After spending more than enough time down in the city, we got back to the roots of what this whole thing is all about--pushing data ahead of infrastructure on the fringes of civilization. It is on these fringes that the real battles here are fought, against hunger, poverty and Talibs. Considering how economically depressed it is here, the cities manage to function reasonably well, especially in our prime location as the first major anything on the road from Pakistan. You need not walk far, however, before subsistence farming and scavenging the barren earth for anything of value take over as the primary modes of existence. Somewhere in between there are millions of people teetering back and forth between progression and stagnation with the prevailing winds. In this boundary zone FabFi can be a lifeline to Modernity, or better (by about a century).
We spent yesterday and today bringing up a link in the village of Bagrami. With the Shop Bot still lacking power, I hacked up the small antenna design to fit on the laser cutter and made a pair of snazzy acrylic numbers complete with holes for zip ties.
Flying solo today, I had a golden opportunity to discuss some of the problems that face these boundary places with the people who live there every day. (Thanks to Nekibulah and most of his family, many of whom are teachers or otherwise associated with the local school).
"In Afghanistan, we have very little learning," he says. "Both teachers and students must work outside of school to get money, so it is difficult to focus on our studies."Paraphrasing the rest: Teachers are paid $50 a month by the government, which is not enough to support one's family (Nekibulah has 18 people in his) so most teachers take second jobs after school. When they become exhausted, teachers often skip teaching their lessons, telling students to "do something [waves hands in a shooing motion]. I am tired" (did I mention that classes have as many as 100 students?) Students share the same problems, forced to work instead of concentrating on their studies. Oh yeah, and they also don't have any resources... at all.
In places like Bagrami, access to computers and the internet can be life-changing. Nekibulah's brother, for instance, is interested in medicine but has absolutely no access to any information on the subject. A simple google search for "health" had him excited in no time at all, and I was glad to watch the attending group devour a page on women's health (including sexual health) without even batting an eyelash. In contrast to his brother, Nekibulah was more interested in information about Afghanistan and Islam. The tension between traditional cultural values / religious beliefs and the desire for the opportunities of western (for lack of a better term) society is palpable in these moments of discovery. "Are there Muslims in America?" "When you have a guest in your house would you have tea together?" were questions asked with a note of apprehensiveness as if my response might deepen the inner conflict between old and new. On some level I can understand. Living peacefully in a close-knit community amidst beautiful fields cris-crossed by winding irrigation channels and dotted with wispy trees with a background of incredible mountain views sounds pretty darn good. One can only hope that Wikipedia will convince these new users the west isn't all bad before they find the porn.All the photos HERE.
