Kabul, Afghanistan — June 1, 2006 — On Monday, May 29 around 11 a.m — as a result of a traffic accident involving U.S. military trucks and several Afghans — rioters began heading toward the city center and IRD offices and residences.

Although the rioters were rebuffed by the guards at the office compound, the guards at the residence were not so lucky. They were overcome by several hundred rioters, who then torched and looted all the buildings in the compound. Unfortunately 16 IRD staff — Afghans and expats — lost all of their belongings. They had only the clothes on their backs.

No one was killed or badly injured (there are unconfirmed reports that guards at the residence were beaten up, however).

“Amazingly the staff has managed to pick themselves up, brush off their fears and get back to work,” said IRD chief of party Jim Cate. “Everyone has gone back to their area of responsibility and taken over their old duties with hardly a momentary glitch. We are very proud that people are coping even without their most precious possessions or even a change of clothes.”

He said that all the staff were shaken by the events, including those who do not live on the compound because of the attacks on the offices where staff were holed up for several hours. Windows were broken from bricks hurled over the wall.

“The one constant among all the staff — both Afghan and non-Afghan — is that they continue to support the rebuilding of Afghanistan and that is all that matters. We are here for the long haul with the hope and expectation that Afghanistan will become a stable and security and thriving economy in the future,” Cate added.