Longing for Afghanistan

József, Zoltán, and Erika have come to get the neccessary vaccination for a trip to Afghanistan. They will be inoculated again in a few weeks’ time in order to get total protection – against contagions, at the least. However, this does not mean at all that their trip is free from risks.

The threesome and their fourth partner, Marian, have applied via Radio Sláger to accompany the Minister to his nearest troop visit in Afghanistan and take the opportunity to get first hand experiences of the everyday living conditions of Hungarian soldiers.

Following the notice aired in the show ’Boomerang’ hundreds of e-mails have arrived. Ministry colleagues have selected those invited for a personal interview. Finally there were four people – two men in their early 30s and two twentysomething ladies – passing the test, but only two of them can join the delegation. They had met previously at the fitness and health aptitude tests, now they have come to get the vaccinations. Since it is the day of the public transport strike, Marian is still sitting around in a traffic jam, when her three competitors are already listening to the advice of the Minister of Defence.

All of them listened carefully to the reminders regarding clothing and meals, albeit none of them knows if they can actually take this trip or not.

From hundreds of applicants the colleagues of the Media Department of the Ministry of Defence have selected four young people, who will be prepared for this uncommon trip. However, the decision on who can accompany Minister Imre Szekeres and his delegation will be made only a few days prior to the takeoff, by drawing lots.

Zoltán is standing beside him, nodding vehemently: "I did the same. As soon as the notice was aired, I sat down to write my letter of application. I did not consult anybody. I have two brothers, all of us were enlisted, so both my brothers and my father have understood my reasons for going and all of them support me. What intrigues me the most is the living conditions of soldiers serving out there. I’m interested in seeing how different their tasks are from our duties while in military service, whether I, too, could complete their work. Naturally, my friend and my family are worried about me, but there is nobody who explicitly wanted to put me off this trip."

"I have to tell you that my girlfriend kept banging on my head for at least 10 minutes, when she learned about my endeavour. By now she is not my opponent anymore, she is keeping her fingers crossed for me to be one of the lucky participants. It would be a great experience, indeed…" – says József enthusiastically.

"I was in the car when I heard the radio show. As soon as I got to the office I sat down in front of the computer… In my case this is strange because I have never applied to anything like this before, but still, I could feel that I was meant to be there. Somewhere deep in my soul I knew I have to succeed, and the application has turned to be reality for me. In spite of that, I haven’t told about it to anybody, until I received a phone call from the Ministry, inviting me for a personal interview. Nevertheless, I have not figured it out what happens if I’m not chosen for the trip, though I’m quite sure that I’ll be a bit disappointed…

The trio is finally ushered to the surgery, only to appear again with a bashful smile on their faces: "It wasn’t so bad…" – says Erika.

Nevertheless, the adventure has not come to an end here… indeed, it has just begun.