Afghan Squatters

Good Morning Friends and Family,

I took this picture from the back window of the Kabul police headquarters. These "homes" you see are found all around Kabul (the capitol city) which is surrounded by hill/mountainsides. The homes are primarily made of mud and I'm told are illegally built and occupied by squatters. Needless to say, they are not built to code or take into consideration the earthquakes Afghanistan experiences on the occasional basis. There is no electricity (outside of generator powered) or running water. Poverty is prevalent here in Kabul, although lots of signs of opulence too which I'm told is primarily the result of drug money. The picture also illustrates the hectic life of the city, traffic jams mixed with people walking in the streets which I'm convinced is one of the primary causes of slow traffic flow. The light poles you see at the very bottom are within the police headquarters compound and are there primarily for security purposes. The Taliban and other insurgents like to attack/kill the police because they are easier targets than the Afghan army. More on that in another blog.

Off to work. Today is the start of "Ramazan" which I will describe in a later blog. No work for the Afghans today.

Today's blog hug goes out to my other brother.... Tom Ireland xxxooo. I thought of you and your amazing contractor skills when I saw the condition of the pictured homes. Given your skills and love of God, you could make a huge difference over here.

GAIL