Up Up and Away
By Staff Reporter | July 9, 2007
It is probably stretching things a little too far to call a kite a UAV, but hopefully our readers will allow us this indulgence, because this is just such a nice thing to have happened.
As part of operation Maiwand in Andar district, Ghazni province in Afghanistan, Polish soldiers made humanitarian aid deliveries to poor families living in the area.
Everywhere they went, children crowded around the vehicles as the smiling soldiers pulled out boxes of shoes, clothes, school supplies and toys. But the biggest hit of all were the multi-colored kites that the soldiers unfolded for them.With big grins and excited chattering, the children jumped up and down shouting, “Patang! Patang!” (the Pashto word for kite.)“These kites are so much fun,” said Mahmad-Amid Hahn, a 12-year- old boy, as he made whooping sounds while his kite dipped and swerved in the air. “The Taliban would never give us these things.”
For the children who had never seen a kite before, some of the Polish soldiers stepped in to assist, unfolding the kites and showing them how to take off with a running start to get it airborne.
While the children enjoyed their kites and new shoes, the Polish also gave out school supplies as an encouragement for them not only to play, but to learn and attend nearby schools.
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