Arrival in An Daral
Today we arrived in An Daral. It is a small town not far from Farah where we are stationed. We drove though the city with our military vehicles and were instantly surrounded by young and old. The boys in particular, were very interested in our equipment and followed after us as we drove though the town. I commanded the soldiers to get down and meet with the children. I believe it is important to show them that we are friendly and want to help improve their lives. The children were so excited especially when we gave out toys and candy. They couldn't believe their luck. They were so happy just to receive small items that seem trivial to us, but are things that they had never seen before. Some boys stared at one of our soldiers who is of African descent. I don't think they had ever seen a person with black skin before. I don't believe that they were racist, just incredibly curious. The people in this area are very poor. The Taliban left very little of value and ther...