Afghans Are People, Too

In a recreated Afghan village near Washington, new recruits learn the ways of war. The villagers are real Afghans. Prisoners must be treated as a Marine would be.

In the village square, carpets flutter in the wind. The speaker blares Oriental music. An old man sips on a cup of tea. A few young men chatter aimlessly while some women sit off to the side in the dust. From a window, an imam looks down at the idle scene. Between ochre-colored houses, a police officer walks about in wide trousers.

When uniformed Marines arrive in the village square brandishing machine guns, the peaceful scene abruptly comes to an end. The Marines approach from several directions. They are looking for rebels. The order of the day is to catch and arrest the ringleader “for a conversation.” The Afghans have an order as well: Prevent the Marines from entering houses to look for rebels. The encounter in the village square begins with loud screams. After only seconds, the first jostles occur.

The 19- to 21-year-old Marines are prospective recruits. The villagers are real Afghans, but the typical Afghan village where these two groups encounter each other today is located about an hour’s drive away from the U.S. capital, at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia. In this recreated village, complete with Afghans wearing turbans and burqas from the local costume rental store, soon-to-be U.S. soldiers learn how to handle real-life scenarios. Important are both military techniques and culture. They are supposed to practice talking to civilians and proper conduct with women, preferably without using any violence.

The fake Afghan village in Quantico and the actors, who have been hired at a daily rate of $240, are lessons learned from the war in Iraq. Future encounters between the U.S. military and the civilian population need better preparation. Major Alvino Mendonca, trainer of the prospective soldiers who himself served in Ramadi in Iraq, was assigned 256 young men and women for the six-month-long training. He has already weeded out 10 of them. Today he wants to see whether the remaining trainees are up to the challenge.

In front of an ochre-colored house, someone is being arrested. Shortly before the incident, when the Marines had entered the house, gunshots were heard. Now, two men in Afghan clothes are kneeling on the ground, their faces toward the wall. A young Marine shouts at his fellow soldier not to handle them with kid gloves. “They shot at us! What do we care if they are injured?” he yells. “Completely wrong,” his trainer will tell him later during the evaluation. “An injured rebel has to be treated just like a Marine.”

The elite troop is keen to maintain its reputation, not only in Afghanistan, but also in the world press. The U.S. Army has invited dozens of foreign journalists to Quantico to witness how Marines are trained to be respectful and open to conversation and so that they learn about culture, religion and gender roles in Muslim countries. Next to a recreated roadblock in between real razor barbed wire, the prospective solders learn what they should do when standing vis-à-vis a woman wearing a burqa. “A man is not allowed to address her and especially not to touch her,” an instructor explains.

Numerous young women are among the Marines as well. They are preparing to leave for Afghanistan in a few months. Many believe that they will make a special effort to establish contact with the female population. Megan Elliot from New Jersey is one of them. She had applied to the Marines out of patriotism. “I want to give back what I have received,” the 23-year-old says, explaining her choice. She does not ask any questions about the reasoning behind the wars her country wages. “I do what my country expects of me,” she says proudly.

A real Afghan in the fake Afghan village covers his face with a scarf. He does not want to be recognized. After many years of role-playing in military training camps in the United States, he will soon return to his country, only this time as translator for the U.S. Army.