Exodus Afghanistan: A Personal Story, Chapter 45, "Party in Kabul; Death in Uvalde"

Although Abbas has been talking to Farid on his cell phone several times a week, especially recently dealing with the State Department visa issue, this is the first time Abbas has seen his brother in over twenty years. They grew up in a small village just outside of Kabul. Went to school here. Worked here. They know this city well, as well as you know your own hometown. This is a homecoming in a sense.

And although the immediate situation was tense, and tomorrow could be full of more surprises that may not go in their favor, they decided to show Baker and Hennessy the town, the night life on the streets of Kabul. Party time ...

(Author’s note: This Thomas Baker series novel is based on true events and contains opinion commentary. Thomas Baker is the ‘Sunset Playland’, ‘Sweet Land of Liberty’, and ‘Something for Nothing’ trilogy character as seen in the “Activity” section on this LinkedIn website. I’m using the Baker and company characters to tell the true story of Farid Nuri, a retired Afghanistan Army Colonel, a war hero and helicopter Medevac medic who worked closely with U.S. forces but is now being persecuted by the U.S. State Dept. for reasons they will not disclose, and possibly at this point, in their defense, they don’t even know. As you read this story, it is happening in real life, in real time, the outcome yet to be determined. Names have been changed and locations and incidents altered at the author's discretion, to protect the innocent in the name of privacy, safety, and national security. Any reference or similarity to real persons is purely coincidental.)

Baker calls Ilene, Hennessy calls Pat, Abbas calls Janice. All is well back home. All back home are concerned for their husbands, fathers, uncles, and friends. Farid calls Mina (Joe returned his phone) and tells her he is well and to stand by. Tomorrow they will all leave Afghanistan. This is happy news, but at the same time it saddens her that she will be leaving her home and country behind, possibly forever.

Joe is at the palace playing double agent working in secret with Deep Throat over the satellite phone. They are making detailed arrangements to get everyone to the airport safely. The Humvees, Black Hawks, and the Americans and Afghan allies who want to leave are all still on the table, but not the primary focus of the mission. Tomorrow's meeting will tell the story ...

... At the same time, Joe is conferring with his Taliban brothers regarding who and what to trust among the Americans and their promises. An exit plan has not materialized yet and they are relying on their Yasir (Joe) to handle and react to whatever exit strategy emerges after the final meeting in the morning.

Meanwhile, Baker, Hennessy, Abbas, and Farid are having a meal at a restaurant that both Farid and Abbas have recommended and at which they have dined before many times in the past. Traditional, Afghan food. Lots of rice, lamb, chicken mixed in flavorful curry-type sauces and stews ... Kabuli Pulao, Lamb grilled Sajji Kabab, Ashak Dumplings, Mantu ... good stuff ... Afghans love their meals ...

The conversation is both relaxed and fraught with tension.

Farid speaks Pashto mostly, but can get by with his broken English. He is grateful for his brother’s efforts with the State Department regarding his visa, and he tells Baker and Hennessy that he appreciated all they have done to help him and his family. They will meet with Joe later tonight in the palace to review the morning meeting strategy and subsequent exit plan. Hopefully, everything will go smoothly. You never know with the Taliban. They could change the rules at the drop of a turban.

Hennessy says, “Remember, guys ... however things go, whatever Joe tells us to do, the focus, the main objective, is to get Joe and Faird and his wife and kids out of the city, to the airport, through the gate and onto the plane. Things may go slow and easy, or it may turn into a freaking Chinese fire drill. There may even be shooting.”

Farid says in broken English, “This is Afghanistan. There is always shooting.” They all laugh.

Baker says, “Speaking of shooting ... I saw in my room at the palace, on the TV, CNN, I think it was CNN, covering an elementary school shooting in Texas this morning. Over 20 kids were killed, fourth graders, all around ten years old, and their teachers.”

Abbas says, “I saw that too. Sad, so very sad.”

Hennessy says, “Yeah, an average Tuesday in America. Last week it was Buffalo, New York. Jeez, Farid, are you sure you really want to come to our crazy country? A guy could get killed there.”

Farid says, “Let me tell you about a crazy country, my friend ... and who can get killed here, including me and you.”

Abbas chimes in, “Yes, but Afghanistan is supposed to be crazy, it always has been. It must be Allah’s wish. America is supposed to be civilized. We have laws. There are no laws here.”

Hennessy says, “Laws? We don’t need no stinking laws ...”

Baker responds, “Well the laws in America seem to favor the criminals and the crazies. Just look at what happened in Texas this morning. An outright, shameful, tragedy that could have been avoided if there were some, any, restrictive gun laws in place. Especially, in the ‘gun capital of the world’, Texas.”

Abbas says, “It’s not just Texas, it’s all over. The republicans say gun laws won’t stop it from happening. They say that if someone wants to do this kind of thing they will find a way, find a gun, and do it. I don’t agree, but they make the laws. They must know.”

Hennessy speaks up, “Fuck the laws, then .. and fuck them. They’re wrong. They don’t know shit from shinola. They are always talking about the “big picture.” The political picture, which usually involves graft, payola, lobbyists, big business and the NRA! Something you can’t get your hands or head around. Look at the small picture. Look at that school in Texas this morning. That shooting could have been prevented.”

Baker picks up the thought, “Yes, it definitely could have. Isn’t that the point? To not have had that shooting happen? ... that particular shooting? Focus on that. We’re not talking about all the shootings that have happened, or could happen, we’ll deal with those separately, we’re talking about that specific one. ...

...in Texas, you can buy a gun, any gun, when you turn eighteen. You don’t have to show any license, hunting or otherwise, or any proof of a firearms safety course, no background check, no proof of any responsibility ... you probably don’t even have to show a valid driver's license for God sakes ...

... that kid turned eighteen, walked into a gun shop and bought two military assault rifles and a ton of ammo over the counter and walked out the door, drove to that school and killed a bunch of innocent fourth graders and their teachers just a day before school was out for summer.”

Hennessy butts in, “He made one stop first. He went home and shot his grandmother in the face. Just to warm up, I guess ...”

Baker continued, “If there was a law, a simple law, say, that you had to be twenty-one to buy a gun, that shooting probably would not have happened. Or how about, you can buy a shotgun for hunting, or a single shot .22 along with your fishing license, but not a fucking assault rifle to do God knows what you would ever do with an assault rifle but kill people!!! That’s what they are made for, that’s all they’re good for ...

... one small, simple, logical law like that, passed, would have prevented that shooting. There’s no doubt about it. The republicans and their NRA are just too powerful a political-financial force in America to pass broad sweeping gun control laws. You have to pass small laws, state by state, sneak them in, one at a time ...”

Abbas picks up the rave, “God is in the small details. Satan in the small details on this one.”

Hennessy says, “We are a country of laws, fucked up laws. Laws, like contracts, are made to be broken. That’s why they are laws in the first place. People were breaking laws even before they were laws, but now they are breaking them ‘legally’ because they are laws.”

Baker tells Hennessy, “Ray, sometimes there’s a Yogi quality about you.”

Hennessy continues, “Yeah, he was great! ... and he was always right too ... ‘Deja Vu all over again’, ‘It ain’t over ‘till it’s over’, ‘You can observe a lot by just watching’, ‘When you come to a fork in the road, take it’ ...”

Baker says, “Okay, okay ... yeah, Yogi was great ...”

Abbas and Farid just look at one another and shake their heads. They take a drink of tea. Farid says under his breath, “Americans” ... and they both laugh ...

Hennessy continues, “And what about the police who confronted the killer outside the school?! How in God’s name did they even let that kid enter the school carrying an AR-15?! How about the guy at the gun shop? How about he gets charged with criminal negligence, murder, as an accomplice for selling the kid the guns?

Farid, listening to all this, says in his broken English, “Then he would claim it was all ‘legal’ because the law is on his side. He should hang his head in shame. Perhaps, he should take his own life.”

Hennessy says, “Perhaps every Texas republican politician, governor, senator, whatever, should take their own life, in shame and failure like the Japanese hara-kiri ... or at least resign. Either one would be the right thing to do. After they are forced to go to every one of those kid’s funerals.”

Baker says, “Well speaking of funerals, we better stay focused on out own problem here and now or it will be all our funerals.” He asks Farid, “Do they do funerals here in Afghanistan, Farid?”

Farid responds, “Oh, yes. Nice ones.”

Abbas graciously pays their bill, they thank him, and they take a taxi back to the Presidential Palace where Joe is anxiously waiting for them with tomorrow’s schedule.

And it’s a doozy ...

John Kushma is a communication consultant and lives in Logan, Utah https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/john-george-kushma-379a5762