This is a translation of Vitaliy Mantrov’s article, which was posted on February 15, 2007

February 15th was the day of the removal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. In 1982, 19 year old Sharipjan only finished school and entered into the technical institute, when he was called into army. After only a month of serving on his homeland – Soviet Union – he, along with about a 100 other military trainees from Shymkent, was sent to fight in Afghanistan. On a special day, for those who went to war by the orders of the Soviet government, Sharipjan Utegenov, the chairman of the Republic Union of the war veterans in Afghanistan and local warс in Kazakhstan, told the severe truth about Afghanistan war, and the truth about “Afghans”, the veterans of Afghanistan war, at a time of peace.

Was there a choice at that time – to stay or to go?

I went voluntarily. There was a party, a Komsomol, patriotic spirit, the patriotism of Soviet person, Soviet youth. I, seeing all that, wanted to experience the same feelings that people who went to war in
Afghanistan felt. Before that, I’ve met “Afghans” when they were leaving, in columns. On one side I wanted romance, and on the other side I wanted to experience the feelings under the war conditions.

It was a system, and could you leave the system, just say – no?

It was an ideology back then. To say – “no”, meant to obtain public reproof, the rejection of the society. In the movie “9th division” there was a certain psychological moment, when they asked – if there was anybody who didn’t want to go to Afghanistan. Nobody answered. Then, nobody wanted to go, but there was a concept of friendship and mutual soldier solidarity, therefore nobody dared to step forward at that moment. I knew that our division would be sent to Afghanistan anyway, and I didn’t even think about staying, when all the guys went to war. Maybe we were brought up like that - with a feeling of collectivism, mutual assistance, brotherhood, friendship.

What goal was set before you?

At that time we were under the ideology of the protection of the southern boundaries of our native land. Now they ask whether it was an error or not? There are different ways to look at that period of time. Then, it was in interests of Soviet Union. If we didn’t enter Afghanistan, then the NATO forces, hostile to us, would’ve entered. American Forces were planning to enter Afghanistan and block all the Central Asian territories through it. If you look at it geopolitically, it was surely justified. But if you look at it in a different political way, then, of course it could be solved differently. Like the politicians say, war is politics. And I would like to add that war is dirty and not intelligent politics. That conflict could have been solved differently, without having to enter with an army of almost 100.000 people. Almost 600.000 guys passed through Afghanistan’s hearth in 9 years. How many fates and lives were broken? Only about 15.000 of our people survived. About 400.000 went missing. Each life is a fate. It’s a tragedy. To reach political goals paying that big of a price is a huge mistake.

What did you realize with a gun in your hands and gun turns around you?

We didn’t really realize what war in Afghanistan meant. How was it possible? The year of 1982 was the stagnation period in Soviet Union. Peaceful life. When we were told that there is a war going on in Afghanistan, we didn’t take it seriously. The first time when I realized that the war is going on, was when we were crossing the Afghan boundary. On the December 12th, when, in the columns of trucks, we drove up to the boundary, they lined us up and began to give instructions: “We are crossing the Soviet-Afghan boundary. There, the fighting forces of opposing side will occur. We will render fraternal aid. Possibly, our column will be shot at. Don’t panic; don’t jump out of the car. Listen and carry out all the commands. Lie down on the floor.” We laughed at it, didn’t believe it… In about half an hour we heard gun shots. And those of us, who laughed the most, jumped down on the floor. The feelings were unpleasant, but we couldn’t be afraid. Then, during the time in Afghanistan, I had a weird feeling that I was in the army my whole life, and before that, I didn’t have a life, and I will have to be at war the rest of it.

How is it to … kill?

None of the “Afghans” will say that they killed. It’s the kind of moment in life, that cannot be praised and of which you can not be proud of. The death of people, even the enemy, is a huge responsibility and a burden for your whole life. But, in Afghanistan, the war was going on, and to save your life and the lives of your comrades you had to use weapons.

Did your goals that you had before the war change?

Afghanistan entirely changed people. Not like somebody became good, and somebody became bad. Each person has a direction which was placed by parents, family, school … if you have normal human concepts – discipline and decency, they strengthened and hardened. But if you grew up a rascal, inclined to treachery, treason or cowardice, there, in Afghanistan such qualities became obvious. For many, Afghanistan became a psychologically important moment that helped to “find yourself’.

Does the view on the world change after the war?

In 1985, when I was discharged, I came back home and got lost. In 1982, when we departed, was the depression period – all was “smooth and quiet”. Then, the “perestroika” began. We, leaving one formation, one socialist, communist system, entered the country that was in mess and had pseudo-democracy. Everybody walked around and shouted what they wanted. Everywhere in stores, there were huge lines. No jobs, no payment. Total overestimation of values. We came back, and thought that the government sent us to Afghanistan, and waits for us like heroes. But nobody cared about us, and a lot of people didn’t even know that there was a war going on in Afghanistan. That’s why we united into Afghan-Soldiers group. Coming here, a lot of “Afghans” got lost and started to look for people similar to them, so we could all survive together in peaceful conditions. We started to protect our interests. There was one popular phrase: “Nobody made you go.” That’s what the officials to whom we came to “get” our “privileges” said. For a certain period of time “Afghans” were known as those who builds schools, assembles houses, gives humanitarian aid. After that stereotype was broken, they started saying that “Afghans” are murderers, that they kill women, children, and even each other. Saharov’s famous words: “Soviet soldiers bombed each other just so they wouldn’t be captured”. It was not true. After Soviet Union was disintegrated, they started saying that “Afghans” were criminals. That nothing good can come from those people, that they inadequately react to public processes. We started to prove that we are not a “lost generation”. We fought for our country, our homeland. We can be relied on. “Afghans” – very patriotically disposed people of that time. “Afghans” protected the country with weapons in their hands, while the others only talked about it from platforms and stages. Then, later, new businessmen, nouveau riche, traders came into the picture. They became our National Heroes. And the real heroes were “thrown over the board” of life.

Did you have the feeling that you were used?

Of course I have that feeling now: when we were needed, we were thrown right into the center of the war, when everyone else lived in peace, learned, earned money, businessmen were building their career, we were cast somewhere to protect our homeland. And when we came back, we found out that those, whom we protected don’t need us. A feeling that we were used and forgotten.

We shouldn’t forget heroic deeds. If we do, then what will happen tomorrow? Right now, Kazakhstan is developing economically and socially, we want to enter the 50 most competitive countries in the world. We have a lot of friends around us, but also, a lot of enemies. There is no guarantee that tomorrow no one will want to get our Kazakhstan, our riches and independence. We will have to get the young people to protect our homeland, but, I’m not sure that they will want to fight. They’ll say that our Afghans fought in their time, protected the country, and returned the dept to the native land. But, did the country return its dept? We see how Afghans live now, how much money they get, what they wear, some, don’t have anything to eat, they are ill and injured but the medical care is too expensive. Will the same thing happen to us, for that heroic act that we will do, protecting our country? – The youth will ask. Will the government stay the same to the parents of the killed “Afghan-Soldier”, who have to survive on 4000tenge? They are all alone. If their child was alive, he would’ve fed and cared for his parents. Or 6000tenge that the “Afghan-Soldier” gets … The attitude of the country towards the heroes must be different.

Why do the young people now, behave so cynically towards the heroes and their acts? The monument dedicated to those who were killed in Afghanistan is all scratched and has scribbles and graffiti all over it…

From 1990 to 2000, the government stopped caring about young people, and gave them to the “care of the streets”. And now, we are facing the consequences of those actions, judging by the monument, we see their attitude towards those, who protected the country, gave their lives for their homeland. We were brought up on the heroic acts of our fathers, who fought during the World War II. When we were young, we had a timid, almost holy attitude towards our fathers and grandfathers, who protected our country. I’m saying that without boasting. It’s true. In every school there were “Red Combat Corners”, memorial boards. And when touched the monuments dedicated to the heroes of the World War II, we had a feeling that we touched something saint. After the disintegration of Soviet Union the new government paid more attention to the raising of economy, and completely forgot about developing patriotic feelings in youth, some sort of “vacuum” formed. The dominance of American ideology, movies like “Rambo” about American “commandoes”, the violence and cruelty that came from the west had a huge influence on the minds of young people. And now, the youth doesn’t know anything about the war in Afghanistan. Not a long time ago, I visited one school. We sometimes hold such meetings there, talk about world, war and peace. I’ve talked to the class for almost 40 minutes, talked about war in Afghanistan, politics and losses of that time. And by the end of the “conversation” with the class, there was time to ask questions. And how big was my surprise that one of the students asked me: “How many Germans did you kill?”

When they were young, they didn’t have such privileges as clubs, awesome cars and other extra things in life. But they got a severe truth of life – war, and nowhere to go. These heroes of the present time and those who already passed away, went through the stage that completely changed their lives, made them the kind of lives that you can live, understanding the full concept, in a way that each understands it. But after they passed Afghanistan, they especially love life.