In 2008, I was blessed to spend two weeks in Kabul, Afghanistan to respond to a critical incident. An employee had been murdered in a terrorist raid and it shook up his fellow expatriates. Upon arrival I began talking with employees of the organization, both nationals and expatriates. One local contracted laborer asked to visit with me but I also needed an interpreter. After conversational pleasantries were finished I asked him how I could serve him. He stated he wanted to know how to get over insecurity. My American mindset quickly kicked in and I began to list causes of personal insecurity and how to address them. Our discussion lasted about a half hour and he thanked me and politely exited our room. I had the feeling I had done a very poor job because his facial expression communicated more puzzlement than resolution as he left the room. His was a universal expression that needed no spoken language.
Two administrative local employees wanted to visit individually. These were two young male Afghans who had what we in the U.S. would call an Associate’s Degree. The first needed no translator as he spoke English very well. I thought it odd he too wanted to know how to overcome insecurity. Again I explained the concept and its related solutions but like the laborer he too left with the same expression of dissatisfaction. By now I was questioning my skill set in this line of work I loved. When the third met with me the next day he too asked the same question. None of these three men knew each other or what the others had asked. It was then I answered his question with a question. I requested he explain what insecurity meant to him. My simple question in this third interview showed me I should have asked it in the other two.
Insecurity to this generation had a unique definition. These youths had known only war since they were babies. Hence, insecurity meant that when families left their homes for work and school in the morning there was no guarantee they would return at the end of the day. The Taliban Morals Police often punished with beatings leading to the murder of men, women and children. Sometimes the bodies were left in the street. Other times relatives were kidnapped never to be seen again. In the eighties the Russians often took informants and made them do a swan dive off a high board into an empty Olympic swimming pool. This pool was also located on a hill so everyone in the city could see the executions. One instance I was given was about a man murdered in the street in front of his house with his family looking on. There was nothing they could do to stop the execution or they too would be murdered. And finally girls were forbidden to learn how to read or be educated. If they pursued either they were executed.
Several lessons were taken away from this trip of which this is only a few.
First, assume nothing when it comes to the use of the English language by a national with a different mother tongue. What I failed to consider was the influence of a life time of a generation where everything they experienced was tarnished by terrorism’s brutality. Since this experience I have been to Casablanca, Morocco and Haiti where I put to use this lesson.
Second, I failed to consider P.T.S.D. can be pandemic. I worked in Rhodesia, Africa from 1975 to 1981. These six years were lived in terrorism before the communists terrorists took over the country. I had also been a medic in the Rhodesian Army where terror was a life style to which one became accustomed. However, both wars were unique in character, style and impact. A fact I failed to recognize. And this uniqueness was felt and expressed peculiar to each culture.
Third, objectivity can be lost if you allow your emotions to dominate rather than reason due to the horrific environment in which you find yourself. In the two weeks I was in Kabul, I witnessed poverty and indignities to humanity new to my eyes. I felt my heart strings being pulled every day I had not experienced before. There was a constant struggle within to maintain a firm balance to be objective.
Forth, it is difficult to accept that at best all you can do in these constrained situations is put a band aid on broken hearts and souls. This sad truth is because of the limited time available. Though there is a desire to do more the people you are serving appreciate your care.
Fifth, give yourself a time to debrief after you return home. I didn’t because I arrived home on a Monday and went to work on a Tuesday. I shouldn’t have. In these types of interventions, there is a healing process on your part that should not be ignored.
Guest Author: Glenn Goree has thirty years of counseling experience. He and his wife, Valerie served as missionaries in Rhodesia, Africa, from 1975 to 1980. During the terrorist war afflicting the country, he served in civilian/paramilitary counter insurgency programs. He later became a Medic in the Rhodesian Army. After he returned to Texas, he established Glenn Goree and Associates. He has worked as a mental health consultant in North and Central Africa and Afghanistan. Locally, he has worked in many states including Alaska and Hawaii. He currently serves as a mental health internal EAP for J.P. Morgan Chase and for Empathia EAP as an Area Coordinator. He is also the Director of the Counseling program for Oak Hills church in San Antonio, Texas. He holds an M.A. and M.Ed. and is a Licensed Professional Counselor. Glenn has written numerous articles for newspapers, magazines and religious periodicals.
Glenn’s first book was published in July this year and is entitled: Soular Eclipse: Winning Our War Between Light and Darkness. His website at www.glenngoree.com
