February 13, 2008

Canadian military road-building project provides lifeline for Afghani people

Canadian military will spending $4.5 million over two years on 6.5-kilometre Panjwaii road

PANJWAII DISTRICT, AFGHANISTAN

Roads are for the living but the Canadian military has begun a massive road-building project that will also honour the dead in one of the most dangerous areas of Afghanistan.

The $4.5 million project to pave 6.5 kilometres of road that a local elder called the “Spine of the Panjwaii” is a two-year undertaking that will give jobs to more than 400 Afghans.

It also demonstrates the Canadian military’s efforts to stabilize the region west of Kandahar city.

Years of war, roadside bombs and the punishing extremes of weather have laid siege to the main route passing through Panjwaii district, the heartland of Kandahar province and birthplace of the Taliban.

Chunks of pavement are interspersed with gravel and sand, perfect hiding spots for the dozens of IEDs — improvised explosive devices — that have been sown along the road in the last two years.

“There’s not a day where we don’t hear about an IED on that road or find an IED on that road,” said a Canadian soldier who works with the Afghan military.

The harsh terrain makes it difficult for villagers in the district to bring their produce to market or get to work or go to the three schools that serve the population. It’s especially bad in the rainy season when the sandy ground turns to mud.

“With the road, the people of Panjwaii will be able to come back, to start business again,” said Haji Baran Shah, the district leader in Panjwaii.

Elders estimate that as many as 50 Afghans have died along the road in the last six months.

In the middle of January, five Afghans were killed and three were injured when a roadside bomb likely meant for a Canadian convoy hit a taxi.

“I lost my heart, my son. Who is responsible for that?,” said Juma Gul, whose son Abdul Samad, 33, was among the dead. “Who will feed our family any more?”

More than 100 other Afghans are buried in cemeteries that flank a turn in the highway that winds past the major mosque in the district.

A paved road will help people reach this holy and sacred place. In the course of the road construction, walls will be built to help protect the graves.

The road will also help pay tribute to two Canadians who lost their lives.

“Just over there, we lost two guys,” said Warrant Officer Nicolas Cote with the Civil Military Co-operation Team.

He was pointing to the spot where Cpl. Nicolas Raymond Beauchamp, 28, of the 5th Field Ambulance in Valcartier, Que., and Pte. Michel Levesque, 25, of Quebec’s Royal 22nd Regiment, were killed when a roadside bomb struck their vehicle Nov. 17. An Afghan interpreter also died and three Canadians were injured.

“That we can come back here and rebuild this spot, well, it’s an important thing,” Cote said.

Recent statistics released by NATO suggest the road is among the most dangerous in Afghanistan — in the 10 per cent of districts that have 12 “IED events” per month for every 10,000 inhabitants.

The Canadian International Development Agency and the military spend thousands of dollars on infrastructure projects like road building in Afghanistan. CIDA estimates its funding has helped rehabilitate 210 kilometres of road in Kandahar.

The current road-paving project is being financed by the military and only came through after Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier saw the conditions of the route himself and gave Capt. Michel Larocque, the head of the CIMIC in the area, the go-ahead.

“It wasn’t just about a tactical need,” said Larocque.

“It was about information operations — showing the Afghan people they can count on us to do the right things in the their area.”

Though it is being welcomed by the people of Panjwaii, the road is also causing anxiety.

Threatening “night letters” have been sent to people applying for jobs along the route, warning them away from working on a project conducted by Canadians.

Fatima, 35, was hoping her two older sons would get jobs paving the road and then use the skills learned for future employment.

“Then I got this letter telling me my sons and I would be killed for working on this road,” she said through an interpreter.

“But what else can we do? I need them to work because we need the money.”

Local leaders have encouraged people to expose those who are sending the letters. Larocque went as far as inviting them to explain themselves to a public gathering of the community — called a shura.

Meanwhile, round-the-clock security will be provided for the road’s construction, 800 metres at a time. Afghan police and military and massive search lights will be used to deter anyone from planting explosives to hold up construction.

Canadian Press

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