A MALVERN aid worker who went behind the lines in Afghanistan has told how he found people happily going about their daily business despite the ravages of war.

Chris Dyer, who returned home to North Malvern in time for Christmas, was based in Herat, in the north west of the country, with other members of an Oxfam humanitarian team.

They were there to carry out an assessment of how best to deliver aid, having carried out a similar assessment in Iran's eastern province of Sistan-Balughistan.

Mr Dyer said he went to Afghanistan with with a certain amount of trepidation but was actually quite surprised at what he found.

"All the infrastructure was destroyed after 20 years of war but in a lot of ways life was going on as normal," he said. "I didn't expect to find bazaars and markets trading and motorcycles on the road.

"People were a lot happier than I anticipated, I thought we would find them thoroughly miserable. After getting rid of the Taliban they are very positive about what the future holds."

Mr Dyer, a qualified engineer, was also impressed with what he found in neighbouring Iran, which is already home to some two million refugees.

He said: "Iran's a very sophisticated place, a little bit conservative but nowhere near as bad as I thought it was going to be, although that was probably my own fault because I hadn't done any significant research. It was no less sophisticated than Greece or Turkey. I found people to be inordinately pleasant, polite and courteous."

The Oxfam team's mission changed dramatically before Mr Dyer left Worcestershire, as the bombing of Afghanistan by the US and her allies failed to result in the expected influx of refugees to camps in both Afghanistan and Iran.

"By the time we eventually got to go our terms of reference were to really look at the refugees already in Iran and see what Oxfam could do to help them," he said. "There are a proportion of refugees who have been there for quite a while and that has built up not necessarily because of any conflict.

"It was just looking at the logistic infrastructure and how you go about organising your aid. And in terms of this particular project delivery of aid shouldn't be a major logistic problem."

Indeed, the month-long effort was judged a success and Mr Dyer is now expecting to go back to the region early this month to carry out a water supply project at a refugee camp in Sistan-Balughistan.

"It's important now that all the aid agencies actually fulfill their pledges and the primary thing is to get the country re-established," he said.

"There wasn't much hard information coming out of Iran or Afghanistan about what the situation actually was. We went there to have a look and see exactly what Oxfam can do.

"It was a positive step at the beginning of a long ladder for many of the aid agencies."