 |
|
|
Beards, eyeliner and jihadi ringtones — these are the latest defensive weapons in the war in Afghanistan, as travellers take novel steps to keep themselves safe from the Taliban.
Setting off on Afghanistan’s roads can be a dangerous business, with the threat of roadside bombs and the presence of armed insurgents who often stop cars and buses.
Those carrying dollar bills, documents written in English, or phones with the numbers of foreigners, can expect to be dragged out, interrogated, and even beaten or killed.
So cautious travellers have taken to moving in Taliban-friendly disguise.
One 30-year-old, who gave his name as Abdulwali, sits nervously on a bus in Kabul waiting to set off on a six-hour journey for Kandahar, the country’s southern heartland and the birthplace of the Taliban.
He has a turban on his lap, black kohl around his eyes, and a few days’ growth of beard. And when his phone rings it unleashes the sound of gunfire before a male vocalist launches into song.
“We will continue our jihad against the enemy! If we die during jihad we will enter paradise!” it sounds.
Abdulwali says he is “not really a Taliban-supporting kind of guy” but is travelling in disguise because he has to go to Kandahar for work.
“People say the Taliban are psychologists, that they read your face, and learn whether you are a supporter or not. That’s why I’ve uploaded Taliban songs on my mobile, and now I’m ready to play them if the Taliban stop our bus,” he says.
“I also started growing a beard days ago and put kohl on my eyes. The more you look and sound like them, the more safe you are. Hopefully nothing will happen to me.”
It is traditional for Pashtun men from the south, a hotbed of the insurgency, to wear kohl to darken their eyes. And although wise travellers have long adopted a Taliban look, the ringtones business has recently soared.
“My business is booming,” says Abdullah, who only gives his first name and runs a music shop near the bus garage where passengers can upload 10 jihadi tunes to their phones for one dollar.
“Many passengers come to me every day asking to upload a Taliban song. They mostly prefer the songs that encourage suicide attacks.”
He says he uploads 50 Taliban songs a day and, thinking of his profits, adds gleefully: “It’s great. Thanks Taliban!”
Habib Rahman regularly travels back and forth from Kabul to Nimroz in the south and says he even upgraded to a Samsung smartphone just so he would be able to upload Taliban songs.
“They stop you but when they see you look like them and you have Taliban songs they smile at you. It can be life-saving sometimes,” the 26-year-old shopkeeper says.
“We are poor people and these are the only ways we can reduce the threat we face.”
He sets off his phone and a high-pitched voice echoes: “You Americans and your puppets are not gonna survive our wrath! We are all around you, killing you! Our rockets and mortars are falling on you like rain!”
Ten years after the US-led coalition toppled the Taliban from power, international troops and Afghan government forces are still struggling to provide security for the Afghan people.
Foreign combat troops are due to withdraw by the end of 2014. Nato military commanders say the number of enemy attacks are falling but the UN — which also includes intimidation in its statistics — says overall violence is up.
Whatever gains may have been made, hassle-free road travel is not one of them.
Ahmad Mirwais, another music shop manager, agreed that in the past year more and more passengers were uploading jihadi songs.
“Government workers and the police used to come and harass us for playing or selling these songs but not any more. They know many people need these songs to protect themselves,” he said.
But as the practice becomes more widespread, the new danger is that the insurgents will be the next group to catch on to the ruse.