British soldiers celebrate Eid with Afghans

Troops from Inkerman Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, joined Afghan civilians from the local community to give presents to the poorer members of society.

At this time of the year, one of the most important festivals in the Islamic calendar, it is traditional to mark the occasion by sharing meals and exchanging gifts. It is also customary for those with the means to pay for an Eid meal to provide for those who cannot.

The Grenadier Guards therefore presented the poorer people of Chah-e Anjir with a herd of goats and several bags of flour.

The local ANP detachment assisted the Grenadier Guards with sourcing the herd of goats, the flour and a Halal butcher to prepare the meal.

The Wakil (or mayor) identified a number of heads of deserving households from all around the town who came to receive the gifts.

The goats were held in a field just outside Patrol Base Shahzad and were handed over to the butcher after morning prayers by the Company Commander and Influence Officer, Captain Jason Russell. The goats were then dispatched, skinned and butchered in line with Islamic custom.

The local children in their new clothes were drawn to the festive occasion on this, their special holiday.

In spite of the significance of the day and the innocent people celebrating the festival, insurgents fired a few desultory shots at the school checkpoint. But the locals were in festive mood and remained unperturbed.

When preparations were complete, the Wakil presided over the food distribution.

Major Ed Boanas, Inkerman Company Commander, said:

"It was gratifying to see such obvious pleasure in the faces of the recipients, and to be able to participate in such an important cultural occasion."

For many of the poorer members of the community, receiving meat is a highly significant occurrence. It is not unusual for them to go without meat for many months at a time, and they were clearly grateful to the ANP and local Wakil for organising this opportunity for them.

Meanwhile, in Babaji, Number One Company of the Coldstream Guards, who are working with the ANA, were also offering gifts to the local community for Eid.

Major Toby Till, the Officer Commanding, explained:

"The people in this area are poor and have endured a great deal under the Taliban. They understand and support what we are trying to achieve and we've made a great deal of progress in the last three months, both in bringing security and in helping the Afghan Government to improve the infrastructure.

"We are very privileged to participate in such an important occasion. We are offering gifts of winter clothing and children's toys to assist the poorest families in local villages and they are very much appreciated."

After hosting a 'shura' (meeting of local elders) to discuss the continued development of the area, the Coldstream Guards sat down with their neighbours for a meal and then assisted the elders in distributing gifts.

Major Till added:

"Days like this underline the close bond that has formed between the people of Babaji and the Afghan and British forces that protect them. The Taliban are still very active in this part of Babaji; we know how important our contribution is to the future security of this area."

Only last week, civilians working in fields near the patrol base struck a Taliban improvised explosive device. One man was killed and two seriously wounded.

Their families brought the injured to the patrol base where they were treated by British medics and evacuated by a helicopter that took only twelve minutes to arrive.

Major Till continued:

"It's natural for the civilians here to look to ISAF [International Security Assistance Force] for protection. They know that their families will be treated with the same attention and urgency as a British soldier.

"People here can see that the Afghan security forces are growing in confidence and skill and, though they're scared of the insurgents, they are coming forward to support their own Army with increasing confidence. From the continued improvements we've seen since we took over from the Mercians, six weeks ago, we are optimistic for the future of this area."