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FOREIGN SERVICE LIFE - ON THE FRONT LINES IN HERAT AFGHANISTAN
AUG 7, 2005 - 5:18PM PST
Posted by Joshua S Fouts
Via Len Baldyga's email stream

Len sends a letter from a U.S. foreign service officer in Afghanistan. Interesting in that it reminds me of a comment from a retired foreign service officer who made the case for why some of them choose public diplomacy (as this person apparently did). Date: Sat, 06 Aug 2005 09:06:12 +0000 From: michael metrinko I think enough has been said on the subject of diplomats' lives abroad, but I also think some of the fine people on G2K {a listserve on the Gulf} have skewed ideas about "diplomacy" in today's world, and assume it's all big embassies in capital cities. Not nearly! So here goes: This State Dept representative is assigned to a Lithuanian (NATO/ISAF) Provincial Reconstruction Team in Cheghcheran, the capital of Ghor Province in Afghanistan. I share a dusty tent with three other guys (including a very capable Lithuanian diplomat), and we can't keep it clean because of the incessant dust storms that send 95mph whirlwinds through the area every day. The wind last week was much stronger, and the tent next to mine simply disappeared. The sink spigots and showers are outside, near the outdoor toilets - all about a block and a half from where I sleep. We get one hot meal a day. My feet are cracked open from wearing heavy boots and never having a flat surface to walk on (the camp is covered with loose stones to keep the lunar quality dust at a livable level, and there is no asphalt road or flat sidewalk that I know of anywhere in this area), and the temperature extremes have removed - painfully - a thick layer of skin from my face and head. My clothes are always dirty because of the dust, and because we have to wash our clothing in mesh bags that can't be opened during the washing. But this is the pleasant season, because roads to Chaghcheran become inaccessible most of the winter, and the temperatures in this mountainous area hover way below zero. And yeah, my colleagues and I will be staying through it all. I meet with Afghans of all kinds all day long, and I conduct my meetings in Dari. Yes, I speak it, along with a couple of other regional languages. (But I am also giving an English class every night to our local interpreters, so that they can communicate with the soldiers better.) My colleagues and I walk on the streets, go shopping, visit the local villages, listen to what the Afghans are saying and laugh and joke with them, and in general cooperate with our Afghan friends here on a range of assistance projects involving the local schools, bridges across the town river, construction of better facilities for the town hospital and general security for the upcoming elections so that the voters in Ghor Province can cast their ballots freely and safely. In between these activities, I try to write reports that will help the State Dept and NATO recipients understand this area better. And…... FULL TEXT
 
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Read Comments:

john burchill on October 20, 2006 @ 10:29 am:
My life was saved by Mr. Metrinko in 1979 when I was inprisoned in Tabriz Iran. I have no other person in this world I admire more than him. God be with you Mike.

Erik Alvarez on March 1, 2007 @ 12:34 am:
Michael has been a great friend as well as a teacher. I was a young soldier with the prt in herat and took care of alot of communications issues. Mike we havent spoke in a little while send me a line and stay safe out there. God bless.

larry ferst on March 5, 2007 @ 4:31 pm:
michael, my daughter sent me this. Would like to be in touch again after such a long time. Hope to hear from you

Asad Sabetpour on May 7, 2007 @ 4:02 pm:
What Mr M Metrinko and his friends are doing in M.E is greatly appriciated,but with all these years spent in that region,the change achieved and needed is much smaller than thier suffering.

Seref Yorganci on August 27, 2007 @ 8:04 am:
Hi Michael,

We had met in New York (Alpaslan's friend from Adana) and some time after that we had dinner in Yumurtalik. I am now working as a civil engineer in Saudi Arabia. Hope to hear from you...

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