Bathroom and Hotel California: When we spent four days at Bagram

The Bagram military base north of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, is in the news these days. I got a sense of the importance it gained after 9/11 when I spent a few days there in 2008.

It was grape season, and on both sides of the road from Kabul to Bagram, local farmers outside the city were waiting for customers with 12-kilogram bags of super-sweet Sandarkhani grapes. Similarly in Pakistan too, tomatoes and other food items are seen selling at very low prices after bumper harvest.

Surrounded by high and huge concrete walls, the extent of this military base could not be appreciated even after spending time here as we were not allowed to roam freely here. But what he saw was enough to surprise.

A large number of Pakistani militants came to conquer this base, a large number of Pakistanis were imprisoned here on suspicion of helping Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, but journalists like me also came after the American occupation.

I had planned to come here last August 2007 so that I could prepare a special report for the anniversary of September 11, but like the Pakistani red tape, the approval from the US military authorities kept coming. Americans used to call it ’embed’ in their English term, but I used to call it ‘in bed’.

Arriving at Bagram in a rented car from Kabul, there was probably a reception arrangement at the side door in the south. What was the door, it was asked to stop one kilometer away from the wall. After an hour of waiting, a lady army officer came inside to take her. They probably didn’t find our appearance too suspicious, so no search or questioning was done. Just said, get in the car and get ready to go.

Yes, you are provided with a ten-point list of prohibited activities prior to entry. You can’t take photos or videos, you can’t interview anyone in the absence of military authorities and so on and so forth. However, thankfully there was freedom to breathe.

I was escorted directly to my room. These wooden rooms reserved for journalists were given the name ‘Hotel California’ by the military administrators. The box-shaped room I got in this hotel was called ‘Los Angeles’. The hotel also had free TV facilities but you could only watch the American military channel on them. It was the love of these soldiers for their country that gave this place such a name, otherwise there was nothing like California here. Soldiers’ barracks looked more like a hotel than a hotel. If the idea is that there is a free tour, then there is nothing much to complain about it.

Upon arrival, a paper containing meal times and other information was handed over, with a text at the end that caught the ear. It read: ‘You can check out anytime you want but you can never leave here.’

Another very interesting feature was the computer printouts above each toilet in the washrooms, in which the soldiers had to match the color of their urine to determine if they were dehydrated. The more pale the more dehydration.

Since the year 2001, I have been reporting on incidents on the Pak-Afghan border, first from Quetta and then from Peshawar. My purpose in coming here was not to visit Los Angeles, but to see the operations of the Allied forces on the other side of this border. I was trying to find out why the 120,000 allied troops deployed in Pakistan’s then FATA and 50,000 allied troops in Afghanistan could not close this border till date. My attempt was to find out whether the problems across the border are similar or different.

Watch the new buildings, or bunkers to be more appropriate, being built at Bagram. Four or five feet thick walls were being built which were not being built at all in the hope of peace.

A concern for opponents of the Allied forces was the ongoing construction of permanent office and residential buildings for these troops at these bases. When the US initially occupied these bases, the troops had special instructions not to construct permanent buildings. Many believed at the time that they were now preparing to stay here permanently or at least for a long time. During the presence of American troops, American presidents and ministers often came here to boost their morale.

But it is not known why the United States suddenly ended its longest war and left the narrow street in the silence of the night. The cost of a large military base like Bagram may be a major reason.

This picture is not of the Americans leaving Bagram, but of their arrival in 2002 (AFP).

At that time, Brigadier General Richard Blanchet, the spokesperson of the Multinational Forces, ISAF, tried to explain in a statement that these soldiers will stay in Afghanistan as long as the Afghan people want, but today all those Afghan people feel alone. Those who want war and no government and their only demand is peace.

Bagram, like many other countries, saw large numbers of Indian civilian workers who were brought in for civilian work. Pizza Hut and KFC containerized outlets were also serving hot meals. The aim was probably to reduce the memory of our country.

There were also many shops where various goods were available at very cheap prices. This is where I bought my first internet radio, which is still gathering dust in some corner of the house.

One day, the crew of an American helicopter used for medical assistance on the runway was gossiping about seeing a drone flying over the runway and unsuccessfully trying to take a picture of them. It was not officially announced at that time but later it was found that they did not like my move.

After staying for two days, in the dark night they left Bagram for Jalalabad and then for Kannada in C130. On his return, he visited Bagram again. A sprawling air base, prison and who knows what else. It is hoped that the Afghan security forces will be able to properly handle such a large installation and the munitions being left behind unannounced.