Number 39 Shunned in Afghanistan

http://www.npr.org/2011/05/21/136496527/forget-unlucky-13-in-afghanistan-beware-39

National Public Radio
21 May 2011

Forget Unlucky 13. In Afghanistan, Beware 39

by Ahmad Shafi and Najib Sharifi

[...] Many cultures consider certain numbers to signify luck or disaster. In Afghanistan, 39 is taboo.

It's hard to find a credible story to explain what exactly it means, but everyone knows it's bad. Many Afghans say that the number 39 translates into morda-gow, which literally means "dead cow" but is also a well-known slang term for a procurer of prostitutes -- a pimp.

In Afghanistan, being called a pimp is offensive, and calling someone a pimp could carry deadly consequences. Similarly, being associated with the number 39 -- whether it's on a vehicle license plate, an apartment number or a post office box -- is considered a great shame. And some people will go to great lengths to avoid it. [...]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303654804576347201745546630.html
The Wall Street Journal
15 June 2011
A Symbol of Paid Companionship, No. 39 Is Afghans' Loneliest Number
Associated With Prostitution, the Digits Bring Ridicule to an Unlucky Few
By DION NISSENBAUM

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/15/uk-afghanistan-number-idUSLNE75E01T20110615
Reuters
15 June 2011
Cursed number "39" haunts Afghan car owners
By Hamid Shaliz

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/15/afghanistan-curse-of-number-39
The Guardian [UK]
15 June 2011
The curse of number 39 and the steps Afghans take to avoid it
Car owners with 39 licence plates lament the stigma of a number associated with pimps and prostitution
Jon Boone in Kabul


http://www.iol.co.za/news/back-page/curse-of-no-39-haunts-car-dealers-1.1109021
The Independent [South Africa]
31 July 2011
Curse of No 39 haunts car dealers
By Mustafa Kazemi

Helicopters Carrying Taliban Fighters (Afghanistan)

http://www.iwpr.net/?p=arr&s=f&o=356886&apc_state=henh

Institute for War & Peace Reporting

Helicopter Rumour Refuses to Die
Many Afghans believe foreign forces providing support for insurgents in the north.

By Ahmad Kawoosh in Mazar-e-Sharif (ARR No. 343, 26-Oct-09)

Persistent accounts of western forces in Afghanistan using their helicopters to ferry Taleban fighters, strongly denied by the military, is feeding mistrust of the forces that are supposed to be bringing order to the country. [...]

Korans Desecrated (Afghanistan)

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghanistan-koran26-2009oct26,0,2243260.story

Los Angeles Times
25 October 2009

Afghans protest rumored desecration of Koran by U.S. troops

By Laura King

Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan - Hundreds of angry protesters in Afghanistan's capital today burned an effigy of President Obama, acting on rumors that American troops had desecrated the Koran.

U.S. military officials emphatically denied that any copies of the Muslim holy book had been mishandled, and accused the Taliban of spreading falsehoods to incite hatred against Western forces. [...]

Blimp Spies on Women (Afghanistan)

http://www.canada.com/Giant+blimp+Kandaharis+edge/2082348/story.html

Canada.com
7 October 2009

Giant blimp has Kandaharis on edge.

By Bruce Ward, Canwest News Service

KANDAHAR CITY, Afghanistan - There's a giant blimp, white with three tail fins, hanging over the city these days and it's causing a stir among Kandaharis who believe the Americans are using it to spy on them.

And it could be they're right.

``Many people believe it's a spy blimp that can see through walls to look at our women,'' said Ghulam Ghami, a local fixer attuned to the buzz in coffee shops and kebab stands. [...]

Suicide Bomber Takes a Taxi

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/nushin_arbabzadah/2008/04/irony_lost_on_the_taliban.html

The Guardian [UK]
29 April 2008

An irony lost on the Taliban

Nushin Arbabzadah

In the summer of 2007, a stranger appeared in the city of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan. He flagged down a taxi and asked to be driven around the town. The taxi passed public squares, mosques and bazaars. All the time, the passenger sat silently in the backseat of the car, watching city scenes unfold in front of him. After an hour, the driver was asked to stop the car. But before getting out, the passenger had this message for the driver: "You are an unlucky man. Today you missed the chance of becoming a martyr." That was when the driver realised that he had been giving a lift to a suicide bomber looking for potential targets. He decided to quit working as a taxi driver and find a less risky occupation.

The story first appeared in Afghanistan in 2007 and soon reached England via the internet. It is quite likely a fabrication, simply because the story is too good to be true. The suicide bomber in the story is efficient, the innocent driver has a lucky escape and there is no bloodshed. This is the opposite of the reality of suicide bombing in Afghanistan - a reality of confused teenage bombers, poorly planned missions, premature detonations and heavy civilian losses. [...]