American diaries } STORY OF TWO CABBIES
One, an Afghan who has been in the U.S. for 36 years. He fled Kabul when he was young. Went to places like Germany and Italy, then finally settled in the U.S. “There is no Kabulians in Kabul now”, he said. All jobs are taken over by Iranians and Pakistanis. “Because the lives of people in Kabul were torn apart by war and they could not get education. When you don’t have education, you do bad, stupid things”. You can see the sadness in his eyes. When we spoke of food, he spoke proudly of Afghan cuisine. “You must try our bread, you’ll love it”, he said.
Evening. Another cabbie. Old and jovial. “I’ve served 22 years in Vietnam. I was in the air force.” But don’t ask him about flying the planes yet, because he was a cook. The conversation moves to politics and he talks fondly of Trump. “He will save the economy and he will deal with the terrorists. They come in normal attire, you know. When we were in Nam, it happened the same way. The congs came disguised as civilians”.
Two sides. Two lives. Stories of survival and resilience, power and fear.