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Yet members of the only remaining family, that of the village's Muslim law judge, are uncompromising. Says Shababubu, the judge's wife: "When the [Afghan] army came, they said, 'You belong in America or Pakistan.' I said, 'No. We are Muslims. We will stay. You belong in the Soviet Union.' " Her brother-in-law Lolgul held the departed villagers in special contempt: "All the village is afraid of bombardment. Only a few stayed. Dirty people, frightened people left."
The insurgents are fired by a religious conviction that is equally immovable. Prayer is routine; liquor is forbidden. Communism is often disparagingly linked to atheism. One aged nomad confessed to liking Americans because "they have a book," the Bible. Often a rebel will cradle prayer beads in his hand while toting a Kalashnikov on his shoulder. Even relatively sophisticated guerrillas remain quietly optimistic. According to Farouq
Azam, political director of an alliance of relatively moderate guerrilla groups, the rebels' tenacious resistance has altered the geopolitical balance of power in the region: "Before the war, Pakistan was not able to get $500,000 [in Western aid]. Now it is not happy with $500 million." The appraisal of Commander Abdul Haq is equally hopeful: "We do not say we will destroy the entire Soviet army. But we can make trouble for them. If outside nations really push them, and if we continue fighting for a very long time, maybe the Soviet Union will change its mind."
That kind of conviction has won the rebels widespread support among their compatriots. The war is a sporadic thing in most of the country, and the guerrillas spend much of their time chatting over tea or working in the fields. As soon as bombs explode in their region, however, they can usually mobilize every suitable male. Since nearly all schools in the rural areas are closed—the government claims that guerrillas were killing teachers, and the guerrillas contend that the Soviets bombed some schools and ordered the government to close others—many guerrilla recruits are teen-agers motivated by hatred for the Shuravi (Soviets).
The youths can prove valuable, and occasionally dangerous. Some have been recruited by KhAD, the Afghan secret police, to provide information on guerrilla activities. More frequently, they serve the mujahedin. Since they are allowed to cross Soviet checkpoints if they are unarmed, they can carry messages, procure supplies and cause some damage. Last year one ten-year-old reportedly stole across Soviet lines and planted a mine between two enemy camps, one Soviet and one Afghan. When a Soviet soldier stepped on it the following day, his foot was blown off. His outraged companions blamed their allies.