ZABUL PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Despite threats from the Taliban, local Afghans in Mizan district gathered at the district center Nov. 8-10 to celebrate Eid al-Adgha, a religious festival honoring Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son, Isaac.
The large holiday turnout is a result of the significant increase in security, directly related to the opening of Route Chicken, the main road between Mizan and Qalat.
“The frequency of local national travel increased from an average of about 20 vehicles a day to almost 50 vehicles a day during the Eid time frame,” said 1st Lt. Michael Lopez, a soldier from Medfield, Mass., and Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul’s security forces platoon leader. Opening the road has cut travel time from four hours to an hour and a half. The trips are easier with less costs for fuel, he said.
The crowd at the district center is a significant example of the progress the leadership is making with the local population to build confidence in the government.
“Security has been really good, and every village is happy about that,” said Staff Sgt. Corey Evenson, a civil affairs team sergeant from Manitowoc, Wis. “But the threat of Taliban is still there, and the people are threatened not to go to the district center or celebrate Eid. The fact that they didn’t listen to that and still went is a big step. It’s a lot of progress.”
The PRT Zabul Mizan detachment spends a lot of time working with village elders and other influential leaders to improve, not only security, but the quality of life as well.
“We’ve done [humanitarian assistance] drops and we just kind of take a step back and let the [Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police] hand it out, and it’s gone over really well,” said Evenson. “Every time we go out, we just let the district governor and ANP hand it out - flour, sugar, tea, cooking oil and rice. We brought the Mizan district doctor out, and he handed out toothpaste, toothbrushes and all sorts of hygiene items and gave a big speech on how to use them and how to take care of yourself and wash your hands.”
The PRT’s efforts are really starting to pay off as the Afghan security forces improve their skills, showing their competence and ability to do their job.
“I hope our influence is enough for them to say, ‘We can do it for ourselves. We can fight for ourselves. We don’t need the Taliban We don’t need them influencing us anymore,’” said Everson. “I hope they can take a stand.”
The Eid celebration in Mizan is proof that they can.