Afghanistan - Tribes

Most people are unaware that Afghanistan is still a land of tribal chiefs and feudal kingdoms. This is the land of badal, where every Afghan man must avenge a wrong, no matter how slight and how long it takes. Every major tribal home in Afghanistan is a small stone-and-mud fortress, and each person must stand watch in the tower. Tribes have been keeping score over how many of each other they have whacked, with a rivalry that approaches USC-UCLA fervor. They also take their tribal codes and Islam seriously. When DP was cruising through one tribal area, we were told a tribe member had seen a young woman and a man from another tribe kissing on a hillside. The father of the girl captured a cousin of the object of her affection, tied them both to a tree and pumped 75 bullets into them.