Ladies and Gents,
Hello again. It has been much too long since my last entry. Over a month. A million reasons why I have not written. But here I am again. I just want to say hi to Natalie, Michael, and Anti and I hope you are having fun in NY.
What's going on here? Well, the Afghan presidential election will occur on 8/20. There are three candidates. Obviously Karzi is one. Abdullah Abdullah is another, and Ghanzi is the third. When I ask the Afghans we see who will be the winner they all think Karzi but they do not know if that is best for the country. None of the military even cares who wins but we would like to see it executed safely and changes instituted to curb the rampant corruption. Its incredible.
The average Afghan is a pawn. He makes about $100 (us) monthly and rent is typically 400-500 (us) dollars. So, multiple generations live together in small house in Kabul. I suspect it is much worse in the countryside. Probably living in tents.
The average lifespan is @ 42 for men and 40 for women. Childbirth hemmorhage is the leading cuase of female death 265/1000 live births. Infant mortality (children that die before the age of 5) is the highest outside of Africa. Malnutrition and access to clean water are some of the worst in the world. There is been no effort in upgrading infrastructure since the early 70's because there has been continued fighting since that time. Pretty depressing if you think about it.
Anyway, 8/17 marks my 2 month mark here. After that only 4 months remain. The days go by slow but the weeks fast.
I want to thank you all for keeping in touch and sending the many emails and letter. Keep it up. I miss Natalie and the kids more each passing day and look forward to getting home.
Love and best,
Fran
YIPPEEE! So great to hear from you again Fran. We have so missed your updates. Depressing indeed. I hope you are staying positive and thinking about that starfish story about one person making a difference to another.
ReplyDeleteWe were sorry we couldn't make it out to PJ today to see Nat and the boys. John's parents were here and we had his grandma's 90th bday up in Peekskill. Friday is the big move. I can imagine everyone had a great time and we were sad to not be there. Love you and thinking of you all the time. xoxo liz & john
Dear Fran- It was so good to hear from you again. So glad the time is passing and love hearing about Afghanistan-it is eye opening. Christian & Cat are out in PJ with the boys as we speak. Real hot & humid today and it's my understanding they all had a blast at the beach today. (Much splashing Grandpa and putting ice down each other's swim suits!) It was so good to see Natalie- its been way too long. Hoping to book a flight to sunny California the minute you are state-side. (We can't wait to see the villa- Ha!!!0 Probably not nearly as much as you want to see the villa! You're in our daily thoughts and prayers. Please blog as often asa you can we all love to hear about your travels. Love, maris
ReplyDeleteHi Fran!
ReplyDeleteIt was great talking to you the other day and so wonderful to see Nathalie and the boys. They are beautiful and they were so sweet to Ella. The kids all had a great time running around, dancing, etc., the whole 9 yards! Robbie was playing Dylan on the CD player but your father wanted the Chicken song - go figure!
Nathalie looks great - her hair cut is really becoming. I took a few pictures of her on her camera that she will send to you.
Today I got tickets for the Grandparent/grandchild Coney Island Ringling Brothers circus extravaganza! Your mother and father, my mother, Michael, Anthony, Ella and Katherine are all going next week. It is sure to be a 3 ring circus in the row where the Hall/Leonard clan will be sitting!
I loved hearing about your important work over there combatting malnutrition. You are doing great work. If you need a behavioral scientist to help with acceptability and scaling up let me know!
Start working on that intro for the NEJM! Let me know if you need articles for your background section - I can send them to you if you are having trouble accessing them - seriously.
Thought you would find this interesting and amusing: The Waterfront Commission, which was set up to combat organized crime and corruption on the docks of the New York/New Jersey harbor, has now been found to be on the take! The whole Commission! And the detectives they employed who were supposed to be doing background checks on the longshoreman spent their mornings guarding their own designated parking spots in Lower Manhattan. Where's Marlon Brando and Karl Malden when you need them?
We love you so much and though we really wish you were home, we are so proud that you are doing such important work over there.
much love,
N, J & e
Hi Francis, it's Abbie! It's really terrible what the people in Afghanistan have to go through. It really makes you think about how much you take for granted. It's so great that you are helping them. I'm glad I finally found your blog! Stay safe!!! :)
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