Time winds down for Salaam Bazaar

SALAAM BAZAAR, AFGHANISTAN

05.16.2010

Story by Cpl. Daniel Blatter 

II Marine Expeditionary Force   

SALAAM BAZAAR, Afghanistan – The time has come. As Saed Murad Mhmad Sadat, the District Governor for Now Zad, gave Marines the thumbs up, May 16, Salaam Bazaar, once a site of drug sales and illegal activity, was no more.

The Salaam Bazaar falls within Now Zad's jurisdiction and the district governor, Sadat, is responsible for managing and enforcing the rules and laws associated with operating a bazaar within his district.

"The bazaar is illegal," said Sadat, at the Salaam Bazaar Shura. "By rule of Afghan law, each district is allowed one official bazaar."

According to Afghan Law, the Salaam Bazaar was illegally built and illegally ran.

Four years ago, the Taliban drove the residents out of Now Zad and the bazaar was shut down because no one was there to run it. In the absence of its original inhabitants, the Taliban set up four different illegal bazaars to expand their sales of illegal arms and drugs. Salaam Bazaar was one of them.

"By the governor making that trip to the Salaam Bazaar shura [town meeting], it showed how serious the situation was and added value," said Maj. Richard Graham, the civil affairs team leader with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 2. "If he just sent one of his workers, such as the police chief, it would not have had that emphasis."

The reason the situation was so serious was because of the illegal activity in the bazaar, according to Sadat. Although this was the local's way of life, it was illegitimate.

"A lot of opium, weapons and homemade explosives materials were being channeled through Salaam Bazaar," said Graham, 42, from Seattle, Wash. "Many of the locals thought that Salaam Bazaar was going to stick around for a while. They were wrong."

For the most part, the Salaam Bazaar is destroyed right now in terms that it is not operational, but leveling it will keep it from further use. The Bazaar is scheduled to be destroyed, beginning in June.

"Destroying it is a clear indication to the insurgents as well as the shop owners that this bazaar was illegal and the district governor is not going to tolerate it," Graham said.

Marines with Alpha Company, 1st Bn., 2nd Marines, passed word that there would be a shura, May 16, to pay for lost or damaged goods and to inform the local storeowners that the Bazaar will be destroyed in June.

"We will look through the claims and pay only the ones that are legitimate," said Capt. Jeremy S. Wilkinson, company commander of Alpha Company. "The other claims will be paid in Now Zad after further investigation."

Although the shura at Salaam Bazaar was meant to settle claims, there were people that came to Now Zad prior to the shura to make amends. One local's trees were destroyed by a vehicle and another's motorcycle was damaged while the Marines went through and cleared the bazaar; both claims were paid.

"Those storeowners who didn't show up at Salaam Bazaar because they were afraid or intimidated didn't get to submit a claim, but they will be able to," Graham said. "We offered to make amends with them at the Now Zad shura."

"It is better to get them away from that intimidation at Salaam Bazaar and get them here to settle their claim. Plus, it will give them a chance to see Now Zad and the bazaar and feel the sense of security that exists here."

Marines are helping to re-establish the Afghan infrastructure and emphasize economic stability. "The stability and protection that we provide is good for Now Zad, Graham said.

"With Alpha Company pushing out and providing security in conjunction with the Afghan national army and Afghan national police being as successful as they have been, the people will start to feel more secure and locals will return," Graham said. "Our efforts are obviously working."

• Date Taken: 05.16.2010
• Date Posted: 05.25.2010 09:22
• Story ID: 50240
• Location: SALAAM BAZAAR, AF