Interview with me!

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The local Stratford paper (where I'm from originally) published an interview with me today... I copied the text in here in case people want to read it...

Cheers

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Designing new roads halfway around the world

By Laura Cudworth

Staff reporter

One Stratford man is doing his part to build a lifeline through the heart of Afghanistan.

A recent graduate of geographic information systems at Carleton University in Ottawa, Alan Dodson is working on the preliminary survey work for a road from Herat to Kandahar.

The 560-kilometre road goes through all sorts of terrain, including mountains and desert. Mosaic Mapping Inc. of Ottawa is one of the most high-tech surveying companies in the world, using laser beams to collect data from road surfaces which is then transformed into three-dimensional topographical computer images. The information is necessary for the design of the road.

"It's what a surveyor would do, but only on steroids," explained Mr. Dodson, who processes and analyses the data collected.

The road will create a link between Herat and Kandahar and everything in between. The work is vital for economic recovery and for access to everyday necessities like the markets, clinics and hospitals, particularly for people in the countryside.

"Getting people to hospitals over there is important - they need one if they step on landmines," he said.

There are still in excess of nine million landmines throughout the country and more than 300 Afghans are injured every month, he said.

"The really sad thing about the land mines is they were laid by Afghans to keep the Soviets out, but now they're maiming Afghans.

We flew over towns that were abandoned because they are so heavily mined. They're just ghost towns now," he said.

But there are other hazards in the unstable country. Pockets of Taliban and al-Qaida militants are still active in the south and east. Foreign workers have been kidnapped and shot.

Kandahar is in the south and the road into the city could be a dangerous one.

"We haven't made it to Kandahar yet. Security is fairly sketchy. It will be interesting when we get close to there," he said.

"It doesn't worry me. I stay in an office or hotel and work on the data, but it's scary to know I'm in a place where (being kidnapped or shot) could happen."

When he first arrived, he got a "reality check" when other foreign workers were welcoming a colleague back. Mr. Dodson thought he had gone on vacation but discovered the man had been shot in the head while working on a road.

He spent most of his time in Herat, which is a "fringe" town and very different from the capital, Kabul. Unlike Herat, there is a heavy international military presence in Kabul, something he's not used to seeing.

"It just reminds you where you are. If they're here, you should be careful where you go. It's a nice reminder you're not in Disneyland," he said.

It's something his parents hope he remembers as well. When he told them he was going to Afghanistan, they were "apprehensive."

"Alan's got pretty good common sense, so we're happy with knowing he'd be as safe as he could be," said his father Ron.

Earlier this month the road between Kabul and Kandahar was officially opened. It took two days to make the journey before the road was reconstructed. Now, it takes five hours.

More than 35 per cent of the population lives within 50 kilometres of the road. At the moment, the section Mr. Dodson is working on is in such disrepair that on the best sections a car can reach a top speed of only 15 km/h.

While terrorism is still a very real threat, it's bad roads and traffic chaos that pose the biggest dangers, he said.

"Traffic is absolute mayhem at all times. When you drive through, you hold your breath."

Mosaic has a large number of Afghani workers. He said a big part of rebuilding the country, which has been through a Soviet invasion, civil wars and bombing by the United States, is educating Afghans so they can do it themselves.

Mr. Dodson is bothered by comparisons with Iraq and any perception that the United States is an unwelcome presence in the country.

"It's completely different in Afghanistan. They absolutely love the Americans and wish more countries would step up to the plate and rebuild."

The $250-million US construction project is funded primarily by the United States.

Mr. Dodson's stay in Afghanistan was supposed to last three weeks, but security concerns and other challenges slowed them down. He spent six weeks there, arriving home just in time for Christmas.

"We needed a break. It's nice to be back and see people. It would have been pretty lonely over Christmas," he said.

He will be headed back, possibly in early January, and expects he'll be eager to get back.

"It's not often you get to do what you do in a different place that will help people so much."

[la mantequilla del pollo]

good read. It takes alot of courage to travel to that side of the world right now, so I say we give three cheers to you AD. Hip Hip Horay! Hip Hip Horay! Hip Hip Horay! Happy New Year.

[Velvet]

Sounds like an awesome experience. Congratulations and keep safe.