Auslandseinsatz (2012)

A group of fixed-term soldiers in the German Armed Forces is sent to Afghanistan on an ISAF mission. Daniel Gerber, Ronnie Klein, and Emal Demir are among those deployed. They are joined by the young doctor Sarah Schulz. Shortly after arriving at their base, the inexperienced men grow nervous when a man with a donkey appears in an area marked as dangerous and does not respond to their calls. To their relief, they do not need to use their rifles, which they have raised and aimed, as the man simply continues on with his donkey. The soldiers, who are serving in Afghanistan for the first time, find it shocking that a way of life like the one they see before them still exists. At their deployment site, they meet Anna Wöhler, a young teacher who teaches the boys of Milanh village. When Gerber, Klein, and Demir introduce themselves to the mayor of their deployment area, he asks whether Demir is Afghan. Demir replies that he was born in Kabul. The mayor of the small village says he speaks a little German—as much as Anna has taught him. He generally refuses help, saying that his people are very proud. Anna interjects, pointing out that they could use help rebuilding the destroyed school. Mayor Jamil agrees. Daniel Gerber, the highest-ranking of the three, says he will discuss it with his superior. Jamil also tells Gerber, “Possessions make the heart small.” He promises that the food supplies given to him will be shared fairly among his people. Anna asks the young soldiers to give her a lift for part of the way. Just then, a young woman who looks quite desperate comes running up and asks to be taken along too. The soldiers react nervously, and the young woman has to stay behind. Daniel Gerber relays the order from his superiors: “No interference whatsoever.” Anna tells the men that the Taliban cut off two of Tara’s fingers because she had painted her nails. Gerber, Klein, and Demir can hardly believe what they are hearing. During one of their drives to the village, the three soldiers are ambushed. A very young girl near a well screams for help as shots are fired at her. Staff Sergeant Gerber tries to pull her out of the danger zone, but it is too late; she is dead. Later, Gerber vents his frustration to his superior, Captain Herbert Glowalla, who, in response to an inquiry from the press office about what had happened, has put out the story that it was a false report and everything was fine. Emal Demir tells his friends that his mother worked as a teacher in Afghanistan. When the Taliban occupied the country, women were no longer allowed to work in that profession. In fact, from that point on, women were allowed to do nothing at all. One morning, two of them stood outside their door. Two shots rang out, and his mother was dead instantly. In a conversation about the girl by the well who was shot by Taliban fighters, Glowalla and Gerber agree that the death of children is the worst thing that can happen. Glowalla says the Taliban do not care how many of their own countrymen lose their lives because of their actions. The Taliban offer not education but a dictatorship cloaked in religion. He also tells Gerber that if the soldiers leave the country, the Taliban will have won and the majority of Afghans will have lost. Some time later, when Gerber speaks with Anna Wöhler, she assures him that she is impressed by the people in this country, their dignity, and their generosity. Anna believes that the soldiers’ help at least gives people the feeling that the world has not completely abandoned them. Emal says that it is still far too little, while Daniel and Ronnie disagree about what can be accomplished in the country. All four are aware of their own powerlessness and know that anything they do here can only be a piecemeal effort. When Daniel asks what is happening with the girls and why they do not attend school, Anna can only reply sadly that they are not in Kunduz or Kabul. When Emal quotes from the Koran, the village malik stands up and says that a German soldier who used to be Afghan need not explain the Koran to him. He, in turn, tries to explain that people have to be given something in order for them to change. The Taliban are warlords. The fields that are a thorn in the occupiers’ side are the main source of income for both the Taliban and the farmers. The soldiers should guard the poppy fields, he says, and then he will make sure the girls are allowed to attend school too. When the soldiers arrive at the village school the next day, everything is eerily quiet. They ask Emal whether it is a Muslim holiday, and he says it is not. Then an Afghan appears and tells the soldiers to come with him. Everyone in the village has gathered at a grave. Jamil’s son Yasin has been killed. He had been tending livestock when someone shot him in the head. Klein, who had formed a close friendship with the boy, is stunned. They are told that Yasin was killed by an American soldier: the Americans had carried out a military operation and then withdrawn. There was an eyewitness, Yasin’s brother Asib. As it turns out, Yasin was “taken out” because he ran directly toward the hiding place of the Delta Force unit; there had been no other option. Later, when the malik asks Gerber whether he has been able to find out anything about Yasin’s death, Gerber has to lie to him, despite knowing the truth. Another problem arises when Anna Wöhler asks Emal Demir to help Tara, the young woman who has been promised to a Taliban fighter. The Taliban will come to collect Tara soon. Anna pleads passionately on the young woman’s behalf, insisting that she must be helped. When Demir informs Captain Glowalla, the captain agrees that they really should help her. However, they are due to be transferred to a new deployment site toward the end of the week. Emal asks his friends to help get Tara to a larger city, where she can attend the International School. Daniel Gerber cites military regulations, something his friends Emal and Ronnie cannot understand. Emal says that as recently as yesterday he thought they were doing something worthwhile here, but today he no longer knows what to think. When the young soldiers try to return to their base that evening, they cannot because a bridge has been blown up. They set up camp in the school instead. During the night, they hear shots coming from the village, which is under attack by the Taliban. The Taliban have abducted Anna, Tara, and Emal. Daniel Gerber and Ronnie Klein are ordered by their command to wait for the time being. Ronnie refuses to wait and disobeys, leading to an argument between him and Daniel. Ronnie immediately sets off after the Taliban. When command issues another order, Daniel pretends that the connection has been cut off and that he cannot hear anything. Together with Ronnie, he continues the pursuit. In a cave, they discover the Taliban’s hideout and see that the men have tied Anna up. They force her to read something aloud. Anna has clearly been abused. After the young woman finishes the final words, the men kill her with a shot to the back of the neck. Emal and Tara are in a recess in the cave, both bound and gagged. When Emal learns that the Taliban have executed Anna, he loses control and charges at the men. He manages to shoot several of them before he is shot down himself. In the ensuing chaos, the two young soldiers manage to untie Tara, and the three of them escape. Captain Glowalla has to tell Daniel Gerber that there is nothing more he can do for him: his order had been clear. Gerber, who has taken all the blame and claimed that Klein had nothing to do with his decision, is discharged from the German Armed Forces for disobeying orders. As they part, Glowalla says that he respects him as a private individual and holds him in the highest regard. Sarah Schulz tells Daniel that almost all the soldiers there think he did the right thing, and she thinks so too. Tara has managed to escape the Taliban and is now in Kabul, where she will attend the International School. The final scene shows Asib, robbed of his brother Yasin, carrying out a suicide attack on a US convoy.