Last month, while I was visiting my family in southeastern Afghanistan, my mobile rang. I didn’t dare answer it.
I recognised the number — it was a colleague I work with at the World Food Programme (WFP) office in Kabul — but I couldn’t risk being overheard speaking to her in English.
Most of my relatives in Paktia province don’t know that I work for the United Nations. I tell them I run a private business — the same story I give to my neighbours in Kabul. The truth could put us all in danger.
I’ve never programmed the numbers of my international colleagues into my mobile phone because I don’t want someone to find them there if I’m searched at a roadblock. I leave my work phone behind when I travel to the south to visit relatives and friends.
None of this is unusual. Many of my Afghan colleagues at WFP do the same things, and some take even more precautions against the risks we face just coming to work every day.
There are people here who believe that working with non-Muslims is forbidden. Some are willing to use violence to enforce this belief, and may not differentiate between someone working for a foreign military force and someone working for a humanitarian agency.
The gap between rich and poor is also an issue. Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries on Earth, and some people assume that those of us working for international agencies are wealthy — which could make us and our relatives targets for kidnappers seeking ransom.
There was a time, not so long ago, when a UN job was something people would be eager to show off. A position like mine would bring prestige and social status.
But for me and for so many of my colleagues, our motivation is something much deeper, and it inspires us to face the risks that now accompany the work we do.
I look around and see a country that desperately needs development, stability and growth. In 30 years of war, we were kept separate from the world. Afghanistan now needs continuous engagement with the international community to repair the damage done. It also needs people with skills and education to build Afghanistan a better future.
I feel a sense of responsibility to help my country grow. My work at WFP is one way of facing up to that responsibility and the challenges that go along with it. Not only are we feeding more than eight million people, we are also rehabilitating irrigation canals and feeding children through our school meals programme; laying the groundwork for sustained recovery and development.
Today is the first annual World Humanitarian Day, which honours the dedication of the many thousands of aid workers around the world who have devoted themselves to humanitarian service. We remember especially our colleagues who have lost their lives while bringing assistance to others.
Here in Afghanistan I am reminded every day that the places where humanitarian needs are greatest are often the places where we face the greatest dangers in meeting those needs. I, for one, am determined to continue the fight against hunger in Afghanistan.
The writer works with the UN World Food Programme in Kabul. His name is not being used to protect his identity.