The end of Ramadan is drawing close, and Afghans are pretty worn out. Fasting begins at the first light of morning (which is way before sunrise) and lasts until sunset. Moreover, folks have to eat and pray before first light, so the day can get started at 3 am for many. It is amazing to contemplate going a single day for 15 hours without food or water, but these guys have to do it for 28 days or so—so the cumulative effect can be exhausting.
It seems that being sensitive during this time to the Afghans is a common courtesy, but it varies greatly from person to person. Personally, I sneak to my room to grab a snack bar or a drink during the day. But others drink in front of the Afghans, and some will even eat in front of them. It seems kind of rude—“Hey, bet you're dying of thirst—mmm this water is dee-lish.’
It was easy to miss it amidst the daily reports death and mayhem here, but insensitivity combined with insanity yesterday, with CBS News reporting the result:
In Kabul, the capital, an American service member and an Afghan police officer got into an argument because the American was drinking water in front of the Afghan police, who are not eating or drinking during the day because of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, said the district chief, Abdul Baqi Zemari.
The police officer shot the American and seriously wounded him, while other American troops responded and seriously wounded the police officer, Zemari said.
In a lot of ways, this may be the story of our presence here. We are trying to help folks we really don’t understand. And our hosts believe our lack of understanding to be a lack of respect--and some times it is. Increasingly it seems that the only thing we agree on is that no one on either side wants us here.
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