| Featured Article - December 2007
In The Shadow of Equus In the Shadow of Peace |
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the heart of Christmas festivities lies the most elusive and probably
the most poignant hallmark of humanity — a yearning for peace. During
the longest, darkest days of the year, we get caught up in the
exhausting scramble to “be ready for Christmas” (whatever that means).
So many of us embark on a social hurricane of activity, trying to
balance work, school, shopping, baking, tree decorating, mailing gifts
and cards, hosting, partying, and juggling wine glasses with gum boots
while mucking out the barn, grooming, feeding, deworming, and stocking
up on supplies. It’s not until the stillness of a Christmas moment, in
the eye of that social hurricane, when the wish for peace empowers a
yearning for world peace. This year it seems to be more elusive than ever. The fight for peace, that great oxymoron, and Canada’s role in it brings thoughts of our troops in Afghanistan and their work to help reconstruct a land where an entire generation of children and their families have never known the security that Canadian children take for granted. This is a land caught in the crossroads of time and space. Now, just as in centuries past, horses and donkeys are the backbone of everything its people do, from farming the fertile plains to hauling goods to market or carrying people over tortuous mountain paths impassable by vehicles. This is a land where, for 27 million people, cultures mingle with folklore; where feuds, rivalries and clannish clashes are endured daily, and where they argue in more than 34 different languages and dialects. But beyond the village bickering they agree on one thing: their love of the horse. They are, after all, superb horse-people. But they are also a nation of profoundly poor people struggling to rebuild their lives after decades of debilitating war, the brutality of Taliban rule, and being held hostage by terrorists, extremists, and insurgents with corrupt and deadly world agendas. Helping Afghans stabilize and secure their country is the primary role of the UN-sanctioned, NATO-led 38-nation International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission, of which Canada is a significant member. Our troops are part of the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team (KPRT) where they work with other government agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). They follow the principle of helping Afghans help themselves and that same philosophy is applied by other agencies helping Afghans care for their livestock. In 2002, the United Kingdom-based Brooke Hospital for Animals began working in the country, joining with the Committee for Rehabilitation Aid to Afghanistan which also partners with the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), the American Zoological Association (AZA), and the Shahzada Health Equine Foundation for Afghanistan. The Brooke provides free veterinary care for working equines and offers free training for owners and trades people to help them with simple husbandry techniques. They teach them farrier skills to protect hooves and avoid lameness and introduce ways to improve harnesses so that the animals can carry loads without enduring horrendous sores. |
The aid partners also create
animal shelters, shade facilities,
and watering troughs for both the draft animals and the tonga
(carriage) horses. Many donkeys work in the hot, dusty kilns
transporting bricks to building sites of homes, schools, and hospitals,
which are all part of the current reconstruction process, and they make
regular journeys on poorly made roads transporting everything from
construction materials to crops. “There are many long-term projects,” said Canadian Forces Lieutenant-Colonel Bob Chamberlain, KPRT Commander, in a telephone interview from Kandahar. “We help to build wells. We deal with farmers and help them improve their quality of life. We work with the government or a ministry on longer term projects. In a village we make sure they get the infrastructure to give them the help and support they need.” This past summer, as Afghan farmers used their animals to harvest grapes, plums, figs, melons, onions, almonds, apricots, pomegranates, vegetables, pine nuts, and walnuts, they needed a more effective way to dry fruits and seeds ready for export to India. So KPRT gave them 5,000 bamboo mats which provided a safe and healthy way for produce such as raisins, prunes and melon seeds to be dried. When a sandstorm made roads impassable for vehicles and horses alike, the KPRT hired a contractor to clear walkways and open traffic lanes. They oversaw the construction of a new irrigation system and provided funding for the construction of a new well. One village was so grateful they offered six watermelons to the troops as thanks. When a shooting in Kandahar City earlier this summer killed loved ones from two families, KPRT personnel sat down with the families to find a meaningful compensation for their loss. They approached the tragedy within the cultural values of the families. It wasn’t money that was offered, but sheep and household goods. Rebuilding war-shredded Afghanistan after decades of conflict is a complex, tiny-step process where progress is often overlooked, but KPRT is helping to provide support to literacy programs, Women’s Day events, donation of fire fighting equipment, medical supplies, and school kits. They contributed to microcredit programs, vaccination initiatives, and alternative livelihood programs. Across Afghanistan, 200,000 Afghans (of which 90 percent were women) have received micro-finance business loans and six million children are in school. Helping the animals is also a complex, tiny-step process, but the Brooke’s five mobile vet teams and its community animal health programme now reaches over 60,000 horses and donkeys in Afghanistan every year. Maybe in a small way helping others to help themselves signifies hope for a less troubled world. Aslam-u-Alekum. Peace be with you. Especially this Christmas. For more information on the Brooke’s work in Afghanistan, or to make a Christmas gift donation, visit www.thebrooke.org. Read Margaret Evans' column "In The Shadow Of Equus" each month in Pacific & Prairie Horse Journal
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