Birmingham aid workers are shocked at life near the front line in Afghanistan

THREE Birmingham aid workers are facing up to the realities of life on the front line as they help to rebuild war-torn Afghanistan.

Mark Harvey, Emily Travis and Mairead Kelly are working to help improve the lives of millions while the sound of gunfire and shells rattles out just yards away.

All three are part of the Department for International Development’s (DFID) attempts to help the country stand on its own if and when British and American forces withdraw.

Their days are spent liaising with locals and military leaders and helping to coordinate development projects.Emily, aged 28, a former pupil of King Edward VI High School in Edgbaston, described a trip to the battlefields of Helmand, where dozens of soldiers have died, to try and set up a fledgling government.

“I stayed at the military patrol base in Nad Ali, a makeshift camp with no showers, no female accommodation and military ration packs for food,” she said.

“It felt very close to the front line.

“An American soldier on a stretcher was rushed past me one evening onto an emergency helicopter, having been injured during an attack on his patrol earlier that day.”

The harsh realities of war have become a part of life for the three, who will help to make sure that the DFID’s allocated 2008-9 aid money of £23.6 million is used in the most effective way during their year-long postings. The cash will be used to set up basic services, improvements in health and sanitation as well as kick-starting democracy.

Mairead Kelly, also 28 and a former King Edward VI High School pupil, said: “My first journey down to Helmand was an eye-opener as I’m sure it is for many.

“I thought that the Chinook I was travelling in was swerving about close to the ground purely for my amusement but it turns out fast, multi-directional and low flight is the best way to avoid enemy fire.”

Civil engineer Mark, aged 50, from Dorridge, is part of a team planning a 48-kilometre road in Helmand and recommissioning a hydro-electric power plant to help rural villages.

He said every aspect of life in the country had been affected by decades of conflict and Taliban rule.

“In the main hotel in the town near where I am based, we hold a lot of meetings with the provincial government,” he said.

“The main meeting room has colourful paintings on the wall of lush rural mountain scenes, with snow covered peaks in the background but they also have tanks and helicopters in the foreground.”