Aga nüüd lubatud Helmandi reis. Algselt ei olnud ma planeerinud reisi Helmandisse nii jaanuaris kui ka veebruaris. Jaanuaris võtsin selle tee ette koos Riigikogu riigikaitsekomisjoni delegatsiooniga, seekord oli Helmandisse mineku ajendiks Vabariigi 92. aastapäev. Kui tavaliselt diplomaatilised esindused korraldavad sellistel puhkudel vastuvõtu oma kolleegidele, otsustasin minna hoopiski Eesti kaitseväe kontingendile külla patrullbaasi Wahid. Afganistani niigi eriline seisukord oli mulle selleks ebatraditsiooniliseks ettevõtmiseks piisavaks põhjenduseks.

Tegelikult oli selle reisi ettevõtmiseks ka teine ajend – kaitseväe peastaabi ülema brigaadikindral Väli visiit Lõuna-Afganistani. Nii saingi tema delegatsiooniga kõigepealt kokku Camp Bastionis, kust üheskoos suundusime helikopteriga Wahidi. Kohe hommikul toimus kontingendi pidulik rivistus, kus anti kätte ka osadele uued auastmed. Rivistusele järgnes sõdurite kogunemine, kus kindral Väli rääkis hetkeolukorrast ja probleemidest ning sõduritel oli võimalus oma muresid ka kindralile ära mainida. Seejärel toimus videokonverents Tallinnaga, mille kaudu president Ilves soovis sõduritele head Vabariigi sünnipäeva. Pidupäevale kohaselt oli ka lõunalaual tavapäraste pakisöökide asemel seljanka, must leib, vorst, sink, juust ja kilud. Pärast mõnusat lõunat sõitis pool kontingendist oma igati väljateenitud puhkusele.

Järgmisel päeval oli võimalus osa võtta patrullist lähdalasuvatesse küladesse. Kui Vabariigi aastapäeva tähistamine oli väga sümboolne ja südamlik, siis patrullil nähtu jäi kindlasti omamoodi meelde. Veel mõni kuu tagasi oleks nendel radadel käimisel kindlasti kusagilt meie pihta tulistatud, kuid nüüd on olukord muutunud – põldudel töötavatele meestele näiteks Salam Aleikum soovides sain alati vastu lahkelt naeratavad näod. Külades on kohal ka Afganistani politsei või siis armee üksused ja korra tagamine on nüüdsest eelkõige nende vastutada. Kõige sügavama mulje jätsid mulle mõned majadevahelised nn tänavad, kus mudaonnid ja -müürid ilma igasuguste ilutsevate detailideta mõjusid ääretult loomulikuna – kohati tekkis tunne, et kõnniks kusagil muinasjutus. Kõik tundus niivõrd ehe.

Enne patrulli minemist soovitati kaasa võtta ka midagi, mida lastele jagada. Mulle sattus väike pakk pastakaid. Ühe moshee (mosheed eristab teistest majadest vaid see, et puutoki otsa on pandud valjuhääldid) juures, kus lapsed käisid ka õppimas leidsin hea võimaluse pastakad ära jagada. Kohe kui võtsin paki taskust välja olid lapsed juba kobaras minu ümber ja näitasid kätega joonistamist imiteerides, et pastakaid on neil kohe hirmsasti vaja. Lapsi oli üle kümne, mul pastakaid aga vaid kuus – ülekohus missugune, kui ma kätemeres pidin omavoliliselt siis valima, kellele pastakat anda.

Kahtlemata oli see mu senistest Helmandi-reisidest kõige värvikam ja muljed sellest on hindamatud. Suur tänu selle eest kontingendile, kindral Välile ja ka tema saatjaskonnale.

Enamus pildid – autor Janek Luts. Author of most of the pictures – Janek Luts.

But now about the trip to Helmand. Initially, I didn’t plan to go to Helmand both in January and February. In January I went there with the Parliament’s National Defence Commission delegation, this time the reason to go there was Estonia’s 92th anniversary. Usually, diplomatic missions organise a reception to colleagues for this kind of occasions, but I decided instead to visit Estonian military contingent in the patrol base Wahid. Afghanistan’s unusual situation was good enough reason for me to take upon such untraditional move.

Actually, there was also another reason for this trip – the visit of the head of Estonian Defence Forces’ General Staff, brigadier-general Väli. I first met the delegation in Camp Bastion from where we all together flew on a helicopter to Wahid. As a first event for the festive occasion, the soldiers were lined up; couple of them also got new ranks. After that, General Väli had a chance to talk to the soldiers and listen to their worries. This was followed by a videolink to Tallinn, soldiers on one side and President Ilves on the other side wishing everybody happy anniversary. Accordingly to the national holiday, instead of the usual military rations, the lunch-table was filled with soup, Estonian bread, sausages, ham, cheese and sardines. After a nice meal, half of the contingent flew away to their well-deserved vacation.

On the next day, I had an opportunity to take part in patrol to nearby villages. The events of the national holiday were very symbolic and nice; the experience of the patrol was something to remember for a long time. Still some months ago walking in these paths would have meant getting shot, but now the situation has changed – whenever I wished Salam Aleikum to the men working on the fields, I always saw kind smiles on their faces. The Afghan police and army is now present in the villages and keeping order there is now their main responsibility. But what really stuck into my mind were some so-called streets where mud houses and walls without any additional details felt so natural – on some occasions, I felt like I was in a fairytale. Everything seemed so pure.

Just before going on patrol, I was suggested to take something with me to give to the children. I got a small pack of pens. By one mosque (what makes a mosque different from other houses is just a loudspeaker on top of it) where children went to “school” I decided to give away my pens. Immediately when I took the pens out from my pocket, children elbowed their way to me and showed with their hands imitating drawing that a pen is definitely a thing that they really want. There were over 10 children but I had just six pens – what an injustice that I had to pick the hands to pass the pens.

With no doubt I can say that this was the most exciting trip to Helmand and definitely something to remember for a long time. My gratitude for this goes to the Estonian contingent, General Väli and also his delegation.

This morning I wanted to write about my last trip to Helmand, but unfortunately, this morning’s attack in Kabul came inbetween. Everything started at 6.30 with a blast at Shar-e-Now area, where also I’m located at the Safi Landmark Hotel. This blast shattered the windows in my rooms (it was only in October, when the same happened with the blast by the Indian embassy). What happened next, is still quite unclear – the best way to say it is that shooting lasted for couple of hours mixed with couple of other bomb-blasts. The commercial center on the first floors of Safi got damaged and can’t be used for some time; the corridors by the shops are covered with pieces of shattered glass and the entrance to the hotel and center is literally in ruins. Fortunately, I did not get hurt and on a first opportunity, I was evacuated to a safe place.

Today, the parliament started its 5th legislative turn. As already a tradition, a joint session of both upper and lower chamber of the parliament was held, with a speech by the President Karzai. The president pointed out in his intervention on the problems and challenges that have to be tackled in the future – reconciliation, corruption, economic development, regional cooperation. The most important message of the president towards the deputies was a plea for their help and support for the reconciliation process. To illustrate the situation, the president showed also a picture of a 12-year old child who was about to collect the 12 family members’ bodies after they had been killed. These kind of incidents were untolerable, the president said. The session took another turn when the speaker of the upper house (Meshrano Jirga) took floor for the prayer. Before starting with the prayer, the speaker expressed his dissapointment in the governments inactivity to curb the corruption and as an expression of his dissapointment announced his resignation as the speaker of the Meshrano Jirga.

Delegatsiooni programm hõlmas nii Lõuna-Afganistanis käimist kui ka kohtumisi Kabulis. Lõuna-Afganistanis viis delegatsiooni tee Kandahari, Lashkar-Gah’sse ja Camp Bastion’i – kuivõrd kõigis kolmes kohas on teenimas ka Eesti kaitseväelased, kulgesid kohtumised Eesti sõdurite, lõunaregiooni ISAFi juhtide kui ka Helmandi provintsi ülesehitusmeeskonna liikmetega nagu lepase reega. Praktilise poole pealt poleks paremat visiidi kulgu oodanud – jaanuaris-veebruaris võib tihtipeale ilmastiku tõttu juhtuda, et lennukid mõnda aega ei käi või siis jäävad niimoodi hiljaks, et järgmise lennu peale enam ei jõua. Seekord aga midagi sellist ei juhtunud ja delegatsiooni programm läbiti täielikult.

Visiidi ajastus oli ülimalt hea, kuna see toimus vahetult pärast Londoni konverentsi (28.01), kus üheks põhiliseks teemaks oli just Afganistani julgeolekujõudude arendamine. Konverentsiga kinnitati üle 2010. ja 2011. a arengueesmärgid – nii peaks Afganistani armee selle aasta lõpuks suurenema 134 000 ja järgmise aasta lõpuks 171 600 ning politsei vastavalt 109 000 ja 134 000. Seda, kuidas nende numbriteni jõuda kavatsetakse, uuriti peamiselt Kabuli kohtumistel. Esimesel päeval käidi läbi pea kõik suuremad ANA (Afghan National Army) väljaõppekeskused, teisel päeval oli parlamendi ja EUPOLi külastuse kõrval kõige märkimisväärsemaks kohtumine ISAFi komandöri kindral McChrystal’iga ning kolmandal päeval külastati NATO väljaõppemissiooni (NTM-A) ja USA saatkonda.

Kõigi kohtumiste üldine tonaalsus oli vägagi positiivne – selle iseloomustuseks sobiks kõige paremini meenutus kohtumiselt ISAFi komandör kindral McChrystal’iga, kelle sihikindel ja selge visioon tekitab ka kõige paadunumas skeptikus optimismitulukese edasise suhtes. USA lisavägede saabumine, selgem strateegia ja Londoni konverentsil üle kinnitatud rahvusvaheline ja Afganistani valitsuse pühendumus annab aluse eduks Afganistani arendamisel – loodetavasti suudetakse see ka sama edukalt täide viia kui sõnades välja kuulutada.

Esimeseks suuremaks tuleprooviks selles osas saab olema lähiajal algaval USA merejalaväelaste suuroperatsioonil Helmandis Marjah piirkonnas, kus seni on olnud üks Talebani pidepunkte. Selle operatsiooni kõige tähtsam element pole aga USA väed vaid hoopis Afganistani enda julgeolekujõud, kellele edu selles piirkonnas annaks juurde hädasti vajalikku enesekindlust ja motivatsiooni edasiseks. Võit niivõrd keerulises kohas oleks teetähiseks Talebani-vastasel võitlusel üle kogu Afganistani. Head (sõduri)õnne kõigile!

From 29 January until 5 February, the National Defence Commission of the Estonian parliament visited Afghanistan – the chairman of the Commission Mr Mati Raidma, the Vice-chairman Mr Toivo Tootsen, members Mr Tarmo Kõuts and Tõnu Juul, the head of the Commission’s secretariat Mr Aivar Engel and representative of the Staff of the National Defence Forces, Mr Aart Nõmm. For the Commission, this was the first trip to Afghanistan and for myself the longest and most difficult to organise.

The programme of the delegation consisted of visiting South-Afghanistan and meetings in Kabul. In the South, the delegation was in Kandahar, Lashkar-Gah and Camp Bastion – as in all three places there are also Estonian, the meetings with Estonian soldiers, the military leaders of the ISAF’s Regional Command South and Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team went all very smoothly. In practical terms, one couldn’t have imagined a better trip as in January-February travelling could be very difficult due to weather conditions – cancelled and delayed flights are common during that time. This time nothing like that happened and the delegation fulfilled its programme entirely.

The timing of the visit was excellent as it was immediately after the London Conference (28 January) where one of the main topics was the development of Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). At the conference the goals for 2010 and 2011 were confirmed – by the end of this year the Afghan National Army (ANA) should grow to 134 000 and next year to 171 600, the Afghan National Police (ANP) respectively to 109 000 and 134 000. How this will be achieved was discussed mainly at the delegation’s meetings in Kabul. On the first day, the delegation saw most of the ANA training centres, on the second day the most remarkable meeting besides visiting the National Assembly and EUPOL was with Commander of ISAF, General McChrystal and on the third day the delegation met with people from NATO Training Mission (NTM-A) and US Embassy.

The atmosphere at all meetings was in general terms very positive – to describe that, I would like to bring out meeting with General McChrystal whose mission-oriented and clear vision would change even the mind of most stubborn sceptics. The arrival of additional US troops, clear strategy and commitment of both the international community and the Afghan government that was reconfirmed at the London Conference give basis for the development of Afghanistan – hopefully this will be carried into life as effectively as it was declared by speeches.

One of the first tests in this regard will be a major operation of the US marines in Marjah, Helmand which has been so far one of the main strongholds of Taleban. However, the most important player in this soon to begin operation is not the US marines, but Afghan own security forces, whose success would bring much-needed self-confidence and motivation for further activities. Victory in such a difficult place would be an important benchmark in the fight against Taleban in all of Afghanistan. Good (soldier’s)luck to everybody!

Oluline siinkohal on märkida, et Taleban ei suutnud oma rünnakuid lõpuni viia, eelkõige tänu Afganistani julgeolekujõududele, kes küll kandsid kaotusi, kuid suutsid olukorra kontrolli alla võtta. Selleks pandi vahepeal näiteks kogu kesklinna liiklus kinni – olin ka ise lukus väravate taga ühes sõjaväebaasis pärast hommikust töökohtumist seal.

Kabuli tänavad olid õhtul üsna rahulikud – autosid oli tänaval liiklemas selgelt vähem, politseikontrollpunktid olid ilmselgelt saanud juhised põhjalikumalt autosid kontrollida ja tundub, et olukord võib normaliseeruda. Kuid selles viimases ei saa kunagi kindel olla – ei saa ka välistada, et juba homme rünnatakse uuesti.

Today’s fighting on the streets of Kabul show that the situation in Kabul can be totally unpredictable and that could be so every day. Despite the last days being very quiet, the attacks that started this morning at 9AM and lasted until early afternoon, were the most serious ones of last years. The way how the attacks against different ministries, the presidential palace, shopping center and one bank were coordinated and planned, show a quite careful preparations by Taleban. They used suicide bombers, different weaponry and car bombs to do this. According to initial data, four Afghan police and army members as well as two civilians were killed, lots more wounded. Looking at what was targeted (mainly governmental institutions) and the timing, one could assume that the goal of these attacks was to disrupt the oath-giving ceremony of the new ministers of the cabinet in the presidential palace.

It is important to note that Taleban did not achieve its goals, mainly thanks to the Afghan security forces who had casualties, but still managed to get the situation under control. To do that the whole central-Kabul was closed for traffic – I was also behind locked gates of one military base after having had a meeting there earlier in the morning.

In the evening, the streets of Kabul were quite quiet – there were less cars, the police check points had obviously got instructions to search the passing cars more carefully. It seems that the situation might normalize. However, you can never be sure about the latter as you cannot exclude that tomorrow there could be new attacks.

Selle aasta esimese turistlikuma külastuse tegin täna – käisin Briti surnuaial. Tegemist on üle-eelmisel sajandil asutatud surnuaiaga, kuhu on maetud Briti sõdurid, kes hukkusid Esimese Briti-Afganistani sõja (1839-40), Briti võimuaja (1840-42) ja Teise Briti-Afganistani sõja (1879-81) ajal. Nendest 150 hauast on seni alles 10. Hiljem on hakatud sellele surnuaiale ka teiste rahvuste inimesi matma – peamiselt alates 1960ndatest on seal nii hollandlasi, kanadalasi, poolakaid, sakslasi, venelasi, soomlasi ja ungarlasi (kindlasti on veel mõned rahvused esindatud, kuid väiksel jalutuskäigul jäid need rahvused meelde).

See väike jalutuskäik oli väga mõnus ünsa kiirel ajal – sai mõtteid natuke tuulutada. Suur tänu selle eest Leedu asjurile, kes sellele mõttele tuli.

Räägime ilmast ka – Kabulis kauem-olnud räägivad, et tänavune talv on olnud erakordselt soe (tavaliselt on ikka lumi ka mõneks ajaks maas olnud). Jõuluselt lumisest Eestist jaanuari alguses siia tulla oli minu jaoks täitsa tore, sest pilvist päeva pole ma sel aastal Kabulis veel näinud. See aga ei tähenda, et nähtavus eriti hea oleks, sest õhk on pidevalt täis suitsu ja tolmu, mis tuleb väikeste ahjude kütmisest. Ja neid väikeseid ahjusid on siin väga palju. Ja olukord võib veelgi halvemaks minna, sest kui puuvarud saavad otsa, siis hakatakse kõige muu võimalikuga kütma. Loodetavasti siis väga palju külmemaks praegusest (15 kraadi päeval) siiski ei lähe.

Suddenly, it’s the new year and couple of weeks has passed with intensive work. It seems that the whole 2010 will be very interesting and intense. Already in January there will be several important events – hopefully, there will be a new Afghan government (after elections in August, last year) and in London, there will be an international conference dedicated to Afghanistan that should set the next development directions. The international community in Kabul has mainly been lately dealing with the preparations of the London conference.

This year’s first touristy event for me was today to the British cemetary. It was created in 19th century for British soldiers who were killed during the First British-Afghan war (1839-40), the British occupation (1840-42) and the Second British-Afghan war (1879-81). From the initial 150 graves, ten still exist. Afterwards (mainly starting from the 1960ies), also people from other nations were buried there – the Dutch, Canadians, Poles, Germans, Russians, Finns, Hungarians (and others, but these were the ones that I saw from the tomb-stones).

This small stroll was very refreshing during busy times – many thanks to the Lithuanian chargé who invited me there.

Let’s talk also about the weather – those who have been longer in Kabul say that this winter has been extraordinarily mild and warm (usually, there’s some snow for short time). Coming from Christmasy Estonia in the beginning of January, Kabul seemed quite nice as so far I haven’t seen any cloudy days this year. However, this doesn’t mean that there’s good visibility as the air is full of smoke and dust that come from the numerous little heaters. And the situation might get even worse when the little wood supplies will run out and the heaters will be filled with anything else that burns. So, I hope it will not get much colder as it is now – 15 degrees (Celsius).

Ja täna hommikul toimus Kabulis järjekordne plahvatus – hotelli Heetal kandis, mis asub umbes 2 km kaugusel Erimissioonist. Plahvatuses sai surma erinevatel andmetel 4-8 inimest.

Today, Estonian soldier Kristjan Jalakas was killed in action by an IED  in Helmand. The horrible fight has so far taken lives of 7 Estonian heroes. Condolences from the Special Mission to Kristjan Jalakas’ family and friends.

This morning marked also another bomb blast in Kabul – near hotel Heetal, which is situated appr. 2 km away from the Special Mission. The blast killed according to different sources 4-8 people.

Esimene asi, mida ma Helmandi „pealinna“ Lashkar Gah’sse lennukiga maandudes märkasin, oli ilm – sombusele ja pilvisele Kabulile vastandusena säras seal päike ja ilm oli kahtlemata palju soojem. Seda küll vaid päevasel aja, sest õhtud olid ka Helmandis päris külmetavad.

Peamise aja veetsin ma Ühendkuningriikide poolt juhitavas provintsi ülesehitusmeeskonnas (PRT), kus kohtusin nii sõjaväelaste kui tsiviilekspertidega. Kui ma augustis PRTd külastasin, siis oli mul niivõrd palju kohtumisi kokku lepitud, et ühel hetkel ei suutnud enam saadavat infot vastugi võtta. Seekord olin oma programmi meelega natuke lühemana ette valmistanud, mis andis rohkem võimalusi inimestega ka niisama suhelda ja oma peas mõttekilde süstematiseerida ja kokku panna. Kabulis oldud aeg on just seda viimast üsna palju õpetanud – pole mõtet lihtsalt infot koguda kui pole aega seda seedida.

Erinevad kohtumised nii Eesti, Ühendkuningriikide, Taani ja USA sõjaväelaste ja tsiviilekspertidega andsid mulle taaskord kinnitust, et see, mida Helmandis tehakse, läheb õiges suunas. Loomulikult võib alati kritiseerida, et arengud on liiga aeglased, osad alad Helmandis on üldse katmata jne. Kuid see kriitika ei ole minu arvates õigustatud, sest oluline on järjepidev strateegiline edasiminek. See küll võtab aega, kuid samas tuleb arvestada Helmandi väga keeruliste oludega.

Helmandis on edu saavutatud – mitmetes valdkondades nagu moonikasvatuse vähendamine, julgeoleku suurendamine, laste kooliskäimine jms. Neid punkte rõhutas ka Helmandi kuberner Mangal, kellega mul oli tema kontoris kohtumine. Üks huvitav seik selle kohtumise juures oli see, et kohal oli ka ajakirjandus – vähemalt viis ajakirjanikku ja üks kaameramees. Hiljem, kui jutuajamised Kuberneriga ja intervjuud ajakirjanikega olid tehtud, küsisin viimastelt, et mitut ajalehte nad siis esindavad. Vastuseks oli 26! Ja nii sattuski minu pilt koos kuberneriga ka ingliskeelse Outlook Afghanistan ajalehte.

Kogu mu reis Helmandisse oli väga kasulik ja ka vajalik. Siinkohal ei saa ma jätta tänu avaldamast PRT juhtkonnale ja kõigile tublidele töötajatele, Eesti kontingendiülemale ja tema abile ning muidugi ka kuberner Mangalile ja tema kontorile. Järgmisel Helmandi külaskäigul ehk õnnestub mul käia kohal ka seal, kus asuvad enamus Eesti sõdureid.

Kohtumine Helmandi kuberner Mangaliga / Meeting with the Governor of Helmand, Mr Mangal

I decided to make a trip to Helmand, just before the Christmas break. There were several reasons for that: on 19 November, president Karzai was reinaugurated; the rotation of Estonian company in November; on 1 December, president Obama revealed his strategy on the additional troops and already almost four months had passed since the last time I was in Helmand.

The first thing I noticed while landing with the plane to the „capital“ of Helmand, Lashkar Gah was that instead of gray and cloudy Kabul, there it was sunny and the weather much warmer. Well, that was mainly true for the daytime as the nights were quite chilly.

The main part of the time I spent in Helmand, I stayed at the UK-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) where I met both military and civlian experts. When I visited the PRT in August, I had planned so many meetings that at one point I couldn’t even absorb all the information I received. This time, I arranged so that my programme was a bit shorter allowing me also to just interact with the people working there as well as put the thoughts in my mind into order. The time spent in Kabul has taught me to do the latter – there’s no point in just collecting the information if you don’t have the time to digest it.

The various meetings with the Estonian, UK, Danish and USA military and civlian experts gave me a reassurance that what is being done in Helmand, is going in the right direction. Of course, one can criticize that some developments are too slow or some areas not covered etc. However, this critique is not justified as what’s important, is continuous strategic advancement. This takes time, but you have to take into account the very difficult circumstances in Helmand.

There are achievements – in several areas like eradication of poppy fields, increasing security, more children in schools etc. These points were actually also brought out by Helmand’s governor Mr Mangal with whom I had a meeting at his office. One interesting thing about this meeting was the presence of the media – at least five journalists and one cameraman. After the talks with the Governor and answering the questions of the media, I asked how many newspapers there were represented. The answer was 26! And this is how a picture with me and Governor Mangal got also into an English-language newspaper Outlook Afghanistan.

My trip to Helmand was very useful and necessary. Many thanks for that to the PRT leaders and the whole staff who are doing a great job, to the Estonian contingent leader and his assistant and of course to Governor Mangal and his office. I hope that during my next trip to Helmand I’ll get also a chance to visit the areas where Estonian soldiers are based now.

Täna toimus president Karzai ametissenimetamine, millega algas Karzai teine viieaastane periood sellel ametikohal. Tseremoonia oli iseenesest üsna lihtne – selle korraldas välisministeeriumi protokoll ja juhtis kaitseminister Wardak. Pärast koraani lugemist andis president oma ametivande ülemkohtu peakohtunikule ja seejärel asepresidendid (neid oli kaks) presidendile. Sisulisema poole peal järgnes olulisemana Karzai inauguratsioonikõne, mida jälgisid kindlasti ka tuhanded väljaspool Afganistani. Karzai peatus kõnes väärtustel põhineval poliitikal; seni tehtud vigadest õppimisel; julgeolekul, mis on kõikide afgaanide vastutada; heal valitsemistaval ja korruptsioonivastasel võitlusel; narkootikumide probleemil ja paljudel teistel aspektidel. Karzai kutsus üles ka kõiki käed ühendama riigi edasise arengu tagamiseks.

Inauguratsioonil viibisid nii mitmedki olulised väliskülalised, nende seas Pakistani president; USA, Saksamaa, Prantsusmaa, Ühendkuningriikide välisministrid. Tähelepanuväärsena võib eraldi välja tuua, et vaatamata suure hulga tähtsate poliitikute kohalolule, kulges üritus siiski rahulikult ja ilma suuremate tõrgeteta. Afganistani võimude poolt ettevõetud abinõud olid ka vastavad – Kabulis oli selleks puhuks pühad välja kuulutatud ja inimestel soovitatud tänavatel mitte väga liikuda ning kogu tsermooniakoha ümbrus range politsei kontrolli all.

1. President Karzai peakohtunikule vannet andmas / President Karzai giving his oath to the Chief Justice

2. Asepresidendid presidendile vannet andmas / Vice-Presidents giving their oaths to the President

3. Külalisi / Guests

President Karzai was inaugurated today, marking his second five-year term on this post. The ceremony itself was quite simple – organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and proceeded by the Minister of Defence Mr Wardak. After the recital of the Holy Quoran, President gave his oath to the Chief Justice and after that the two Vice-Presidents gave their oaths to the President. This was followed by Karzai’s inaugural speech, which was followed also by thousands outside Afghanistan. Karzai spoke about politics based on values, learning the mistakes made so far, security that is in the hands of all afghans, good governance and fight against corruption, the fight against narcotics and other topics. He also encouraged everybody to join hands for the sake of development of this country.

Quite many important foreign guests attended the ceremony, including the President of Pakistan, USA, German, French, British foreign ministers. It is noteworthy that despite a great number of important politicians’ presence, the event was managed without any major incidents. The Afghan authorities had different measures in place for that – for that day, holidays had beed declared and people suggested not to be on the streets and the whole surrounding territory of the ceremonial hall was under tough police control.

Käesoleva aasta alguses töötas Helmandi PRT koostöös kohalikega välja provintsi tervishoiusektori aasta plaani, mille üheks osaks oli pilootprojektina rahvatervise hariduse programm. Programmi kava töötati välja arvestades kohapealseid kriitilisi valdkondi – malaaria, tuberkuloos, väikelaste vaktsineerimise tähtsuse selgitamine, rasedate tervishoid ja komplikatsioonid sünnitamisel, hügieen ja sanitaartingimused ning narkosõltuvus.

Esialgu valiti välja koolitusteks kolm Helmandi provintsi piirkonda: Musa Qala, Sangin ja Gereshk, kuhu pandi üles ka temaatilised plakatid. Need disainiti ja trükiti Kabulis ja Lashkar Gah’sse jõudmisel andsid oma abikäe Eesti kaitseväelased Kabuli lennuväljalt ja Bastioni sõjaväelaagri toetusmeeskonnast. Lisaks lindistati Lashkar Gah’s asuva Bosti haigla tohtrite abil kõigi kuue erineva kampaania jaoks lindistatud raadiosaated, mida mängitakse eetris korra nädalas (kokku neli korda).

Helmandi provintsi Tervishoiu Ameti Direktori hinnangul on tegemist eduka ja ka äärmiselt vajaliku projektiga. Järgmisel aastal on plaanis korraldada analoogiline programm Gamshir’i, Nadali’i, Laskar Gah’i ning Nawa piirkondades.

Pildid ühelt koolituselt / Pictures from one of the trainings

There are two doctors from Helmand province in Estonia right now – Dr Enayatullah and Dr Hedayatullah (click here for ministry’s press release). The purpose of their visit is to learn about Estonian healthcare system and the management of hospitals. Healthcare in general is in the focus of Estonian activities specially in the Helmand province, where also Estonian soldiers are deployed. Estonian health-expert Anu Raisma works in the in the Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Lashkar Gah. Besides Estonian bilateral projects, her main work there is to coordinate all of the PRT’s activities in the healthcare field in the province. Here’s about one of the projects (text by Anu Raisma):

At the beginning of this year, the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Helmand worked out in cooperation with locals an annual plan for the province’s health programme; a pilot Public Health Education Programme being a part of it. The pilote programme was developed to correspond to six most critical areas: malaria, TB, explaining the importance of vaccination of small children, healtcare of pregnant women and complications in giving birth, hygiene and sanitary conditions, drug addiction.

Initially, three districts in Helmand (Musa Qala, Sangin and Geresh) were selected to start the training in and to post posters out. The posters were designed and printed in Kabul and with the help of Estonian soldiers in Kabul airport and national support element in Camp Bastion, they were transported to Lashkar Gah. In addition, the doctors of Bost hospital (in Lashkar Gah) helped to record broadcasts for all of the critical areas which are now transmitted to the people once a week.

The director of Helmand province’s Healthcare office has assessed this programme as a very successful and necessary. Hopefully, next year this programme will be widened to cover also Gamshir, Nadal, Lashkar Gah and Nawa districts.