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02/02/2004: "Kandahar Chronicles #65 - 02/02/2004"

We celebrated Eid yesterday with the guys working in the compound. As it is a holiday, there was only two drivers, two guards, Jaweed and the four of us. As opposed to “Little Eid”, which is celebrated after Ramadan, “Big Eid” takes place during the time of the Haj. This is the time when millions of Muslims make the pilgrimage to Mecca, something every Muslim who can afford it should do. More to the point here, it is also the time when thousands of sheep are slaughtered on the first day of the celebration. I planned for a similar celebration and sent Jaweed out to buy a sheep. It was also Hamil’s birthday so as a present to him I had Jaweed also pick up a beat up game of table football that I’ve seen in front of a near by shop. I rented it for two days and put it in front of the office close to where we built a barbeque pit. The poor sheep spent its last hours listening to firecrackers in the street, the cheers of football combatants and the sound of knives being sharpened.

It wasn’t nice but the guys dispatched of the sheep quickly. To remove the hide a small incision was made near the hip and one of the guards blew into it until the ballooned away from the muscle. We soon had it over the coals, closely watched by the cats. As it cooked I ordered bread and made a couple of big trays of roast vegetables. Except for some hopped up crazy letting loose with his AK47 down the street all preparations went smoothly. Hamil, who is a vegetarian, (“I won’t eat it but it is anatomically interesting”) and myself maintained a circuit from the table, to the house for vodka lemons, and the BBQ pit to chat with the cooks. Maria, who has settled in well now, kept the guys on their toes with her boundless energy. We ate it Afghan style in the guard room although I’m not sure what they thought of roast vegetables as there was plenty left. Lots of chai and Zam-Zam cola and then we retreated to the house for more vodkas. Eid and a birthday Kandahar style. It was interesting.