Afghan Border Policeman reads, writes way to success

SPIN BOLDAK, AFGHANISTAN

08.25.2011

Story by Master Sgt. Paul Hughes 

NATO Training Mission Afghanistan

SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan – As a young boy in Kabul, Zabihullah Zabihullah couldn’t go to school. “The Taliban burned it down,” he said. “The Taliban say there is nothing in the Holy Koran that says girls can have education, so they burn down the school.”

A scenario not uncommon during Taliban rule in Afghanistan.

Zabihullah’s only educational opportunities as a child consisted of what he could learn from his parents at home studying the Holy Koran.

“I could read just a little bit and write just a little bit,” he said.

Ironically, despite a lack of formal education in his native Dari, Zabihullah has a good command of English.

“I learned English in a six-month course in Kabul City,” he said.

Then the 23-year-old engine mechanic joined the Afghan Border Police.

Zabihullah and his 129 classmates have now completed the new eight-week ANP Basic Course at the Spin Boldak ABP Training Center, close to the Pakistan border in Kandahar province.

During the course, Zabihullah and his fellow recruits learned the basic principles of policing - shooting, conducting patrols, making arrests and detaining suspects. They also spent time daily learning the value of literacy, and developing their reading and writing abilities. Upon graduation, each ABP patrolman is required to be able to read and write at a first-grade level.

“Now I can read and write a lot,” said Zabihullah.

The literacy training at the Training Center is divided into two sections - one for Dari, the other for those who speak Pashtu.

Even though the 130 ABP patrolmen are from different regions and tribes, Zabihullah says there are no rivalries, and they have learned and recognize the importance of teamwork.

“We are all brothers, ‘shohna ba shohna,’” he said, which is “shoulder to shoulder” in English.

Following graduation, Zabihullah will be assigned to Kandahar Airport as an ambulance driver. His aspiration is to help provide a more secure Afghanistan and allow future generations of Afghans to prosper with a stable environment, something he himself was not as fortunate to have when growing up.

“The Taliban is not the will of the people,” said Zabihullah. “The will of the people wins, and I want to protect the people.”

• Date Taken: 08.25.2011
• Date Posted: 09.05.2011 07:45
• Story ID: 76464
• Location: SPIN BOLDAK, AF