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Kandahar's gatekeeper for the dead

GRAEME SMITH

From Saturday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 4:00 AM EDT 18/09/07

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  1. Richard Roskell from Naramata, Canada writes: We're not in Kansas anymore, that's for sure.

    Graeme Smith's honest portrayals of life in Afghanistan are damn good journalism.
  2. siren call from Canada writes: Grim stuff, but kudos to Graeme Smith for getting outside the wire.

    Shouldn't somebody be keeping better tabs on the number of dead? Say Red Crescent or Red Cross?
  3. J B from Ottawa, Canada writes: Reminds me somewhat of the coffin-maker in Kurosawa's Yojimbo...
  4. kelly waugh from Gabriola Island,B.C., Canada writes: Graeme,
    Thank you for documenting this.
  5. ALASTAIR JAMES BERRY from NANAIMO BC CANADA, Canada writes: Interesting......Having been in the military I know that there are fiddles in almost every occupation(Fiddle = a method of raising some un-accountable cash).

    In Germany it appeared to be against the law to bury the dead with any gold or jewellry on the body as it invited 'grave robbers'.
    Gold teeth or fillings were regularly extracted and gold rings removed prior to burial.

    It is to be hoped that Mr Shah gets a reasonable wage but he would be wise to examine each and every corpse, carefully, for such valuable items.
  6. Emma Hawthorne from Canada writes: I think conditions in Afghanistan are about as ideal as they are going to get for NATO could win this battle rather quickly. Given that the salary of one NATO soldier could easily pay 10 farmers and their families to become constructions workers for a year, it is clear that the Afghan government must hire them (with NATO country dollars) and burn their poppy crops as a condition of employment. This would assist reconstruction and kill Taliban income. As the Taliban are already so desperate they are now willing to renounce thier committment to war and negotiate, they will be in even worse condition when their drug income hits the skids. The same desperation that forced the scraggly bands to sign up with the Taliban to receive meagre pay to pay desperate families, will now easily motivate them to become construction workers once the Taliban can no longer pay.
    It's a no-brainer!
  7. Rob Ruttan from Barrie, Canada writes: What we don't know. Excellent reporting.
  8. diane marie from calgary, Canada writes: J B from Ottawa:-- We're Kurosawa fans but Yojimbo was a new one on me. I'll track it down. Thanks.
  9. R Sanchez from writes: I would encourage the Globe to publish more of this type of journalism. Smith has delved into an area and an angle that is all too often overlooked in this war. Though unique and innovative, the piece lacked the depth that the topic deserved and was capable of delivering. What's the matter? Don't think your audience can read more than 250 words per topic? We are dying for some good Canadian journalism Globe, please deliver!
  10. Brendan Caron from Vancouver, Canada writes: Record keeping seems to not happen in the morgue or hospital. Those that bring the corpses in seem to not want to give any information as to why, who or how the cadavers became deceased. All this room for conjecture does nothing but help waylay any sense that could be made of knowing how the battles are going. Is it trying to keep the figures hidden or are most of the people involved uneducated and/or incapable of writing. Given the educational facilities available to the people in the region this could be a point that Graeme may have over-looked. Good slant now if he could check the educationof those involved... ?
  11. A Qayyum from Canada writes: Enjoyed the piece by G. Smith. More of this type of reporting by the G&M would be helpful to get another dimension of our role in Afghanistan and its effects.
  12. David Stanley from montreal, Canada writes: they'd need 1000 like him in Iraq to do the math
    good job graeme

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