Hard times for Afghan hotel

Hard times for Afghan hotel

Continental Hotel, Kandahar - an address many foreign journalists, businessmen and employees of international organisations and aid groups know.

An oasis in a province at war … that was what it used to be – at least, for me.
I have visited Kandahar province numerous times since January 2008.

Without a doubt it is a dangerous place to work in - not only for foreigners but Afghans alike.
But at the end of a long day, we used to enjoy our dinners in the hotels' garden, benefit from the good internet connection and satellite television – yes, luxuries in many areas of Afghanistan.

Outside its walls was a very different reality.

Not any longer.

I came back a few days ago only to find most of the hotel no longer standing. In December a suicide bomber blew himself up in the street outside the hotel killing and wounding Afghans.

The hotel wasn’t the apparent target but it suffered heavy damage.

It wasn’t the first time. On August 27, 2009, a massive truck bombing approximately a kilometre away had a devastating effect on Continental Hotel. Glass was shattered, doors gutted out, walls cracked.

I saw that for myself. We came back to Kandahar to cover the explosion's aftermath after leaving only two days earlier.

We spent two weeks in this city covering the August presidential election.

A mortar landed every 30 minutes on the city on the day of the election – yet none landed in the hotel's premises.

Like I said, we thought we were in an oasis. Now looking at the devastation, it has come to symbolise the hard battle that lies ahead.

US military commanders seem to be upbeat that with the thousands of additional troops that have been deployed in the area "the tide would turn against the Taliban".

The tide, however, has already turned for this "five-star" hotel. There have been no guests in recent weeks and its management no longer allows military personnel and government conferences to take place here.

It's not clear for how long the Continental Hotel can continue to sustain financial losses. Its future may just be the barometer of whether the government and international forces succeed in their goal of gaining control over Kandahar.