What a fine idea. Not that anyone will ever go, mind you. Of course, perhaps that’s the point.
What am I talking about? Why, Afghanistan, of course. That distant, dangerous land, where nary a Christian soul dares to tread without military escort. And it is in Afghanistan that the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society has decided to launch an effort to establish some wildlife reserves there. Because we know how much the Taliban likes to take care of its animals and the natural surroundings, let alone the man-made Buddha shaped ones.
Naw, I’m being cynical. I know that the Taliban were mostly run off by “coalition forces”. I know that things are peachy keen there now and what’s needed are efforts like this to bring in tourists and Western know how. So I’ll cut them some slack and offer a few hand claps. But the interesting subtext here is that there are supposedly some lovely lands in Afghanistan, in case all you saw were endlessly dreary brown hills when watching the news. In fact, according to the group. Afghan lands are some of the most beautiful wild lands in Asia. So, lets save our scrutiny and scorn for later. For now, let’s celebrate the effort and hoe that we all might be on lion country safari in Afghanistan soon.