Security is something that is always in the back of your mind, from something as universal to kids darting out in front of your car, to crazy drivers who are only looking out for themselves. Then there are the less universal dangers that absorb one here – avoid military convoys, local security vehicles such as the Afghan National Police (ANP) and even UN vehicles. You wonder, as you pull into the governmental building compounds, if today might not be the day that someone will decide to make a violent point.

These are all things that I wonder living here in Mazar-i Sharif, which is said to be teh safest and least likely place in Afghanistan to boil over with trouble. That said, I’ve already spent the better part of a week meeting with security people from the UN, Afghanistan NGO Safety Office (ANSO) and other organizations getting the lay of the security landscape. Seeing Afghanistan, and the security situation here, through their eyes was a bit sobering. Particularly as I much prefer the rose colored glasses that apparently are de riguerur for all NGO staff.

As incidents increase here, I have to admit that the rosy tint is beginning to pale, replaced by a wary (read wary, not freaked out!) eye. Tis’ the season for mahem in Afghanistan and this past week has proven that… RDIEDs, IEDs, VBIEDs etc. The ramp-up to the election is heating up tensions. This is leading us to review our security plans…. hibernation, relocation, evacuation. But even this planning doens’t really prepare you for the arrest of a would-be suicide bomber outside the offices you visted a week earlier.

What I’m learning is that having a plan is a good thing, and might even come in handy if what you planned for actually happens – but bottom line, it’s the personal connections you have (from guards to neighbors to qualified security personnel working for other agencies) that you will have to depend on if anything catastrophic happens.