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The senior Taliban are surprisingly mild-mannered. They don't seem to get angry or happy. They believe absolutely that what they're doing is right, but they're often naive when it comes to the media. In some ways, Afghanistan is an easy patch. There are no spin doctors here. Afghan men themselves are extremely courteous. Being permitted to carry bags and open doors are my main problems. Unlike any other country I've visited, I face no sexual harassment.
For me, the hardest thing to understand is how Afghans have fought such a brutal war over so many years. Politeness, hospitality, decency are the main traits I've encountered.
An insight into this paradox came on a visit to the frontlines. The fighters showed off one of their rocket launchers set up in the middle of a ruined village. The group was a mixture of veterans with 20 years experience and youths who had yet to grow beards, but who nonetheless swaggered.
After the artillery demonstration, they gave me tea and then presented me with a bunch of flowers, beautiful bronze-coloured chrysanthemums. It turned out they'd grown the flowers themselves inside the bunker on which the artillery piece stood. These fighters, who just a couple of months earlier had slit throats in vicious hand-to-hand fighting, loved growing houseplants. I wondered if they'd offer you tea before they slit your throat. | 
发表于 2016-10-10 19:36:41