Money and a challenge: World traveler takes job in Afghanistan

Phil Smith stands in front of a fancifully decorated truck in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Originally Published in the Cumberland Times-News on April 22, 2005

Editor’s note: Phil Smith, a 1963 graduate of Ridgeley High School, moved around the United States until the mid-1990s when he became a consultant in developing countries. His work has taken him to Kazakhstan, Russia, Afghanistan and Iraq. Currently residing in Moscow, he has kept journals of his travels. The following are excerpts from those times.

Kabul, Afghanistan

Good morning from beautiful downtown Kabul, Afghan-istan!

In August, Marina and I visited Belgrade, Yugoslavia, to get her a visa for the European Union. She now has a six-month visa with a maximum stay of 90 days in the various countries.

Knowing I would be finished soon in Montenegro, I started talking to KPMG Consulting, the company I worked for in Montenegro. They arranged for me to go back to Armenia to continue the work at the central bank and with the commercial banks.

When it got down to the end, I decided to take a six-month assignment in Kabul. There were two reasons – the first was the good money and the second was the challenge. The contract is with the British government’s aid agency and the contracting firm is based in London.

We finished in Montenegro and flew to Moscow on Sept. 2. Everyone told me I was crazy to go to Kabul. Not one person thought it was a good move. After I mentioned to some of them the money being paid, they wanted to know how they could get on the list.

I have now added the United Arab Emirates and Afghanistan to my list of countries visited.

I will be doing the same kind of work – accounting reform at the central bank and with commercial banks. The big difference here is that everything is done manually. It’s similar to doing accounting in the 1960s in the United States, before computers.

They only have a few computers so the systems will need to be reviewed and then computerized to the extent possible. The good part is the U.S. aid agency is putting together a large project and I could possibly be involved somewhere during the project. I might get another year of work if the contractor selects me as one of the consultants on that project.

Kabul and everything else I have seen in Afghanistan so far has been blasted to hell and back. Some of the residential areas were spared. The devastation is widespread and incredible. I have taken many photos but they don’t capture the extent of the damage.

I live in a guesthouse with several other consultants. The house has been remodeled but not everything is up to western standards. Electricity goes off regularly each day and night. We have a large generator to keep things going. There are two maids and a cook. The cook speaks a bit of English and is excellent. We also have satellite TV so we get CNN and several other English speaking stations. There are over 500 TV channels plus 200 radio stations on the satellite system. There is a mosque behind us that calls Muslims to prayers several times each day. The first starts at 4 a.m. I am now used to it and it no longer wakes
me.

There have been a few bombs go off since I came. Nothing too close, they just shake the windows. When we go out, we go as a group. And there is still a curfew from midnight to early morning. Plus there are local and international troops around most of the time. Travel around the city requires passing through various checkpoints. We haven’t had any problems. Yet! And I’m keeping my head down. It took three hours to go about 100 kilometers – about 65 miles. The roads are also bombed out. Lots of blown up tanks and personnel carriers all along the way on both sides of the road. Also saw some de-mining operations along the road.

Booze is illegal so it is a challenge to get it. The French and German army base PX operations were allowing ex-pats to buy it but the government complained so that source went away. Then we found beer at a local grocery at $96 a case for 24 cans. That price is down from $7 a can two months ago.

It is warmer here than in Moscow. The temperatures during the day are about 75 to 80 and at night it gets down to about 45 or 50. I am told that it doesn’t get too cold in the winter but there could be snow. And by noon the snow will have melted.