Sylvia's Journal

On my way to and from work I pass by the local police station. It is far enough from my house to not have to worry in case it is targeted (it was only once, two years ago) and close enough to be a pain in the neck because of all the bumps in the road the authorities created to slow traffic down and the sometimes large congregation of police cars and men hanging around waiting for something to happen.

On the long row of blast walls demarcating one side of the compound someone, each day, posts at least 15 recruitment posters featuring a handsome soldier dutifully saluting a large Afghan flag fluttering in a breeze. And every day someone else tears them all off the wall. It is a silent war between two factions.

Today, with a lot of fanfare, the agreement was signed between the US and Afghan governments about channeling US development funds directly through the Afghan government rather than through organizations like us. The ceremony included the US ambassador and ministers of those ministries that will be on the receiving end. The ministry of health is among them.

The ceremony will stress the principles and the philosophy of this move that few could argue with. It’s the high view, far above the melee in which we are engaged. The whole transition is immeasurably complicated to pull off. We are the foot soldiers trying to turn the good idea into something feasible, and, most importantly, something that will produce results – this is the mantra. Aside from our US taxpayer dollars much else is at stake, not the least the employ and future job satisfaction of many of our Afghan colleagues. They, more than we expats, are entering into a phase of great uncertainty and risk.

It is as if I am living inside a textbook of organizational change. Everything applies. Bill Bridges work on transitions is particularly relevant – we have let go of one trapeze and the other one is just swinging our way – our hands are outstretched, but will it get to us in time? The abundant complaints about poor communication are just surface symptoms that hide something else – something more political, more sinister, about turf and power. But the language we use is about communication, clarity, understanding, ownership. If only it was about these things, then we could fix it.