Why to Lay the Land with Mines While Possible to Cultivate Hing Instead?

We leave Ali Abad toward Kunduz city. Our aim is not only to reach Badakhshan. We want to see what we are looking for in this journey. From Kunduz’s sweet melon to cucumber of Takhar, and eating of fish in Kishm district of Badakhshan. We want to eat Mantu (beef dumplings) in Baharak district of Badakhshan.  

Our final destination is ‘Cheshma Yasij’ in Shohada district of Badakhshan. Shohada is famous for its nick name of Badakhshan’s heaven in the spring and early summer.

We reached to Kunduz’s Khan Abad district by noon. The city has clear weather, tall trees, and hot summer. The residents enjoy the humid shadows. The second thing which joys the residents is that they have got ridden of irresponsible armed individuals. Almost all warlords, and irresponsible armed individuals have been imprisoned by the security forces and people’s anguish has ended.

There are melon sellers in Khan Abad city. I have an amazing sense of the city since I have born and raised here. I remember the melon which I used to eat from the area back in 1994, which was very sweet. 

But now a days there is no melon fields for climate changes have changed everything in the area. 

Though this year the rain-fed yields were promising in all Afghanistan, including Khan Abad district, but series of droughts coupled with less-precipitation have reduced the yields.

We sat by a tree shadow in Khan Abad. We separated some melon from the load of them. We started cutting the melon with sharp knife. We got full so easily as the melons were so sweet.

Swimming makes us hungry again but we have to go. We reached to Bangi district at 3:30 PM.  

Some of us buy cucumber from Cheshma Bangi and ate. 

It might have been 1996 when I was nine years old and used shepherding in hills at west of the Bangi district. When we got hungry, we would go to the cucumber fields and eat cucumber. The cucumbers were soft and tasty. This time we are also searching for those cucumber, for which I have many memories. After a quick search, we find it. 

We continue our journey and see green mountains as we continue. We reached to Badakhshan’s Kishm district late evening. We buy fresh fish meat from our way and eat. We spent the night at Faizabad, provincial capital, and start our journey the next morning to our final destination, Shohada district.

We reached to Baharak district early morning. We searched all the shops for Watani, homemade, cream but the shops have not opened yet. Since everybody drinks milk and there is less demand for create; thus, it is not supplied to the market.

We then start going to Yasij and the weather changes. As we move further, though it is August, but the weather gets cold as we fell it. We ate breakfast cross water stream. 

We reached to Yasij where there are lots of turnip fields and Hing. As I remember that most of the province have the capacity to be cultivated Hing. Wish instead of laying mines in Kunduz-Baghlan hill, it is cultivated Hing. If they are cultivated Hing, no animal will starve to death nor the farmers economy will weaken.

Afghanistan has a five-year plan, if implemented and funded, Afghanistan could earn over eight billion USD from exporting the medical plant. 

As we return to Kabul, I asked why the hills and sub-hills across the ways are not cultivated Hing. I asked myself why anyone would cultivate the area mine instead of Hing. 

I still have not found an answer for my question.