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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday February 2, 2008 - 3 Female journalist shares Afghanistan experience By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF The young women of St. Mildred'sLightbourn School (SMLS) received an amazing lesson on the challenges faced by their counterparts in southern Afghanistan from someone who has seen them first-hand. Award winning CBC Journalist Susan Ormiston commanded the attention of hundreds of students on Tuesday as she talked about her recent experiences working as a female journalist in a wartorn country where many other western journalists fear to tread. During this time Ormiston filed stories ranging in topic from the lack of security at the Afghan/Pakistani border to the mental trauma endured by Canadian soldiers, who have seen combat, to the situation of women in Afghanistan's south. In the course of her travels, which were often without security, Ormiston interviewed soldiers, warlords, poppy farmers and many others, however, at SMLS she was the one answering the questions. "There's a whole range of habits within the Afghan culture," said Ormiston when asked by a student why women in Afghanistan are still wearing the top-totoe burkas that were in place during the reign of the Taliban. "In Afghanistan, there are families that are okay with women wearing head scarves and there are families that think women must be in burkas. It's cultural more than it is religious. There's nothing about Islam, as far as I know, that says women have to wear burkas." When traveling among the people in southern Afghanistan, Ormiston said she wore a headscarf and a long dress and got the impression from the locals that this was fine, but only because she was a westerner and as such didn't really know what she was doing. For Afghan women, however, the situation is different. "While they may not like the burka, they would be foolish not to wear it in that area. You would be asking for trouble in that part of Afghanistan." While Ormiston was initially embedded with the Canadian military during her time in Afghanistan, she said she felt it was important to also show stories about the people of Afghanistan themselves because there are issues there that are not widely covered by the Canadian media. "We hear an awful lot about Afghanistan in the news, but much of it has been about the military effort and much of it now is about the politics of whether we stay in Afghanistan or not," said Ormiston. "I would like to work more on the education aspect. There's a Canadian woman who has just returned to Kabul, and she is training Afghan women how to be police officers. Imagine, that's a big shift and that would be a very interesting story to follow." Poor security, however, continues to stand in the way of Ormiston covering many of these stories, and while she believes Canadian soldiers are making a difference in bringing security to Afghanistan, she continues to question whether Canada can make these differences stick. "One Sunday morning I got into an armoured vehicle and I drove for about two or three hours, 40 kilometres outside Kandahar city. This was a convoy of 12 trucks, eight of them armoured vehicles, commanded by the most highly trained officers in the military, and our sole mission was to deliver a truck full of food and aid to a village of 200 people," she said. "That's a lot of effort to put a footprint in a very small place and even now that area is still being threatened by the Taliban a year later. I don't think we should abandon the project, but I also think we need to figure out which areas we can make a lasting difference in." Other parts of Ormiston's journey yielded more positive signs of progress, like three girls she met at an Afghan school. Ormiston said she knows that these girls will grow up to do something with their lives, which they would have been denied had the Taliban remained in power. Meeting these people and doing her job in Afghanistan did not come without risks, as foreign journalists have been the targets of Taliban kidnappings. As such, Ormiston took precautions noting that when she left the relative security of the Kandahar Airfield NATO base, where she was headquartered, she would slink down in the backseat of the car as she traveled into Kandahar City. She would also not stay in one place very long and would take a different route every time. "The trick to survival is to not have a pattern, so if someone is watching you and wants to do harm to you, they won't be sure where you are at any given time," said Ormiston. Despite all these initiatives, Ormiston said she did have some close calls. "We stayed at the Serena Hotel in Kabul for several days while we were DAVID LEA / OAKVILLE BEAVER VISUAL DEMONSTRATION: A student puts on a burka brought in by CBC Journalist Susan Ormiston (right) during a visit to St. Mildred's-Lightbourn School. Now open at the RioCan Centre As an Ontario Salon Team of the Year winner, we strive to be our best so we can bring out the very best in you. For your winning look book an appointment today--and if it's a first visit receive a luxurious Hair Treatment or a Facial Experience absolutely free. RioCan Centre (BURLOAK & QEW), Oakville 905 825 3335 840 Main Street, Milton 905 876 3232 1122 Dorval Drive, Oakville 905 847 1222 2000 Appleby Line, Burlington 905 319 8854 www.salonvenere.com venere salon and spa See Journalist page 5 PREPARE FOR THE ROAD AHEAD. 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