People
Sikh-American Female Soldier Opens Doors in Afghanistan
by HENRY CUNNINGHAM
Jalalabad, Afghanistan
U.S. Army Specialist ("Spc.") Randeep Kaur's fluency in Urdu has opened opportunities for her in eastern Afghanistan beyond her job as a driver.
Sometimes Sikh-American Randeep Kaur, 26, of Sugarland, Texas, U.S.A., accompanies a civil affairs team, which specializes in working with civilian populations.
"I go out and actually talk to the women and children in the villages, (where) surprisingly they speak Urdu, too," she said. "I've actually gotten very lucky with the language skill."
Randeep is among about 70 Fort Bragg soldiers living with Afghan National Army soldiers at the Gamberi compound about 12 miles from Jalalabad. The area is between the Afghan capital city of Kabul and the Pakistani border.
The civil affairs team did not have a woman member, and it needed one in a culture that is restrictive of women and sensitive about foreign men talking to women.
"A lot of times, the women and the little girls get left aside," Randeep said. "It's usually about the men. Men get to talk to men. Our U.S. soldiers, male soldiers, can't go talk to the females. That's where I come in. I go talk to them about their problems, how we can assist them. They can open up to me because they speak the same language. It means a lot to me to be able to come out here and do something like this."
Sikh/Indian BackgroundRandeep Kaur's parents are from Punjab, and she grew up speaking English and Punjabi at home. Five years in India developed her fluency in Hindi and Urdu.
"About 80 to 85 percent of ANA soldiers speak Urdu, even though it might be just a little bit," she said. "We are able to communicate with each other."
The languages were developed from Farsi, the language of Iran, and are similar, she said. Dari and Pashtu are the major languages of Afghanistan.
"Most people that speak Dari and Pashtu generally speak Urdu," she said.
Decades of war have caused lots of immigration between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Urdu is Pakistan's national language, she said.
Randeep and the other Fort Bragg soldiers are from the 82nd Sustainment Brigade's Troop Battalion.
The goal is to help train the Afghans to take over their own security and eventually let the Americans and other coalition forces go home. U.S. soldiers are teaching Afghans medical skills, how to run an operations center and how to fix vehicles.
On Sunday, Spcs. Matthew Gallo and Jamika Williams were giving instruction on head trauma to Afghan soldiers. They drew pictures on a white board and spoke through an Afghan interpreter.
The Afghan National Army unit on Gamberi is able to run its own convoys and provide security for those convoys, said Lt. Col. David Gillum, the battalion commander.
"The next stop, maintenance," Gillum said. "The best part about it, a bunch of kids from the United States, sitting out here in the mountains, not far from Tora Bora, working with kids just like them from Afghanistan, teaching them to turn wrenches, teaching them how to drive a stick shift."
[Courtesy: Fay Observer]
May 25, 2010
Conversation about this article
1: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), May 25, 2010, 7:35 PM.
Randeep's fluency in Urdu/ Hindi in her arsenal is surefire means to an immediate kinship. For this the Oscar should go to Bollywood films for the language proficiency. Go to any Middle East country, you shan't be stranded for want of language. Hindi/ Urdu/ Punjabi are widely spoken, including a mixture of all three. If you happen to be a visible (turbaned) Sikh, the first welcome honorific words you are likely to hear would be "Aao-ji Sardarji, kee khidmat karee-ay!" Randeep's visible Sikh background, and added to it the fluency in the relevant languages without an accent would create an immediate rapport, especially amongst the womenfolk. They'll be the first ones to succumb to her charm and perhaps wouldn't stop talking in keeping with their creed. Even the swarthy, laconic menfolk would be powerless to her charm. So dear Randeep, you are truly a Sikh ambassador. Keep your chin up. You've done us proud, mate.
2: Gurinder Singh Johal (Amritsar/ Vachhoa, Punjab), May 27, 2010, 9:56 PM.
That's very good that knowledge of Urdu has got her this position. Here in Punjab, all posts for Urdu teachers are vacant in schools. There appears to be no one who wants to learn it and no one want to teach it. It's a dying language in East (Indian) Punjab.
3: Roypal Singh (Amritsar, Punjab), May 28, 2010, 10:37 AM.
You're doing a great job, Randeep ... God bless you.
4: Roypal Singh, Simar Rroy (Amritsar, Punjab), May 29, 2010, 2:40 AM.
Moreover, one more thing I would like to say is, she got this much recognition from the language which is nearly close to extinct in most of our Punjab these days. Last month I was really amazed to see that I couldn't find any archivist (patwaari, who used to keep land records) who could translate documents from Urdu to Punjabi in the entire district courts of Amritsar. It is sad to see why this language is kept at bay as compared to others, when most of our history is documented in with this language.
5: Jagjeet Singh (Perth, Australia.), January 20, 2012, 3:44 AM.
She is strong.
6: Khaista Gul (Jalalabad, Afghanistan), October 28, 2012, 12:06 PM.
She is the best one of the women in the army in Afghanistan. She was with me at the Forward Operating Base ("FOB") in Gmberi in Laghman province.
7: Kulwinder Singh (Kabul, Afghanistan ), March 16, 2014, 2:20 PM.
I am a Sikh. Wish I could have the opportunity to meet you, Bhen Randeep Kaur ji, while you're here in Kabul.