MIRABAD VALLEY, Afghanistan - In many regions of Uruzgan province, villagers have never seen any presence of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, let alone coalition forces.
With the appearance of a new patrol base, Patrol Base Mohammed, in eastern Mirabad Valley, many of the villagers in the area are coming into contact with the Afghan National Army and its coalition mentors for the first time.
The fully ANA controlled base hopes to bring security to the region and push the Taliban further east, away from the population.
Normally in these situations, coalition members meet with key leaders and try to arrange a town meeting, called a shura in the Afghan culture.
In this case it was the people of a local town, Charmestan, that asked for the meeting.
The meeting was called during the early stages of the base being built.
"They're trying to satisfy their curiosity," said Australian Army Maj. Brenton J. Pearce, commander of Combat Team B, 2nd Mentoring Task Force, Combined Team Uruzgan. "They want to open the lines of communication."
Pearce, an Adelaide, South Australia, native, said one of the town people's greatest concerns was security. They appeared to be satisfied with their standard of living and just wanted to feel safe.
In order to set the people at ease, Afghan National Army Lt. Col. Said Serajudin, the commander of 3rd Kandak (Battalion), 4th Brigade, 205th ANA Corps and responsible for all Mirabad Valley, came to the shura to speak with the community.
"We don't have to let the enemy divide the people of Mirabad," Serajudin told the villagers at the shura. "We want to bring the people to the government and the government to the people."
Pearce said, overall, the shura was a success. The Afghan government fulfilled the villagers' need for information and made an important tie with the community.
One of the most memorable points of the meeting, for Pearce, occurred when he told the village elder that although they had different religions, their God was the same.
The villager then replied, "I understand Jesus is your prophet and you understand Mohammed is ours. As long as we both understand this, there can be trust between us."
Pearce said, after 30 years of fighting, it's hard for the people of Afghanistan to trust foreigners.
"This shura was the first step to harvesting a relationship with the community and bringing opportunity to the people," he said.
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