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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Letter from Afghanistan: daily grind | Letter from Afghanistan: daily grind |
| (17 days later) | |
| The shop owner squats, disdainful, outside the open door. Inside, a scruffy camel looms out of the darkness, tethered for its 10-hour shift circling grinding stones, almost invisible in the gloom. The camel, like the man who tends the mill, is a cog in the production of sesame oil. | The shop owner squats, disdainful, outside the open door. Inside, a scruffy camel looms out of the darkness, tethered for its 10-hour shift circling grinding stones, almost invisible in the gloom. The camel, like the man who tends the mill, is a cog in the production of sesame oil. |
| Every two and a half hours, 12kg of seed produce six litres of high-quality oil. There are two camels and two men, each working 10-hour shifts: the camel pacing its circular groove in the damp earth, the man adding seeds, stirring, checking and pacing the millstone set in the floor. | Every two and a half hours, 12kg of seed produce six litres of high-quality oil. There are two camels and two men, each working 10-hour shifts: the camel pacing its circular groove in the damp earth, the man adding seeds, stirring, checking and pacing the millstone set in the floor. |
| A rough calculation, on a day when every last litre is sold, has the owner taking $240 a day before expenses, which include enough food to keep the camels alive, pay the workers, purchase raw seed and one light bulb. | A rough calculation, on a day when every last litre is sold, has the owner taking $240 a day before expenses, which include enough food to keep the camels alive, pay the workers, purchase raw seed and one light bulb. |
| It's a family trade – fathers, uncles, sons and cousins inheriting the business – and the camel. The piles of Jerry cans attest to the popularity of the oil. Afghan friends from Kabul confirm the quality, making the trek to the dingy mud shop whenever they visit Mazar. Business is good. | It's a family trade – fathers, uncles, sons and cousins inheriting the business – and the camel. The piles of Jerry cans attest to the popularity of the oil. Afghan friends from Kabul confirm the quality, making the trek to the dingy mud shop whenever they visit Mazar. Business is good. |
| When I suggest the process will be replaced, overtaken by modern methods that are the death of such old technologies, he is adamant. No, this is cheap and simple; the owner makes a good living with minimal investment and few overheads, so why change? | When I suggest the process will be replaced, overtaken by modern methods that are the death of such old technologies, he is adamant. No, this is cheap and simple; the owner makes a good living with minimal investment and few overheads, so why change? |
| He has a point, but post-conflict Mazar is flourishing. Balkh province, of which Mazar is the capital, sits comfortably astride major trading routes in northern Afghanistan, profiting from traffic with neighbouring Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Iran. | He has a point, but post-conflict Mazar is flourishing. Balkh province, of which Mazar is the capital, sits comfortably astride major trading routes in northern Afghanistan, profiting from traffic with neighbouring Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Iran. |
| Cheap Chinese and Pakistani goods flood the bazaars of a city that is a popular pilgrimage site for Shia Muslims visiting the glorious Hazrat Ali tomb and mosque. | Cheap Chinese and Pakistani goods flood the bazaars of a city that is a popular pilgrimage site for Shia Muslims visiting the glorious Hazrat Ali tomb and mosque. |
| The Novruz holiday at the end of March brought pilgrims flocking from Afghanistan and Iran. Nothing can obscure the mosque's breathtaking flourishes of mosaic and tilework in every heavenly shade of blue and turquoise. | The Novruz holiday at the end of March brought pilgrims flocking from Afghanistan and Iran. Nothing can obscure the mosque's breathtaking flourishes of mosaic and tilework in every heavenly shade of blue and turquoise. |
| How long before equally cheap Chinese technology replaces ancient millstones is impossible to gauge, but for now these dark little shops with the camels and pure, golden oil are securely in business. | How long before equally cheap Chinese technology replaces ancient millstones is impossible to gauge, but for now these dark little shops with the camels and pure, golden oil are securely in business. |
| Every week Guardian Weekly publishes a Letter from one of its readers from around the world. We welcome submissions – they should focus on giving a clear sense of a place and its people. Please send them to weekly.letter.from@guardian.co.uk | Every week Guardian Weekly publishes a Letter from one of its readers from around the world. We welcome submissions – they should focus on giving a clear sense of a place and its people. Please send them to weekly.letter.from@guardian.co.uk |
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