Anzac Heirs: Firm footing on dangerous grounds

Lieutenant Brad King keeps watch in Bamiyan, Afghanistan. Photo / NZ Defence Force

For seven years, New Zealanders have toiled in a remote region of one of the most hostile countries in the world. They may be a long way from anywhere, but a recent group of important visitors have shown they're far from forgotten.

Kiwi commanders of the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Afghanistan's Bamiyan province recently hosted top brass from the International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF).

This was no courtesy visit from the bosses at HQ to a far-flung outpost, as ISAF's deputy commander Lieutenant General Sir Nick Parker made clear to the New Zealanders.

"Bamiyan is the most secure province in Afghanistan and we need to learn how you achieved this security and take that to other provinces," he said.

It was testament to the work the NZ Defence Force has done since it took over command of the PRT in 2003.

About 130 NZDF personnel make up the contingent, based in the township of Bamiyan which sits 2250m above sea level, almost as high as Mount Ruapehu.

The altitude means harsh winters, a difficulty made more so by the hazards unearthed when the heavy snow melts. During their time in Afghanistan the New Zealanders have unearthed and cleared pathways and roads from mines, drastically decreasing the danger for people moving along the bumpy, grinding local roads.

But each spring, the thaw sees river levels rise, increasing the risk of mines being moved on to roads and fords.

It's a portent reminder each year that though Bamiyan may be the most secure province in the country, there are still hidden dangers.

The PRT is made up of New Zealand military and police personnel as well as representatives from the United States armed forces and government aid agency, USAID.

New Zealand's 129-member contribution comes from the Army, Navy and Air Force, with each rotation lasting six months.

Its main task is to maintain security in the province by conducting patrols, and supporting the provincial and local government. It also helps with and supervises aid projects paid for by NZAID, New Zealand's development agency.

The projects have included providing a generator and textbooks to local schools, installing a micro hydropower plant, and repairing and building water supplies.

The New Zealand contingent has been praised for its pro-active approach and the way in which it engages with the local people to find solutions to problems.

This approach was evident in February when NZPRT leaders, including Colonel Martin Dransfield, met with former Taliban and Mujahadeen commanders to discuss two recent murders in the Shikari valley.

The jirga (assembly of elders), held in a mosque, uncovered local unease about a lack of facilities which the local people believed was driving some people to crime.

Colonel Dransfield said the meeting was a way for local leaders to figure out ways of building peace in the country, with the help of the international community.

"These are the first steps in a long period of engagement between the Government and a number of communities that believed they had been forgotten," he said. "This jirga is a movement forward in the process of turning some of the insurgents."

This is just the sort of outcome New Zealand's PRT has been quietly but proudly achieving.


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