Junk big business in Bagram - 30th June 2021

Bagram airbase in Afghanistan, has been the US military command centre for two decades. Now the base is being shut down and the US government is sending soldiers home.

Most of the military and office equipment is being returned to the US. Some has been provided to the Afghan forces. Meanwhile, the rest of the equipment is being broken up and then thrown away.

Some of this junk left by the US forces - computers, televisions, doors, and so on - can be reused. Large firms have been contracted to deal with this waste. Now, scrap merchants have arrived at the base looking for metal. Small businesses are also keen to get a share.

However, the junk has left some local business people disappointed.

Mir Salam: "Instead of destroying all these materials, they should have left them intact and given them to the public or the government. The government could make good use of it. If they had used it properly, then it could have rebuilt our country by now."

A busy community soon developed as Bagram was the central base for US military operations in Afghanistan. It offered home comforts for US soldiers, who could shop, swim, watch movies and dine out on fast food. Taliban prisoners were also held in the prison there.

Many local Afghans also found work on and around the base. They are concerned about their future, once the base has permanently closed.

Lalah Shrin Raoufi, the Bagram district governor, discusses the withdrawal.

Lalah Shrin Raoufi: "I am not optimistic with the US forces withdrawal at this crucial time, as a resident of Bagram. The US forces presence in Bagram district has provided jobs for many thousands of people. People get work and are busy there and can earn money to live."