A Life Changing Experience By Paul Suskie In January 2005, I left the comforts of Arkansas for a deployment to Afghanistan. Three years later, I left again for Iraq. Although these deployments were five and eight years ago, they seem like yesterday. My tour in Afghanistan changed my perspective on life dramatically. Upon my return, my wife and parents both sensed this change as I tried to put into words what I saw during my tour. As an attorney, I came away with a greater appreciation for the rule of law we are blessed with in the United States. The War-torn Country of Afghanistan Upon arriving in Afghanistan, I found the country to have a Mars-like landscape. The mountainous, remote, red and desolate land was full of images of what three decades of war can do to a country. Almost every corner of the country was war-torn. The carnage of destroyed Soviet tanks from the 1980s could be seen on every major thoroughfare. Whether traveling through underdeveloped, small towns or overpopulated cities, the devastation was visible. Ruined homes, damaged business districts, and bullet and bomb-scarred government buildings were commonplace. A less obvious effect of decades of war was the presence of landmines. In 2005, Afghanistan had the most landmines per capita in the world with 9-12 million landmines in a country with a population of 24 million— a ratio of a landmine for every 2-3 people. The reports of American service members or local civilians being maimed or killed by an unmarked landmine seemed like a daily occurrence. I will never forget the day a local boy was killed in an open field while innocently flying a kite. Despite the best efforts of dedicated international organizations, 30-60 Afghans encounter landmines each month. A Struggling Legal System While in Afghanistan, I had the honor to serve with Judge Advocate General officers
14
The Arkansas Lawyer
www.arkbar.com
from each of the branches of our military. We had the opportunity to interact with Afghanistan’s struggling judicial system in several capacities. At the upper level of government, we met with members of Afghanistan’s Supreme Court which was created just one year earlier in Germany as a result of the Bonn Agreement. A majority of the court’s members were not trained in civilian law; they were religious scholars trained in Shura law. Surprisingly, the Supreme Court did not have a courtroom. As a consequence, judges did not hear cases
Suskie with Iraqi soldiers in open court; they met parties individually behind closed doors. Bribery was often alleged in media reports. At a lower level, we met with a very small group of Kabul attorneys attempting to form a bar association. We also visited with a group of European legal professionals who were traveling to remote areas in an attempt to restore provincial governance by reestablishing local government records in government buildings damaged by combat operations. After listening to the stories of these public servants, I was left with the impression that despite serious obstacles, they were dedicated to our mutual goal of creating a structured legal system in the wake of a tyrannical Taliban government that destroyed so many institutions in the name of religion. I was pleased to later read that the local attorneys were successful in establishing Afghanistan’s first ever bar association in 2008.
The biggest challenges facing Afghanistan’s young, struggling legal system are in the more remote areas. Young females are sometimes given by one tribe to another as restitution for a wrong caused by the girl’s tribe. There are also well-documented reports of females being stoned for simply talking to a male outside of her family. The rural parts of Afghanistan offer an unimaginable way of life for females. It is unfathomable to me that the first person throw stones at a stoning victim is most often the girl’s father or brother because their family has been dishonored. Return Home Since my return from Afghanistan eight years ago, my increased appreciation for the way of life we enjoy cannot be put into words. We are truly blessed. Our legal system is a part of our country’s foundation that makes all of our freedoms possible. Whether it is through advocating for individual freedoms, improving our legal system via professional organizations, or ensuring that due process remains a sacred part of our jurisprudence, we should always be mindful that many men and women have made tremendous sacrifices for the freedoms we enjoy today—freedoms that millions of people worldwide yearn to have. ■
Paul Suskie serves as Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Southwest Power Pool, Inc. and is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Arkansas Army National Guard’s Judge Advocate General Corps. Prior to joining SPP in 2011, Suskie was appointed as Chairman of the Arkansas Public Service Commission.