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CNN Saturday Morning News

Life Continues in Afghanistan

Aired October 27, 2001 - 07:06   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: In the midst of the near-constant allied bombardment, life does go on in Afghanistan.

CNN's Chris Burns gives us one slice of daily life, taking a ride on a horse-drawn taxi as it gathers passengers and the latest talk on the street.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the only job Kahn Sherin (ph) knows, driving a horse and buggy from Golbahar to Charikar (ph) and back. He's done it for the past seven years, since he was 13. He's even ferried troops to the front. He gets about 50 U.S. cents per ride, about 20 riders a day.

Along the way he catches the local buzz from his customers, as cab drivers have for centuries.

At 20 years old, wartime is all Kahn knows. Born during the Soviet occupation, a teenager when the Taliban overran his town. No surprise, he's a big fan of the U.S.-led air strikes. "The air bombardments are good," he says, "but if they don't get rid of the Taliban, then the American intervention is not a good thing."

Juma Kahn (ph), on his way to Golbahar, an unemployed mechanic with a family, he says the air raids shouldn't stop. "We're of course not happy about the bombardments," he says. "They will destroy our country. But if it means they will get rid of the Taliban, then that's good."

Afghanistan has been repeatedly struck by human- and nature- wrought disaster. Three years of drought have taken a heavy toll.

(on camera): The war is, of course, the biggest issue talked about here, but a close second is the poverty, the high price of flour, oil, and the struggle to find a job in a land that's lived with conflict for more than 23 years.

(voice-over): Kahn Sherin hears about it all the time. "They complain they don't have work," he says, "that everything's so expensive, that there are shortages. They all ask, What are they going to do about the high prices?"

But passenger Abdel Alim says, "It's still better here than in Taliban-run Kabul." He left the capital a month ago. "I came here to work as a farmer. I was born here," he says. "We hope that our country becomes a peaceful one, that the calamities end."

"We're very tired of war," says Kahn. Like the harness on his horse, Kahn puts up with the burdens of a country in conflict but, like the rest of his town, yearns to take back the reins of his life someday.

Chris Burns, CNN, Golbahar, Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Now for another view from inside Afghanistan, we go to Kamal Hyder in Kandahar.

Kamal, what have you been seeing lately?

KAMAL HYDER, JOURNALIST: Well, Marty, I basically crossed the border in the morning. There wasn't much activity on the border, presumably because the Pakistani authorities had let in the backlog that was crowding on the border. We were able to drive with the fair comfort as far as our drive to Kandahar was concerned. There were a few telltale signs of the bombing in the earlier days, but there seems to have -- the bombing seems to have eased out -- Marty.

SAVIDGE: Well, what do we know about the whereabouts of the main body of Taliban forces now?

HYDER: Hello?

SAVIDGE: Kamal, can you hear me?

Kamal, I was wondering if you can still hear me. What we know about the main body of Taliban forces, are they in hiding, are they in urban areas, or have they spread out more into the countryside?

Obviously we're having difficulty communicating with him. It's not easy dealing with someone that far away. We'll try to get back in touch.

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