I’ve noticed that I hardly have any time to write. The tempo here in Uruzgan is extremely high. Although everything was put to one side during the elections, work got back to “normal” fairly quickly afterwards. But here “normal” is a relative term.

Helping to rebuild governance in this province is a difficult job. And reconstruction is even trickier. This week a journalist asked me how long it would take development in Uruzgan is completed. I looked at the man with astonishment.

Patience
Patiently I explained that since the Dutch troops arrived in Uruzgan, around ten times as many children were attending school, but that teaching them to read and write was going to take a number of years. I told him that a lot is being done in the area of health, but that this did not mean that all the healthy people would immediately start a factory that would provide employment. And that 99 percent of the population still makes a living from agriculture here, but only for their own consumption.

I explained that in Western Europe it also took a long time before we started to grow more food than we could actually eat, resulting in a market for agricultural products. And a long time before that market started to make profits, with which new investments could be made (so that development became possible).

Ramadan
In short it is all about learning, discovering and showing what the possibilities are. In Deh Rawod, in western Uruzgan, we saw an opportunity to do this. We did up an Afghan quala (small mud fortress) and kitted it out as a training centre. This was paid for with Dutch money.

The general and myself had the honour of opening the quala. We received a warm welcome from captain Jeffrey of the Provincial Reconstruction Team. Earlier we decided to hold the opening at the end of the afternoon, because of it being Ramadan. This meant we could offer our guests an Iftar meal after the opening.

Trainers
The training centre has turned out well. Earlier in the day, the first training session took place for local civil servants. Imagine a meeting without an agenda, without documents and notes because there is almost no-one who can read or write. Making plans and agreements this way is very difficult. The trainers in the centre try to explain the advantages of setting up a civil service structure. During the ribbon cutting ceremony, the speeches are full of nice words.

And then it got dark outside. During the month of Ramadan, this when people break their fasts. The mullah says a prayer. We are sitting outside on a long carpet. The mud walls are still warm from the day’s heat. A warm breeze makes the carpet curl up. The first stars appear in the night sky and it is a beautiful sight. We eat Afghan bread, rice with raisins and mutton.

Tea debate
I had a conversation with Said Osman, the district chief, about the possibility of bringing more doctors and teachers to the district. We had brought the head of Uruzgan’s Education Ministry by helicopter from the capital Tarin Kowt and I asked him straight away. He promised a number of teachers. District chiefs here are not used to people in the provincial capital being concerned about what happens in the districts. A bit of pressure to get the two to work together will not hurt.

After the meal, there is an amusing debate about which host may pour the tea. The commander of the Afghan army battalion won. In front of a military map, our general told him about operations and security. I spoke to the district chief and local politicians about development. We fly back to Tarin Kowt by helicopter through a moonless sky. I can see a few electric lights in the valley below. Little signs of hope, I thought.

Michel Rentenaar is the Civil Leader of Task Force Uruzgan and Director of the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Uruzgan. He will be writing a fortnightly column for Radio Netherlands Worldwide.