Lost Afghanistan of friendship
IT IS with great sadness that I watch the tragic events unfolding in Afghanistan, a country with so many happy memories for me. In 1964, I hitch-hiked through Europe to Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka before catching a boat to Australia. I well remember my journey through Iran to the border post at Islam Qala, where I was advised by the police to take the post bus into Afghanistan. Under a magical sky, pitch black except for millions of stars, I travelled through the night, sitting on top of the mail bags and sharing melons with friendly Afghans. The bus stopped to let the other passengers make their dawn prayers by the roadside. I visited the towns mentioned in today’s news, Herat, Farah, Kandahar and Kabul, before hitch-hiking through the Khyber Pass to Pakistan. As well as the friendliness of the many Afghans I met, I witnessed a meteor shower and the camel ‘trains’ carrying large sacks and logs through the mountains. I can only pray that some day peace will return to the country that gave me safe passage.
DEREK WHITING,
Stokesley, N. Yorks.