Reflections from the Field from Nangarhar to Bamyan: Reactions to International Involvement in Afghanistan after September 11, 2001

Abstract

Since 2009, I have conducted ethnographic research in Afghanistan, initially among Pashtuns in Nangarhar Province, and then, for a longer period of time, among Hazaras in Bamyan Province. Spending time in both regions, one of which has been subjected to a worsening security situation, and the other which has enjoyed relative peace since 2001, has given me insight into the ways the majority ethnic group of each province has experienced and interpreted international intervention post-9/11. My first project involved Pashtun women working with income-generation projects through international development NGOs in 2010. Many of the women, and their families, appreciated such economic opportunities, while others were concerned with the cultural implications of women working, particularly in those families in which the women were not widows. More generally, Pashtuns in Nangarhar had very mixed feelings about intervention, particularly military intervention, especially as fighting in the region between the Taliban and mainly U.S. forces increased following the U.S. surge in 2010, which, concentrated in the south, eventually drove insurgents to the east. While the Taliban certainly terrorized civilians, collateral damage, problems dealing with local customs, and the fact that many communities might support insurgents for a variety of reasons, from a desire for self-determination to a desire to take advantage of what the Taliban had to offer, and simple resentment of foreigners' presence, also led to animosity towards the United States.Subsequently, I researched Hazara ethnic identity for fourteen months over 2011-2013. This is a group that has seen its fortunes change drastically as a result * Melissa Kerr Chiovenda completed her dissertation fieldwork in Afghanistan for an anthropology Ph.D. at the University of Connecticut. She spent a total of eighteen months in Bamyan, Nangarhar, and Kabul conducting research. She also holds an M.A. in anthropology from the University of Connecticut and in Russian, Eurasian, and East European Studies from Georgetown University. Melissa is an affiliated faculty member at Emerson College and a research fellow in the