City of Soldiers

Kate Fearon

• Publisher: Interlink Books
• Year: 2012
• Topic: History
• eBook ISBN:
  9781623710231
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

A deeply affecting memoir and a unique contribution to our understanding of Afghanistan Behind the headlines, the strategies, the surges, what is life really like in Afghanistan? What is it like to live and work there as a civilian on state-building with its people, fighting the Taliban with flip-charts and pens, not guns? In her account of sixteen months in the capital of Helmand province, Lashkar Gah, working for the Provincial Reconstruction Team, Kate Fearon records everyday life on the frontline. Amid the violence she unearths extraordinary stories of how ordinary Afghans live and what they think, both inside and outside the walls of military bases. From the thrills and risks of getting there to exploring Helmand and its history, this book follows the author's daily life as she gets to know the people behind the war. She learns Pashto, visits the Districts, meets the US Marines, observes elections and evades suspected suicide bombers. She describes working with the tribal Elders on informal justice and policing issues, and building local democracy with them. She also listens to the musings of young men on marriage (and nightclubs), discovers what Afghan women really think of their burqas, and discusses poppy growing, pornography, forbidden love-notes, drinking and dancing. Tragic and touching but also wryly observed, City of Soldiers tells of the camaraderie and courage of those working under extreme conditions, foreigners and locals, civilians and military alike. It evokes the despair-and the guilt-that comes with targeted political murders in response to the process of democratization. Kate Fearon explains how the key driver for Afghans is pragmatism, their overriding goal survival, and reveals how women-and men-assert themselves in a seemingly impossibly restrictive culture with humor and hope.

Table of contents

• Coverpage
• Ctiy Of Soldiers
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Thought
• Dedicate
• Preface
• 1. Getting There
• 2. The Other Side of the Wall
• 3. In Memoriam
• 4. The Toilet Paper
• 5. Getting Out of There
• 6. Gender (I)
• 7. Language
• 8. Garmsir
• 9. The Drive
• 10. Gereshk (I): Speaking Up, Speaking Out
• 11. Gereshk (II): Where, Now, How?
• 12. Poppies: Petals, and Other Derivatives
• 13. Gender (II)
• 14. Food
• 15. Bricks and Stones
• 16. The Dog, the Boat, and the Crowbar
• 17. Election Heat
• 18. Here Come the Marines!
• 19. The Helical Screws
• 20. Election Day (I): Early Morning
• 21. Election Day (II): Late Morning, Afternoon
• 22. Cityscape (I): Kabul
• 23. Cityscape (II): New York
• 24. Now She Goes to School
• 25. There Are No Lesbians in Afghanistan
• 26. Nawa (I): Inside the Wire
• 27. Nawa (II): Outside the Wire
• 28. Nawa (III): Despair
• 29. Ticking the Box: Marriage
• 30. Laghmandi Pepsi and the Helmand Star
• 31. Hey Mr. DJ, Put a Record On...
• 32. Nawa (IV): Return to Tralfamadore
• 33. Recreation
• 34. Another Place
• 35. Progression, Regression: Hello, Goodbye
• 36. Qala-e-Bost
• 37. Leaving Lash
• Afterword
• Index