Lost Generation

History is a race between education and catastrophe. H.G. Wells
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This is a footnote to my last post just so I can prop Amanda and Caleb for their efforts in Kabul. Although the ISK caters to a more wealthy subset of Afghanistan, every contribution to education cannot be overlooked.

The civil war of the 90’s between warring tribes (Mujahidin factions) caused the closing or dismantling of most lower, middle, and higher education facilities. Warfare effectively eliminated most education thereafter and an entire generation grew up without any formal schooling. Although the Taliban brought an end to the security issues, the education problem did not change because it was exacerbated by the removal of all girls from schools and a renewed emphasis on the madras-style of education.

Some staggering literacy numbers:

total population: 28.1%
male: 43.1%
female: 12.6%
Rural areas: 17% men, 3% women

There is an overwhelming lack of facilities. Afghanistan has some 12,000 public schools (primary and secondary). Roughly half of them do not have a building; students assemble in tents and/or in the open, say officials. Insurgents have torched hundreds of schools and killed dozens of teachers and students over the past four years in a country which desperately needs more schools and teachers. About 700 schools were reportedly closed because of insecurity and attacks in 2008, though some have been re-opened over the past few months, according to the Ministry of Education.

The bottom line: Those that started this century at the bottom are still struggling to catch up, because it takes a major effort for a country to educate its populace. A country needs a large pool of the already educated to act as teachers, and an economy that can detach children from the workforce long enough for them to go to school. Afghanistan has neither.


Hats off to Caleb and Amanda, and the many more like them!
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But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars.
-- Persian Proverb

Music makes the world go around

KABUL, Afghanistan - The ravages of civil war twist lifelessly in the breeze, a macabre warning to those who might disobey Islamic rule. Dangling from signposts every few miles on the road into Kabul are long shreds of cassette tape, confiscated from their owners and strung up as a reminder that virtually all music is now illegal in Afghanistan. The hanging tape is a chilling metaphor in Kabul, where residents are still recovering from the sight of deposed Afghan President Najibullah's mutilated body swinging from a wire noose in a public square after Kabul fell to the forces of the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban movement.

Michael Lev, Chicago Tribune, Dec 1996

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Can you imagine a life without music? I sure can't. I remember a Garfield poster I had hanging in my college apartment that said "music makes the world go around." I have never forgotten that and continue with my wife to make music an important part of my children's lives.

In Afghanistan, there was a period as described above where people could not even listen to music without fear of punishment. Those times are in the past! Caleb and Amanda Earnest are doing their part to see that the next generation in Afghanistan is different than the last. The newleyweds are teachers at the International School of Kabul (ISK) where 250 kids receive an education, partially funded by USAID. Amanda's love for music is played out in her classes everyday as she passes on her knowledge of music to both elementary students and high-schoolers. They are clearly making a difference.

This past Saturday I took a trip with the National Military Academy band to visit ISK for a short concert. The band is a collection of cadets that have a wide range of age and experience. This was their first time away from the academy to play for an audience. Although their skills were lacking at times, they were well received from the children who are also getting an introductory education in musical arts and their first look at real instruments. I hope this will be an encouragement to the band members to keep playing, a lesson to the kids that music does indeed make the world go around.

More next time about the kids and how education is changing in Afghanistan...

Band of Brothers

Gotta take a minute to prop my "brother in arm." He's LtCol Jeff Boleng, on loan tothe military academy here from the USAF Academy. We have worked through the football jokes and all of the slogans they have about missing the target..."Aim High," "Above all"......"No one comes close" is my favorite.

He's a great officer and a super computer geek (PhD in computer science!). He is actually the one that turned me on to this blogging thing. His blog can be viewed and followed at http://jeffinkabul.blogspot.com

"All my friends are here now."

Ken, Massa and I spent a great deal of time together outside the classroom. Of course, we had chai every time, practiced some new words and learned what it was like to be an Afghan. We all parted ways being a part of a larger family than when we started, and now ten weeks later we are all here in Afghanistan.

We were all walking down a small straight in Kabul a few nights ago. It was a beautiful night, normal for this time of the year. A nearly full moon lit our way back to the safe house from the restaurant.

"How do you say this? How do you pronounce that?" Everything seemed to be new that night like we were back in Arlington at the schoolhouse. I asked Massa if he missed teaching. "Ah, not really," he replied. He had been in America for only eight months. A very gifted linguist, he turned down opportunities for much more money and returned to help his family business here in Afghanistan.

I continued, "Well, you must miss all of your friends from D.C.?" Without hesitating, he responded, "All my friends are here now."

Doing the Attan

Massa picked me up late last night. I am very thankful. There I was sitting on a concrete barrier outside the gate, dressed in full Afghan attire, getting another 60 minutes of Pashto from the locals...what a great time! You cannot imagine how much they love it if you try to speak their language.

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The title says "doing the Attan" so I better get back to that. Any guesses? Attan is the national dance of Afghanistan and the traditional dance among the Pashtuns. It is a circular dance, performed at the end of ceremony, and its origin is dated deep in Afghanistan's pre-Islamic Avesticera. Attan used to be religious dance involve many circles around the fire, some say it was dance of warriors around the fire performed before going to war, although this tradition was lost during the Islamic period, or it has been modified, but soon during 14th century in the midst of Hindukush mountains it became famous. Although in modern Afghan weddings Attan is performed only once, it is traditionally performed twice (at start of the wedding and at its end) and sometimes even more, especially among Pashtuns. They did it a dozen times last night at my first Afghan wedding!!

Of all the things in Afghanistan, I dislike their music more than anything. I know it sounds bad, but come on, at least I'm honest. Well, the bad music was more than made up for by some awesome dancing and pure enthusiasm.

Did I kiss the bride? No, I never saw her! ha! The women were in one room, the men in another. The entire wedding celebration [traditionally] is segregated, but it did not spoil the event. Read the wiki to save my fingers. Bottom line, I had a super time with more language and culture training that anyone could get in a single tour here. Too much fun!

They provided all of my favorites and in great quantity. Extra run time this morning to balance the evening out! The other half of the evening will have to be provided in a separate post when I get pictures from my female colleagues. More to follow...

Babel...The Gate of God

"Now the whole earth had one language and few words. And as men migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, 'Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.' And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, 'Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.' And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the sons of men had built. And the LORD said, 'Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; and nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.' So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.' Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth." (Gen 11:1-9)

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Our offices here at NMAA are colocated with officers in the Turkish Army who are also here mentoring the Afghan Academy staff. Yesterday, one of them told me that he wished we all spoke the same language because of how difficult the Afghan languages were to him. It reminded me of this story about Babel, so I took the opportunity to share it with him and his Dari interpreter. It didn't have the overwhelming spiritual effect I thought it would. They both paused, the Turkish officer thought briefly, then said, "Well, if we did still have one language, this guy would be without a job."

Rewind...

Here's a couple of pics from our first days in Afghanistan...it seems like a year ago already. Almost one month gone already and I'm still in training.

The second pic is from the Queen's palace down south at Camp Julien. If you have time, google the Queen's palace. I included a link for a quick "wiki" writeup. This was home to the President and his family when the Russians invaded in 1979. Great history all around me!

More later...I'm late for another cup of chai and langauge lesson...

Teacher Appreciation Day!

روز معلم (Pronounced "roz malim) They do it right here! They took the entire day to make it special. Food, colorful dress and decoration, singing and speeches filled the morning. For all the teachers back home reading this, I salute you! Sorry I missed the opportunity before I left home.

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We went in convoy with ANA security vehicles and arrived early during the morning session of school. Three hours in the morning for girls, three hours in the afternoon for boys. There is not enough money, facilities and teachers for an all-day program. After the Russians pulled out in 1989, the ensuing years of civil war and Taliban rule destroyed what progress had been made to develop a modern educational system. An entire generation with little education and little production of those qualified to teach have made this one of the most under developed countries in the region. Literacy rate is only 28%...I pray we can make a difference.

Today's ceremony was to honor the teachers at this local school in Kabul, but I can also take a minute to thank LtCol Larry Walker. His efforts to collect monies to pay for playground equipment and books for this school was an extraordinary blessing for this small village of families. Mabarksha! (Congratulations)...Thanks, Larry, for going the extra mile and being a model of charity to those in need.

Out on the town

Massa (language instructor in Arlington, VA) picked me up promptly at 6:30pm outside the main gate at Kabul International Airport. I must admit I was a little nervous. Dressed in customary Afghan attire, from head to toe, I filled the ten minutes I had chatting with the locals that were there waiting on transportation. I was relieved when our conversation was interrupted by the opening car door...

Massa and Asad (brothers) greeted me with a hug as if we had known each other all our lives and away we went. Around the airport circle, a few ANP (Afghan Natl Police) check points, through Massoud circle, then down into the safe zone where many NGOs (non-govt. organizations) hang their hats at night. It also includes some great restaurants perfect for practicing the language and catching up with fellow military service members here on the same program.

Just wanted to record the moment with a few pictures. Hopefully, there will be many more nights like this to come.

Footnote for another cup of chai

I found myself in another office today discussing the medical concerns of an ANA officer. I no longer think we have a health care issue in the United States. As I floundered in his native tongue, I was at a loss of words to explain the chasm between his $300 /mo. salary and mine...avoided numbers by explaining that it was indeed much more, but my wife took care of the finances and knew all the figures. : )

The real issue was his five year old Seyad that has a blood and heart issue that will never be cured. His life would be much fuller if treated in the U.S., but there is still the lack of funds to live...on 300.00/mo.

Still very thankful for what I have, and hoping to make a difference in 2010.

Another cup of chai, please

Today was a good day. I spent part of the morning studying vocabulary that has somehow escaped my memory since I left language school in March. I will get it back! Then, I was off to another office to meet some more officers on staff at the academy. Of course, the conversation always starts with a cup of chai (tea). It's the hot variety, and will only be sweet if you ask for "bora" (accent on the "a").

A sobering conversation ensued about how much money a young man in the Afghan National Army (ANA) makes in a month. The article (link included) points out the dismal tale. $160.00 month for this young man. Mid grade officers make approximately $300.00 per month. Needless to say, I did not bring up my income during that cup of tea.

More meetings and more chai complemented the rest of my day, but the highlight was a box filled with goodies from my clan in Virginia and the card in the picture posted here. I love you all!

Thankful for His goodness...

1st crack at blogging

Today is Jumah ( جمعه ), the Pashto word for Friday. It's the only day off in these parts and I have taken it every bit of it. After chatting with the family and a close friend on Skype, I enjoyed some yoga (ok, weird, but it still hurt), a short run, a free lunch (well, I didn't pay), then a massage for 26 bucks...somebody got ripped off, but it wasn't me! So, that brings me to this point...what to type, what to say...well, here goes ~

This blog site name "pashtoninja" was joked about back in language school by the guys, so I thought I would bring it back out. Catchy and easy to remember. Of course, with "bookmarks" it doesn't matter much. Behind the name will just be me, same dry guy that you all know.

I have been assigned to the National Military Academy of Afghanistan (NMAA) in Kabul for a short time. The idea is for me to get a chance to "immerse" in the culture and language of Afghanistan before I go to my real job. Jury still out on whether that will provide the results that the commander is looking for. I will give it my best shot to learn some more of the language and learn more about these fascinating people called Afghans.

The academy is a great project to develop the Afghan National Army (ANA) officer corps, modeling it after West Point Military Academy in the U.S. I am impressed by the great effort by the Army and other service mentor officers that have joined in the project.

Well, enough of that. I will fill you in on the 2.5 weeks I have been in country, but I feel a pizza coming on!