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| Soviet Soldiers Gone Native (Afghan) |
| 2004-02-16 |
| EFL, of course, but you really should follow the link for a moment to take a look at their faces. Soldiers going native has always been a bit of a problem...and when captured who can imaginge the transformative stress they must go through? In any case, if you squint real hard, you might almost see yourself there. Army veterans in the countries that made up the Soviet Union marked the 15th anniversary on Sunday of the withdrawal of the last of their troops from Afghanistan. But, as Russian television has reported from Kunduz, actually some Soviet soldiers remained there. The fighting in Afghanistan had been going on for some four years when 18-year-old Gennady Tsevma from the Ukraine went into the Soviet army. His brother, Sergey, then 11, remembered that the whole street turned out to see Gennady off. But then came two letters from Afghanistan. The first accused Gennady of being a traitor. The second said he was absent without leave. In the northern Afghan town of Kunduz, "Nikmamat" earns his living as a driver - $180 a month to feed and clothe his wife and three children "I have grown old," Nikmamat, as Gennady is now called said. "Look, I’m 38 years old now. I’m like an old man. I miss my homeland." He did not desert from the army, he told Russian television. He fell asleep at his post and was captured by mujahideen. "They said to me: If you want to be a Muslim, accept this faith. If you don’t, we’ll kill you." The mujahideen forced Gennady to fight for them. "But I didn’t shoot at all", he said. Still he feared returning home to face a possible court-martial. More than 20 years after he left home, Gennady telephoned his brother. "Hi, Sergey. I’ll definitely come," he promised. "Don’t worry. Just wait, OK?" Also living in Kunduz is Akhmat. Born Aleksandr Levenets in Ukraine, he deserted from his sapper battalion to escape abuse from his officers. Like Gennady, he joined the mujahideen. But unlike him, no one waits in the Ukraine for Aleksandr. The last of his family died long ago. In Afghanistan he has a wife and two daughters. "To be honest, I don’t want to go back", he confided. "Now I feel like an Afghan." To be equally honest, I am surprised to see that Soviet era soldiers somehow managed to stay alive in Nothern Afghanistan and even forge a life. Go figure.... |
| Posted by:Traveller |
| #2 Neat post, may "It's a Small world After All" play sweetly on your mind. Or how about "Ever Gentle" on your mind. |
| Posted by: Lucky 2004-2-16 1:48:27 PM |
| #1 I thought some of the T-55 drivers from the Northern Alliance looked Russian. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-2-16 7:13:34 AM |