AHMED SHEIKH TAKOY INTERVIEW ABOUT "TALIBAN"

FROM THE LAND OF TALIBAN WITH RARE EXPERIENCE

Mr Ahmed Sheikh Takoy, many of you already know him as "Takoy", the name of his father, surprised many when he accepted a job posting to Afghanistan at a time when the country was best known for insecurity.

Mr Takoy, 34, first worked with the Kenya Commercial Bank from 1994, before joining Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), French for doctors without borders as finance administrator.
In 2001, Mr Takoy worked briefly in Somalia and Sudan before being moved to Afghanistan as country administrator and finance manager.

As a result, Mr Takoy became the first African to work in such expatriate capacity with Médecins Sans Frontières.

AFGHANISTAN WOMEN AND CHILDREN

"Afghanistan was the biggest MSF mission in the world at the time and enabled me to cater for poor women and children, who I had great feeling for," Mr Takoy said.

Mr Takoy switched to UNDP in 2003, but remained in Afghanistan where he was in charge of the South East region dominated by the Talibans.

"This was immediately after the war between Talibans and Americans, which saw Talibans kicked out of power. There was a lot of hostility and risks," he said.

In an interview in Nairobi, Mr Takoy said being Black made him be handled with a lot of suspicion by Talibans since they believed most Blacks worked for America.

"They thought I was an African American," Mr Takoy, whose work involved provision of humanitarian assistance, said.

Many Afghans had also never seen a Black person and ran after him wherever he went.
One time Mr Takoy went to a packed zoo in Kabul to see wildlife only for people there to stop watching the animals and flock to him.

"They wanted to know how I communicated as children accompanying them touched my skin. I understood them because they had never seen a Black person. Curiosity is part of our life. I would probably have done the same if I saw a white person for the first time," Mr Takoy said.

RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES

Mr Takoy said it was his Muslim religion that made the locals start accepting him as he mingled with them freely at mosque and during other religious activities.

Rough terrain, harsh weather and cut links with his family, apart from telephone conversations, for months, Mr Takoy said, were some of the challenges he experienced in Afghanistan.
With a population of about 30 million, Afghanistan is hilly and has one of the highest points in the world, making it difficult even for flight operations there.

"The whole country is dotted with mountains, the size of Mt Kenya. There are few roads and we usually took two days to cover a distance which in Kenya could take three hours," Mr Takoy said.
Motorists, he said, drive at less than 10km per hour and most people prefer riding on donkeys. At one time, Mr Takoy said, he transported $60,000 (about Sh4,200,000) on a donkey.
Driving is usually worse during winter, which lasts about six months due to formation of huge fog that covers the whole surface.

Temperatures rise to as high as 40 degrees centigrade during summer and drop to -24 degrees centigrade in winter. There were no air condition machines in Afghanistan when Mr Takoy served in the country.

Afghanistan is, however, beautiful, Mr Takoy said.

At Bandamir, for instance, seven lakes flow into each other and that water is pure blue and transparent.

Another tourist attraction is Dead Town, which was destroyed by Alexander the Great many years ago. The town lay in a small hill and is now completely deserted.

STILL IN CAVES

There is also a mosque, which was selected by Prophet Mohammed's son-in-law (for his use) and one cannot stand straight inside it as distance from top to ground has been decreasing.
Many Afghans, Mr Takoy said, still live in caves.

Mr Takoy, who comes from Mandera East, says that although the word Taliban sends shivers when mentioned in Kenya, he found the community friendly and hospitable. "Greeting is a must when they meet you. They also inquire about your health. They, however, have no urgency of time," Mr Takoy said.

Mr Takoy, was eyeing the Mandera East parliamentary seat which he contested in Last years 2007 elections, had attended Elwak and Rhamu primary schools, before proceeding to Huruma Secondary School in Nairobi.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the United States International University (USIU) in Nairobi.

Mr Takoy is married to Qureisha Maalim Ali and they have six children.

"I believe I have the capability to find practical solutions to redress the problems of Mandera East ," he says.

We believe we should give people like Takoy the mantle to run the affairs of MANDERA EAST CONSTITUENCY