Canadian diplomat Glyn Berry was remembered Monday, a year after he was killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan.
Berry, 59, returning to the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) base after a meeting with a local Afghan official when his vehicle was attacked. Three Canadian soldiers were injured in the incident.
His death was a major setback for the Canadian mission in Afghanistan and is still having an effect a year later.
Berry's replacement, Gavin Buchan, says most of his work is now done behind the razor wire and heavy guns of a military base.
Only under certain conditions are diplomats allowed to leave.
"They don't want me taking any foolish risks, that's the bottom line," said Buchan.
"I would like to go out everyday and talk to people on the street -- that would be perfect," Buchan told CTV's Paul Workman. "But we're not there yet and we're not going to be there in the foreseeable future."
Berry's death was a significant setback for the mission, stopping aid work in Kandahar for months.
While aid and reconstruction is still delivered behind the safety of a gun, the military says it's now going places and doing work that was impossible a year ago.
However, Buchan says the danger and restrictions are still a harsh reality.
"I would like to go out everyday and talk to people on the street, that would be perfect but we're not there yet and we're not going to be there in the foreseeable future."
Colonel Fred Lewis, deputy commander, Task Force Afghanistan, remains optimistic.
"Literally the Taliban are gone, the second tier fighters have laid down their guns and gone away... security is significantly different," said Lewis.
With more aid projects coming and fewer attacks on Canadian soldiers both the generals and the diplomats believe this will be a critical year.
A principle conference room at the reconstruction base in Kandahar was renamed in honour of the diplomat.
