.  The village children too were attracted by the multi-colored kites flying freely above their

homesteads and raced across the barren hillsides in pursuit of the lifeless kite.  They seemed oblivious to the hidden landmines that were buried during the last 30 years of war.

After the children retrieved the kites, they would needle their bodies through the reels of concertina wire and return the kites for a small reward.  Each

recovered kite was worth a $1.00.  This was the same price the interpreters paid at the kite shop.  The biggest expense is for a spool of line that retails for $10-$13 depending on the strength and length of the line.  The plastic spools hold 4,000 – 15,000 meters of line with glass coating.

By the end of the day D-man sliced through 4

kite lines and only suffered one loss as we patiently watched his kite disappear behind the sun drenched mountain peaks.  Some lucky child will find the loose kite and it will take to the skies again in defiance of the distorted Taliban ideological beliefs.  Today was another triumphant day (albeit a small one) in brazenly defeating the Taliban.

Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Afghanistan, Deployment, ETT, kite fighting, kite flying, photography, Taliban, U.S. Air Force, war