Afghanistan's Gem Hunters | Afghan Scene Magazine - Asia-Africa ...

it allAfghan Scene December 2009 it allAfghan Scene December 2009women, the left and the right,became a familiar sight snakingthrough the streets of Kabul from1965 onwards.The provinces reflected littleof Kabul’s intensely westernizedlifestyle, nor did the westernizedKabuli deign to countenance valuescherished in the countryside. Kabulsat isolated and estranged. Hardlyany old-timers remain and the ruralconservatives whose laws prevailtoday are determined to cleanse thecity of what they consider its morallydegraded ways. The iridescentbubble of memories has burstasunder, leaving a murky residuefrom which a new Kabul must bemoulded. TRAFFIC CIRCLE: The Ministry of Planning on Pashtunistan Square, 1973found it possible to build modern homes in therecently developed suburbs, a good portionof the capital’s middle class still lived in thenoisome Old City, in crowded extended-familyhouseholds lacking basic amenities such aselectricity, piped water, and sanitation. Socialdisparities were starkly evident; Kabul was stilla divided city.And while it is unquestionable thatindividuals now enjoyed greater personalfreedoms, Afghans in general were notencouraged to socialise with foreigners unlesstheir work gave them reason to do so. Foreignhomes were kept under constant surveillance,servants reported on comings and goings andinformants mingled with guests at all socialgatherings.The euphoria occasioned by the freshexperiments in democracy came to be temperedby disillusionment; an intensified mood ofmilitancy developed that led to an increasein political activity. Leftist groups formed todemand further instant changes; conservatives,notably religious leaders, issued dire warningsthat the society was headed toward moralcollapse. Marching demonstrators includingLITTLE AND LARGE: Nancy with book editorMarkus Håkansson of the Swedish Committeefor AfghanistanNancy Hatch Dupree first cameto Kabul in the 1962 as a wife ofa US diplomat. In her nearly fiftyyears living in both Kabul andPeshawar, she remarried, wrote aseries of authoritative books onthe ancient history and cultureof Afghanistan and helped topreserve hundreds of thousandsof precious documents writtenby aid workers over thedecades. To her Afghan andinternational friends she isknown affectionately as “thegrandmother of Afghanistan”.36Afghan Scene December 2009www.afghanscene.comwww.afghanscene.comAfghan Scene December 200937