Anoosha's weekly letter....

My opinion about the letter exchanging process

Through last months I have been exchanging letters between American children and Afghan orphans which is one of the most experiencing works in my life. I came to know through this process that what these children think. Many of them really do care about others happiness. For example in her letter Carly said to her pen pal “always remember that there is hope for you in life and that you are being heard by people”. Even Blake a 12 year old American girl said to her 8 year old pen pal Shabana “I think what we can really do about the war in Iraq to stop killing and to make our point” . Sally because of a problem she couldn’t get her pen pal’s mails so she was really worried and she said in her letter to her pen pal” I couldn’t write because of a problem; don’t think that I am not interested in writing to you.” This means that these children really do care about others happiness.


When I read letters to the orphans they listen carefully and think how different things are in the U.S and Afghanistan and how the American children have lots of opportunities in life. As one of the kids Jone said in his letter. ” I really don’t know what I wish to be in the future because there are lots of possibilities in life.”

I think that exchanging letters is one of the ways to exchange thoughts, ideas and imaginations with which we can promote the orphans to think about themselves and the others and how to use opportunities in life so that they can be assure of a secure future.

Anoosha Wahidi
Kabul, June 2007

Alluhoddin Orphanage -Colin's Journal

Other journal entries by Colin about his visit here are posted at www.marniegustavson.blogspot.com..5/16/07
Yesterday’s big adventure was a visit to the Allahoudin orphanage in Kabul. This is the orphanage that the staff of PARSA has been working with for the past eight months. It is because of the conditions found here that we had a meeting earlier with the deputy minister in charge of Martyrs and Social Affairs, along with several other international NGOs in the first week of my trip. PARSA staff, with my mother at the helm had “blown the whistle” on the conditions at the orphanage, inciting a larger investigation into these homes in Kabul and throughout the rest of the country. I was curious to see first-hand what these poor children are dealing with.
When we arrived the PARSA Well-Being staff headed off to start their children’s program of health education and yoga with the boys that has been going on for a while. Yasin, my mother and I toured around the common area and the boy’s dormitories with a woman from the European Commission, who was here to see first-hand the conditions of the orphanage. The European Commission is in control of 30 million euros in donations to Afghan social causes. This woman will be presenting her findings and could possibly recommend that use the information gained here to leverage the ministry in acting swiftly and concisely on the recommendations of the recently formed committee investigating conditions throughout the country. The dispersal of this funding could be conditional and tied to the ministry acting on the recommendations of the committee formed to investigate the problems. This is potentially the leverage that my mom has needed, helping to legitimize PARSAs role in the matter as the initiating voice for systemic, long-lasting change.
As we toured through and our presence became known I could see the children running through their rooms straitening up their beds and making it look nice. There looked to be fresh new sheets on all of the beds, which Yasin said was a very recent change. He commented that it appears that the pressure they had put on the minister had started to pay-off a little. On the surface things looked to be in better order, much nicer than previously described. To me it seems like the orphanage staff are trying put a cleaner face on the problem, yet Yasin and I agree that it doesn’t matter if they are doing so just to try and keep their jobs, as long as the children are getting the care they need we are happy, this is why PARSA is working so hard. However, the smell of dirty bodies and unclean facilities permeates the buildings. It’s much harder to disguise these things and this tells the real story of the orphanage. I could see this is what the woman from the European Commission was overwhelmed with. She has seen many orphanages and probably knows what to look for, it’s hard to cover up certain basic needs going unmet.
At one point we stopped in and observed what the PARSA staff were doing in their program. It started with some discussion on basic hygiene; washing hands, brushing teeth, covering your mouth when you cough etc.. The children would be asked a question and given turns to answer. They very proudly stood up and presented what they knew on the topic at hand, obviously loving the attention and commendation this brought. The program then continued with some basic yoga presented by a new PARSA staff member, an Afghan American named Molly. She was a Yoga teacher in the States and has a Masters in education. She has great ideas and will be a great contribution of knowledge to PARSA. She has developed a children’s yoga program that will probably bring good benefit to the kids here. At first the boys were a little “squirrelly” and self conscious about the class, but as it went on they became more centered and serious about trying to do the moves right. They were obviously having great fun, despite any initial embarrassment. My presence with the camera was contributing to the embarrassment so I didn’t stay long.
As I exited the room I came out into the dark hallway where Yasin, mom and the woman from the EC were talking with about 15 little boys. She was asking questions such as, “when was the last time you were allowed to bathe? how do you like it here?”. The boys had no problem voicing their complaints, though they said that the staff had threatened to “kill” them if they did so. I’m not sure if this was a literal threat, an exaggeration by the boys or a misinterpretation of a phrase, but the intent by the staff was clear. The kids were not to talk of their problems to outsiders anymore. They said they weren’t afraid of this, likely because they have learned they have support from outsiders that will watch out for them. Several had medical problems that were unattended to, one boy had blood in his urine, and several had foot problems. When asked about the last time they bathed they said that the shower facilities were now working, but when they had requested access from the staff they had been denied. The boys said the last time they had bathed was when it had snowed (months earlier). I could see myself, when entering the compound that children were using the water pump in the middle of the courtyard to wash themselves, though obviously not completely, or with soap. . There was laundry hanging off of playground equipment in the courtyard and girls washing clothes in the shade of slides, apparently they still have to do this themselves. Hopefully they are not still being forced to do the boys laundry as had been previously discovered.
I kept watching the EC consultants reactions and could tell she was distressed. I had at first thought she might be duped by the tidiness of the rooms and clean sheets on the beds, thinking that all was well. But in conversation afterwards she was more appalled at the conditions than I was. Again, you can’t cover up the smell, or ignore the complaints of the young boys we talked to. Despite the small changes there are so many more needed. The buildings themselves look terrible, the outsides and all the rooms need re-painting. Though there are more pressing needs, I believe this to be important too. It is crucial to a child’s feeling of self-worth to be in a place that is comfortable and looks nice. When this is the case they valued, that people care about them and what happens to them. This is especially important to a child with no family.
These children deserve to be treated well. I was not allowed to visit the girl’s dormitory so most of my interactions were with the boys. They were gregarious and fun. They loved having their picture taken and getting to see themselves on my camera. They jumped around, walking on their hands performing all sorts of acrobatics. They started getting more adventuresome, jumping off beds and I started to worry they would hurt themselves so stopped taking pictures of them. Instead I tried talked with them, they loved displaying all the English words they knew.
Today some breakthroughs were made. Enough pressure has been put on the minister that he is apparently starting to enact some changes, even without the Committee’s report. The National director of the orphanages has been moved into the orphanage to intervene and monitor the goings-on more directly and to begin implementing what changes can be made immediately.
I watched a conversation with Yasin yesterday with one of the supervisors of the orphanage where she told him that she didn’t want PARSA to be in the orphanage. Yasin stated that it didn’t matter if she forced PARSA out of the orphanage, he is a citizen of Afghanistan and will himself fight to improve conditions for the needy children of his country. He was not going to go away. She in the end agreed to continue to allow PARSA access to the orphanage. It is my opinion that if this supervisor continues resisting outside intervention and help she would eventually lose her job, there is too much momentum for change at this point, too many people know about the problems. If she embraces the outside help and works hard to become part of the solution, she will retain her position and will likely be a very positive contribution. Though I have not met with her directly, she appears to be a strong woman. It’s better to have her on your side than to fight against her.
It appears that through all of the difficulties, positive change is beginning to occur, at least in the Allahoudin orphanage. This is only the start of what is needed, but it’s something. I am so proud of my mother, Mabouba and PARSA staff for taking the problem to the Ministry and not relenting, despite what was at times strong opposition. Though a small organization they have gathered enough international pressure to start things rolling in the right direction. At the heart of it, through all the political wrangling, everyone really does want the children to be well taken care of. But first people had to admit there was a problem. Bureaucrats, afraid of losing face, and likely their jobs were resistant to do this, but forced to in the end. It is a testament to what power a small grass-roots organization of concerned people can have when they are invested in making a difference.

Honoring an Afghan Leader--by Mahbouba Seraj

Afghan woman radio head shot dead
A female owner of a radio station in Afghanistan has been shot dead.

Mahbouba:
I met her a month ago in Jabal-Seraj ( north of Kabul in the Shamali plains, Parwan Province) a very beautiful area of Afghanistan, green and gorgeous. She was an amazing lady she had so much light and beauty about her, strong , kind and full of laughter and energy. I first heard her radio station broadcasting great programs in the Kohband District of Kapisa Province, the name of her radio station is "Radio Peace" a great station, with wonderful programs.

She is originally from Badakshan Province, she came to Jabal-Seraj and got married there. She has 7 children. All of her life all she has done is work for the women and the people of this country, getting their voices and concerns out to the community and authority, all she ever has done was to love Afghanistan and like so many other courageous women of this country she loses her life for it. It is so unnecessary it is such a waste and it is so so SAD.

I don't know what to do about this yet, but I know one thing : we should do everything in our power as the women of this country and the world to stop this. The people who have done this should be brought to justice, we can't be indifferent about this, they are killing all of us, anyone who wants to do something for the good of these people gets punished by loosing their lives. This is not acceptable this is wrong, we should not let Zakia's death go unnoticed and her Shahadat in vein. We need these women, Afghanistan needs them, we should not allow some ignorant tugs whoever they are kill them, just because they can, and because there is no justice in this corrupt system and they know they can get away with it.

I am so sad and so angry....

My heart is breaking , all I can do at the moment is to pray......

Mahbouba Sera

An account of her death From BBC News...

Daughters and relatives of Ms Zaki weep by her coffin Zakia Zaki was shot seven times, including in the chest and head, as she slept with her 20-month-old son at her home north of Kabul, officials say. The governor of Parvan province, where the attack took place, told the BBC he did not know who killed her. No one has admitted carrying out the attack. Her murder came just days after a woman newsreader was killed for reasons which were described as "family-related". 'Act of terror' The Parvan governor, Abdul Jabbar Taqwa, visited the scene of the killing in the town of Jabal as Siraj, about 70km (40 miles) north of the capital. Ms Zaki (centre) was a rare female voice in Afghanistan He said the attackers were three men armed with pistols and rifles, who broke into Ms Zaki's house and got into the bedroom. An older son, aged three, was with her at the time of the attack, but none of her six children was injured. The Interior Ministry condemned what it called "this act of terror" and said it was trying to track down the perpetrators. Zakia Zaki, was 35 years old and worked as a reporter and a schoolteacher. She was one of the few female journalists in the country to speak out during the Taleban's rule. She had also headed the US-funded station, Radio Peace, since it opened after the fall of the Taleban in 2001. The BBC's Charles Haviland in Kabul says that at times Ms Zaki criticised the former mujahideen, some of who have been implicated in war crimes. Observers say that the motive behind the murder is far from clear, and a massive police operation is now underway to identify and arrest the killers. 'Freedom of expression' Zakia Zaki started her radio career eight years ago. At the time Parvan province was one of the few areas in the country to be controlled by anti-Taleban forces. New hopes of Afghan media The Independent Association of Afghan Journalists has condemned the murder, describing it as an example of how difficult the working environment has become for journalists and especially for women. "She believed in freedom of expression, that's why she was killed," the association's head Rahimullah Samander told Reuters. The group said she had received threats in the past but had no personal enemies. The killing comes six days after the shooting dead of another Afghan woman working in journalism, a 22-year-old newsreader from a private television station, Shakiba Sanga Amaj. According to senior police sources in Kabul, her father has blamed two male relatives and one person has been arrested.

Freedom of Speech

We all know that human beings both men and women have equal rights. Every body should have the right to free speech and to reflect their ideas and thoughts.
We should pay respect to the opinions of people from different walks of life. Every body should feel free to say and to share their ideas with the people of a society because the thoughts and ideas of different people can promise the world a brighter future.
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We should not feel sad or angry if anybody shows us our mistakes and weaknesses that we have but instead we should listen to them carefully and should try to improve our selves.

We should start it from our own selves we must not wait for somebody else to star. If we promise to change our selves if we have any weakness then we can be assure of a brighter future.
Therefore we have to promote freedom of speech from childhood so that the children have the right to express their feelings freely. Afghan youths can play an important role to promote the freedom of speech with the help of civilized societies.