Ramadan begins

The chowkidar at the institute where I hang out when bored or without electricity likes to talk about what weaklings Iranians are and what good Muslims Afghans are by comparison. He lived in Iran for years, working as a firefighter in Khuzestan in the '80s when Iraqi rockets were raining. Khomeini brought a little Islam to Iran for the first time, he told me, but still Iranians are always making excuses during Ramadan that they can't fast for this or that reason. In Afghanistan it's not like that: even bent-over old men fast, they endure. And if people see you eating in the street they'll beat the hell out of you.   I'm planning on doing a good bit of traveling this month and one isn't supposed to fast when on a journey, but I don't know whether people will buy this excuse around here.
In the Ramadan I spent in Iran I'd pretty frequently see people sneaking cigarettes or snacks in alleyways or cars, on the lookout for cops, and it was entirely normal to offer house guests food during the day. I'm not sure if I prefer top-down Iranian or bottom-up Afghan enforcement.