"Today in Kabul, clean-shaven men rubbed their faces. An old man with a newly-trimmed grey beard danced in the street holding a small tape recorder blaring music to his ear. The Taliban - who had banned music and ordered men to wear beards - were gone." -Kathy Gannon, November 13, 2001, reporting for the Associated Press.
I'm almost done reading "Three Cups of Tea" which is about a man who built dozens of schools in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan to help boys and girls get a decent education. He founded the Central Asia Institute as an organized means to that goal. By getting a decent education these children aren't like sheep led to the fundamentalist/extremist Islamic Madrassas, which coincidentally are the former schools of the majority of the Taliban. I wish I could do something like that! He started his cause before 9/11 and continued it throughout and after 9/11. Why? Because relations between him, his Pakistani friends, and villages did not change. Baltistan. That's the region he mainly worked in. I liked the book for quite a few reasons. Firstly, it went into great detail about the 'way of life' of these small mountain towns and villages. I showed the Normalcy of their lives. How they are farmers, craftsmen, and have no political agenda on a large scale against anyone. (this is generally speaking, of course) I liked it because it showed the harsh details of the various wars and foreign powers shooting and bombing up their land - while remaining optimistic and showing that these people, with the help of schools and education, can rise above. They can return to normal if they are given a chance. I wish I could give them a chance.
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