A group of Afghan children surround armed soldiers near their hometown and beg for biscuits and sweets knowing this tactic usually gets them a couple of tasty treats rare in their country.
“If you don’t give them what they want they sometimes catapult stones at you. They actually have a pretty good aim,” Matthew Camilleri, 18, says with a smile.
Matthew, an infantry soldier with the British Army, was deployed to Afghanistan in April for a six-month tour. He is currently on a short break in Malta before he returns to complete the last few weeks of his operation there.
The young Maltese man always had a passion for the army and in September 2009 he joined the British Army.
He forms part of the Mercian Regiment based in Germany and was sent on a mission, known as Operation Herrick 14, to Helmand province in Afghanistan, classified as a Green Zone because it is not safe.
His job consists of protecting the Afghan people from the extreme Islamic Taliban movement by patrolling specified areas and manning checkpoints that include one near a school where he spent six weeks in “tough conditions” with no bathroom around and eating from ration packs.
“We do a good job fighting off the Taliban and protecting the people. Our main aim is to win the hearts and minds of the locals. We provide food, schools, medical supplies and are helping them build bridges,” he says as he sits in the living room of his Sliema apartment.
He recounts how, throughout his stay in Afghanistan, he’s had his share of action and came into contact with Taliban a couple of times.
“When rounds come over my head it’s quite a memorable experience. It’s a weird feeling. It’s not what one would imagine. You just hear something just whizz past your head. You look at each other and know that something is out of place,” he says, adding that soldiers are trained to use the minimum force possible.
When he is out on patrol he has to wear full gear that includes bomb-proof boxers, full body armour that weighs 20 kilos, a helmet and gloves – in temperatures that reach 42 degrees. He also has to carry a 20-kilo weapon and drinking water.
Clearly life is not easy there so why does he do it?
“I’m happy to be helping people in a more dangerous environment,” he says, while confessing that he misses his family and friends and his social life in Malta.
“I love the army. You do different things. You do not call people in the army ‘work colleagues’, they are friends. These are the guys you live with and, when you’re in trouble, it’s the guys on your left and right that you rely on.”
Matthew adds that Afghanistan is a beautiful place but it’s hard for the people there to live a good life because of the Taliban.
“Women have no authority in that country... I haven’t seen a girl in a while,” he jokes. When he arrived in Malta for this short break he had a “fantastic” welcome from friends and family.
“One thing that keeps me going out there is the support. You have your hard times away from home.”
His mother, Doreen, who is thankful to have her son beside her, explains how people living in the UK are allowed to send two-kilo parcels to Afghanistan for free. But this does not apply to Malta.
“I have a Facebook group with other mothers of soldiers. They know the situation so, as a favour, they send packs to Matthew,” she says as he adds, “A few weeks ago I received 21 parcels and the lads’ faces just dropped”.
His mother once surprised him by sending him a vacuum packed pillow which was a pleasant surprise for him in the harsh living conditions.
“Some people question how a mother would let her son go fight in a war. She loves me so much she lets me do what I love,” he says.
Matthew will be returning to Afghanistan in time to celebrate his 19th birthday on Monday. It will only be a few more weeks before he returns to Germany for training. Now that he knows what it’s like there, how does he feel about returning?
“I’ve just got to get it over and done with. While you’re there it’s hard, it’s not easy. But when I look back, I’m glad, satisfied and proud on completing more than half of my mission.”