FEATURE - Slain Japanese Aid Workers Leaves Behind Legacy Of Green Deserts In Eastern Afghanistan

JALALABAD (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th December, 2019) With Afghanistan still reeling from the death of renowned Japanese doctor Tetsu Nakamura, a Sputnik correspondent traveled to areas where his irrigation projects have been implemented and spoke with locals who shared their deep sorrow over the assassination of a man who turned the country's deserts into green oases.

Nakamura, the head of NGO Peace Japan Medical Services (PMS), along with his four bodyguards and a driver were fatally shot on December 4 after their vehicle was attacked in Jalalabad, the capital of eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar. The aid worker, who later succumbed to his wounds at a hospital, was widely known for his long-standing work in the country, particularly his irrigation projects that aimed to save the region from drought.

The murder has triggered strong reactions in Afghanistan since Nakamura had helped in the country's reconstruction efforts and had nothing to do with politics. President Ashraf Ghani immediately ordered the arrest of Nakamura's killers, and six people have since been detained.

Last week, Nangarhar province governor Shahmahmood Miakhel told Sputnik that Nakamura's work on the Kunar River, which runs through both Pakistan and Afghanistan, had made him the target of terrorist groups, particularly from the former.

IRRIGATION: HEALING BEYOND MEDICINE�

Nakamura first came to Afghanistan in the 1980s. In 1991, he started running several clinics in Nangarhar, but when droughts hit the country's east in the 2000s, he switched his focus to agriculture and irrigation.

The Japanese aid worker was widely known in eastern Afghanistan as "Kaka Murad" (Uncle Murad).

"'Kaka Murad' was easy for people because Murad is a name in Pashto � the pronunciation of 'Nakamura' is hard. So, the name 'Kaka Murad' was loved by many people," Sher Wali, who had worked with Nakamura for four years, explained to Sputnik.

Nakamura's friend Haista Baz, now a gardener at a 1,200-acre park built thanks to the aid worker's efforts, said that the slain doctor believed that irrigation and agriculture projects could give Afghans more sustainable solutions than just medical services.

"The medicine cannot solve the problem of hunger and drought. We knew that the narrow areas of medicine had to be changed and should work to make sure that people have enough food and water, and that their children do not suffer from malnutrition," he said, quoting Nakamura.

During the interview, Baz failed to hold back his tears, saying: "Why did they kill him? He was doing good deeds and work."

"I swear I was not as frustrated or suffering over my nephew's [death] as I am over Nakamura's � he was serving humanity," Baz added.

LIBERATING AFGHANS FROM DROUGHT

One PMS project was the 15.5-mile Marwarid Canal in Nangarhar and Kunar provinces. Its construction began in 2003 and was completed in 2010.

The project has cultivated 3,000 acres of green land, and an amusement park has been built on 1,200 acres of land in this area.

"You see this green area. It is a blessing from Nakamura. This [place] was a desert. But he raised the same water from the Kunar River. Now my life is better. There are thousands of other families whom Nakamura served," farmer Abdul Manan told Sputnik, saying that Nakamura had changed his life.

Apart from the irrigation projects aiming to elevate people from poverty and support agriculture, Nakamura built hospitals and a mosque. The doctor also joined Afghans in their grief and weddings and spoke their language, Pashto.

No one knows the exact reason why Nakamura was murdered, but locals and even government officials believe that he was targeted by those who did not want the Kunar's waters to be diverted for the needs of eastern Afghanistan's residents.

At Nakamura's funeral, Ghani called the doctor a hero and vowed that all of his projects would be completed.