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KABUL, Afghanistan – More than 600 families in dozens of villages spread out for miles around Forward Operating Base Lavaredo are slowly gaining back security after years fearing insurgent threats.
One small part in this is the opening of seven shops in a bazaar just outside the gates of FOB Lavaredo in Bakwah District, Farah province.
Italian Col. Paolo Sfarra, commander of Regional Command West Task Force Southeast, explains that opening shops is one part of growing the local governance in order to build trust in the community.
“The villagers are used to living alone without any support from the local government,” Sfarra said. “These shops reinforce the local governance in order to convince villagers that they can ask for support.
“If we are able to create this positive circle of trust, we will be able to give Bakwah a secure future,” he said.
According to Sfarra, it is now the responsibility of the shopkeepers to take the goods, sell them and use the money to buy more goods and keep the loop going.
FOB Lavaredo has hired out some of the construction efforts around the bazaar to the Arshad Wafai Construction Company. The company provides work for local villagers by hiring workers to build up roads and pathways around the bazaar.
Ali Hossain Erfani, an engineer from Arshad Wafai Construction Company is encouraged by the program.
“The security in this area is getting better day by day,” Erfani said, “I think this is a really good program in cooperation with the Afghan people.”
Cooperation with the local villagers is something Italian 1st Lt. Ganluigi Rubini, assigned to Task Force Southeast, is concerned with on a daily basis.
“We look in on the shopkeepers every day,” Rubini said, “We ask them how business is going, how many customers they have had and if they have any concerns.”
The bazaar also provides Rubini with a general sense of the local villagers’ attitude towards the progress of security in the area.
“We do this to encourage them to continue working and also to get a feel of the attitude of the local population,” Rubini said.
He also encourages the shopkeepers by telling them coalition forces are doing patrols of the area and are watching for threats to their safety, but reminds them, “along with our cooperation it is up to you to do business with the people,” he said.
Currently the bazaar has six grocery stores and one bakery.
“The bazaar has over 50 shop sites available,” Rubini said, “In the future we expect more to open.”
The work here is slow, but Rubini has hope for the future.
“In Afghanistan everything starts quite slow,” he said, “You have to start with their confidence and trust. This is the spark to start everything.”
| Date Taken: | 02.09.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 02.09.2011 09:45 |
| Story ID: | 65068 |
| Location: | KABUL, AF |
| Web Views: | 53 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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