Him Good Him Bad

I had the unique pleasure of recently being at the Kabul airport waiting on a flight. Inside the terminal is a small, simple dining area where you can get a pot of tea or a plate of a traditional Afghan dish of stewed goat, potatoes, rice, and bread. I was sitting and having a pot of tea when an older Afghan man in traditional dress sat down next to me. The dining area is communal style so you just sit wherever there’s an empty seat. I turned and greeted the man saying “Ruz ba kheer” good day, slightly nodding my head in respect as I’ve seen my Afghan colleagues do when they greet someone older than themselves. The man smiled and responded by saying “Salam” hello and touching his right hand to his heart as is the custom here. I went back to my book and the man went on to order a plate of food. As soon as his food arrived he turned to me and offered me part of his lunch. It was a gesture that moved me quite a bit (no, I didn’t eat the poor man’s lunch). I am ashamed to say that I have allowed my concern for the “security situation” here to cause me to start to generalize people in a fairly vulgar way. “These guys look ok, these guys look like they could be Taliban”. It is the type of prejudice and bigotry that is borne out of fear and it’s something that I thought that I was above. Sure there are bad guys of all stripes and persuasions but it took this old man to remind me that nine times out of ten when you reach out your hand with courtesy, general goodwill, and respect the sentiment will be returned and we are all better for it.