A Day in the Life of the Panjshir PRT – a Visit to Mokini Village
The Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), located in the Panjshir Valley in the Hindu Kush, covers some of the most rugged, remote territory in Afghanistan. The team is made up of Air Force and Army personnel, along with civilian members from the U.S. Department of State, USAID, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
A typical day in the life of the PRT would be the team’s visit to Mokini village, located at 8,500 feet above sea level in a side valley of the Panjshir in the Khenj district of the province. The village is several miles from the nearest road, requiring a two-hour hike up a rocky trail with several river crossings over makeshift bridges or boulders, and is not served by any clinics or schools. The PRT visited Mokini in order to discuss with village elders an appropriate site for a PRT-funded school project, and to get a sense of what other pressing needs the villagers might have.
The first stop on the trip was to distribute pens and stuffed animals to several children who were gathered in a village along the way, followed by a visit with the Khenj District Governor in the district’s central village to learn about his priorities, and views on a possible school location. After departing the meeting with the governor, the team checked-in on a nearby PRT-funded micro hydro-electric project to check on its progress with engineers and village elders. Following the micro hydro-electric stop, the team got back into its vehicles and drove further up the unimproved road to the side valley where the vehicles would be left behind and the hot, dusty climb to Mokini would begin.
Along the way the team encountered countless switchbacks and caves used by Panjshiri Mujahedeen fighters resisting the Soviet occupation and Taliban rule. The fighters were so effective, neither the Soviets nor the Taliban succeeded in occupying the Panjshir Valley.
Upon arriving in Mokini, the team distributed more pens, stuffed animals and other items to another group of children it encountered in the village. Next came a meeting with village elders and the contractor chosen to build the school. Several potential sites were discussed, although most were rejected due to threat posed by avalanches or the potential for river flooding. An additional consideration was the lack of road access -- all construction equipment would have to be packed-in to the site by animals or workers, who would essentially have to build the school with hand tools.
After further discussions about a range of issues including voter registration, security of the area, and preparations for winter, the PRT said its farewells, and prepared for its two-hour journey back down to valley. The villagers expressed appreciation for the visit, telling the team that the PRT members were virtually the only outsiders to make the journey up to the village.
The Panjshir PRT members headed back down the trail to their vehicles which would carry them another two hours back to the PRT’s forward operating base in a different part of the valley. Along the way back home, the PRT was sidetracked by a flat tire on one of its vehicles – a frequent occurrence due to the extremely rough road conditions in the valley. After changing the tire using flashlights, the team headed home, arriving back at its base after 9:00 pm following its 13 hour mission to Mokini. Once home, the work continued, as early the following morning some of the team would head out on an overnight trip to an even more remote part of the province, while others would head in the opposite direction to check on the progress of PRT micro hydro-electric projects located in elsewhere in the valley. All in a day’s work for the Panjshir PRT.