This article is by Vanessa M Gezari. It starts off by introducing the Human Terrain System, a program that sends social scientist programs into conflict zones to help soldiers understand local culture, politics and economics. The article states a story about a woman named Paula Lloyd. A woman, on the Human Terrain System, was casually striking up a conversation with an Afghan man through an interpreter. After the interpreter walked away, she was set on fire by the same man. And to this day, it is still unclear why he did it. He was shot moments after the violent attack. In Afghan Culture, oral communication is the main type of communication. In fact, many people in Afghanistan are illiterate so they depend on stories, metaphors and anecdotes to convey meaning. However, Americans do not understand that. We were trained to understand things by reading them, analyzing them and understanding them. Gerazi tries to explain this miscommunication is what gets many Americans killed. She tries to say that the Americans need to learn to listen to the Afghans. They need to listen to their stories, and what they have to say because they are all not pointless. Understanding you enemy is the best tactic. You cannot fight a country without understanding their situation and their culture. She provides an example of a man who says “I would like to tell [the Americans] a story. In our country, we grow wheat and we have ants. There is no way we can stop the little ants from stealing the wheat. There are so many little ants it is almost impossible to stop them.” He says this to try to show the Americans the situation in Afghanistan. Gerazi’s main point is communication is key. I agree with her. You need to be able to fully understand you enemy before you go off having a multibillion dollar war with them and wasting tax payer’s money and killing Americans. You have to indulge yourself in their culture and truly understand them.
Salma Haque
