“…2-1-1-3…”

“Okay. Now it’s connected.”

“I got it.”

Squatted on a cement floor in a house in Iraq without chairs or desks, two men are intent on their jobs. Both are worlds away from their past lives.

The room is quiet aside from a steady tippity-tap of computer keyboards and occasional tech-filled exchanges between the men. Here in Al Amarah, Iraq, David Tagliani and Mahmood Khan are installing Internet access for Mercy Corps’ new office. It is a profession and language that has brought them together from opposite sides of the world, both literally and figuratively.

Twelve years ago, Mahmood sat atop his family’s possessions piled on an open truck headed from Kabul, Afghanistan to Peshawar, Pakistan. He and his family were fleeing Kabul for safety, as bombs fell throughout the city. From the age of 11 to 22 Mahmood lived as a refugee. When he arrived in Pakistan he did not speak the language and was unable to register for school. For his first year, he studied at home under the watchful eye of his older brothers.

Through grit and determination, Mahmood finally managed to enroll in a local school. In his spare time, he taught himself Urdu (the language spoken in Pakistan) and English, and grabbed any opportunity to learn about computers.

He went on to college in Pakistan, completing a degree in Computer Science, and graduated second in his class. Mahmood emerged from what could have been a devastating decade, equipped with the raw knowledge and inner strength to tackle an uncertain future.

At the same time, David was sitting behind a desk at Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington. Heading up worldwide operations, he oversaw a department of over 250 employees with staff in every time zone on the planet. His office was filled with the latest hi-tech gadgets, and a cot he often grabbed some sleep on when he couldn’t spare time to drive the 15 minutes home at night. He rose to the top of one of the world’s most successful companies through hard work, intense commitment and sheer intelligence. Then, one day, he decided to stop.

David Tagliani and Mahmood Khan are installing Internet access for Mercy Corps’ new office in Iraq. It is a profession and language that has brought them together from opposite sides of the world, both literally and figuratively.

It was serendipity that brought these two men together.

Mahmood decided to return to Afghanistan last year to help rebuild the war-torn nation. “I just wanted to help my country,” recalls Mahmood.

After weeks in Afghanistan job-hunting, Mahmood was about to give up and return to his family in Pakistan. But, as chance would have it, five days before calling it quits, he found a job with Mercy Corps in Kandahar as a translator. His dedication, skill and interest in computers was quickly discovered, and he was promoted time and again, rapidly reaching the position of IT and Administration Manager.

David, after taking time to travel and walk the Ho Chi Minn trail through Laos and Vietnam, decided to put his energy and expertise to good work by starting an Internet café for an orphanage in Russia. The kids run the Internet café as a business, learning valuable technical and business skills, and earn money to support themselves. This radical leap into humanitarian work proved to be fulfilling and addictive. It wasn’t long before David volunteered to work with Mercy Corps to set up computer systems for the humanitarian organization in remote, and often volatile, field locations. His first volunteer assignment took him to Afghanistan where he met Mahmood, and a lasting friendship was forged.

Batman and Robin, Han Solo and Luke Skywalker, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid… Everyone who works with them has a nickname for them, and everyone who sees them in action marvels at their teamwork and craft.

"David and Mahmood's relationship is a wonder. They couldn't have come from greater distances to become friends, yet there is no distance between them," says Paul Dudley Hart, Mercy Corps Director At-Large who worked with them in Iraq.

Watching them work together, it is difficult to fathom the different paths that brought them together in Afghanistan and onto Iraq. David, who cites working with his staff at Microsoft as the most rewarding part of his former job, is the perfect yin to Mahmood’s ever-inquisitive yang. Although nearly 25 years apart in age, they are bound by commitment, passion and a mutual respect that transcends any surface differences.

Although usually overlooked, Internet access and good communication systems are the backbone to successful humanitarian operations. Any seasoned aid worker will tell you they rely on these systems to get their work done.

“One of them has chosen to forsake the material rewards earned in freedom to do this work, the other has chosen to forsake opportunities to gain such rewards from freedom just won,” says Hart of David and Mahmood’s work with Mercy Corps. “Both are men who can and will achieve anything they put their mind to; both have entered life at utterly different points on the yardstick of privilege; they deal with one another on level ground that is characteristic of great student/teacher relationships.

“I remember the first day I met Mahmood in Kandahar,” recalls David. “I’d been sitting in this cramped little room working on the Internet connection for a few days when this guy introduces himself and says he knows a little about computers and he’d like to help. He’s so excited about the possibility of working on the highest tech thing within 50,000 miles (satellite dish, receiver, broadband Internet) he’s practically vibrating… At the time, of course, I had no idea Mahmood was already a competent programmer. As all this started coming out I’m thinking, ‘knows a little about computers…’ Yeah, right! But it all fits with his modesty and quiet competence.”

Both have benefited from working together, and cite many lessons learned from each other.

“David has taught me commitment,” says Mahmood. “From his example, I learned not to give up -- to try every possibility. Sometimes it is the last option that works out.”

Mahmood’s impact on David has been more intuitive in nature. “One of the things I like about Mahmood is his serenity. Working with computers and networks can be stressful… everyone wants everything yesterday,” explains David. “It can be a pressure cooker but Mahmood is always calm, cool, and collected.”

As a long day in Al Amarah -- punctuated by security patrols of the coalition forces and sounds of distant explosions -- comes to a close, David and Mahmood are nearing their seemingly elusive goal.

“There may be potential conflicts…” says David. He’s not talking about the security situation in Iraq, but the IP addresses for the computer network.

Although usually overlooked, Internet access and good communication systems are the backbone to successful humanitarian operations. Any seasoned aid worker will tell you they rely on these systems to get their work done. And in areas without good telephone systems, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, the Internet is a fundamental requirement.

“Okay, I’ve got Internet here,” says David intent at his laptop.

“I’ve got it, too,” replies Mahmood, with a triumphant grin, from his computer across the room.

“We’re good to go!”

For David and Mahmood, it is all in a days’ work and a lifetime of commitment.






Contributed by Cassandra Nelson, Mercy Corps Information Officer in Iraq. Reprinted with permission from mercycorps.org.

To read another Global Envision article about how technology is helping poor nations, see Fellows Apply Technology to Remote Regions.