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Kandahar mayor refuses to back down against Taliban
The Globe and Mail
07/28/2001
By Sonia Verma
e-Ariana - Todays Afghan News
Note: This article was published on July 27th, the day Mr. Hamidi was killed by a suicide bomber.
He's a career accountant who spent most of his life crunching numbers in a sleepy suburb of Washington, D.C. The only time he ever fired a gun – once, back in military college – he flinched and flunked out.
Today, however, Ghulam Haider Hamidi is a man with status. As mayor of Kandahar city, he presides over one of the most violent cities on earth.
To NATO, Mr. Hamidi, 63, has emerged as one of its greatest assets in the quest for control over Kandahar city. The coalition is bolstering him with staff and influence, hoping he can offset political corruption and win over Kandaharis, whose support is considered the most crucial element of winning the war.
The Taliban, however, have marked him for death, denouncing Mr. Hamidi as a slave of the West. In Kandahar, where being a local official has become one of Afghanistan's most dangerous jobs, Mr. Hamidi is the insurgency's most wanted man.
Remarkably, none of this appears to faze the slight, bespectacled mayor, who speaks with a slight stutter.
“In the United States, I will die by cancer or accident. In Kandahar, I will die by bullet or bomb. What's the difference?” he mused one blistering hot morning last week in Kandahar city.
His wife had begged him not to leave the house, so he was late for work. It didn't matter. His nine a.m. appointment was a no-show. So was more than half of his staff: Thirty-five of 70 workers are too terrified to leave their homes.
“They didn't come to work because they are scared. What can I do?” said Mr. Hamidi.
Two weeks ago, his deputy mayor was shot dead while he worshipped in the Sadozo mosque. Kandahar's deputy police chief narrowly cheated death by a roadside bomb a few days later. The provincial minister of cultural affairs, municipal director of women's affairs, deputy chairwoman of the provincial council and dozens of other officials have been assassinated since Mr. Hamidi took his oath of office three years ago.
Last week, Mr. Hamidi received the call from the Taliban he'd been expecting. “I didn't listen to them, because, look, I am here for work,” he said, brandishing his black leather briefcase as proof.
He refuses to carry a gun or travel with bodyguards. While other politicians shrink from the streets, Mr. Hamidi can't resist them.
“They make me promise to never come down from my car, but sometimes I go to the people, to sit with them, to talk with them,” he explained.
Reluctantly, he recently agreed to move his family into Governor Tooryalai Wesa's sprawling compound. He complains about having to move house. He's done so four times since he came back to Kandahar city. He's also stopped going to mosque.
“I feel very guilty about this,” Mr. Hamidi confessed, “but even the Prophet Mohammed journeyed to Medina when security became bad.”
Born in Kandahar, he attended Kabul University. During Taliban rule, his family fled to Pakistan, then to the United States.
He had been living in Virginia for nearly 20 years, working as an accountant for Transam Travel, when the call came from Afghan President Hamid Karzai, offering him the job as mayor.
The two men's fathers were old Kandahari friends, even though they belonged to different tribes. While he considers Mr. Karzai “the best guy I know”, he was at first hesitant to uproot his family. “I had some concerns. I was worried about meeting my mortgage payments. I was also worried about the warlords,” he recalled.
Ultimately, he relented. “My friends and relatives were getting angry with me, telling me to go there,” he said.
When he arrived in Kandahar, he found a city shattered. He launched public works projects, including garbage collection and road construction. He levied new taxes in exchange for city services. The city coffers went from $65,000 to $5.5-million.
He tried to tackle corruption, taking on drug lords, contractors and politicians, all with limited success.
“My dream was very high, but I didn't reach it. I am not happy with my work. I haven't done enough, but at least I have started it,” he reflected.
Last year, Mr. Hamidi was nearly killed by a remote-control bomb strapped to a motorcycle parked near his office. Two people died, six others were injured but the mayor and his driver survived.
Twenty minutes later, he went back to work.
“They tried to kill me but they couldn't. Only God can kill me,” he said.
The city's security problems are rooted in corruption that have fuelled the rise of the Taliban and criminal gangs, he believes.
Public institutions have to win back the people's support, addressing grievances that have calcified over time.
“Government employees are not hired for their knowledge or work experience. They are hired for their connections with the drug dealers and warlords. We have some employees who have never gone to school in their life, but they have a document showing they graduated from university,” he said.
He also believes the balance of tribal power in Kandahar isn't reflected in government or the security forces. Certain tribes are favoured over others that turn to the Taliban out of vengeance, frustration or the need for protection.
He blames the lack of security on Washington's policy of collaborating with warlords during the 2001 invasion and onwards.
The strategy hobbled the Karzai government's ability to effectively rule beyond the confines of Kabul, he said.
“Why did the Taliban come back? Because of the warlords,” he said.
U.S. officials have hired a dozen new Afghan staff to bolster Mr. Hamidi's power, and another dozen for Mr. Wesa. Both men have also been given more influence over how aid money is spent.
While Mr. Hamidi believes the new measures will help win public support, he doubts any kind of military offensive will be successful in dislodging the Taliban.
“NATO didn't need to send more foreign soldiers. There were enough. The problem is with Afghan security and the warlords,” he said.
Last year, Mr. Karzai offered him a promotion, governor of the Western province of Heart, but the mayor declined.
“I like the municipality of Kandahar because it is my home,” he insists. “At least here, I know who the warlords are. They are the enemies in my sleeves,” he said.
The Globe and Mail
07/28/2001
By Sonia Verma
e-Ariana - Todays Afghan News
Note: This article was published on July 27th, the day Mr. Hamidi was killed by a suicide bomber.
He's a career accountant who spent most of his life crunching numbers in a sleepy suburb of Washington, D.C. The only time he ever fired a gun – once, back in military college – he flinched and flunked out.
Today, however, Ghulam Haider Hamidi is a man with status. As mayor of Kandahar city, he presides over one of the most violent cities on earth.
To NATO, Mr. Hamidi, 63, has emerged as one of its greatest assets in the quest for control over Kandahar city. The coalition is bolstering him with staff and influence, hoping he can offset political corruption and win over Kandaharis, whose support is considered the most crucial element of winning the war.
The Taliban, however, have marked him for death, denouncing Mr. Hamidi as a slave of the West. In Kandahar, where being a local official has become one of Afghanistan's most dangerous jobs, Mr. Hamidi is the insurgency's most wanted man.
Remarkably, none of this appears to faze the slight, bespectacled mayor, who speaks with a slight stutter.
“In the United States, I will die by cancer or accident. In Kandahar, I will die by bullet or bomb. What's the difference?” he mused one blistering hot morning last week in Kandahar city.
His wife had begged him not to leave the house, so he was late for work. It didn't matter. His nine a.m. appointment was a no-show. So was more than half of his staff: Thirty-five of 70 workers are too terrified to leave their homes.
“They didn't come to work because they are scared. What can I do?” said Mr. Hamidi.
Two weeks ago, his deputy mayor was shot dead while he worshipped in the Sadozo mosque. Kandahar's deputy police chief narrowly cheated death by a roadside bomb a few days later. The provincial minister of cultural affairs, municipal director of women's affairs, deputy chairwoman of the provincial council and dozens of other officials have been assassinated since Mr. Hamidi took his oath of office three years ago.
Last week, Mr. Hamidi received the call from the Taliban he'd been expecting. “I didn't listen to them, because, look, I am here for work,” he said, brandishing his black leather briefcase as proof.
He refuses to carry a gun or travel with bodyguards. While other politicians shrink from the streets, Mr. Hamidi can't resist them.
“They make me promise to never come down from my car, but sometimes I go to the people, to sit with them, to talk with them,” he explained.
Reluctantly, he recently agreed to move his family into Governor Tooryalai Wesa's sprawling compound. He complains about having to move house. He's done so four times since he came back to Kandahar city. He's also stopped going to mosque.
“I feel very guilty about this,” Mr. Hamidi confessed, “but even the Prophet Mohammed journeyed to Medina when security became bad.”
Born in Kandahar, he attended Kabul University. During Taliban rule, his family fled to Pakistan, then to the United States.
He had been living in Virginia for nearly 20 years, working as an accountant for Transam Travel, when the call came from Afghan President Hamid Karzai, offering him the job as mayor.
The two men's fathers were old Kandahari friends, even though they belonged to different tribes. While he considers Mr. Karzai “the best guy I know”, he was at first hesitant to uproot his family. “I had some concerns. I was worried about meeting my mortgage payments. I was also worried about the warlords,” he recalled.
Ultimately, he relented. “My friends and relatives were getting angry with me, telling me to go there,” he said.
When he arrived in Kandahar, he found a city shattered. He launched public works projects, including garbage collection and road construction. He levied new taxes in exchange for city services. The city coffers went from $65,000 to $5.5-million.
He tried to tackle corruption, taking on drug lords, contractors and politicians, all with limited success.
“My dream was very high, but I didn't reach it. I am not happy with my work. I haven't done enough, but at least I have started it,” he reflected.
Last year, Mr. Hamidi was nearly killed by a remote-control bomb strapped to a motorcycle parked near his office. Two people died, six others were injured but the mayor and his driver survived.
Twenty minutes later, he went back to work.
“They tried to kill me but they couldn't. Only God can kill me,” he said.
The city's security problems are rooted in corruption that have fuelled the rise of the Taliban and criminal gangs, he believes.
Public institutions have to win back the people's support, addressing grievances that have calcified over time.
“Government employees are not hired for their knowledge or work experience. They are hired for their connections with the drug dealers and warlords. We have some employees who have never gone to school in their life, but they have a document showing they graduated from university,” he said.
He also believes the balance of tribal power in Kandahar isn't reflected in government or the security forces. Certain tribes are favoured over others that turn to the Taliban out of vengeance, frustration or the need for protection.
He blames the lack of security on Washington's policy of collaborating with warlords during the 2001 invasion and onwards.
The strategy hobbled the Karzai government's ability to effectively rule beyond the confines of Kabul, he said.
“Why did the Taliban come back? Because of the warlords,” he said.
U.S. officials have hired a dozen new Afghan staff to bolster Mr. Hamidi's power, and another dozen for Mr. Wesa. Both men have also been given more influence over how aid money is spent.
While Mr. Hamidi believes the new measures will help win public support, he doubts any kind of military offensive will be successful in dislodging the Taliban.
“NATO didn't need to send more foreign soldiers. There were enough. The problem is with Afghan security and the warlords,” he said.
Last year, Mr. Karzai offered him a promotion, governor of the Western province of Heart, but the mayor declined.
“I like the municipality of Kandahar because it is my home,” he insists. “At least here, I know who the warlords are. They are the enemies in my sleeves,” he said.
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