culture
- All projects
Special Announcement for Afghans
I was flying from Delhi back to Kabul after having been on a few flights in Southeast Asia. Normally, in-flight safety announcements for passengers in airplanes were all similar. Since the flight from Delhi to Kabul was mostly Afghans so the announcement was a bit more tailored to us. The announcement said, smoking in the airplane is strictly prohibited. Then it added, “not even in the toilets”. They’d obviously found cigarette butts in the toilets before that and decided to…
Pul-e-Jawan: A Regional Peace-building Team
Pul-e-Jawan, which literally means “bridges of youth” in Dari, Urdu and Hindi, is a group of regional peace building and active youth from Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. In September 2011, Internews, Afghanistan took initiative and invited five citizen journalists with an interest in peace and reconciliation issues from each of the above countries (a total of fifteen people) to meet in Kabul. The aim of Pul-e-Jawan is to provide an exchange for the youth and to bridge any gaps and…
Support Afghan Female Boxers Fighting their Way to London Olympics
In the basement of once notorious Ghazi National Olympic Stadium of Afghanistan is where the Afghan national team of female boxers train tirelessly hard for the Olympics 2012 in London. Once known as the stadium of death the venue was used for holding public executions and stoning under the brutal Taliban rule, 1996 to 2001. Under the Taliban women were completely forbidden from participating in any sports, not even as spectators. Refurbished by the US government, Ghazi Olympic Stadium reopened…
That’s what I do
I was in Dara-e-Noor, a district far to the north of Jalalabad city. My team members and I were there for a mapping survey for which talking with a local resident helped us make better and more accurate maps for any given area. Here, we ran into Baghcha Gul. We were talking about the village and names of the roads, public buildings, etc. and my colleague, Akbar asked this random question: “How many children do you have?” “I have only one…
No, There Is only One God!
When I was taking this picture I raised my index and middle finger and parted them asking the gentlemen to make peace gesture. The senior man in the back shouted, “No, there is only ONE God!” “There are not two Gods”, he added. I almost got into a big trouble. They probably thought I was trying to convert them or something. It was in my own city of Jalalabad but these folks seemed alien. Some people in Jalalabad know what…
Team Work
Photo credit: Najib Bismil People in rural Afghanistan build their mud houses with thick and high walls, Qalla. They usually tie two or more ladders together to pass the mud to the mason.
The Irrepressible Pashtun Sense of Humor
Pashtuns like to have a very loose schedule. We spend a lot of time trading jokes with other ‘comrades’, especially if there is green tea and a nice little Hujra(guest room). No matter how sad or troubled we are, we make fun of the misery and laugh about it. Interesting read in Dawn: The Irrepressible Sense of Humor of the Pashtoons Part of the article: ‘Where is Comrade Amin, our first Socialist Leader?’ ‘He’s dead, Comrade.’ ‘And where, Comrade Information officer…
Things that Make Me Fall in Love with Bamyan
The amazing and natural beauty of Bamyan city The happy and playful kids of Bamyan The extremely friendly and helpful people And most importantly, the stunning smile of these people. When Hazaras smile, their eyes look amazingly beautiful!
Fun with the Screamers at the City of Scream
Last Friday, Una and I went to Shahr-e-Gholghola which means the city of scream in Dari. It’s a beautiful old city ruins on top of a hill with a wonderful view of the whole city of Bamyan. We hiked to the very top of the hill and met a family. An old man came to visit Shahr-e-Gholghola with his children. He was a policeman who was stationed on top of this hill a few years earlier. Then on our way…
Celebrating Nowruz in Mazar-i-Sharif
We chose to celebrate the Persian New Year, Nowruz in Mazar-i-Sharif because it is the epicenter of celebration in Afghanistan. Over 200,000 people congregate at the Rowze-e-Sharif Mosque which the Afghan Shia believe houses the tomb of Hazrat Ali ibn Abi Talib whom they consider Islam’s first Imam. Nowruz is officially recognized as a national holiday and high ranking officials attend the celebrations. Although the festivities are centered on the Mosque, Novruz is a pre-Islamic holiday that is not mentioned…