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Afghan National Army Cooking School
Afghan National Army trainees at the Kabul Military Training Centre learn to prepare food at the centre's cooking school. Shotlist: AUDIO TRANSCRIPT --VOICEOVER-- They say, 'an army marches on its stomach.' At the Kabul Military Training Centre, soldiers are being trained not only to support each other in battle but also in the kitchen. Healthy and clean food is an essential part of an army's well-being. But in Afghanistan, most young men's experience of food is firmly ground in the eating, not the preparing. NAJEEBULLAH ZAMANI, Cooking School Trainer --SOUNDBITE-- (DARI) "Usually the soldiers are not very interested in cooking skills and sometimes they are forced to join cooking. But during the lessons, the way we teach them cooking, they become interested in the skill, because we teach in a different way than the army taught before. Now they're becoming interested. They learn well and most of them remain until the end of the course." --VOICEOVER-- Najebullah trained as a chef in Switzerland. Now he's passing on his skills, overcoming the cultural perception that cooking is a women's job. NAJEEBULLAH ZAMANI, Cooking School Trainer --SOUNDBITE (DARI)-- "Normally in the training centre in Kabul they prepare a meal for more than 12,000 soldiers. This is a heavy task and only men can perform it, so they come to know that cooking as a skill can be for a man as well." KMTC COOKING STUDENT --SOUNDBITE-- (DARI) "It's important and I like it. I want to be a good cook and serve the people. Everyone needs food." --VOICEOVER-- These soldiers will be sent all over the country to cook for their kandaks or battalions. They take their training very seriously, as the consequences of food poisoning in a mess hall can be far more widely debilitating than injury on the battlefield. IV ALOUDDIN SHINWARI – Project Manager --SOUNDBITE (DARI)-- "In cooking the first stage is cleaning. A cook should first start from himself, then the area around him, otherwise all the people might get sick and will go to the hospital." --VOICEOVER-- The cooks are trained in hygiene, food preparation and balancing a diet. But their classrooms are small and there isn't the right equipment to train them for cooking in the field. Dr Shinwari says that without international help, the training would collapse. IV ALOUDDIN SHINWARI – Project Manager --SOUNDBITE-- "We know that for thirty to thirty-five years war destroyed this country. We're not left with any energy, manpower, money, building - nothing's left. If it isn't for this assistance, who can feed the army with such a population?" --VOICEOVER-- But he remains positive that the continuing growth of the Afghan National Army to a prospective 171,000 by the end of 2011 will mean that they won't always have to rely on international support. IV ALOUDDIN SHINWARI – Project Manager --SOUNDBITE (DARI)-- "We are slowly, slowly standing on our feet. Two years back or three years back, we didn't have an army with such quantity. But today that they are paid well, they have good facilities, given good food, that's why all the people are turning towards the army." --VOICEOVER-- This is Ruth Owen, in Kabul, for the NATO Channel. Due to problems with spam only SalfordOnline members can now leave comments. Becoming a member of SalfordOnline only takes a minute, just hit the red Join Us button at the top right hand side of the page to create your Personal account. Got a news story? Need help with publicity for an event in Salford? Send it to newsdesk@salfordonline.com or call the SalfordOnline newsdesk on 0161 789 5377. |
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