Uruzgan receives lots and lots of visitors. We could really tell that everybody had gone back to work again after the summer holidays. Now autumn has come in the Netherlands, it seems even more people are dropping in. For example, a few weeks ago the Director-General for Development Cooperation and the acting Director-General for Foreign Affairs came by. Their visit coincided with the funeral of two of our colleagues who were killed. No doubt this made a big impression on them too.

Immediate bosses
For me as a civilian leader of Task Force Uruzgan it was very useful to have my immediate bosses paying me a visit; an excellent opportunity to share a warm can of cola and a sandy toasted sandwich and hear whether we are still on the right track with regard to the establishment of good governance and the development of Uruzgan. I got the impression they thought we were. Jokingly military colleagues called the DGs two-star-civvies, or super citizens. Although I don’t think I mentioned that to them.

Lithuanian general
Not all visitors are from the Netherlands. A visit from an Australian aid organisation (about increasing local government capacity) is soon followed by the visit by a Lithuanian three-star general who is planning a Lithuanian Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) along the same lines as the Dutch PRT here in Uruzgan.

His visit was followed by a delegation from Singapore. They have installed a radar installation here that should warn us more quickly about rocket attacks on the camp. So now the tenth Task Force Uruzgan flag hangs at the entrance of Camp Holland. And the Indonesian menu (every Wednesday) seems to be extremely popular.

Two Australian generals
From time to time two Australian generals - called Kelly and Budd - pay us a visit. Another visitor with quite an attractive name was US Colonel Drinkwine. It was strange receiving a visit from the general and civil representative who are to lead the eighth Task Force Uruzgan. Not because of the topic but because as seventh team we have only been here for two months and already our successors are already here to investigate.

I also enjoyed the visit of the Dutch Internal Affairs Minister. She was here to see how the Afghan police are being trained. The motto here in Uruzgan is also: more police on the streets. Although, the challenges are greater.

Police certificates
Three years ago there weren’t any regular policemen in this province. Today there are over 1500. A third of them have been taught how to carry out their duties by the Dutch Police Training Centre.

As almost 100 percent of the students cannot read or write, this is a challenge - one Dutch, Australian and US police officers put huge effort into. Not long ago it was graduation day for a great many policemen. It was great to see the pride on their faces. For most of them this is the first certificate they have ever received in their life.

Big Brother
But for me the best visit was that of the head of the Dutch armed forces, General Peter van Uhm. As the general of Task Force Uruzgan is his younger brother, it wasn’t long before somebody made the joke: “Big brother is watching you.”

We took the elder brother on a tour of Uruzgan. Of course the general spoke with his troops everywhere. In Deh Rawod we visited a checkpoint where we could see what the police had learnt at the Dutch training centre.

The smell of grass
In Chora we did a foot patrol in the ‘green’. We walked over narrow paths, through fields and under the almond trees. I must say that, after months of dust, I had forgotten what fresh grass smelt like. It felt like a different world, the other Afghanistan that also exists. I walked past a water pump built by the PRT. The farmer standing by it smiled at us.

A little further on children were playing under a tree. When they saw us they asked for a pen. Through an interpreter I asked where they went to school and all their hands pointed in the same direction. At a school that had recently been done up with Dutch aid.

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.