Share Love

Love is like air
Everywhere
Breathe it, dear
Don’t cry here
Share your tears
Please bear
I am here
I am here

By Roya

Smile of Stars – A Poem

He is simple like
My childhood paintings
His face is like a
Smile of stars at midnight
He has a wide heart
Like the Pacific Ocean
His eyes are honest and lovely couples
His thoughts are deep like time
He thinks about the meaning of life
And is secretive when
When he thinks about the sky

His words are expensive
Very expensive
When he says Dear:
Never think about the last three letters of
Friend.
I love his wisdom as a real man
When he laughs
It is my honeymoon in paradise
But I love…
I love his shoulders
To put my head on
And cry…
His support is like
A piece of a cloud’s shadow
In a hot and thirsty desert
What hurts me is
that he is the sun I need…
But I can’t reach.

By Roya

My Neighborhood: Poor Yet Kind

I live in Kabul, Afghanistan. On the way to my home, I can see the beautiful Darulaman Palace from a distance, although it is not as beautiful as it used to be. The palace was destroyed during the mujahedeen (civil) war. The palace was built in 1921 and completed in 1925 during the reign of Amanullah Khan (king of Afghanistan at that time). It was a royal residency.

It is approximately a 15 minute walk from the road to my house. Most taxis won’t travel on the tiny streets unless they get paid more, because the streets are hard to navigate by car.
My neighborhood is not a beautiful or modern place. It has some very old houses. Some of the houses have very low doors so when tall people enter, they have to bend down. It is a very small community.

People of different ethnic backgrounds live in my neighborhood. Most are Pashtuns and there are a few Tajik and a few Hazara people. It is a poor community and people are really good to each other. Some of the people are so poor they can hardly feed their children. But some are in good shape financially and can sometimes help their neighbors. One thing I love about my neighborhood is that, although there may be a conflict going on among the tribes and different ethnic groups, the neighbors are always there to help each other and share their sorrows and laughter.

Once my sister-in-law got sick at 3 a.m. Because we live on such tiny streets, it is hard to get transportation, especially at that time of the night. Some of our neighbors own their own cars. My brother called one neighbor who happens to be Pashtun and woke him up. Although he could have easily refused and made up some excuse why he couldn’t take us, he got up and immediately took his car out of his garage. Then they drove all the way to the hospital. That was one of the worst times we ever had trying to find transportation, and they helped us with no anger. When my sister-in-law got out of the hospital, our neighbor sent his family to ask about her health. This was only one of the examples of kindness and respect in my neighborhood.

The worst thing about my neighborhood is that it is so far from the main road and very dirty. In the summer, the dust is too much, and a person can never come home without being filthy. In the winter, a person cannot return home clean because it is so muddy. The air is also very dirty, but the water in that area is famous. There are wells all over my entire neighborhood, and the water is pure and fresh.

By Maryam

Election Day in Farah

Thursday, August 20, 2009: Marina, a 19-year-old woman voting for the first time, was the earliest person to arrive at the Malai Miwand Girl’s School, where the women’s voting center was located.

“I have been looking forward to this day for three months,” Marina said. “I am very happy that as an Afghan woman, I can participate in Afghanistan’s future. I accomplished my role, which was to vote. I understand that our votes are very important, and I would like to thank Afghan security forces for preventing any problems.”

Marina was one of millions of Afghans participating in the election pitting President Hamid Karzai against his main challenger, Abdullah Abdullah. All over Afghanistan’s southwestern province of Farah, voter turnout was strong, although nearly half the polls did not open due to security concerns. Preliminary results will be announced next week, and final results next month.

Security around the city of Farah was tight. Shops were closed so local police could control the situation. Two rocket attacks at 11 a.m. left one child injured, and fewer people went to the polls in the afternoon. Still, officials were upbeat. “It was not considered possible that such a large number of people would show up to vote in this round,” said Hangama Sadid, a provincial council member in Farah.

“We had planned to open 250 polling sites, but we could open 135 because of security reasons,” said Abdulwali Hamidi, an election officer in Farah. “But in all districts, we have two to three voting centers. Participation appears to be high, and everyone felt secure to vote in the center of Farah Province.”

In Farah and elsewhere around Afghanistan, polls were open from 7 a.m to 4 p.m. Each polling site has five centers for women and five or six for men. In most places, five people work in the polling center.

Sadiqa Darwishe, 18, a Third District resident, said she voted with complete confidence. “I am very happy that I could use my vote,” she said. “I voted to select our leaders who will go to work for our country. This is our responsibility. We have a big role in Afghanistan’s life. Today there is no political difference between men and women. We are all voting, thanks in large part to Afghan security forces which made it safe for men and women to vote comfortably.”

It was the second time Afghanistan has voted in a presidential election. The first was in 2004 and won by Karzai. “I am proud to vote for the future of Afghanistan,” said Haji Baba Rahmat, a male voter. “I came and voted, and I am very happy that I did my national duty as an Afghan.”

By Seeta

U.S. Ambassador’s Wife Promises to Seek Funds for Girl’s School

The women of Farah Province waited impatiently in the Governor’s guesthouse for the arrival of Chiang Eikenberry, the wife of US Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, who was visiting Farah for the first time to attend a luncheon in her honor. “This is the first time I ever heard of a foreign visitor who wants to have a special meeting with Afghan women,” said Pari, a woman participating in ceremony. “I am delighted to see an Ambassador’s wife in Farah.”

When Mrs. Eikenberry entered the room, she greeted the women with the traditional “Salaam alaykum,” and each guest stood to introduce herself. Mrs. Eikenberry, wearing a gray dress with a white scarf, talked about how smart Afghan women are and how good they are at their work. “I tell Afghan men to be sure to see how beautiful the women are behind that scarf,” she told the group, adding that she was visiting different provinces in hopes that the women would tell her about problems they would not be comfortable discussing with a man.

The women told the ambassador’s wife one of their biggest problems is that the girls’ school is not big enough for all the students, and more than half of them must study under a tent, which is particularly difficult and uncomfortable in hot weather.

“In the summer, it is very hot in Farah,” said Homera Ayoubi, the school’s principal. “Sun beats into the classrooms, and the only way our students can cool off is with hand fans. In winter when it is raining, the classrooms are wet and wind whips right into the classroom, which makes it hard for the teachers and students.”

Mrs. Eikenberry promised the women that she would ask the Provincial Reconstruction Team and the governor of Farah to provide funds for a school building for women.

Then she told a sad story. “A soldier was killed in Afghanistan,” she said. “I went to the Bigram Airport to be there when his remains were sent home. The soldier’s commander told me that the young man arrived in Afghanistan last December. His wife gave birth to two daughters in February, and he had never seen them.”

The story shows that we all have problems, even those who leave their homes to come to Afghanistan to help us.

By Seeta