A Far Away Home (17 page)

The men of Sharidure went to the school to talk about what to do. Most of them were
in favor of accepting the help. Some were fearful of reprisals from Taliban if it
became known Americans were there.

Ali waited until everyone had spoken. “When the Taliban last came to our town they
left a bitter memory for our people. Perhaps all of you had a father or uncle killed
that day. They are trying to come here again. Stopping trucks at the passes is just
their first step. I left my home once. I will not leave again. The Americans can
help us prepare for the day the Taliban come again.”

There was a long silence. The men of Sharidure looked at each other, nodded, then
stood. It was agreed. They would all prepare to defend their homes, and the Americans
could help.

They returned to the carpentry shop to tell the Americans of their decision. Ali
invited the soldiers to stay for the night, and they would talk more in the morning.

When Ali returned to his house, he found Nafisa, his sister Shireen, and his children
all eager to know more about the Americans. He explained to his family about what
was decided. They had many questions he couldn't answer, and they seemed glad to
have help.

***

“My name is Ali. The people have asked me to speak to you about your help.”

“I am Colonel Elliot.” The American leader knew some Farsi. He turned to his translator
and asked him to explain how they could help the people of Sharidure.

“Ali, my name is Ahmroodeen. I have been training with this group of Americans for
three months. Colonel Elliot is a good man. We can help you. We didn't tell you,
but last night,
we had guards posted to warn of any danger.”

This would be the first of several surprises to the Americans. “Yes, I know. Our
guards were protecting your guards.” Ali smiled as he said this and he smiled even
more when he saw the reactions of Ahmroodeen and Colonel Elliot.

“How many guards did you have out?” asked Colonel Elliot.

Ali thought he noticed a tone of respect from both. “We have three posts. We rotate
men every four hours. I'm sorry we don't have more. We are also covering another
post.”

“How many men do you have at a post?” Colonel Elliot was doing a quick calculation
and wanted to know more about Ali and his men.

“Just one. We don't have very many men.”

“So that's eight in an eight hour period. Are they on guard during the daytime, too?”

“Yes.”

“So that's twenty-four in a full day. So you have at least twenty-four men?”

“Yes.” Ali was thinking about the fact that they had only twenty-four rifles. That
was another reason they had just one
person on a shift at each post. He wasn't ready
to tell that to the American.

“You mentioned another post. Is it overlooking your town? I know you have three roads
into Sharidure . That's where we posted our guards, but you already know where we
had our guards.” He said the last sentence with a chuckle.

When he heard the translation from Ahmroodeen, it was Ali's turn to smile. He was
beginning to like this outsider. He was also ready to share some new information.
“We are guarding some Taliban prisoners we captured in a raid the night before you
came. They are in a hotel some distance away from here.”

Now, the colonel and the translator were really surprised and gaining more respect
by the minute for these supposedly untrained, unarmed, simple townspeople. “We might
have a few things to learn from the people of Sharidure.”

Ali went on to explain how they had captured the Taliban in the night raid. He also
told them about the first raid and how they sent that group back where they came
from. The colonel had many questions about their strategy, how many men they used,
how they knew where to attack. He nodded
his head in approval at each part of the
plan.

Ali asked him what he thought they should do with the Taliban. He explained to the
colonel the Sharidure fighters thought they should release them like they had the
first group. He went on to explain their thinking, that they wanted the Taliban to
know they were not going to be able to take over Sharidure again, and they were ready
to fight. They also wanted the Taliban to go back to their homes, and they were welcome
to stay in the Pushtu speaking area because that was their home. The people from
Sharidure were not interested in taking someone else's home from them or trying to
tell them how to live.

“My father, Hassan, was killed by Taliban in Sharidure. He was lined up along with
the other men and shot. My mother and sister were forced to watch. I already left
for Iran, or I would have been killed, too.”

Colonel Elliot listened intently to Ali. He learned a lot in a short time about this
village and especially about one of its sons.

***

As they walked to the “hotel” for the Taliban, following
animal paths through the
hills, Colonel Elliot, through Ahmroodeen the translator, told Ali about what an
agreement between Sharidure and the Americans included. Now it was time for Ali to
be surprised. A new school would be built, including all new books and desks for
the children. The school would include a small hospital staffed initially by one
of the Americans. The colonel introduced him to Ali. He knew enough to say in Farsi,
“Hello, my name is Dr. Bettinga. I have with me medicine and other medical supplies.
I will be taking care of the soldiers and your people.”

Immediately Ali thought of the doctors who lived in Sharidure when he was little.
What were their names? Hagel. Yes, that was it, Dr. Hagel and Dr. Hagel. He reached
down to his knee, so magically repaired by them. He used to carry a crutch. Now,
he carried an automatic rifle. There used to be a hospital in Sharidure and he was
beginning to think there would be one again. Perhaps, the hospital could be a separate
building, maybe even stand where the old one that was smashed by the Taliban used
to stand.

As they came closer to the corral where the Taliban were kept, Ali asked again what
the colonel thought should
be done with them. His answer surprised both Ali and the
translator. “I think your idea is a good one. They need to know you can and will
fight back if they return. They will be bound to respect you more than they did before.
If we take them back to the Bagram Air Base we will have to take care of them. I
doubt any of them are high ranking commanders, so any information we could get from
them would be not very new or useful. I think we should stay out of sight and let
you deal with them.”

Ali nodded his head in agreement. He motioned everyone to be silent and pointed to
a position where the Americans could watch but not be seen. He gave the agreed on
greeting for the villager on guard. He pointed to where the Americans were hiding
and whispered some directions about what to do next, then rolled back the stones
securing the Taliban in their little sleeping places. They crawled out and stood
blinking in the daylight. He spoke only in Pushtu. He and the four villagers who
came along held their rifles on the Taliban as Ali told them what was going to happen.
“We will take you back to where you stopped the truck. If you do not try to escape
or resist us, we will not harm you. If you do try to
resist or escape, you will be
shot.”

One of the men from Sharidure led the way back to the place where they captured the
Taliban. The Americans followed at a distance, far enough away that the Taliban were
not aware of their presence. When they got to that place on the road west of Sharidure,
Ali told them to stop and asked if they knew how to get back home from there.

They said they did. The one who seemed to be their leader added, “We will be back
to take over again like we did before. We know what's best for you simple people.
We know what you look like and we promise to come back to find you.”

Ali's reply rang out in the sunlit afternoon. “This is our home. You do not belong
here. We will fight for our home, just as you would fight for yours. We do not want
your land or to tell you how to live. Go back to your homes and families. Leave us
alone!”

The men from Sharidure watched as the Taliban headed down the road, west, away from
Sharidure. When they were out of sight, Ali and his men headed east, back home, joined
by the Americans.

Chapter Fifteen

Taliban Attack Sharidure

That night, it was Ali's turn to be on guard from midnight until four a.m. As he
left his warm home, he glanced back to see one of the other Sharidure men heading
the other way to take his turn on guard. Ali climbed up the hill above town, stopping
on the level area where the nomads used to set up their tents as they passed through.
He looked down on the sleeping village, where he could see his home where Nafisa,
Shireen his sister, and Shireen and Hassan, his children, were all asleep. He smiled,
turned, and climbed higher to the place where he would relieve the man currently
on guard. They exchanged silent signals that all was well. The other man disappeared
down the hill toward town.

About an hour later, Ali thought he heard someone speaking. The quiet words were
in Pushtu. He crawled
silently toward the sounds. Now he could make out the words.
“Should we put it in the school or the teahouse?”

“A second voice replied, “The school. It will kill more of them.”

The voices, it sounded like at least three, started down the hill towards Sharidure.
Ali checked his rifle and picked out a path that would be steeper but get him close
to where the voices were headed. The voices stopped. All he could hear was the sound
of his own breathing. Then, he heard someone headed straight toward him and someone
moving off to one side of him. They heard him and were splitting up to surround him.
The approaching footsteps slowed, then stopped. Maybe they weren't sure where he
was or even if there was someone there. He decided to move toward a group of large
boulders to his left. They would provide some protection. As he crept toward the
boulders, he realized he had to alert the other guards and Colonel Elliot and the
soldiers. He needed help. “If I fire my rifle, my friends will be alerted, but I
will also give away my position.” His mind raced to come up with the best plan.

The fact that the intruders split up could work to his
advantage. He decided to attack
one of them, move, then wait to find another one. As he crawled toward where he last
heard footsteps, the moon went behind some clouds. As it disappeared, he saw the
turbaned, bearded outline of a man standing next to a boulder. This was not someone
from Sharidure.

He crept closer, got to his feet, crouched, them leapt at the figure. The collision
sent both men to the ground. The whoosh of air from the surprised intruder's lungs
changed to a groan, then a shout. No doubt his fellow intruders would be on their
way. Ali scrambled to his feet, found the trigger on his rifle, and fired. The sound
of the shot echoed on the hillside, and was followed by a scream of pain. Ali quickly
moved away, found a large rock, and waited. Below in his town, the flickering light
of kerosene lanterns appeared. The sound of the shot had been heard and help would
be on the way.

“Go ahead, and carry out our mission. I'll take care of this Hazara dog.” Ali heard
this and shivered. He had to try to get the bomber, before he could place the bomb
in Sharidure. He moved to his left. That was a good move because a burst
of bullets
splattered the rock where he had been sitting. He couldn't tell where the shots came
from, so he kept moving, heading toward another group of boulders. More shots were
fired, and these kicked up dust behind him. They came from his left. He dove behind
a rock. More rounds bounced off the rock in front of him.

“Hurry up.” The other guards must be getting closer.

They were. A burst of rounds came from behind him toward where his attacker was.
Now, the odds were getting better, but he had to be careful about hitting or being
hit by his own friends. Then there was another burst of bullets, this time from the
Taliban attacker toward the second Sharidure guard. Ali had seen exactly where those
rounds came from, and as it turned out, so had the third Sharidure guard. There was
another burst of bullets, followed by a scream, then some wild firing into the air.
The attacker was hit. The three Sharidure men closed in. They moved in cautiously
and found their attacker slumped against a rock, his rifle on the ground, mumbling,
wheezing. He was no longer a danger to them or to Sharidure.

***

By now there were many men and boys from Sharidure up above town where Ali intercepted
the would-be attackers. The townspeople were curious about who they were. The word
Taliban was the most common answer. Colonel Elliot and several of his men arrived
just after the Sharidure guards. His men quickly carried the two wounded attackers
away. Neither could walk. One was unconscious.

“Were there more?” Colonel Elliot and Ahmroodeen walked with Ali back down to town.

“There were at least three. I didn't see the other one, but I heard three voices.”
Ali did not add what he heard the last two say, about carrying out their mission
and placing it in the school. It was beginning to get light.

“I'll have my men search this hill. Could your men search the village?”

Ali nodded in agreement. His men knew the village, and the Americans didn't. The
men from Sharidure also knew the people, who belonged and who didn't.

After about an hour, the American soldiers returned from searching the hills above
town. No one had been found. When they came back to town, Colonel Elliot came to
talk to
Ali. No one had yet been found in town who didn't belong. It was then that
Ali told Colonel Elliot about the plans he overheard. It was decided that an ongoing
shift of guards would be at the school. It would be the beginning of a joint defense
plan for the people of Sharidure and the Americans. Neither Ali nor Colonel Elliot
believed the third attacker had left.