The Countdown

Things are starting to hot up in the provinces as the September 18th parliamentary elections draw closer. A British security contractor was kidnapped and killed, election candidates and pro-government mullahs are being assassinated at an alarming rate, and the warnings from various security agencies are coming thicker and faster. In Kabul it’s business as usual, but all in all, I’m glad to be leaving this Thursday.

I know aid workers here who’ve pretty much barricaded themselves in their rooms during their last week in-country. Steve was killed a mere week before he was to go home, and that’s fed the fires of superstition. But I’m so busy trying to finish everything before I leave and preparing for my next assignment in Pakistan, that I haven’t had time for the well-meant warnings to stay in during my final days here.

Three more days, and I’m off to Dubai.