Welcome Mr. Ban to the "most impossible job on Earth
- From: "CGNews-PiH Jakarta" <nuruddin.asyhadie@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 28 Mar 2007 05:59:47 -0700
Common Ground News Service
Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH)
for constructive & vibrant Muslim-Western relations
28 March - 03 April 2007
If this email is not displaying properly, click here.
The Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH)
aims to promote constructive perspectives and dialogue about Muslim-
Western relations. CGNews-PiH is available in Arabic, English, French
and Indonesian. To subscribe, click here.
For an archive of past CGNews articles and other information, please
visit our website at www.commongroundnews.org.
Unless otherwise noted, copyright permission has been obtained and
articles may be reprinted by any news outlet or publication. Please
acknowledge both the original source and the Common Ground News
Service (CGNews).
Inside this edition
1) ~Youth Views~ Welcome, Mr. Ban, to the "most impossible job on
Earth" by Tara Ruttenberg and Asmaa El Gammal
Tara Ruttenberg, a senior at Georgetown University's School of Foreign
Service, and Asmaa El Gammal, a political science and journalism major
at the American University of Cairo, consider what the new appointment
of UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon means for the Middle East. Looking
at his past endeavours, they try to anticipate what may be in store
for the future.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 27 March 2007)
2) Australians deliberate on Islam by Melanie Morrison
Melanie Morrison, former Jakarta Post writer, describes a recent
deliberative polling effort in Australia dealing with the
controversial topic of "Muslim immigration in an age of terrorism."
Recounting some honest and perhaps surprising comments and preliminary
poll results, she asks whether Muslims and non-Muslims can
harmoniously live together in Australia.
(Source: Jakarta Post, 22 March 2007)
3) Microcredit forges bond between Christian lenders and Muslim
clients by Christina Schott
Christina Schott, a German freelance writer living in Indonesia, looks
at the results, four years later, of a microcredit programme begun in
Kiyarapayung, Indonesia. What makes this programme most unique is that
the organisation running the programme is Christian, whereas most of
the participants are Muslim. Schott asks those involved what role, if
any, does religion play in this initiative.
(Source: Qantara.de, 21 March 2007)
4) More talk, less distortion by Kaelen Wilson-Goldie
Kaelen Wilson-Goldie, staff writer for the Daily Star in Lebanon,
reviews Mona Almunajjed's recent book "Saudi Women Speak: 24
Remarkable Women Tell Their Success Stories", which breathes life and
personality into Saudi women, triumphing over the one-dimensional
image of the black-clad Saudi woman who can't drive that is so
prevalent in the West and in much of the Arab world.
(Source: Daily Star, 27 March 2007)
5) Afghan villagers stand guard to protect school by Mark Sappenfield
Christian Science Monitor staff writer, Mark Sappenfield, describes an
initiative led by community elders in Afghanistan to stopp the burning
of schools and promote the education of their young people:
"Terrorists 'are coming here and misusing the illiteracy of my
people,' says Abdul Qader Damanewal, an elder from a nearby village
who sometimes stands guard here. 'As soon as we are educated, the
enemy will not be able to use them.'"
(Source: Christian Science Monitor, 20 March 2007)
1) ~Youth Views~ Welcome, Mr. Ban, to the "most impossible job on
Earth"
Tara Ruttenberg and Asmaa El Gammal
Cairo and Washington, DC - "As Secretary-General, I will make the most
of the authority invested in my office by the Charter and the mandate
you give me. I will work diligently to materialise our responsibility
to protect the most vulnerable members of humanity and for the
peaceful resolution of threats to international security and regional
stability." With these words of acceptance after taking what former
Secretary-General Trygvie Lie termed "the most impossible job on
Earth", South Korean Foreign Minister and newly-appointed UN Secretary
General Ban Ki Moon reaffirmed his commitment to the mission of the
United Nations as an international body aimed at uniting the global
community in promoting peace and equality throughout the world.
In light of the recent crises that have placed the Israel-Hizbullah
and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts - as well as Iran's uranium
enrichment programme - at the top of the global agenda, the selection
of Kofi Annan's successor holds special significance for the Middle
East. However, his pledge does not offer much insight into the
strategies that will be employed in addressing these issues, nor does
it provide clues as to the specific policies Ban will be encouraging
when it comes to this region.
Although Ban has been seen as evading questions related to his
political agenda for the upcoming years, he has set out a few
priorities for the first stage of his leadership. They include: ending
North Korea's nuclear weapons programme, the possible deployment of
peace-keeping troops in Darfur, implementing the Quartet agreement to
further the Middle East peace process, and dealing with Iran's nuclear
programme.
The attention paid by the UN to Iran's nuclear programme and the
Middle East peace process will have significant implications for the
region, especially given the increasing tensions in US-Middle East
relations as a result of the US's consistently pro-Israel policies,
the War on Terror, hostility to the Iranian government, and the war in
Iraq. It is difficult to know, at this early stage of Ban's
leadership, how he will guide the UN in its policy toward the Middle
East but there are a few hints when we look at his career up to this
point.
Ban has held numerous UN posts since 1975, including that of Assistant
to the President of the General Assembly in 2001. His campaign for the
prestigious post of Secretary-General relied on earning the respect of
the Permanent Five members of the Security Council, thus suggesting
that he might have some initial success in obtaining unanimous support
for key UN resolutions and initiatives, many of which will pertain to
the Middle East.
His focus to date has been internal, working on reform within the
United Nations, and he has revealed little of his own agenda for
addressing the areas and issues that he has identified as key
priorities. The new Secretary-General has received criticism for being
too low-profile and uncharismatic to lead the UN at this important
time. And many nations worry that he will not be strong enough to
stand up to superpower demands which may be at odds with the best
interests of the organisation and the international community.
However, he has been praised for his mediation skills as a quiet
diplomat which may yet prove to be a much needed skill when it comes
not only to working with key players in the Middle East, but also when
dealing with the diverse members and internal workings of the Security
Council.
Ban will have to exercise leadership when it comes to balancing US
interests with those of the international community. Ban can also
engage the United States via the process of UN reform which the United
States has been advocating. With regard to international diplomacy, a
possible alternative would be to try to involve the Europeans further
in mediating the conflicts in the Middle East, and to propose a new
path of international negotiation instead of outright confrontation.
New diplomatic actors are certainly needed.
Ban must also work to improve relations between Israel and its
neighbours and to convince Iran to reconsider its uranium enrichment
plans. At the same time he should work to involve US hardliners who
have been critical of the UN in past years, while appealing to the
Europeans with the hope of fostering workable policies within the
United Nations. This means a careful line must be walked inside the
UN, since the failure to reach a satisfactory consensus on Middle
Eastern issues could have even stronger implications for the region,
possibly leading to a unilateralist invasion of Iran without UN
support.
In any case, the new Secretary-General has his work cut out for him -
and we hope he can strengthen the position of the UN and lead the
international community in the direction of peace as opposed to that
of violence and aggression.
Welcome Mr. Ban.
###
* Tara Ruttenberg is a senior at Georgetown University's School of
Foreign Service, and Asmaa El Gammal is a sophomore at the American
University of Cairo majoring in journalism and political science. They
wrote this article as part of the Soliya Arab-American intercultural
dialogue program. This article is distributed by the Common Ground
News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org.
Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 27 March 2007
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.
2) Australians deliberate on Islam
Melanie Morrison
Canberra - Over 400 people gathered in Canberra, Australia earlier
this month to debate one of Australia's most topical and contentious
issues: Muslim immigration in an age of terrorism. How are Muslims
perceived by non-Muslim Australians? Can Australian Muslims and non-
Muslims live together without fear and prejudice? And what role might
the government play in managing religious and racial tensions?
These issues and more were discussed at the weekend deliberation
attended by 329 randomly-selected participants representing a
microcosm of Australia, expert panellists and 40 or so Australian
Muslims.
The poll was organised by Issues Deliberation Australia (IDA), an
independent public policy think-tank that stresses it has no other
agenda other than to facilitate dialogue.
Central to the deliberative poll technique is to present as broad a
range of opinions as possible in order to expose participants to
opposing views. Expert panellists were as diverse as His Eminence
Cardinal George Pell, controversial Muslim Cleric Sheikh Mohammad
Omran, journalists, academics, and a survivor of terrorism.
While Australia is an ethnic and cultural melting pot, it also has a
history of racial tensions -- each wave of migrants and refugees
meeting with varying degrees of hostility. Muslims migrants, only
comprising around 1.5 percent of the total population, are seen as
particularly problematic by many non-Muslim Australians, especially
post the September 11 attacks.
Non-Muslim Australians tend to view Muslims as a homogeneous group and
fail to differentiate between Muslims from the Middle Eastern, South
Asian or South East Asian origin, or even between the main Islamic
sects. Some fear that Australian Muslims, as a group, are intent on
enforcing shari'a, that their loyalties lie more with Islam than with
Australian values, and that young Muslims are prone to drift toward
extremist beliefs.
Participants were divided into 24 focus groups to discuss the issues,
ranging from inflammatory comments made by influential Muslim clerics
and the widely publicised gang rapes by "men of Middle Eastern
appearance" to the impact of geo-political issues like the conflict
between Palestine and Israel and the fallout of Australia's
participation in Iraq.
On the whole, members of my particular focus group embraced
multiculturalism and were able to look beyond the stereotypes, with
one exception, Anne from Victoria. "I came to Australia 35 years ago
cause I didn't like what was happening in Britain with the influx of
Pakistanis. And now it is happening here. Australia doesn't know what
it is getting itself into," Anne declared as she introduced herself to
the rest of the focus group.
Anne had never met a Muslim and firmly believed that the Qur'an taught
believers to lie and kill. As she came into contact with Muslims at
the conference she was surprised at how "Australian" they were. But
even then, she saw these young, educated Muslims as a small minority
with the majority prepared to maim and rape for their religion.
A Muslim youth worker, Fadi Rahman, who answered questions in one of
our sessions, welcomed Anne's comments. "There seems to be a lot of
tip-toeing around issues (at the conference). This is not the reality
that we face on the streets of Sydney. Views like hers are
everywhere."
On the one side of the Muslim/non-Muslim divide is the increasing
"ghetto-isation" of certain Muslim ethnic groups in the suburbs of
Sydney and Melbourne; the inflammatory and sexist comments made by
some leading Muslim clerics; and the reluctance of some Muslim leaders
to criticise the acts of Muslim terrorists.
On the other side is divisive government and media rhetoric that have
alienated Muslims; a foreign policy that is too closely aligned with
that of the United States; and discriminatory anti-terror laws that
have marginalised many Muslim groups.
In the initial survey, nearly half of those surveyed thought that the
incompatibility between Muslim and Western values was a big
contributor to terrorism. At the end of the conference, after
participants had a chance to listen to different points of view and
read up on Islam, this number dropped to 22 percent from 49 percent.
On the issue of national security, 44 percent of those surveyed
thought that Muslims coming to Australia had a negative impact on
national security. After deliberating, that figure nearly halved to 23
percent. Before the conference over a third thought Muslims were a
threat to the Australian way of life. By the end of the two days of
discussions that figure fell to 21 percent.
When the full results are released, it is hoped the Howard government
will take note and adjust policies in order to best manage religious
and racial tensions. However, in view of the government's absence at
the deliberative poll, some think that in an election year the data
obtained from an informed voice may fall on deaf ears.
To what extent Muslims should conform to mainstream Australian values
while maintaining their own cultural, religious and ethnic practices
and beliefs will continue to be a topic of endless debate. Having said
this, members of my particular focus group were of the opinion that we
all had to learn to "give a bit" if Australia was to continue to
benefit as a multi-ethnic society.
Everyone to some extent is guilty of being blinded by their own
preconceptions. So, can Muslims and non-Muslims live together? They
can and they have. Muslims have always been a part of plural societies
and there is no inherent problem in Muslims and non-Muslims co-
existing.
###
* Melanie Morrison worked for the Jakarta Post from 1992 to 1994. She
currently lives in Sydney and is on maternity leave from SBS
television. This abridged article is distributed by the Common Ground
News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org.
The full text can be found at www.thejakartapost.com.
Source: Jakarta Post, 22 March 2007, www.thejakartapost.com
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.
3) Microcredit forges bond between Christian lenders and Muslim
clients
Christina Schott
Jakarta - "What is important for your business?" Around 20 women in
multi-coloured dresses and headscarves are sitting around, attentive,
and eagerly responsive to their trainer's questions. "Getting up early
in the morning and always opening for business at the same time," one
woman calls out from the back row. "That my husband and I trust one
another," volunteers another.
"Discipline", "punctuality" and "trust" are among the mantric concepts
scribbled in Indonesian on a blackboard for the instruction of the
group who are squatting around it on phloem mats on a wooden porch.
For four years now, the women of the "Sari Ayu" microcredit group have
been meeting once a week in the village of Kiyarapayung in the
district of Tangerang, one and a half hours west of the capital
Jakarta, the members taking it in turn to offer their house as a venue
for the meetings.
Training sessions, however, do not take place every week. The Dian
Mandiri Foundation, which organises the training, has been making
microcredit available to savings clubs in the poorer areas of Jakarta
and its surrounding area, including Kiyarapayung, since 1998.
The foundation's aim is the empowerment of the poor - women in
particular - by making it possible for them to establish their own
businesses not only by making microlending facilities available, but
also by ensuring that they receive adequate training and support.
New members receive a first credit, equivalent to a little over 40
euros, after they have completed a minimum of eight training sessions,
with the loan and interest (at 3.5% monthly) to be paid back in weekly
instalments. "Of course, it's more than a normal bank would take, but
they wouldn't give us any credit in the first place. We, moreover, get
training included," says Soleha, who has been a member of "Sari Ayu"
from the beginning.
Although Dian Mandiri is a Christian organisation, 95% of its clients
are Muslim, the majority female. "We are a professional organisation,
not missionaries: our religion has nothing to do with our work,"
explains operational director Dino V. Hadjarati. "When we are asked
what our aims and purposes are, we refer people to our terms and
conditions of business. That's what we adhere to, and so far it has
worked out well. In order to more fully meet the needs of our
customers we are currently developing our knowledge and expertise in
shari'a banking."
There is no problem with religion as far as the women of the "Sari
Ayu" group are concerned either. "We have been working with these
people from the beginning and they have always been true to their
word. We have even turned down offers from other microcredit
organisations, because we trust Dian Mandiri completely - whether they
are Christian or not," Soleha insists. Now on her seventh cycle of
credit, the 33-year-old has transformed what began as a bamboo kiosk
in front of her house in Kiyarapayung into a fully-fledged corner
shop.
The additional money is used to pay the school fees of her three
children, something her fisherman husband's income alone would not
suffice for. "Without the credit group and the training I would never
have managed to do it," Soleha says.
Savings clubs have a long-standing tradition in Indonesia. Everyone in
Indonesia knows the Arisan system - informal social gatherings where
people get together to pray and eat and contribute money to a common
savings fund.
People in the villages also make small financial contributions toward
the cost of communal necessities, which are then collected by a night
watchman from old tins or jars left at the house door. It provides a
way for the village community to help out when, for example, someone
dies.
Dian Mandiri also applies this principle of neighbourhood help. If,
say, for reasons of ill health, a member is forced to default on loan
repayments, then it is the rest of the group which must take on the
responsibility. In the case of Rohayati, this is currently being put
into practice, and working out well. With a critically ill husband to
be looked after, the 40-year-old is no longer in a position to work
enough to pay back what she owes. The other women of "Sari Ayu",
therefore, have clubbed together to come up with the money.
To provide a safeguard against an unnecessary burden falling on
surviving dependents in the case of a death of a borrower, Dian
Mandiri last year introduced a compulsory insurance coverage.
In collaboration with Allianz Indonesia and Germany's agency for
Technical Cooperation (GTZ), the organisation is now offering a
combined credit and life insurance for an additional twelve cents. In
the case of a client's death, not only is the debt liquidated, but the
beneficiary also receives a sum of double the originally borrowed
amount.
"It's the first time in my life that I have had insurance," Soleha
says. "But I really do feel better knowing that my family will not be
faced with any debts should anything happen to me." To close the
meeting they pray together to Allah (God) - the heads-carved women and
their Christian trainers.
###
* Christina Schott is a German freelance writer living in Indonesia.
This article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews)
and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org.
Translated from German by Ron Walker.
Source: Qantara.de, 21 March 2007, www.qantara.de
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.
4) More talk, less distortion
Kaelen Wilson-Goldie
Beirut - The dominant image of Saudi Arabian women in the world isn't
particularly positive. Nor is it comprehensively informed. Ask a
random sampling in the West or in the more liberal corners of the Arab
world about what they know of Saudi women and you're likely to get two
recurring and ultimately adolescent replies - they're covered in
black, and they can't drive.
It is the gross simplicity of this image that writer Mona Almunajjed
strives to correct, complicate and contradict with her new book,
"Saudi Women Speak: 24 Remarkable Women Tell Their Success Stories".
Just published by the Arab Institute for Research and Publishing in
Amman and Beirut, "Saudi Women Speak" contains 24 interviews with 24
women who have a lot to say, indeed.
Almunajjed opens with a concise introduction to Saudi history, the
rights of women in Islam and their status in Saudi society today. She
courses through a brief but crucial narrative of community development
and social reform in the kingdom since 1960, and ends her preamble
with a set of light yet forceful prescriptions for how those reforms
should move forward - make the education system more responsive to the
labour market, allow equal access to information and technology, forge
partnerships between the government and non-governmental organisations
to promote women in the workplace and slowly dismantle the obstacles
that bar women from participating in public life by insisting, at home
and in early schooling, that women's emancipation and Islam are in no
way mutually exclusive.
All 24 of the women profiled in "Saudi Women Speak" are pioneers in
one way or another. Eight of them are members of the Saudi royal
family, including the late queen, Iffat Bint Mohammad Bin Abdullah al-
Thunayyan, whom Almunajjed interviewed before her death in February
2002.
Queen Iffat moved to Saudi Arabia from Istanbul in the 1930s. At the
time, there were no schools at all for young women, and no place for
her daughters to seek an education except at home with a private
tutor. So Queen Iffat established a pilot school for boys in the 1940s
and opened the first orphanage for girls, Dar al-Hanan (House of
Affection), in the 1950s. A decade later Dar al-Hanan spawned schools
offering elementary, intermediate and secondary education. By the
1970s, Iffat was building the kingdom's first community college for
women.
As valuable as Almunajjed's facts are her question-and-answer sessions
with her subjects. These conversations cut through flowery linguistic
elegance and ritualised small talk to pierce the issues at hand.
"Human beings," says Queen Iffat matter-of-factly, "should know how to
use their brains."
Among the other characters profiled in "Saudi Women Speak" are Aisha
al-Mana, a hospital director and the first Saudi woman to earn a PhD
and Adelah Bint Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud, daughter of the
current Saudi king.
Almunajjed's interview with Mana illustrates where the strengths of
"Saudi Women Speak" lie, describing her struggle to establish her own
company, Al-Khalijiyah for Development, which endeavoured to add
computer training to the education of young women.
Just before the outbreak of the Gulf War in 1991, Mana and 47 other
Saudi women staged a peaceful, silent protest against the impending
conflict by getting into 14 cars and driving them around in circles
through the streets of Riyadh. Mana and her co-conspirators wanted to
prove that women require mobility - even more so in times of war.
Because women aren't allowed to drive in the kingdom, they were all
fined and deposited at the nearest police station where they had to
wait for their men to come pick them up and take them home.
"We just wanted to raise an issue and to bring it to the surface,"
Mana tells Almunajjed.
All told, Almunajjed's book doesn't cut across class lines or cover
the full breadth of Saudi society. She emphasises a generation of
relatively privileged women who have been the first to succeed in a
variety of professional, artistic and philanthropic fields. They
haven't all had an easy time of it, and they are forthright in
tallying their grievances.
While the overall vibe of the book is positive, Almunajjed's
interviews illustrate a daunting agenda of work that remains to be
done.
That said, if Almunajjed's is ultimately a taboo-busting book, then
her approach is stealthy and subtle. She asks her subjects for their
opinions on Saudi men, about their daily lives, their schedules, how
they manage their time, what they think about what they have achieved
and the advice they would give subsequent generations.
Had Almunajjed delved into racier topics, "Saudi Women Speak" might
have been a runaway bestseller, a grown-up version of "The Girls of
Riyadh". But then again, it's unlikely any of the women included here
would have agreed to talk. As it is, Almunajjed's book marks the first
time these women have granted interviews to be perused by a reading
public.
Almunajjed's carefully calibrated process shines through in her
interview with Adelah Bint Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud, daughter
of the current Saudi king. The Beirut-born princess speaks as candidly
about the effect of her parents' divorce as she does about the need to
overhaul her country's education system and introduce further reforms
and allow more women to work.
"I am only one part of this whole society and I am presenting my point
of view," she says. "However, we cannot go back. We need to become
more liberal and we need to change."
Mona Almunajjed's "Saudi Women Speak: 24 Remarkable Women Tell Their
Success Stories" is published by the Arab Institute for Research and
Publishing.
###
* Kaelen Wilson-Goldie is a staff writer for the Daily Star. This
article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and
can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org.
Source: Daily Star, 27 March 2007, www.dailystar.com.lb
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.
5) Afghan villagers stand guard to protect school
Mark Sappenfield
Medrawer, Afghanistan - Atefa's dream might have ended on a bright
winter morning 13 months ago.
The hazel-eyed 8-year-old still has a way to go before she becomes a
surgeon, which she confidently proclaims as her life's goal. Yet
graduating from grade school is one important step - and on Feb. 10,
2006, that seemed almost impossible.
Overnight, the Medrawer Girls School was burned to a charred husk by
terrorists determined to prevent local girls from reading textbooks
and learning geometry. Smoke still curled above the surrounding
eucalyptus grove as the students arrived for class - their hopes of an
education, and the better life it promised, vanishing in the morning
sunshine.
Even then, however, the village elders were beginning to formulate a
decision that would change the lives of Atefa and - some would say -
girls across Afghanistan. Later that day, they decided to take
protection of the school into their own hands, cobbling together a
corps of village volunteers that has stood watch over the now-rebuilt
school every night since, sometimes armed only with spare farm tools
and ancient swords passed down as family heirlooms.
There hasn't been an attack since.
Local authorities say that this was Afghanistan's first community-
sponsored school-watch programme. In the intervening year, the Afghan
Department of Education has championed the idea nationwide in an
effort to maintain what has been, in many respects, the government's
most celebrated success: bringing education to Afghanistan - and
especially to girls.
"Education has a special importance in Afghanistan, and that is what
our enemies know," says Mohammad Patman, Afghanistan's deputy minister
of education.
National education officials estimate that during the past 18 months,
the Taliban has burned more than 180 Afghan schools. The threat of
attacks, according to a 2006 UNICEF report, has prevented 100,000
children from attending school.
But the rate of attacks has fallen significantly in recent months - a
success the government attributes to community watch groups. Plans are
under way to expand them to schools in all 34 provinces.
"For 30 years, people said to the uneducated that [schools] are
something from foreigners, so burn them," says Mr. Patman. Now,
villages are coming to the government and asking it to establish
girls' schools, he says. "The enthusiasm we see is incredible."
For a nation often conflicted about the trappings of modernity, the
eagerness of rural villages like Medrawer to patrol their own schools
is telling. It suggests that, after years of ambivalence or even
hostility, Afghans have come to recognise the importance of education
- and they are willing to defend it, even in the wee hours of the
morning with axe in hand.
Terrorists "are coming here and misusing the illiteracy of my people,"
says Abdul Qader Damanewal, an elder from a nearby village who
sometimes stands guard here. "As soon as we are educated, the enemy
will not be able to use them."
This is what Narzia Wafa remembers of her school on that day.
"Everything was black with cinders," says the 12-year-old student, a
math problem of intersecting angles on the blackboard behind her. "But
still I came, and I was not scared."
"If we stopped coming, the enemy would just be encouraged," she adds.
When the local elders in Medrawer met to discuss the future of the
girls' school, they knew that one underpaid government security guard
wasn't enough. Nor could the government of Laghman Province provide
police support: The entire province has only 250 police officers and
199 schools.
The solution was clear. "This was our responsibility," says Sayed
Omer, another elder. "Who should protect our school if the government
is not able?"
So the elders worked out a plan. Each village would be responsible for
guarding the school for 10 nights, with shifts starting after evening
prayers at 9 p.m. and ending before sunrise at 4 a.m. At the end of 10
days, another village would take over.
These days, they've taken to doing it with a certain flair, bringing
along sticks, axes, and old swords. But the intent is peaceful. "Even
if we face some people, we'll first try to give them some logic," says
the elder Mr. Omer, who exudes an urbane elegance with his sandy brown
shawl and calm manner. "We will say, 'If you can convince us that this
is a good thing, we will go and burn the school with you.'"
Such logic can have an effect, they say. It has already convinced one
local Taliban commander, who has gone from denouncing the schools as
tools of foreign oppression to protecting them. While he doesn't
participate in school watches, he has pronounced that he would maim
anyone who attacked a school in his district. He even sends his girls
to school.
Officials at the Ministry of Education in Kabul agree that engaging
elders has led to a marked improvement in school security nationwide.
Here in Medrawer, it means that Atefa still has a school to attend.
"I'm not scared, because I want to serve my country in the future,"
she says. "If [children] don't know anything, how will they be able to
build this country?"
###
* Mark Sappenfield is a staff writer for The Christian Science
Monitor. This abridged article is distributed by the Common Ground
News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org.
The full text can be found at www.csmonitor.com
Source: Christian Science Monitor, 20 March 2007, www.csmonitor.com
Copyright © The Christian Science Monitor. Reprint permission can be
obtained for publication by contacting lawrenced@xxxxxxxx
Youth Views
CGNews-PiH also regularly publishes the work of student leaders and
journalists whose articles strengthen intercultural understanding and
promote constructive perspectives and dialogue in their own
communities. Student journalists and writers under the age of 27 are
encouraged to write to Chris Binkley (cbinkley@xxxxxxxx) for more
information on contributing.
About CGNews-PiH
The Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH)
provides news, op-eds, features and analysis by local and
international experts on a broad range of issues affecting Muslim-
Western relations. CGNews-PiH syndicates articles that are
constructive, offer hope and promote dialogue and mutual
understanding, to news outlets worldwide. With support from the
Norwegian, Swedish and US Governments and the United States Institute
of Peace, the service is a non-profit initiative of Search for Common
Ground, an international NGO working in the fields of conflict
transformation and media production.
This news service is one outcome of a set of working meetings held in
partnership with His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal of
Jordan in June 2003.
The Common Ground News Service also commissions and distributes
solution-oriented articles by local and international experts to
promote constructive perspectives and encourage dialogue about current
Middle East issues. This service, Common Ground News Service - Middle
East (CGNews-ME), is available in Arabic, English, and Hebrew. To
subscribe, click here.
The views expressed in these articles are those of the authors, not of
CGNews or its affiliates.
Common Ground News Service
1601 Connecticut Avenue, NW Suite #200
Washington, DC 20009 USA
Ph: +1(202) 265-4300
Fax: +1(202) 232-6718
Rue Belliard 205 Bte 13 B-1040
Brussels, Belgium
Ph: +32(02) 736-7262
Fax: +32(02) 732-3033
Email : cgnewspih@xxxxxxxx
Website : www.commongroundnews.org
Editors
Leena El-Ali (Washington)
Juliette Schmidt (Canada)
Rami Assali (Jerusalem)
Chris Binkley (Dakar)
Emmanuelle Hazan (Geneva)
Nuruddin Asyhadie (Jakarta)
Andrew Kessinger (Washington)
Translators
Françoise Globa (Geneva)
Rio Rinaldo (Jakarta)
Azmi Tubbeh (Washington)
CGNews is a not-for-profit news service.
.
- Prev by Date: The Filipino Spirit is Rising
- Next by Date: Re: Hillary to the white house in 2008
- Previous by thread: The Filipino Spirit is Rising
- Next by thread: Re: Bush & His Regime Should Not Be Executed For War Crimes
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
