Reconstructing Lashkar Gah

Helmand province is roughly the same size as Wales. Eighty-five per cent of its population live in the thin central valley, which runs like a spine down the middle of southern Afghanistan.

It is better known as the Green Zone, so called because for a kilometre or so on either side of the river, the terrain is fertile, so it is here that most crops are grown and the natural vegetation can be more like jungle than desert.

It has a well-earned reputation as a bad place to be. But there is evidence that life for the locals, while still tough, is getting better. The stabilisation process, the military-civilian partnership tasked with securing the environment so that investment can follow, is beginning to work.

Based at Lashkar Gah, Rob Collett from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Major John Baxter work for the local Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) and they personify the importance of the partnership.

There has, they say, been progress in areas such as governance, rule of law, agricultural programmes and education:

"We have seen Governor Mangal getting into his stride, and across all activities there's been a lot of progress," said Rob. "We are making an impact."

Last year £190m (£50m of which came from the UK, and £70m from the US) was invested in Helmand through the Provincial Reconstruction Teams.

In Helmand, 81 schools are currently open, with 45,037 boys and 14,214 girls enrolled - significant in a country where girls were until recently denied an education.

Initiatives to thwart the drugs trade and corruption in official departments have begun to have an effect. One year ago the counter-narcotics campaign amounted to little more than a few random checks.

Today, intelligence-led policing has allowed the Afghan National Army, with coalition help, to carry out 146 drug arrests leading to the first heavy jail sentences (10 to 16 years).

Fifty million dollars of international aid has gone into upgrading 48km of road infrastructure, helping farmers get their produce to market.

A particular favourite example of Rob's is the Toortank sports stadium built in Lashkar Gah with PRT funding, and in large part by Royal Engineers:

"I love that place," he said with satisfaction. It's not that he is a sports' fan. He's not. It's what the stadium represents that gets him excited.

"If governance works then everything else follows. Since the Taliban fell, things like this have become possible. This project has been a real success, and the number of sports clubs making use of the facilities is growing all the time," he said.

In 2000 there were no clubs in the area. By 2008 there were 29, and nearly half are based at the stadium. When the locals need to let off a little steam they can sign up for basketball, tennis, cycling or martial arts. Bodybuilding is a favourite among young Afghanis.

Under the Taliban, even kicking a tin can around in the streets could lead to a severe beating. Now there are two football leagues. And in a story almost as unlikely as that of the 1988 Jamaican bobsleigh team who qualified for the winter olympics, it looks like the Afghan cricket team could well be taking part in the next cricket world cup.

In the middle of town, behind a thick mudblock wall, soon to be topped by barbed wire, a single-storey building sits in the middle of allotments growing flowers and food.

It is the home of Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA). Inside the building is a television studio, a radio studio, a control room and a broom cupboard acting as an archive.

There is also the unmistakeable buzz of excitement that defines a motivated and enthusiastic team of media people, trying to keep abreast of affairs in a fast-changing world.

At the moment RTA broadcasts only to the population of Lashkar Gah and Gereshk. But Governor Mangal sees the service as a priority. There are plans to invest in transmitter technology and technical training to boost the range all along the Helmand valley, and ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) have handed out enough wind-up radios for every family in Helmand to have one.

As we arrive, a TV broadcast is in full swing. It is a counter-narcotics round table discussion. In the radio studio next door the programme list for the day is being pored over. Next up is 'World and Life', a half-hour current affairs programme:

"It is broadcast once a week and takes a week to put together," the presenter, Farid, explained. "People give us ideas and if they like something we try to include more of it. If we make a mistake they will tell us and provide us with more information."

There is a popular children's programme providing a mixture of fun and education:

"It is important to attract children," Governor Mangal's press advisor, Daoud Ahmadi, said, "learning is building for the future."

The presenters are 15-year-old Mageb and 12-year-old Nooragha, a sort of Helmand Ant and Dec. Young listeners are encouraged to write in, and they do, sending jokes, drawings and requests for music.

The educational quizzes are popular, and prizes are won for answering questions such as, 'The city of Lashkar Gah was formed in which year?' or, 'Give four ways that narcotics can harm you'.

Hizbullah Khamosh is the reporter for the agricultural programme. It is broadcast at 0900hrs and is like 'Gardener's Question Time' meets 'Farming Today':

"We give farmers advice about how to protect their crops and answer questions about diseases, or explain what help and support they can get from the Government," he said.

Hizbullah often goes out to meet the farmers, and they tell him that they will not grow poppies if the Government gives them help:

"But at the moment they say they are not getting enough."

As part of a DFID (Department for International Development)programme called 'Research into Alternative Livelihoods', alternative crops such as saffron, mint and oilseed rape are being introduced, and supported by training and investment. Thanks to its high value and low bulk, saffron is showing real potential; 1,286 male and 652 female farmers from 91 villages have been trained to grow and harvest the crop.

Sohaila Arezo presents a women's radio programme which, she says, shows women that their education is important, both for them and for society:

"Our programmes can reach women who can't always leave their houses when they want to," she said.

Do not be mistaken; the local media is feisty and does not only report good news. Journalists may not always be 'on message' with the local governor or the PRTs. But when people's lives are getting better they know it is a story worth telling.

This article is taken from the July 2009 issue of Defence Focus magazine - For everyone in Defence.