The journalism class interviewed an American contractor, who has worked in Afghanistan for six and half years alongside the military and other contractors. Mike Westfield is a facilities manager for one of the military base camps in Kabul, Afghanistan. His job is to keep account of who lives in his camp and to make sure that the plumbing, lights, AC, food, hot water and cleaning are all taken care of. Underneath him are other American contractors and Afghani civilians. Whenever there's a bombing or an attack on his camp, one of his jobs is to count up all the people working underneath him. He spoke to us about the struggle in Afghanistan and how it feels to live there.
One of the first things Mile talked about was the differences between the media coverage and truth of the situation in Kabul and other cities. Mike talked about the way United States media had a “cookie cutter view” in order to “not let the terrorists get off on that (the violence).” “In order to protect the foreigners within Afghanistan and to not let the terrorists from the Taliban and Al Qaida get off on their violence, the media will not say all of the casualties. When a bomb goes off on a square block, the ENTIRE block goes up. They will say there were 12 deaths when in reality, there could be 50 or more.” He also said that media will make it seem that there is death and destruction everyone. In reality, it's not the case, “The smaller villages do not have the violence that major cities have because they run the opium fields. Kabul is the city with major United States and NATO presence, and along with that major violence and destruction.” The media almost never covers the American and NATO camps because there's such a normal occurrence of bombings on them that it doesn't make sense to cover it anymore. Or it least to the large camps, but to the small camp, they do not have it so easy. “Large camps are huge with airfields inside security fences. The camps could have thousands of people inside, with foreign soldiers, contractors, and Afghani workers. The large camps are often bombarded with rockets. The small camps are seriously small with tents with only a couple hundred people. The fences are still there but not as fortified as the larger camps. The small camps have rockets, and at times, organized attacks at night...Soldiers on missions and people at small camps are the ones who are more likely to die. Contractors have choice during a small camp attack. Hide or take a gun and fight with the military.”
The brunt truth of it all makes it more shocking, but Mike continues on talking about his own experiences in Kabul and bombings on his facilities. “I have never been in an attack, but once a rocket landed not 50 feet away from me. The Taliban like to shoot from the mountains [surrounding the base]. A rocket hit the office I was in. So a rocket landed 50 feet away from me. I was on the ground the whole time before the all clear. Rockets have three bombs; each bomb has a timer. When it first lands, that's the first bomb. The second bomb, *boom*, the third bomb *boom*. I stayed down the whole time and was safe but a soldier died...To hear a rocket is the best and worst thing, best because it isn't you, worst because it was your friend.” He never stated why he became a contractor, but he explained the process of becoming a contract and working overseas. “My friends got out of the military in 2009 and they immediately became contractors to go back over. It’s great money. It’s like any job, just a little more dangerous than others. You apply online, get a screen check, have a boot camp to train you in situational awareness and how to be safe in bombs, then they drop you and your boys at a camp and just *shrugs*.” Westfield mostly works in large camps versus the small ones.”
While his job may seem behind the scenes, it seems dangerous when he answers one of the students from the class. “I probably have [met a Taliban or Al Qaida member without me knowing]. Like even if I haven't, some Afghani civilians might have relatives. They don't tell or they are dead or a family/friend is dead.” It's a sobering thought.
At the end of the interview, the students thanked Mike for coming. His time in the class was invaluable and definitely eye-opening.
Written by Keira Zirkle
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