Embedded Truth

Right Before My Eyes, A New View on Tragedy

2010-08-23T06:00:00.005-04:00

This is footage I shot as we ventured near the City of Kandahar. It's still hard to imagine how this unfolded right in front of me. Watch the video and you'll understand. It's raw and uncut.

Warning graphic scenes and language are contained in this video.

Tragedy Unfolds - Russell Matthews Field Report August 18, 2010

2010-08-18T06:00:00.001-04:00

This was one of the hardest reports I've ever done. Please leave your comments below.

Yesterday, we ventured outside the wire. A hundred vehicles left our new home at FOB Ma’sum ghar and headed for the combat outposts on the road to, and just beyond, the town of Mūshān. American and Canadian soldiers working together to resupply troops who are dug into the rocks and sand that permeate every corner of Afghanistan. Tanks. Stryker armored vehicles. Trucks. Hundreds of troops. An impressive force.

Yet the advantage still lies with the insurgents. They waited for us. Patiently. When we hit the edge of Mūshān they took out one of our lead vehicles, then laid down an unrelenting barrage of mortar and small arms fire. The convoy was under threat of annihilation.

In the midst of the battle, a human tragedy unfolded. A pregnant woman and her husband came to us in crisis. She was in labor and ready to deliver her baby. There was no doctor for hours in any direction. Her only chance was for one of our medics to assist in the birth. To ensure the woman and the child had a chance at life. But that didn’t happen. If we had stalled the convoy for the time it would take to help her, we would likely have been killed. The moment the disabled vehicle was removed from the road, we left. Chances are – we left her to die.

This is the tragedy of Afghanistan. We want to help. To change lives and bring stability to a country that hasn’t known peace for thirty years. Normal does not exist in Afghanistan. If there is a traffic jam it’s not because there was a fender bender, it’s because an IED exploded somewhere ahead on the road. Electricity and clean water are luxuries, not necessities. Medical facilities are non-existent. Guns are everywhere, and trust is nowhere. Hope has been erased from the average Afghan’s dictionary. They exist in a constant state of strife. Conflict surrounds them on every corner. Death and suffering are constant companions.

So how does Afghanistan rise out of this mess? It’s a good question, and one that does not have an easy answer. Perhaps, there may not be an answer.

Yesterday – outside the wire – we couldn’t help one woman in crisis. How are we supposed to help an entire country in crisis?

This is Russell Matthews reporting from FOB Ma’sum ghar, Afghanistan.

A Meeting with the Elders - August 12, 2010

2010-08-12T06:00:00.001-04:00

This has been an amazing experience. Here is my latest report. Please feel free to leave comments and I'll do my best to respond.

Four days ago I reported on a vicious firefight in the town of Dabarey, only a few miles from our Forward Operating Base.

We were ambushed, and three soldiers died in that fight.

Today I met with the tribal elders from Dabarey. They wanted to meet – to talk about their lives – their country –and their future. What I heard were real answers to the problems that plague Afghanistan.

Honest answers to difficult questions.

The answer – according to one of the elders who wished not to be identified – lies in stemming the endemic corruption that is crippling this country.

According to world statistics, only Somalia is more corrupt. Billions of dollars are siphoned off every year by a select few, while the masses suffer. Nothing new there. But in Afghanistan, there is little motivation for anything to change. The government of Hamid Karzai is often named as the most powerful thief in a dangerous nest of thieves. Corruption breeds insecurity. Stem it and you bring the insurgency to its knees. Then, stay – help the Afghans – some of whom have never known peace – to rebuild their schools, their hospitals, their police forces and the infrastructure necessary to provide water and electricity. And most importantly, provide education. Teach them to read and write – to build bridges and treat the sick – to design new buildings and open banks. These are an intelligent, resilient people, and if we gain their trust, we can help change lives. But we cannot gain this country’s trust solely through military means.

We need to help them rebuild. To stem the corruption. To educate the upcoming generation. That’s the message I heard today.

This is Russell Matthews, reporting from Spin Buldak, Afghanistan.

My First Report from Afghanistan - August 8th, 2010

2010-08-08T06:00:00.011-04:00

Here is my first report from Spin Buldak, Afghanistan - Please leave your comments and thoughts below, I'll do my best to respond as soon as I can:

This is Russell Matthews reporting from Spin Buldak on August 8th, 2010.

Yesterday, I accompanied three platoons of our troops as they mowed the grass. That’s their term for keeping the area around the FOB clear of Taliban. Mowing the grass.

At 07:00 hours, they left the safety behind the wire and headed out on heavily mined roads for the village of Dabarey. What they found in the village was not what they expected. The Taliban had snuck in during the night. They mined the incoming roads and the dusty fields surrounding the village and dug in to wait with three hundred of their best fighters. Less than one hundred of our troops. They in hiding. Us walking into a trap. The fight was intense. Brutal, even. We lost three men. Seventeen wounded. We killed scores of Taliban. I witnessed bravery that I never knew existed. I saw men repeatedly put their lives on the line to capture the town. Then, at the end of the day, we pulled back and returned to the FOB.

So why did we do it?

Why did the soldiers of the 5th Brigade venture out from behind the wire and risk their lives?

Because the soldiers look at Afghanistan as a garden. It’s a garden that’s choking on weeds and the Afghans don’t have the gardeners to tend it. That falls to the US and Canadian and British forces working in the Kandahar and Helmand regions of southern Afghanistan. It falls on us to give the men, women, and children who live in villages like Dabarey a chance at a normal life. The right to attend school. The right to a life without fear and violence. The right to a stable and just government. There’s a cost – an incredible cost – to this responsibility. But the men and women who venture outside the wire believe in their mission. They believe Afghanistan is worth saving. This is Russell Matthews, reporting from Spin Buldak, near Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Feeling Grounded, Waiting for the Roads to Clear

2010-08-01T13:23:00.000-04:00

On my way to the flight, street boys waited at every intersection offering everything from balloons to warding off evil spirits. I asked my driver if they were orphans, but to my surprise he said they weren't. Most of their parents are too sick, or injured, and so poor the children are forced to work the streets. They end up with no education and working for nothing their entire lives. Heartbreaking.

This has given me even more determination to get the stories that need to be told. To show what it's actually like over here, not only for the country and the people in it, but for our soldiers and what they have to face.

Right now, I'm stuck, waiting for the roads to clear. Darcy Plotkin, from the 5th Stryker Brigade picked me up, only to send me to a hotel. To be so close is frustrating, not being able to make that final leg of the journey to the Forward Operating Base (FOB) with the troops. It comes with the territory it seems, as I am quickly finding out.

The roads from Kandahar to Spin Buldak are not safe to pass, from what I can gather Taliban plant IUD's, wait for the vehicles to explode and then attack.

Almost there...

‘til next time.
Russell

In the Garden of Eden

2010-07-30T19:47:00.000-04:00

It's a long journey, but at least I've made it this far.

It seems surreal that I can spend quiet time in the garden out back of this historical lodge (address of the legendary Harry Flashman), knowing what is surrounding us.

War, poverty. You can taste it in the air.

I'm bracing myself for what is to come, but you never really can prepare yourself for what will happen. That being said, I'm here with a purpose, and am determined to fulfill that.

Hopefully I can report more soon, when I finally get my papers and can leave this Garden of Eden and venture into the war-torn abyss.

‘til next time.
Russell

Grass to Mow

2010-07-14T20:03:00.003-04:00

Well, here we are, 13 days from Afghanistan and I'm not sure what to expect. Well, I know what not to expect; krispy kreme donuts and wifi.

A big trip for me, I'm ever hopeful I can portray the truth and show what it's really like for the soldiers over there. It's tough to get across in 60 second clips but I'm hoping for a feature not a nutshell. Lot's going on in my life and all I can think about is the grass needs cutting, and will need cutting again before I leave.

Finding time to blog has proven to be harder than I thought, but I'm committed to it and as I get off this continent, I'll have more time and am actually looking forward to it.

‘til next time.
Russell

Getting Nervous

2010-07-08T15:08:00.006-04:00

So here I am, 19 days from getting on a plane and leaving for another war zone, this time Afghanistan. My stomach is grinding into a giant knot – food tastes different – my mouth goes dry when I focus on what’s coming. It gets harder because I know that instead of a trip to the mall in my SUV, I’ll be rolling outside the wire in an armored vehicle. Being on the move becomes life-and-death.

My wife, Tina, thinks I’m nuts. She’s always suggesting that I get a job at one of the local papers and write copy for the crime beat. Lots of action and nobody is trying to blow my ass off. I’m tempted. I really am. But then I start thinking about what happens over there when I’m embedded with the troops and it all falls apart.

It’s giving my readers the real story that keeps me going. Maybe it’s simply the adrenalin rush. I’ve committed to one month with the guys in the 5^th Stryker Brigade, 2^nd Infantry Division and that’s what I’m doing.

I started this blog to flush things out a bit. What most people see are my reports on location, but they never know what I’m thinking. Or feeling. So here we go. I hope you hang around and read these things. I promise I’ll keep them short.

Anyway, I sure hope you’ll be watching the reports as the network airs them. That’s what makes this craziness all worthwhile.

‘til next time.
Russell