Afghan Connections

http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20110926%2FNEWS%2F110929723

noreply@blogger.com (Terry Dougherty) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 13:47:31 PDT

Posted on Mon. Sep. 26, 2011 - 12:01 am EDT

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COLUMN

Locals among thousands in Washington to mark Peace Corps' 50th anniversary

By Faith J. Van Gilder

fvangilder@news-sentinel.com

Thousands of people – many wearing woven hats, batik shirts, silk saris, striped serapes and other colorful attire from around the world – gathered in Washington, D.C., on Sunday for a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery and a parade of flags across Memorial Bridge to the Lincoln Memorial. It was the culmination of a weekend of festivities celebrating the 50th anniversary of the United States Peace Corps.

Terry Dougherty, a senior programmer analyst at IPFW, served 1973-74 in Afghanistan. He and his wife, Margie, joined with 65 returned volunteers at an Afghan restaurant called Bamian to relive memories and gathered with a group of about 135 at the Afghanistan embassy. On Saturday they went to a bazaar and a panel discussion with the first three Peace Corps Afghanistan directors.

In Fort Wayne, Dougherty is president of Friends of Afghanistan; works with School of Leadership Afghanistan (SOLA), which brings students to the U.S. to study in high school and college; and also is involved with the Indiana Center for Mideast Peace.

Dougherty said his Peace Corps experience continues to influence his work and volunteerism through ”a desire to understand international circumstances and to help educate and influence Americans to engage in peaceful solutions to world problems.”

http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20110926%2FNEWS%2F110929723

News from The Afghan Women's Writing Project

noreply@blogger.com (Terry Dougherty) — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 03:20:23 PST

Issue No. 15 www.awwproject.org

September 2010

Welcome!

Summer is winding down and Fall will shortly be upon us. What a wonderful whirlwind August turned out to be. As our wonderful writers celebrate the month of Ramadan, they have also been busy composing and reporting. Seeta's piece about a new venture by brave women journalists was picked up by no less than five blogs. To see the links, please scroll to the end of this newsletter.

In addition, a piece by one of our writers about her current run for parliament explores vote-selling, traveling through provinces, and the poverty of the nomadic Kuchis. Another writer describes getting caught in a firefight while enroute from Kandahar to Kabul. Don't miss other strong pieces highlighted below. Your comments (on the website) always mean a lot to our writers.

AWWP also received a bit of ink: Kay B Day wrote about us in Writer Mag.Com, "Now that AWWP exists, it is possible the words of these women may one day change the world." And in the newsletter of Awakening the Eco-Soul, Mary Reynolds Thompson recommended visiting the site and leaving a message. Click the links for the full articles.

Just In: Author/activist Melissa Pritchard, to whom AWWP is forever indebted for her founding of the Ashton Goodman Grant, sent an email with the following news: "Even in challenging economic times, donations continue to come in for The Ashton Goodman Grant. I offer a great thank you to each of you who has given to further the writing, education and literacy of Afghan women and girls through the Afghan Women's Writing Project. This past month, the staff at 'O' Magazine held a book sale, raising over $1,000, and in five weeks' time, Pamela dePass organized a benefit dinner in Dover, Delaware, raising over $2,500! Also attorney Kathleen Fick has offered her legal services pro bono to help AWWP. A wholehearted thank you to everyone!!"

Socks! Remember warm clothing sent by afghans for Afghans mentioned in last month's newsletter? Well, the hand-knitted socks landed safely in Kabul. They will be presented to our writers at a September gathering. However, Tina and Tahmina could not resist taking a peek and have reported that "they are indeed the most beautiful and colorful hand-knitted socks we have ever seen."

Rachel de Baere hosted AWWP's Freshta at the International Women's Writing Guild (IWWG) Conference in Rhode Island. Everyone was duly impressed with Freshta's gentle presence and gift of poetry and prose. After a rousing success in the Ocean State, Freshta headed to the Big Apple, where she was a keynote speaker for the BlogHer2010 and one of the four recipients of a BlogHer scholarship.

AWWP is wistfully saying a fond farewell and thank you to author and journalist Christina Asquith following a six-month tenure as Director. She did much in that short time to help AWWP and its writers.

Rachel de Baere has agreed to step in as Acting Director while AWWP forms a board. With nearly a year-long involvement in AWWP, Rachel brings a wealth a knowledge and experience to this position. In addition to Workshop Director for IWWG, Rachel has over twenty years of experience working with not-for-profit organizations, including the Victim Services Agency of New York, Family Service of Westchester, the New York City Department of Juvenile Justice, the Child Abuse Prevention Center of Westchester County and Books Behind Bars. She also has Master's in Public Administration from New York University.

Please enjoy the Editors' Picks of the Month, highlighted below.

Jordan Schneider
Editing Coordinator

Running for Parliament, Afghan Style

The Kuchis are very poor and hungry. Most are not educated and will vote as their elders tell them. And most of the elders do business with the candidates. They say, "Okay, we will vote for you, but then you have to pay us." As I understand, the rate for one vote is the equivalent of two and a half dollars

by E

Click here to read the full essay.

From Kabul to Kandahar - May 2, 2010

We sat there for ten minutes when suddenly a vast explosion occurred, the sky was covered with dark smoke, and our ears deafened. The explosion seemed as loud as an atomic bomb. We could see big objects like parts of vehicles and human bodies flying. Thanks to almighty Allah that we left our bus when we did.

~by Sofia

Click here to read the full essay.

Picture of a Laptop

At the beginning and end of each conversation I would ask for a laptop. Sometimes my conversations with him were only one word: laptop, laptop. Three weeks passed and I got a letter from my father. When I opened the envelope, there was a picture of a nice laptop. My father wrote a short note: "I am sorry. Laptops are expensive here."

~by Roya

Click here to read the entire essay.

I Wish My Country Was Not My Love

I wish Afghanistan was not a country
But instead a dry land
And no one lived in it.
I wish my country was not my love
I suffer from its pains

~by Tabasom

Click here to read the full poem.

Have We Forgotten?

My heart beats while listening to my friends talk of Afghanistan and politics
My heart beats, but not from excitement.
From fear.

~ by Meena Y

Click here to read all of the poem.

The Performance

When my name was called, I found myself standing in front of almost two hundred people. I began to feel so nervous that I even forgot to smile. I could hear my heart beat like a bird trying to escape a cage. At the side of the stage, I noticed some of my teachers. On the other side stood Massud, smiling stupidly as if waiting to witness my failure.

~ by Shafiqa

Click here to read the full essay.

Who Am I?

I laughed loud but couldn't hear the sound
And when I did, everyone laughed at me
Laughing, crying, shouting-all is silent for me.

~ by Shogofa

Click here to read the full poem.

A Bold Step for Afghan Women Journalists

Being a woman journalist in Afghanistan can be extremely dangerous. Women who venture into that field routinely face harassment and threats, and have sometimes been killed. The dangers have resulted in fewer women studying to become journalists. But the new center hopes to counter this trend.

~by Seeta

Click here to read the full piece.

Also featured at these blogs:
Editorsweblog.org
Allensullivan.com
Goodafghannews.com
Fastcompany.com
Freepress.net

A Word From Our Teachers

Meg Waite Clayton is the author of The Wednesday Sisters, a National Bestseller, and the forthcoming The Four Ms. Bradwells.

The experience I'm having mentoring in the Afghan Women's Writing Project is amazing. The experiences these women have been through are extraordinary. Their stories are so emotionally powerful and compelling. Their prose and poetry is often lyrical. I'm quite sure I've learned as much from them as they have from me. And the idea that I might be helping their stories find voice is more satisfying than I imagined.

Maria Espinosa is a novelist, poet, and translator as well as a teacher. Her publications include four novels: Incognito: Journey of a Secret Jew, Dark Plums, Longing, which received an American Book Award,and Dying Unfinished. She has also published two collections of poems, Love Feelings, and Night Music, and a translation of George Sand's novel, Lelia.

Working with these women has been a profoundly moving experience. They write with enormous honesty and bravery within the confines of a society that is oppressive to women in the extreme. Yet they are still capable of tenderness and poetic revery.

Some must depend on a male escort for access to the internet, as often women are not welcome or even safe in public places. Despite this male dominant culture and the cruelty of the Taliban with its increasing power, they describe individual men -- fathers, husbands, brothers-- who are kind and loving.

As I have learned more of the incredibly difficult conditions of women in Afghan society, I have developed immense admiration, respect, and fondness for the women with whom I have had the privilege of working. Their writings focus world-wide attention on what has been too long ignored and pushed into the shadows.

Contact AWWP:

For more information on the Afghan Women's Writing Project please contact:

Rachel de Baere, Acting Director
Email: awwproject@yahoo.com

AWWP Website/Magazine: www.awwproject.org
Become our fan on Facebook and follow us on Twitter at AWWProject.
Founder Masha' Hamilton's Website/Blog: www.mashahamilton.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jordan Schneider, Online Magazine Editing Coordinator

Elisabeth Lehr, Workshop Program Coordinator

Rachel de Baere, Online Magazine Poetry Editor

Tahmina Popal and Tina Singleton, Liaisons in Afghanistan
Kathleen Rafiq and Heidi Levine, Photography
Valerie Wallace, Facebook and Newsletter Coordinator
Our inspiring partners are SOLA and the Peter M. Goodrich Memorial Foundation; please visit their websites.

Donations

Online Donations for Afghan Women Writers:
Many of our students and women writers, especially outside of Kabul, cannot get to an Internet cafe due to security considerations. A laptop at home and a jump drive would allow them to write their pieces, and then ask a male relative to send the work at an Internet cafe. A $20 donation will buy a flash drive and $500 in donations will buy a laptop for our women writers. No contribution is too small. Thank you for considering it.

The Afghan Women's Writing Project has filed for non-profit with 501 (c) 3 status. Your donation is tax deductible.

Click This Link To Make A Donation!

To stay informed about the latest news, events, and other developments with the Afghan Women's Writing Project, please CLICK below and join our mailing list. We appreciate your support.

In This Issue

Running for Parliament, Afghan Style

From Kabul to Kandahar - May 2, 2010

Picture of a Laptop

I Wish My Country Was Not My Love

Have We Forgotten?

The Performance

Who Am I?

A Bold Step for Afghan Women Journalists

Sponsors & Friends:

Please visit our sponsors as a way to thank them for their wonderful support:

Friends of Afghanistan

SOLA — School of Leadership, Afghanistan: Happy Birthday Mr. Ted

noreply@blogger.com (Terry Dougherty) — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 14:18:32 PST

SOLA — School of Leadership, Afghanistan: Happy Birthday Mr. Ted: "Shhh! - we're planning a birthday surprise for Mr. Ted.... We setup a blog to capture SOLA student and friends comments. Come on over and check it out.

Afghanistan, The Longest War, Obama’s War…Really?

noreply@blogger.com (Terry Dougherty) — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 18:48:03 PDT

Afghan Blog June 2010 - from Tony Agnello

Afghanistan, The Longest War, Obama's War…Really?

After years of neglect and second class status as the "other war," Afghanistan is now newly positioned at the political epicenter of American foreign policy debate equally on Main Street and in Congress. Elements as dissimilar as committed pacifist progressives and even high ranking officials in the Republican Party are critically framing our engagement in Afghanistan as our longest war or if contextually convenient as Obama's war.

Let us take a quick look at our "longest war," at President Obama's war, to see if those descriptions pass the objectivity litmus test. This past June 7, 2010, marked the 104th month of US military engagement in Afghanistan, very objectively ascribing the title of America's longest war in history to the Afghan Campaign. The Vietnam War, between the passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and the withdrawal of the last American combat forces from Vietnam on April 30, 1975 lasted 103 months. I had just concluded my Afghanistan duties a few weeks after the conclusion of the Vietnam War. Having converted my travel allowance into a supple supply of US Dollars, flying Bakhtar Airlines from Kabul to Heart then overland through Iran, would mark the beginning of my journey home. On reflection, I now see this ceremony of return from our first responsibilities as young adults, as a rite of passage that we would all make, out of Afghanistan and our shared Peace Corps adventures, launched into the commencement rituals of our adult lives. In the subsequent decades that followed my departure Afghanistan would never be far from my thoughts. However, I would not return to Kabul again until 2003, to implement a girls school construction project through Sarah Chayes in Kandahar and contribute to the building of another school for girls in Ghazni, through Zolaykha Sherzad's School of Hope. My arrival was to a vibrant Kabul filled with optimism, economic activity and millions of people newly returned from the Afghan Diaspora. But that was then, this is now and things have changed.

Then, in this context, there can be no argument, right? Afghanistan is the longest war in American history, case closed. Well actually, the answer might depend on what the real meaning of war is. I remember lamenting the uneven allocation of war funding in the early years of the Iraq/Afghanistan campaigns. I concluded at that point in time that the newly altered American policies in Afghanistan had become insufficiently funded to draw a timely or pragmatically successful closure to our Afghan commitment as our attention became fixed on Iraq. Maybe we were not all that concerned about finding bin' Laden after all and maybe we were not all that concerned about our commitment to Afghanistan.

After a little more than a year or so of primary engagement our Afghan commitment became dwarfed by our efforts in Iraq. For the next seven years ISAF in Afghanistan would be charged with a holding policy hopefully giving the Afghan government sufficient time, if not sufficient resources, to get security issues stabilized. But to call the subsequent post invasion Coalition engagement in Afghanistan a war rather than a policing action would require a suspension of reason and a serious redefinition of what war really is, or should be.

By late 2003 as much as ninety five percent of the financial support for the wars was being diverted away from Afghanistan toward Iraq along with a disproportionate reallocation of human and material resources. Any progress made during the approximately twelve months during which Afghanistan really was our primary military focus began to fade as we took our eyes off the Afghan prize and pursued our misadventure in Iraq. Remember no Iraqis were involved in the attacks on 09/11/2001 and as the unbiased rationale for the Iraqi invasion began to unravel with the revelation that there was no connection between secular Iraq and religio-militant Al'Qaeda, no viable association to enriched uranium…"from Africa" and no weapons of mass destruction, a hold order was put out on American action in Afghanistan for the next seven years. The Iraqi and American people continue to pay very high price for this ideologically driven rush to judgment. While we were preoccupied with the Iraqi calamity, the Taliban were organizing a regional resurgence in the tribal territories and the Northwest Frontier Province in Pakistan and in the east and south in Afghanistan. This threat extends right up to today and has grown to threaten the stability of nuclear armed Pakistan with the very real possibility of a non-national terrorist group acquiring nuclear weapons from a compromised Pakistani resource.

Skeptics claim that Afghanistan may have simply served as a convenient segue for the ideologically driven Neo-Conservative rush to judgment that brought us, in Shock and Awe, into Iraq with what is generally regarded in hind sight as too few troops, poor intelligence regarding the nature of the Iraqi resistance and with no immediately viable exit strategy. Thus, with the ending of the Powell Doctrine and the advent of the Bush Doctrine of preemptive war, America was propelled into the new reality of the twenty first century with a new set of terms and definitions like rendition, enhanced interrogation and domestic surveillance. With Afghanistan placed on the back burner, the conflict in Iraq has raged on for the better part of the ensuing seven years only recently tapering off but still with the lingering threat that sectarian violence might erupt at any time and for any reason.

On my second return visit to Afghanistan in 2006, this time to support Khris Nedam's Kids for Afghan Kids Program funding the construction of two schools in Wardak, I found a very different environment than I had r encountered earlier in 2003. Security, even in Kabul, was on a heightened alert. The insurgency had regrouped and was waging a tenacious resistance that persists up to the present day. I even experienced a bit of apprehension walking around the familiar and virtually unchanged Chicken and Flower Streets at the bus stop intersection Chariee Tora Boz Khan in Share Nau. My concern was probably compounded by the shopkeepers' stories of the occasional suicide bombing or IEDs which were constantly spoken about with a nervous smile and the resigned laughter that hints at the cultural awareness that fate, that kismet, may really be the driving force ultimately at work in all of this; unquestionably and without a shadow of doubt, everything occurring as a result of the guiding hand of Allah.

.(Vote for Khris every day until the end of July to enable our continued support for the educational, medical, orphanage complex at Wonkhai Valley in Wardak.) http://www.energizerkeepgoinghalloffame.com/2010HallofFameFinalists/2010Finalists/tabid/89/Default.aspx#1 (Be sure to find Kris's picture and click on it, then voter for her)

Now, to the next question; whose war is this anyhow? To drive a wedge between the inherited responsibility that the Obama Administration is now confronting in Afghanistan and his own progressive base, some in his own party and many among the loyal opposition in the Republican Party are declaring the war in Afghanistan to be Obama's War. Possession can be defined as being owned by, part of or proper to. In this context, this war that is clearly proper to America, that is a part of American history, this war is now certainly owned by the Obama Administration as the democratically elected Chief Executive of our nation. But it would be a disingenuous assertion to ascribe causal responsibility to the President. Barak Obama is in charge. It is his job to bring this war, that he did not start, to a successful and honorable conclusion that insures a secure and stable Afghanistan, which provides for the welfare and common good of its own citizens while posing no threat to the United States or to any of its regional neighbors.

Now let's address the shortened answers to the two questions posed at the top of this missive. Is this the longest war in our history? Fewer than six months have passed since the Afghan surge began in earnest following a lengthy and serious debate about the optimal American and coalition response in the Afghan Theatre. Add to that the one year of serious military primacy that Afghanistan received prior to our Iraqi commitment and the true US focused and resolute effort in Afghanistan may still be somewhat shy of two years as a truly determined military endeavor.

For that reason, I fall on the side of those who declare that this is in no way our longest war. But I also assert that success in Afghanistan, however we collectively come to define it in practical terms, unclouded by political obfuscation, is now our most pressing international responsibility. Lest we forget the lessons of history; abandoning Afghanistan to ruthless extremists has not worked out well for us in the past.

Let's address the second assertion; that this is Obama's war. Well, of course it is. But let us also fairly understand that the President has been charged with cleaning up an extraordinary mess that was not of his creation either domestically or internationally. That said, it is clearly his responsibility and ours as RPCVs to once again do all that is in our power to help return Afghanistan to stable local rule devoid of foreign occupation forces whose presence always elicits a millenniums old response from Afghan patriots without any ulterior political motivation other than the ancient, visceral xenophobic opposition historically offered to all foreign invaders.

Putting aside political motivations and secure in the understanding that we above all other Americans have a heartfelt interest in insuring a safe and secure Afghanistan for our Afghan friends, their children and grandchildren, let us renew our resolve to bring hostilities to an end that will safeguard the rights of women, as well as those of the Shiite faith and for all ethnic minorities in Afghanistan. Let's also clearly encourage and support American policies as they move in that direction and support the President as he attempts to draw the Afghan campaign to a reasonable closure that will leave a stable nation in place as foreign troops withdraw. But let us again remember that a precipitous abandonment that does not adequately address internal security concerns will plunge the area into yet another period of civil war with the possibility for a spillover into a wider regional conflict that will impel us back into Afghanistan once again within another decade, to deal with issues that the President must address and solve in the present day and in our time. President Obama has a very challenging task before him and he could greatly benefit from our support as could our former host nation, Afghanistan.

--
Tony Agnello

President, Friends of Afghanistan

Another Interesting day in the streets and out the car window...

noreply@blogger.com (Terry Dougherty) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 13:09:14 PDT

You are invited to view Anna's photo album: Another Interesting day in the streets and out the car window...

Another Interesting day in the streets and out the car window...

Kabul, Afghanistan -

Jul 13, 2010
by Anna

There are some days that you can not resist taking a photo of the activities. Tuesday was such a day...so here is your second day of Kabul sights.

View Album
Play slideshow

Message from Anna:

Enjoy if you have time to travel with me...Hugs,Anna

If you are having problems viewing this email, copy and paste the following into your browser:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=anna.hacker&target=ALBUM&id=5493571908647590065&authkey=Gv1sRgCNnR5--E7JPbfA&feat=email

To share your photos or receive notification when your friends share photos, get your own free Picasa Web Albums account.

Fwd: Invitation to view Anna's Picasa Web Album - The hot, dusty streets of Kabul in June and July 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Terry Dougherty) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 13:44:01 PDT

You are invited to view Anna's photo album: The hot, dusty streets of Kabul in June and July 2010

The hot, dusty streets of Kabul in June and July 2010

Jul 12, 2010
by Anna

I spend lots of hours in the car going from one place to another to check on things. I wanted to share some of the sights I see with you. The streets are hot and dusty but each day brings another scene to life. I hope you can feel the heat but not the dust.

View Album
Play slideshow

Message from Anna:

Here is the album I finally got around to put together tonight. There will be more but not tonight.

Hugs,
Anna

If you are having problems viewing this email, copy and paste the following into your browser:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=anna.hacker&target=ALBUM&id=5493027528168463937&authkey=Gv1sRgCO-r0cu7_sCM_AE&feat=email

To share your photos or receive notification when your friends share photos, get your own free Picasa Web Albums account.

Vote for Kris Nedam, founder of Kids for Afghan Kids

noreply@blogger.com (Terry Dougherty) — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 07:42:39 PDT

Cast your vote for Kris Nedam, founder of Kids for Afghan Kids at: http://www.energizerkeepgoinghalloffame.com/2010HallofFameFinalists/2010Finalists/tabid/89/Default.aspx#2

Khris Nedam
Livonia (Detroit), Michigan

In 1998, with the help of her sixth-grade students in Northville, Mich., Nedam founded Kids 4 Afghan Kids, a non-profit organization aimed at using education to help make the world a better place for boys and girls in Afghanistan. It took three years to raise enough funds to build the first six-room school in Wardak, Afghanistan, where many of the children love going to school so much they walk more than four hours to get there. Nedam didn't stop there, however, and began raising funds to address other needs for the community. Kids 4 Afghan Kids has gone on to build two more schools, a medical clinic, orphanage, bakery and a guesthouse for the residents of the valley. Nedam has faced many obstacles, but she refuses to give up. Friends nominated her for the Energizer Keep Going® Hall of Fame, saying that through Nedam's unwavering determination, countless lives have been changed forever.

News from The Afghan Women's Writing Project

noreply@blogger.com (Terry Dougherty) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:00:44 PDT

Issue No. 13 www.awwproject.org

July 2010

Welcome!
As we head into the July, I am amazed by the strong and moving pieces submitted by our writers, and tended to with grace and skill by our mentors. This past month, Seeta sends us a moving piece on a wedding she attended in which the bride must wear a burkah instead of a gown; Freshta wrote a touching piece about school childrens' resilience; Shogofa pens a tribute to the power of friendship; and Seeta, again, tells us the emotional story of a mother longing for the son who was taken from her by her husband's family.

June was an active month for the Afghan Women's Writing Project (AWWP). Founder Masha Hamilton was presented with the 2010 Women's National Book Association Award for her work with AWWP. Well deserved, Masha!

AWWP continues to grow. We have a new board member: Vic Getz, Phd, who is IN KABUL and is a gender specialist and runs the AfghanGenderCafe.org. We are looking to bring on 2-3 more board members over the next 6 months.

We also have a new AWWP staff member in Kabul with Tina Singleton, who will be working on expanding our program on the ground. When not sucked into AWWP, Tina is the Advisor for the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), Kabul.

AWWP welcomes accountant, Ghelda Noor, who has extensive experience working with NGOs and is generously donating her time to organize our books as we race towards 501c3 status and continue to grow.

Some of the photographs taken by our Afghan women during their photography class with Anne Jones are up on our site. Take a look at the images captured by Seeta and Zariasht of womens' lives-they show a side of Afghanistan that we rarely see in the news.

- Thanks to author and AWWP mentor Melissa Pritchard, we have launched a new Sr Airman Ashton Goodman grant in honor of a US servicewoman killed in Afghanistan while trying to improve women's rights. All donations will be spent directly on efforts to improve Afghan women's literacy. http://www.awwproject.org/help-our-women-writers/ashton-goodman-grant/

-Looking ahead, we are planning two more theater performances! Hopefully in San Francisco and Boston. We are currently looking for venues and directors so ifyou have any ideas on this please contact Creative Outreach Director Jeff Lyons-- jlyons1@mindspring.com.

Enjoy your summer reading list and please take a moment to comment on the Afghan women's writing on our website - it means so much to them.

Warmly,
Christina Asquith
Director AWWP

The Burqa Bride

"She has only this day to start her life with happiness," I said. "Why should she be hidden under a burqa even on her wedding day?"

By Seeta

Click here to read the full essay.

Bearing a Red Cross

Hesitantly, Friba approached the front of the class. "I have decided to punish you to remind you not to forget my lesson," the teacher said. "You are not even prepared to give me yesterday's lesson, but you can make noise in the classroom." Then she turned to me. "Freshta, give Friba a slap on the face."

By Freshta

Click here to read the full piece.

Someone Told Me

I will hold your hand when you need to run,
hold your hand when you need to write,
and the clouds who feed you with rain.
I will be with you.

By Shogofa

Click here to read the entire poem.

A Mother Expecting Still

"It was a son," her mother said with tears.
"Where is he now?"
The girl, too, began to cry. "Why didn't you allow me
to see him even once?"

by Seeta

Click here for the full poem.

A Word From Our Teachers

This portion of the newsletter will return next month.

Contact AWWP:

For more information on the Afghan Women's Writing Project please contact:

Christina Asquith, Director
Phone: 202.230.6729
Email: christinaasquith@yahoo.com

Jordan Schneider, Online Magazine Editing Coordinator

Elisabeth Lehr, Workshop Program Coordinator

Rachel de Baere, Online Magazine Poetry Editor

Tahmina Popal and Tina Singleton, Liaisons in Afghanistan
Kathleen Rafiq and Heidi Levine, Photography
Valerie Wallace, Online Communications Coordinator
Our inspiring partners are SOLA and the Peter M. Goodrich Memorial Foundation; please visit their websites.

Donations

To stay informed about the latest news, events, and other developments with the Afghan Women's Writing Project, please CLICK below and join our mailing list. We appreciate your support.

In This Issue

The Burqa Bride

Bearing a Red Cross

Someone Told Me

A Mother Expecting Still

Sponsors & Friends:

Please visit our sponsors as a way to thank them for their wonderful support:

Friends of Afghanistan

Email Marketing by

The Afghan Women's Writing Project | 6 Hilliard Place | Cambridge | MA | 02138

News from The Afghan Women's Writing Project

noreply@blogger.com (Terry Dougherty) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 09:57:29 PDT

Issue No. 12 www.awwproject.org

June 2010

Welcome!
It is with great pleasure and honor that I write to you all for the first time as the new director of the Afghan Women's Writing Project (AWWP). Since Masha Hamilton hatched this project one year ago, it has leapt forward, wrapped its arms around so many people-- myself included. After my last reporting trip to Afghanistan in 2007, I have longed to stay connected to the country and its women, and I'm honored to embrace the project, now, and continue the journey that Masha has started.

We move into June with a strong collection of pieces submitted to us by our Afghan writers and workshopped by our talented group of US artists. The work includes: Freshta's powerful piece on sexual assault of a male prisoner, written from a man's perspective; Emaan's touching story of charity in "Taxi Driver"; Shogofa's open letter to President Obama; Roya's tribute to her grandmother and Afghanistan's ubiquitous pomegrantes; among many others.

Under the mentorship of rotating authors whose work is supported by a strong team of editors Jordan Schneider, Rachel de Baere and Bridget Fitzgerald, our Afghan writers depict a society confronting an uncertain future with courage, humor and trepidation. Please comment on a piece or two today. Our brave writers are grateful to know they are being heard.

May brought us a stunning performance of "Out of Silence" at the Theater J in Washington DC. Following on our debut in Los Angeles, nine actresses did dramatic readings of our writers pieces in front of a packed audience that included members from the US State Department, Capitol Hill, the Afghan Embassy, media, scholars and activists. Several of the actresses were Muslim, and under the sharp, creative direction of Jessica Lefkow, the pieces came to life and moved the audience to laughter and tears.

We have an update about our anonymous writer who courageously wrote her story in "I Am For Sale" in January. Eighty-seven donations from seven countries have enabled her in recent weeks to free herself from an unwanted marriage and pursue her dream of independence. Thank you for reading her work and responding.

AWWP continues to grow with new mentors, interns and connections. Creative Outreach Director Jeff Lyons continues to pursue theatrical opportunities, so be in touch with him if you have an idea. And if you're an author who wants to mentor the Afghan writers, contact Elisabeth Lehr.

Enjoy the summer.

With love, Ch ristina Asquith

Ice Cream: the Secret Password

After the dreamy days of my childhood, I went to school far from Uncle Sha Agha's ice cream shop. During the war years, everything changed. Years passed and one day I heard that Uncle Ice Cream was killed when a rocket hit his shop.

The most difficult time for me to eat ice cream was during the Taliban era. There were ice cream shops, but only for men. My kind father bought ice cream for me and brought it home on his bicycle. Sometimes it was all water, melting because of the hot weather. He felt sorry for me. Finally one day he said, "Daughter, wear your burqa and come with me." It sounded strange to me. For the past five years, I could leave the house only for weddings or when I was sick and had to see the doctor. Otherwise, I feared the Taliban would hit me with cables.

By Roya

Click here to read the full story.

Sexual Assault

I cannot live without you-my soul.
Why is rape my punishment in this prison?
Do they not understand

Dignity is my soul?

Like water running
to the sea,
self-worth won't return to me.
I grieve
despite others' compassion.
Why?
No one can give me my dignity back.

By Freshta

Click here to read the full poem.

Dear President Obama

I felt good when I saw President Barack Obama on TV. Everyone here was so happy to see him win. Everyone admired his speech and said he would be better than the previous president. They said he would be smart about Afghanistan and end the war and the killing. I saw faces full of happiness and hope. The reason I want to meet President Obama is to share with him all the tears of my people. I know I can't write about all our problems in one or two pages, and I know my letter can't clean the tears from my people's eyes. But I write it anyway.

Dear President Barack Obama,

By Shogofa

Click here to read the entire piece.

Taxi Driver

. . .He paused for a minute; his tears did not allow him to carry on. After a short silence, he continued: "Since then, my mother became sick. We took her to the doctors every day. I am a driver; I don't make enough money. This taxi is not mine. The owner pays me 200 Afs per day. (About $4.30) I have a family with children. We live in a poor neighborhood. All my income used to go to my mother's medications. Whenever I got her prescriptions, I used to buy less than half because I couldn't afford to buy it all. Most nights we go to bed with empty stomachs. I deceive the kids by telling them tomorrow they will get good food with fruit. But how can they sleep after being hungry all day?" He stopped the car for a few second and put his head on the steering wheel. . .

By Emaan

Click here to read the whole story.

The Smile of the Pomegranate Tree

. . . On the tree, the pomegranates looked like lovely girls wearing red dresses. I was in love with them. I couldn't count to more than ten at that time, as I was only four years old and not at school. I had only learned to count with my father, and he taught me to count up to ten. Sometimes I could do it properly, but sometimes I missed and counted wrong, jumping around from one to three to seven.

Although my grandma always promised to bring us pomegranates, I loved to have them from the tree and not from her blue bag. When I asked to have one, her response was, "They are raw now. You will be sick. When I bring it to your home it will be ready to eat!" Yet this wasn't a good enough reason for me.
. . .

By Roya

Click here to read the full piece.

The Childhood of My Father - Part II

. . . When Shah came back, Mullah Sahib asked him to listen carefully: "I dreamt you will be a very famous, powerful, and well-known man. Try to learn more and more-never stop learning. You have to leave me and the mosque; you have to go to Kabul. This is not the right place for you." . . .

By Elay

Click here for the full essay.

A Word From Our Teachers

Anne Landsman is the award-winning author of The Devil's Chimney and The Rowing Lesson.

When I signed up with the Afghan Women's Writing Project, I had never taught an on-line class before, much less an on-line class to students in Afghanistan.

In the beginning, it felt a bit like fishing. I cast my writing prompt into the waters, and waited for a response, checking my in-box every so often to see if any of the women of Writing 102 had sent me their work. I'd sent the students 'Dust of Snow,' a Robert Frost poem about how a crow shaking snow from a tree changes the poet's state of mind. I'd asked them to reflect on something that had changed their moods from sad to happy, or vice versa. What I got back stunned me. One of my students wrote about her love of ice cream, and how the Taliban banned women from going to ice cream shops. Her father had taken her to one anyway, and she still remembered the sweet, wet taste of the ice cream mixed with the taste of her burqa.

Very quickly, the live interchange in a real classroom didn't matter anymore, as these deeply significant stories, poems and essays glittered on my computer screen, describing life in another world. But despite the differences, many of the subjects were so familiar - the difficulty of enduring a critical mother-in-law's hostile comments, romantic yearning, the pain of losing aged grandparents, the poignancy of separating from one's family. Other pieces described the different Farsi dialects in Afghanistan spoken by returning refugees from Iran and Pakistan, the effects of thirty years of war and their imaginings of America. What struck me at every turn was the power of these narratives, the women's willingness to share their lives with me, and their ability to think and feel so profoundly in a language that was, for many of them, their third language. I was humbled over and over again by realizing that these courageous souls were making themselves heard despite all the restrictions on their freedoms, despite power outages, despite war.

The other day, when I heard of a suicide bomb blast in Kabul on the radio, I stopped in my tracks, suddenly fearing for my students' lives, and the lives of their families, their friends and their neighbors, suddenly feeling a very personal investment in peace.

Contact AWWP:

For more information on the Afghan Women's Writing Project please contact:

Christina Asquith, Director
Phone: 202.230.6729
Email: christinaasquith@yahoo.com

The Afghan Women's Writing Project was begun as a way to allow the voices of Afghan women - too often silenced - to enter the world directly, without any mediation. This project is possible only because of the outstanding American women authors and teachers who generously donate their time and energy. Additionally, the tireless contributions of our Creative Outreach Director Jeff Lyons, webmaster designer StefanCooke, and our technical director Terry Dougherty have been crucial. Photography thanks and credit goes to Kathleen Rafiq and Heidi Levine. Our inspiring partners are SOLA and the Peter M. Goodrich Memorial Foundation; please visit their websites.

Donations

To stay informed about the latest news, events, and other developments with the Afghan Women's Writing Project, please CLICK below and join our mailing list. We appreciate your support.

In This Issue

Ice Cream: the Secret Password

Sexual Assault

Dear President Obama

Taxi Driver

The Smile of the Pomegranate Tree

The Childhood of My Father - Part II

Sponsors & Friends:

Please visit our sponsors as a way to thank them for their wonderful support:

Friends of Afghanistan

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The Afghan Women's Writing Project | 6 Hilliard Place | Cambridge | MA | 02138

Note from Yaseer to Friends of Afghanistan

noreply@blogger.com (Terry Dougherty) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:25:22 PST

I asked Yaseer for permission to publish and share his message to me, here is his latest response. Also visit the Afghan Connections Blog where his message will also be posted....

Dear Terry, Salaam,

Thank you for your message and for your tireless efforts and good intentions for helping Afghan RPCVs and the Afghans themselves. You have my sincere permission to quote anything or everything from my message(s) on the blog or any publications of Afghan Connection or Friends of Afghanistan. I am too old to be afraid of any risk. I will send you some materials regarding the activities of UNO Center for Afghanistan Studies (CAS) and its projects in Afghanistan attached to this message. I hope you will find it interesting and useful...

also Yaseer's previous message with some parts redacted ...

From: Abdul Yaseer
Date: 2010/2/1
Subject: Re: Friends of Afghanistan and Afghan women's rights
To: Terry Dougherty

Salaam Terry,

I am very glad to hear from you. I certainly remember you and have seen your photos and, like your other friends, I have been very impressed by your efforts and good intentions to help Afghans and Afghanistan in these difficult situations. I have been receiving The Afghan-Connection Newsletter, and I did attend a PCV Reunion a few years ago in Washington DC. After that, I got very busy with UNO Afghan projects, and have been going back and forth to Afghanistan several times a year. Therefore, I have not been able to attend several other PC reunions ever since. I love my PCV friends and I am still in touch with some of them. The PC experience shaped up my life, as it did many other Afghan's and Americans' lives. Thinking of PC programs in Afghanistan,brings back very pleasant memories of the glorious days of the Pre-War developing Afghanistan.

Despites all the efforts, help, and financial contributions of US & other International organizations, things do not get better there . Security, corruption and the interference of Pakistan Military (ISI) and some of its government departments, which are supported by Saudi Arabia government and some of its rich groups are in the increase. Ordinary Afghans who are sick and tired of the war, killing, looting, abduction, bribe, nepotism, drug trade, and warlordism, have not had a chance yet to live peacefully for a day or two yet. They are all insecure, frightened and worried about their children and their own lives and of their children's, and their own future.

Each time I go back to Kabul, I witness the worsening of situations, and the increase of miseries for the ordinary folks there. A bunch of warlords, Jihadees, parliamentarians, ministers, and some contractors and businessmen are making fortunes by misusing the US and International donors' funds, and by repressing the Afghan people, grabbing the lands and properties of the people and of the government illegally, and by force, and by taking advantage of the chaos in beloved Afghanistan.

It is a little too early for me to tell you whether I will be able to come to a PCVs' reunion this summer or not, because of the uncertainties of the schedule of my trips to Afghanistan. but I will definitely let you guys know if I could make it. I love to participate and meet some of the most wonderful people who used to live and work in Afghanistan, who loved the people and the country, and who stayed loyal, and supported the Afghan cause up to now.

....

Please give my best regards to your colleagues and friends who knows me and wish them luck to make these reunions as successful as the previous ones and better.

Khudaa haafiz,

Yaseer