Customer Reviews

The Khaarijee: A Chronicle of Friendship and War in Kabul

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Malcolm Garcia considers himself a good friend of the translator and driver who, during several sojourns in Afghanistan, ferried him around the dusty and war-shattered streets of Kabul, and occasionally, the dangerous, unpaved and war-gutted roads of the moonscape countryside.

But he cannot pronounce the man's (albeit simple) name, Khalid, and calls him Bro. It takes him several trips, over many years, before it occurs to him to ask the man's surname. This is a friend? No, the "khaarijee" of the book's title (meaning stranger) is the only thing Garcia gets right here. He has no genuine understanding of friendship, and even less of history, Islam or war.

Indeed, Garcia refers to virtually everyone by a nickname he concocts upon meeting them --- often disrespectful, and seldom replaced with a genuine name. Only on Garcia's fourth or later trip, in March 2004, does it dawn on the former social worker that a man might be insulted by his lack of concern for their feelings.

"Yeltsin, is that you," he shouts into his phone at 4 a.m., unduly taunting an Islamabad taxi driver first encountered less than eight hours earlier. "Yes, sir, but that is not my name, sir," the man replies. Several hours later, the driver has ferried Garcia (as requested) to Peshawar, the closest he can get to South Waziristan, where "Mr. Big" (Osama bin Laden) may have been captured. It's of course a false lead, and Garcia realizes en route that not only do Peshawar Pakistanis hate the U.S., but they also believe "Israel was responsible for your September 11 attacks to give Americans an excuse to attack Muslims." Moreover, despite repeatedly telling Garcia "you are our guest, sir," and assuring him that killings guests is "forbidden in Islam," Pakistanis can be easily worked into a murderous frenzy, and would just as soon kill him as treat him to tea.

In the same way, Garcia wants to look after six 13-ish Kabul war orphans he meets during the first five months of 2003. They sit outside his Mustafa hotel "on shoeshine boxes and hustle Westerners for change." He gives them "street" nicknames, too --- for the sunglasses or windbreaker they wear, or chocolate candy they crave. But Garcia never makes a firm commitment, to his driver friend Bro, or to his "boys."

Sure, Garcia gives readers some great Hemingway-like war stories here, complete with staccato sentences and the bereft feeling that the whole world's going to heck at the end of each chapter.

But the moral surely isn't one the author intended: Hearts and minds can only be lost (not won) in a country stuck in 1260, where life for 30 years --- no, centuries --- has remained rooted in fighting. The more troops and resources the U.S. invests in the effort, the faster hearts, minds and more lives will be lost.

--- Alyssa A. Lappen

I was immediately taken by this absorbing and moving account of the war in Afghanistan. The Khaarijee: A Chronicle of Friendship and War in Kabul is beautifully written, direct, honest and intimate. J. Malcolm Garcia as a competent war reporter gives us important and enlightening journalism. He is generous in providing much needed perspective on the brutal and never-ending conflict in this devastated, war-ravaged country.

But he also gives the reader so much more in this extraordinary memoir. He reaches deeply into the issues of the long-suffering, war torn people of Afghanistan. It is a gripping and intense story of their horror and outrage, of their anger and fear. Yet it is also a story rich with tenderness and poignancy, of humor and friendship, of culture and faith.

Garcia with moving honesty reveals his own personal transformation over the seven years of his professional work in Afghanistan. As a former social worker in San Francisco, having worked for over fourteen years in a detox program for the homeless, he was drained and numb. He wanted out of social work, out of his life as it was, so he took up journalism and became an overseas newspaper reporter, landing in Kabul for the first time in November 2001, two months after September 11th. As an American reporter with limited journalism experience and no knowledge of the local languages, Garcia hired an Afghan interpreter/driver who would help him navigate through the political, social, and cultural maze in the capital of the conflicted, violent battleground of Afghanistan.

His interpreter is Khalid, a 24 year Muslim of a Pashtun tribe who Garcia nicknamed "Bro." Likewise Bro named Garcia "Khaarijee", the outsider. After a short time of working together they became affectionate friends, eventually as close as brothers. With Bro as his guide, his protector, his friend, Garcia learns to love Afghanistan, its people, its history, its culture. Garcia found himself not only reporting on the war but immersing himself completely in Afghanistan. It became his professional and emotional center of gravity. He describes himself as the outsider seeking his place in the Afghan culture. He finds that place with the help of Bro in pursuit of his personal mission "to make a difference." It is in the lives of six homeless, war-orphaned boys who Garcia and Bro find scavenging for survival on the streets of Kabul that Garcia tries to make a difference. The story of Garcia, Bro and the six boys unfolds in a touching, profound way. I found it difficult to put down.

I highly recommend The Khaarijee: A Chronicle of Friendship and War in Kabul.

Malcolm Garcia's book, "The Khaarijee" is an account of his journalistic experiences in Afghanistan (and to a much lesser extent Pakistan). It is interesting less for the facts and events recounted (there are far better written and more informative books about Afghanistan out there), but as an account of the country by a relatively unsophisticated man, and also for an account of what mundane, daily life was like for journalists in the country earlier in the decade. His lack of experience in international journalism, or with the culture and peoples of the region provides a perspective that most writers and journalists could not or do not provide.

His incomplete, rushed transition from social worker to local news reporter to international affairs is very noticeable throughout the book. While I found this unique view interesting, I also (like many other reviewers) got annoyed with Garcia. Giving people nicknames due to his inability or unwillingness to learn names that are alien to him is not only bizarre, but rather rude. While I got the impression that Garcia viewed this as something that readers should find endearing, or at least "cute", I only found it uncouth.

Like most readers, I thought that it was great that he saved "Maggot". However, his behavior with the dog afterwards was shockingly insensitive given local customs. He must have learned that Afghans/Muslims typically disdain dogs and view them as unclean. Garcia appared not to care at all. He gave himself the right to bring his dog whereever he went. Even in dog-friendly countries in the West, are we to believe that he would bring a dog into a meeting with a Minister or Cabinet Secretary? Would he bring his dog to his favorite restaurants in Kansas City? This is just stupid, insensitive behavior. He exhibits this same behavior with his drinking, making no attempt to keeping his beer consumption out of the view of locals who, as Muslims, revile alcohol consumption. At othertimes throughout the book, the author comes across as the prototypical "ugly American" overseas. Why he seemed so unwilling to try to adapt to local cultural mores is beyond me.

The way he handles the poor boys is another case in point. Garcia clearly responded to the deprived in Afghanistan the way 99% of us would, by simply giving or spending money and hoping for the best. Setting up charitable foundations and work like that would not be something I or most people could do, and I obviously do not critique him for not doing that. But the way he handled (or maybe still handles) the situation with the 6 boys appeared incompetent, if not insensitive. He was repeatedly warned by "Bro"/Khalid that the boys would have expectations, both financial and emotional. Garcia seemed to think that simply saying "sorry, I'm going to have to leave" was enough for him to escape these committments. On a certain level, his humanity and honesty was appealing, as he obviously makes no attempt to make himself into some kind of hero. But the way I understood the end of the book was that he is proverbally shrugging his shoulders and giving up due to his later logistical difficulties in getting money for the boys (are we really to believe that it would be all that difficult to send money there?! Even Western Union operates there!)

In conclusion, Garcia absolutely lived up to his title as the "khaarijee", forever an outsider in spite of all his time spent in Afghanistan. I seriously debated whether to give the book 2 or 3 stars. I give it three stars because I found that the author's foibles provided a perspective rarely seen in books, and it's account of the "behind the scenes" life of a journalist was also interesting.

"The Khaarijee" is a moving story, told in snapshots, of one journalist's experiences in Afghanistan from 2001 till 2007. The reader, like I'm sure Mr Garcia, feels like you are looking through slats at people's lives; only momentarily realizing that you are missing vast parts of their lives. And right now, this is the right time to read such a book on this country given that the US is at the crossroads where it must decide if it will stay and try to undo the damage that Bush and the Taliban have wrought or if it will disentangle itself from the country and try to stop further damage, and heartbreak, from our so far, failed attempts to right this nation. This book helps give small glimmers of insight behind the slats. But I just ahead.

The story starts with Mr Garcia being sent to Kabul to report on the toppling of the Taliban. Here he meets Khalid who he affectionately nicknames bro. The two of them slowly grow to be fast friends and for all of Mr Garcia's return visits he always sees bro (and most of the time works with him).

Through bro Mr Garcia begins to see past the war damage and into the human costs. Beggars, widows, orphans, homes destroyed: lives uprooted. By getting to know the people he begins to understand the the true costs of war and the sometimes complete damage to humanity.

Perhaps the strongest moment of the book is when Mr Garcia tries to save 6 boys from the hell they are in. While he is in Afghanistan he does manage to make a difference; you can see the children begin to find hope. However this doesn't last since after a few months time, Mr Garcia returns home. And the boys are left to themselves; hoping he'll keep his word and return. Later, when he does return, its too late. His future promises ring hollow and though he tries, he simply is unable to keep them. The boys melt away. I can't help but see this as an allegory to the UN involvement in the nation. To the NGOs in the nation. Afghanistan is a sad tale indeed.

Mr Garcia offers no solutions and you can feel his frustration. He wants to do the right thing only he no longer is sure what that means. Do we stay and show that we really do want to help and if we do stay can we? When Mr Garcia writes about being embedded with the US forces, one can't help but feel that the answer is that the US cannot help. And can you blame them given what's happening?

This is a tough read, much like early Robert Kaplan, Mr Garcia makes you think about the hard topics. Given that right now we, the US, are trying to map our road there I can't think of a better time to read a powerful book on this nation.

While other reviewers had some complaints about Garcia's behaviors (couldn't remember names, etc.) I found this book exactly fit the bill for what I wanted: an eyewitness perspective of what it is like in Afghanistan. I was reminded of Rory Stewart's magnificent book The Places In Between.

It is a series of snapshots over a 6 year period, nothing more and nothing less. As a snapshot, it offers no answers, but after reading this book I don't think any intelligent reader will be looking for answers to anything about Afghanistan. At best, this book will let the reader ask a better set of questions.

Garcia is an on-again, off-again international correspondent that makes several trips to Afghanistan (and one to Pakistan that is not really a part of the story but is interesting nonetheless). Readers get to see a refugee camp up close, the physical degradation of Kabul, the sense of hope when American soldiers threw out the Taliban, the confusion of Afghanistan's government, the Afghan people's unfailing politeness to guests and, ultimately, the despair of Afghanistan - what one Afghan refugee calls "a tired country."

Highly recommended.

This book chronicles the author's trips to Afghanistan over several years as a journalist. He became involved in attempts to help people he got to know and children. One issue he dealt with is familiar to anyone who has been involved in volunteer work - how far into the lives of the people you are helping should you go? Theoretically one could give away all one's possessions and be a homeless person and spend all of one's time helping others as Jesus did. However, few people do this and most of us struggle with how much to give and how involved to get in helping others.

The author does an excellent job of telling the reader how Kabul changed over the time when he was reporting there and the challenges of his job. It's a refreshingly honest book without a dogmatic message distracting the reader from the experience of reading about life in Kabul and the challenges of helping the poor.

Books like this are important to help us remember that Afghanistan is not just some far away dangerous country in the news regularly - it's a country of families, orphaned children, fear, devastation, hope, etc.

My "short" one-line review of this book would be. . . . "It did not live up to expectations".

When reading a memoir, such as this, you have to keep in mind that this is the true story as the author remembers it. It's not like fiction where you can throw something it to make it more exciting or make the story turn out the way that the readers might like for it to turn out. In the end, it is what it is.

Having said that... . and I certainly don't want "spoil" the story for anyone. . . I will just say that I feel that not only did the book not live up to my expectations, I think that the author greatly disappointed some of those he writes about in the book. When you start an important job. . . then you need to finish it. . . . If you are not going to be there to finish it, then you need to work things out for someone else to finish it. Do not abandon people. I kept thinking that things were going to turn around. . . .but that never happens. In the end, I was left "dumbfounded".

Though I often enjoy reading non-fiction more than fiction. . . in this case. . . I would HIGHLY recommend that if you haven't already read "The Kite Runner" and "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Housseni. . . . . then pass this book by, and read these two great books. I actually listened to them on CD, which was read by the author, and really enjoyed them. Incredible writing. "The Kite Runner" was also made into a movie, which I enjoyed.
The Kite Runner Illustrated Edition
A Thousand Splendid Suns

This book lacks those things books are supposed to have: a narrative line, strong themes, a conclusion. The only common thread in these travel stories is the author, a social worker turned journalist. On the surface, it's like many other books about post-2001 Afghanistan - - except for Malcolm's history as a social worker.

The picture of Afghanistan that emerges here, with Malcolm as our tour guide, is like Skid Row in any American city. It's a country where almost everyone is dysfunctional, trapped in patterns they can't escape. (They're also all suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.) The few healthy Afghans, like social workers, have to build emotional walls around themselves. The foreigners are like the social workers, hardened by always being the victim of scam artists and petty thieves, and overwhelmed by the magnitude of the tasks before them.

Only the soldiers don't fall into this pattern of dysfunction because they have their own disorders. Consider the following BLESSING by an Army CHAPLAIN as his men go into combat: "The Lord is looking at you! He's telling you one [deleted] thing: Don't forget what they did to three thousand innocent Americans in New York. The enemy is not innocent. They should be [deleted] dead. We owe the Lord some hajji bodies. You don't have to kill everybody, but if you shoot, kill them! Kids included! When you jump off, think of those twin towers falling. The Lord said blessed are the peacemakers. We want to bring peace to these knuckleheads, but they want to keep fighting. Holy Father, you are deploying us, and we are ready to respond!"

Again, that's the chaplain. Other soldiers run around the country pointing guns at every Afghan they see. UN and NGO workers, like diplomatic staff, earn high salaries and live in heavily-armed bubbles. Entrepreneurial Afghans respond to the environment by hustling foreigners; others lie around in despair and complain that the UN hasn't helped them. And we expect Afghans to like us?

Malcolm is part of the dysfunction, though the social worker in him tries to help at least some. As one example of his own cultural complacency, he uses English nicknames for his Afghan friends instead of calling them by their own names. (One Pakistani finally screams at him, "My name isn't Yeltsin!!!") He starts to learn Dari, but keeps nicknames like "Mr Gigolo" for Afghan boys he befriends.

Malcolm knows what he's doing, and is self-critical and aware. Like the book itself, he's keeping it real.

This memoir tells the story of a war correspondent who spends many years in Afghanistan, long after the news had forgotten it - from 2001 to 2007. Written in the first person, it represents a true story, and that's never more evident than at the end - where we do not know what happened to some of the people that he met and cared about. The style of writing reminds me of a younger, optimistic Robert Kaplan. J. Malcolm Garcia had previously had a career as a social worker, and that unique perspective certainly gave him insight on Afghanistan.

Malcolm developed a close friendship with a man he calls Bro (Khalid), who served as his driver, translator, and friend. In his time there, he also came to know a group of shoe-shine street boys, that he ends up sponsoring. Tied in with the current events of the time, from AFghan warlords, poppy fields, and the search for Bin Laden, we learn the personal stories of individual Afghanis, and their reaction to the US presence. Like Malcolm, we readers really care about the people he meets. It amazed me how he was able to keep in touch, over multiple visits to Afghanistan, in a country where even cellphone service is questionable.

I had recently read Robert Kaplan's Soldiers of God: With Islamic Warriors in Afghanistan and Pakistan, written many years ago when the US was actually sponsoring the Jihad against the Russian occupation . This book makes a great counterpoint/bookend to that book, as both are about Afghanistan and its people, both are travel memoirs. But while Soldiers of God kept more distance from its subjects - while also shedding much light on the Afghani spirit - The Kharijee is much more personal. For anyone interested in Afghanistan, I recommend both of these books - as well as the literary prizewinner - the Kite Runner.

A beautifully written book of six years of stories stitched together by the author. He paints the pages with colors the TV media never show. I would recommend this book to everyone which seeks a better understanding of the people of Afghanistan.

This seems like the type of book that could be rewritten as a screenplay. I can just see Sundance Studios producing the movie with Tom Hanks as journalist.