Author driving through Afghanistan
It often appears that "true Afghanistan" is not here in Kabul and not in Jalalabad or Heart either; not in the ancient villages, which anxiously cling to the steep mountainsides.
Many foreigners and even Afghans are now convinced that the "true" Afghanistan is only what is being shown on the television screens, depicted in magazines, or what is buried deep in the archives and libraries somewhere in London, New York or Paris.
It is tempting to think that the country could be only understood from a comfortable distance, from the safety of one's living room or from those books and publications decorating dusty bookshelves and coffee tables all over the world.
"Afghanistan is dangerous," they say. "It is too risky to travel there. One needs to be protected, escorted, equipped and insured in order to function in that wild and lawless country even for one single day, or just a few hours."
When it comes to Afghanistan, conditioned Western 'rational brains' of tenure or emeritus professors (or call them the 'regime's intellectual gatekeepers') often get engaged, even intertwined with those pathologically imaginative minds of the upper class 'refugees', the 'elites', and of course their offspring. After all,
crème de la crème 'refugees' speak perfect English; they know the rules and nuances of the game. The results of such 'productive interaction' are then imprinted into countless books and reports.
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