2005-03-30

 

Email questions

1. How did you become interested in Blogging, and how did your Blog: Afghan Warrior come about?

From childhood I was interested to be lyric or writer. One day I went to check my email and after I checked it I had 15 more minutes so I went to IRC chat room and I met Paul Edwards who persuaded me to start my blog. My first post got many comments and I was so impressed and happy so I decided to keep on blogging.

When I was 9 years old the war started in the capital Kabul in 1992 and the situation was very horrible. Many rockets blasted near our house and we had to immigrate to many places. It is a long story to tell you and Afghan warrior means i keep fighting against those responsible.


2. What is your favorite food?

I like all kinds of food that are cooked well. Afghan rice beef steak is my favorite food.


3. Without divulging anything of a confidrential nature, what exactly do you do in your job as a translator with the U.S. Miltary?

As an interpreter I go on patrols and also communicate between ANA and US Army. When we go on patrols we talk with people and ask questions about their problems and whether they have any problem with robbery or bad guys.


4. Is Afghanistan a very tribal society?

Yes, Afghanistan is a tribal society, but the tribes are united.


5. Waheed, if it's not too personal, could you tell me which tribal group you belong to? And when you reached adulthood, did you have to undergo some sort of initiation, ritual or ceremony?

I belong to the Tajik tribe. When I reached adulthood I was in Pakistan with my family because the living conditions weren't good in Afghanistan. So I really didn't have any sort of ceremony. I was only thinking when will I be able to go back to my country and go back to school.


6. What does the name Waheed mean? Does your name have a meaning?

My name means "united" or "unity". In some old books it also means "single" or "only".


7. What's the best book you ever read?

My favorite book is Shahnama-E-Firdawsi. This book is full of nice stories about former kings of Afghanistan going back 1800 years and it's full of nice epic poems.


8. So, do you have a favorite sport or activity that you like to do?

I like all sports, especially soccer. Right now I don't have time because I work from 4pm till 7am, but sometimes I like to watch sports on TV.


9. If you could go vacation to any place in the World, where would it be?

I love to travel and visit different countries. There are many places I would love to go e.g. US, Canada, Australia, India, Egypt.


10. So, how bad was it living under the Taliban?

When the Taliban came to power I moved to Pakistan with my family but I was reading the newspaper every day. Also I was talking with people who were coming from Afghanistan. Life was hard and very boring. No TV channels, no music. It was especially hard for women as they were not allowed to work outside of their houses. There was no education for women and no freedom of speech.


11. Waheed, if someone said to you five years ago that the Taliban would be out of power, Afghanistan would have democratic elections, Kabul would be being rebuilt and blossoming, women would be actually allowed to protest for their rights, new schools would be being built, you would be working for the U.S. Military and telling the world about Afghanistan through your Blog on the Internet, would you have believed them?

During the Taliban regime we wouldn't have believed that the US Army would come to Afghanistan, but we were hoping that one day Afghanistan will be free. But when the US attacked, everything changed very quickly. I wouldn't have believed that one day I would be working as an interpreter and we would have 4 TV channels and women would have their ministry and protest for their rights.


12. Now that Kabul has four TV Channels, do you have a television program you like to watch?

I like all programs on our TV channels, but my favorite is Sahat-e-bashuma which gives very useful information about new technology and also it shows strange events. Also "hop" program, which is a music program which play different songs such as Indian, Afghan, Iranian, English, Arabic.


13. Do you have any pets?

I used to have a dog but not now.


14. Who's Prettier: Afghani women or Lebanese women?

Hahaha. I don't know which women are prettier. I guess they are very similar but we have some that are very pretty ..........................


15. What's the strangest thing you've ever seen in Afghanistan?

The strangest thing I ever saw was the 1992 war in Kabul. The rockets were coming from everywhere and the Kabul sky was covered by smoke.


16. All Afghan boys love their mothers, so what is it about your mother that is special?

Yes, all boys and girls love their parents, especially their mothers. There is a great respect for parents in Afghanistan and I love my mother more than anything in the world. My mother is a special mother - she is very smart, she is a high school teacher. The special thing about her is that she is really kind to me and she always cares for me.


17. What is the biggest problem facing Afghanistan today?

Afghanistan is facing a lot of problems today. The biggest problem we are facing is terrorism. Other problems that we are facing are power, weak economy, unpaved roads. We need hospitals and universities and we must have colleges in every province. Sports stadiums and much more.


18. Do you have a favorite place you like to visit in Afghanistan and why?

My favorite place in Afghanistan to visit is Panjshir and Paghman Valley.


19. Waheed, I understand that Internet Costs are very expensive in Kabul and that you have a great need for a digital camera and laptop. If people want to help you with these things, how do they go about it? Can they make donations to your blog?

Internet is expensive here in Kabul. It's impossible for people to get net connection for their homes because only few people have digital phones. The government hasn't issued new phone systems to the people. They are working on it, but it might take a long time. There are some net companies in Kabul that issue satellite connection which costs US$3000 for the satellite and 3 months in advance, and every month they charge you US$300 for the lowest speed. I am waiting to get a phone connection. It costs US$270 to get a phone but I don't know when they will issue them, so most people go to net cafes. There are almost 18 cafes in all Kabul now. If anyone wants to send me a second hand laptop or digital camera they can send it to me via the US Army mail. One guy offered me a laptop and one guy a digital camera, so I hope they send them. Yes, they can
donate money to my blog.


20. Thanks very much, Waheed, and final question: Have you ever seen a ghost?

I have never seen a ghost in real life but sometimes in my dreams. My friend told me that he saw a ghost.


Repeated at:
http://jarrarsupariver.blogspot.com/2005/03/in-t-view-waheed-afghan-warrior-for.html

Comments:
Dear Waheed,
You are a very intelligent young man! For question #14, you answered it properly. Why get yourself in trouble?! Beside, maybe you may like all kind of women.

Keri is right about your site. I love stopping by. Have you tried to reach PayPal? That way you could get donations right through your blog.

Have a wonderful day, and God bless your family and you.
 
keri, you can donate to Waheed the same way the Iraqis have it set up, by pressing the "donate" button in the top left corner. Alternatively, if you want to send something via Waheed's US commander, please email him and he will give you the address.
 
Agggghhhhh.
You're suppose to put a link to the Interview Waheed. After all, they were my questions.
 
I wanna mention here that WAHEEED is not the first Afghan Blogger if he claim this he is wrong. We have thousands of Afghan Blogger here:
http://www.afg-info.com/weblogs.html,
http://www.persianblog.com/userslist.asp?catid=22,

I hope people will visit this weblogs in English and Dar.

I have and ADVICE for Waheed that you should give a not or write a comment aout your wrong claims that you are NOT the first Afghan Blogger. Mountains are far here come to city man. may poeple are devel to know something in begging of existance
 
I wanna mention here that WAHEEED is not the first Afghan Blogger if he claim this he is wrong. We have thousands of Afghan Blogger here:
http://www.afg-info.com/weblogs.html,
http://www.persianblog.com/userslist.asp?catid=22,

I hope people will visit this weblogs in English and Dar.

I have and ADVICE for Waheed that you should give a not or write a comment aout your wrong claims that you are NOT the first Afghan Blogger. Mountains are far here come to city man. may poeple are devel to know something in begging of existance
 
afghan linux, are any of those bloggers blogging in English from within Afghanistan, or are they all in Iran and other countries? I don't know of any Afghans blogging in English (or even other languages for that matter) from within Afghanistan.
 
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
 
Dear Pau Edwards,

one of them i grubbed the address, here: http://afghanlord.blogspot.com

the other you can find here:

http://www.afg-info.com/weblogs.html

Both in English and Dari (persian)
 
Waheed

Read post at the other site earlier on, was interesting to read
 
afghan linux, the first address you gave me, http://afghanlord.blogspot.com, is indeed a link to someone claiming to be in Afghanistan, blogging in English. But the second link didn't give me anything useful. I would like a complete list of Afghan bloggers, in Afghanistan, blogging in English. Would you be able to get me the complete list, or do you only have the one?
 
Dear Paul Edwards,
I will do that. I like to have a links list in my Blog page. then i will invite you all to come and get familiar with Afghan Blogger. I am sorry that YOU (western people) do not have enough information about Afghanistan. I am working on a Linux Project for my own (how laughable is this) use.
Therefore i tried to share my knowledge and experience among my People who are talking in Dar (Farsi) language.

I will also try to make a page in enlgish to make more connection with the world.

I hope people understand Afghan Bloggers and help them in Technical problems.
 
Thanks afghan linux, I look forward to getting the list. So are you an Afghan living in Afghanistan yourself? I looked at your web site but of course I couldn't understand it.
 
Bravo, great page related to ear stapling for weight loss, hope you get a chance to visit mine about ear stapling for weight loss
 
Hello, just viewed your site. I think it is really nice and interesting. If you're interested you can view my weight loss programs. Its a tweight loss programs site. Have a good day!
 
Hey, you have a great blog here! I'm definitely going to bookmark you!

I have a dog training technique blog. It pretty much covers dog training technique related stuff.

Come and check it out if you get time :-)
 
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Come and have a look if you get time :-)
 
Hey, you have a great blog here! I'm definitely going to bookmark you!
I have a internet connection monitorinternet connection monitor site/blog. It pretty much covers internet connection monitor Problems with your Windows Xp Computing !
Come and check it out if you get time :-)
 
aggression. So dog training from the professional helped me. Do you realize how nice it is? Not having to work all day to get your dog behaved?. Finally I can smile again. That is why I am so happy
 
Hey, you have a great blog here! I'm definitely going to bookmark you!

I have a Dog Obedience site.

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