Rainy Days in Afghanistan

Hello from rainy Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan! Rain here is rare, however, it has been raining for 2 consecutive days now. This is the first rain since I arrived on Christmas Eve. It feels like a nasty November day in my hometown of Cleveland - cold, wet, and dark. The sun shines brightly on most days here. This is a dry climate to say the least. On my last deployment in 2008 to Camp Alamo in Kabul, it rained 4 times in 6 months. Bagram Air Field is about a 45 minute convoy from Camp Alamo. So, to have 2 consecutive days of precipitation is very out of the ordinary. I mention this so that you can get a visual of this place. Bagram is basically a dust bowl. We are surrounded by mountains that are maybe a dozen clicks (km) away. The climate is extremely dry as previously stated. Thus, dust is everywhere. You cannot escape it. It gets all over your shoes, your pants and your skin. The air quality is poor. Pollution is completely unregulated. Garbage here is burned no matter what it is, even plastic. There is no recycling. Afghanistan is an environmentalists's worst nightmare. Almost nothing is being done here to save our planet. I am told it is too expensive for coalition forces to do anything about this. What are we gonna do... fly our recyclables and our garbage back to the U.S.? So, this dusty, dry, and smelly place has been rained on for 2 days turning it into a GIANT MUD PIT!!!

Iam holed up in my B-Hut today after catching 4 hours of sleep following an uneventful night shift. It is one of those days when you just want to stay home, so here I am in my 7 x 6 foot space that I now call home. I do have internet access here through a wireless server. It's a nice luxury. If only I had some hot chocolate, then I would be set.

More about this country... Afghanistan is a land locked country approximately the size of Texas. The population is approximately 30 million people. The largest city is Kabul which has about half a million residents. Kabul is the most advanced city in this country and yet it is considered a luxury to have electricity in your home for 6 hours a day. The average life expectancy is somewhere in the mid 40's. Yes, that is right people typically live only until what we consider middle age here. The reasons for that are pretty simple - malnourishment, lack of medical care, and war. Travelling here is a nightmare. It was only recently that roads were built connecting the major cities. This affects even my job as a doctor at an American base. Just yesterday, we attempted to send one of our patients home after a 2 month stay. The child lives just 50 miles away. This requires a plane trip. His parents just can't "swing by" and pick him up as if he just completed summer band camp. The bottom line is that the plane could not land in Jalalabad yesterday. I don't know why. Another patient of mine is stuck in the hospital until cab fare can be found for him. He lives somewhere in the mountains in north Afghanistan. It seems odd that thousands of American taxpayer money was used to fix this guy's blown up arm, but we are having problems getting him home.

Well, I think that is enough for today's lesson on Afghanistan. Khuda Hafiz! (Good Bye in Dari)