Visiting Afghans At Home

The CARE-MEDICO hospital was known as the American Hospital and when word got out that a specialist from outside the country was available, government official and wealthy people manipulated to get their family members into the hospital for surgery. The other alternative was the Russian Hospital which was not as popular because the Russians do not have the bedside manner of American physicians.

Usually the foreign doctor is invited to dinner to thank him for treating a relative. In Kabul, family customs are westernized at least to the extent that the family dined on tables and chairs, had stereos and radios, and modern cooking appliances.

What is more unusual is to be invited to visit a family of the working class. We had this opportunity when Hassim, one of the house cooks invited us to lunch at his home. Hassim's family compound is located on a quiet street. The only opening to the compound was the gate. Much of the family living takes placed in a central courtyard. In the center of the courtyard was a well with a leather bucket. Each extended family group has a room off the courtyard.

A boy leads a camel down the street in front of Hassim's family compound in Kabul.

Hassim and his wife have three children: two sons and a baby daughter. Their part of the family compound consists of a room about 8 by 10 feet and a small hall. The floor was concrete covered with felt rugs. Around two walls were cushions for seating and several hand-embroidered cushions for back rests. One corner of the room held a stack of blanks and cushions for sleeping. Another corner had a small wooded cabinet with dishes and most of the family's belongings.

The only other furniture was a small wooded bed for the baby with a frame for a sheet to keep the flies out. In this one room the family eats and sleeps. On the walls were pictures of a prince and Hassim's diploma from the American Cooking School.

The cooking school teaches Afghans how to cook for foreigners. In Kabul as elsewhere in the country the drinking water is not clean. Natives become immune to the usual germs, but foreigners must drink only boiled water and thoroughly cooked fruits and vegetables. Dishes must be washed in boiled water.

We sat on the floor around a table cloth set with dishes of food. We had lamb chops, a pilau made with rice, carrots, and raisins, spinach, and an Afghan bread made with potatoes and onion. The meal concluded with grapes, and hot tea. There was three times more food than we could eat.

We were able to persuade Hassim to eat with us, but his wife and the children ate in the hall.

I asked permission to photograph Hassim's wife and children and he agreed. I was also able to photograph the women of his uncle's family that lived in the next room. The uncle has lost his job. Hassim is probably the only wage earner in the family.

On another day we were invited to the famous apple farm of former minister of agriculture Dr. Wakill. Dr. Wakill studied agriculture in Britain and the US.

Believing that the soil of his country could raise apples if it was properly cared for, he imported several varieties of American apples and grafted them onto Afghan trees. The result is a farm which produces the best apples I ever tasted. The fruit is so good that most is exported to Pakistan.

Dr. Wakill first converted his own land to apples and then sold young trees to the other land owners in his village. The apples have brought great prosperity to the village, but the farmers are now dependent on one cash crop for their livelihood.

Servant passes hand washing utensils to David Gordon. Dr. Elliott in back. Woman in front is unidentified.

After a delicious meal served Afghan style on the floor, we toured the fields and saw the bins where apples are stored for the use of the village in winter. In the distance we heard drums that accompany the dancing for Afghan wedding. Since we were very interested in photographing this dancing done by the family and friends of the groom, the doctor asked them to perform especially for us.