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'Liberation Was Just a Big Lie'
Outspoken Afghan MP says Canadian mission is a big waste of time
She sleeps in safe houses, with a rotating squad of bodyguards securing the doors. She goes out only in a billowing burqa. Even her wedding was held in secret.
Malalai Joya, who was in Toronto to promote her book, A Woman Among Warlords, says Canada and the United States should pull their troops out of Afghanistan as soon as possible. (Carlos Osorio/Toronto Star) Elected the youngest member of the Afghan parliament – and suspended for her outspoken criticism of the country's top officials – Malalai Joya has been labelled the bravest woman in Afghanistan.
Small, soft-spoken and now 31, she has survived at least four assassination attempts and is angry at the oppressive life she is forced to lead, dodging enemies she has denounced as bloody-handed warlords and drug kingpins.
As Afghan President Hamid Karzai is inaugurated Thursday for another four years in office after a fiercely disputed election, she says his term is already tainted by the corruption, criminality and violence of those around him.
"(Prime Minister) Stephen Harper says this election was a success," she said. "But Karzai has not only insulted, but betrayed the Afghan people."
Karzai has vowed to launch anti-corruption investigations under pressure from Washington. But, Joya insists, Canada is wasting blood and treasure on keeping his government in power.
"Canada should pull its troops out now," she said in Toronto on Wednesday, where she was promoting her book A Woman Among Warlords, co-written with Canadian peace activist Derrick O'Keefe.
And, she says, U.S. President Barack Obama, who is considering a surge in troop levels to battle Al Qaeda and the Taliban, should think again.
"The United States should go, too. As long as foreign troops are in the country we will be fighting two enemies instead of one."
Yes, she says, there is a risk of civil war, as happened when the Soviet Union gave up the fight against U.S.-backed Afghan Islamists 20 years ago. But it would still be better than "night raids, torture and aerial bombardment" that killed hundreds of Afghan civilians while the Taliban made steady gains.
"Liberation was just a big lie." Joya believes Afghans are now better prepared to battle the Taliban alone – if the warlords are disarmed, and the international community helps build a society that can push back against extremism.
It is a tall order, she admits. But "resistance has increased, and people are becoming more aware of democracy and human rights. They need humanitarian and educational support."
But not, she adds, at the point of a gun.
Joya has firsthand experience with the Taliban, as well as the brutal warlords who forced her family into refugee camps after the exit of the Soviets in 1989.
As a teacher in the secret schools that educated girls – strictly banned by the Taliban – she walked around western Afghanistan at the end of the 1990s with books hidden beneath the enveloping burqa.
"Once we were stopped and searched but the burqa saved me," she recalled in her book. "They ordered me to stretch out my arms but because they did not pat me down they never found the school books."
But after the Taliban's violent repression of women, Joya says, Karzai's Afghanistan has done little to ease their plight.
Religious extremism is rife, and even a 25 per cent quota for women in parliament has produced few female politicians who are willing to fight for women's rights.
That is what makes Joya an inspiration for those who greet her tearfully on her heavily guarded visits to clinics, community groups and an orphanage she supports.
It has also made her a target for radicals, as well as the warlord factions she denounces. Since she called for the prosecution of highly placed warlords and drug smugglers in a landmark 2003 meeting on the country's constitution, the threats have not stopped.
When Joya returns to Afghanistan this month, she will resume her perilous career as a rallying point for the country's downtrodden and disenchanted – and hope she will live to see genuine change.
"It will be a long struggle," she wrote. "A river is made drop by drop ... you can kill me, but you can never kill my spirit."
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74 Comments so far
Show All"The United States should go, too. As long as foreign troops are in the country we will be fighting two enemies instead of one." Amen, Sister Joya. You said a mouthful. Let's bring our troops home.
May all have Peace.
It's too bad she can't get a meeting with Obama. Maybe she could get the fool to see the real picture of what we're doing to that country. But probably not. He'd more likely make some typically empty remarks about what an "inspiration" she is and congratulate her for "bravery" before getting on the phone with the idiot McChrystal to decide on exactly how many more troops to send in to continue our latest war-addicted, dead-end, power-mad, deluded dance of death.
The US would not giver her a visa
We don't like people who tell the truth
The emperor's new clothes
[q]The US would not giver her a visa [/q]
Actually, this would be an interesting TEST of how her perspective is viewed.
If she is denied entry, that would be a strong signal her message would fall on deaf ears in the White House, no?
Bring America Back !!!!.............!!!...This is NO Test...the US is not listening to a powerful ally--Russia on not getting into Afghan, just as the US did NOT listen to our ally, France on not getting into Vietnam.
****That much is fact and current event--no test needed==so why would they
heed any advice from this precious girl, who has already risked so much and so far
has kept herself alive.
JOYA needs to now disappear from public view for her own security, NOT to return
to Afghan under any circumstances, and to live out her life in peace Elsewhere !
We need Joya alive and well, and out of harms' ways !!
We love joya becasue she is risking her life for the freedom of her poeple. While I would be fully understanding of such a decision, her copping-out and living out the rest of her life in peace and anonymity in another country (especially God-forbid, the US), would kind-of remove what we admire about her.
Well said!
I don't believe that you can be a hero if you plan to manage your risks and outcomes. Once you start doing that, you get nothing done because there is always a better thing you can do tomorrow, next year or the next term.
I think her going back to Afghanistan is a 'teachable moment'. Obama should learn from it.
You can't be a hero if you're dead either. I hope she is well protected.
You can totally be a hero, or heroine, if you are dead. Meena, who founded RAWA, is such a person.
I do not recommend that Malalai Joya seek martyrdom, however. She is famous, brave, and articulate, thus able to continue inspiring the rest of us to do as she does -- speak truth to power, and get the word out to your fellow humans!
So many of our brothers and sisters are lost in the mass media propaganda stream, drinking the koolaid that renders one passive, dull, confused.
Being a martyr is not the same as being a hero. Even if the memory of a dead person rallies millions, that dead person may yet have accomplished more if still alive.
Actually she was just here in the US. She gave several talks here in Washington State this month prior to going to Canada.
True courage.
Bring America Back !!!!
****Enough !!! Joya has bravely done her part, escaped with her life so far, and has documented the problems.
***Now is the time for Joya to allow the banner, and the fight, struggles to be carried on by others who can operate more anonymously than her! Her mission is Accomplished and her advisors need to convince her.
***She needs a name change--a protective custody new life, perhaps Canada, USA, or south america. Live her own entitlement for at least 10 years. Then, recalculate !
***Returning now is NOT a good decision, and is tantamount
to suicide===an un-necessary act for this adorable girl who
has already experienced so much bad !!! Heed my advice, please !!!!
Do a disappearing act for this Heroin---Joya===ENOUGH !!!
Truthknoller, i enjoy reading a lot of your posts,but am curious as to the daily title of "Bring America Back" Back to what?
!!!!............!!!!....Thank you sirios333 for that !
********How about Back To Camelot ????? When we became excited about Obama,
he was and does give the best, hellfire speeches since JFK !! Really !
And who can argue Michelle has set the fashion bugs aglow, just as did
Jackie, the ever glamorous !!??
****Barak broke the color barrier just as JFK broke the Catholic barrier ,
but in one short year we see Team Obama as almost total failures on their
campaign promises to America !!
***USA was once esteemed Globally as the land of opportunity and freedom,
No More==we are now a recognized oppressor, especially in 9 years past!
As long as our cart is hitched to our warlord Horse Israel, the world
sees us exactly as we truly are !!! Little sister Zion dictates to
Big Brother US.
***So somewhere back around Bill Clinton or JFK, if I can keep dreaming,
Carter==not so much....if it gives you more perspective
Bring Back America=========Kucinich For President===Thanks Again
Could this brave hero ever get a meeting with Obummer? Would he listen to the truth any more than his ignorant predecessor?
So I do not pay a lot of attention to US politics anymore. Can someone tell me why Obummer is even toying with the idea of stepping into this quicksand?? Has he too lost his mind??
gladtobeincanada sez: "Could this brave hero ever get a meeting with Obummer?"
***
Yes. Pin a Goldman Sachs I.D. on her jacket and introduce her as a company executive.
Well, surprisingly he responded to the famous Cuban blogger Yoanni Sanchez, not too long ago, with a positive message about maybe ending the silly cuban embargo someday. Admittedly, it's only talk.
But I will say the recent news about Obama searching for an exit plan in Afghanistan is good news. There's not enough good news coming out of this administration.
Yes, Joya is bravely fighting her enemy at home. So too does the US need to fight their enemy at home. Victory to the common people!
This is the century of the commoners. The elites are in their death throes today. This movement is worldwide.
If the American sheeple ever wake up and realize the enemy is not over there...but the enemy is right here, then maybe the common people will finally get their victory.
war is a lie
Why the hell are Canadian soldiers dying to keep Drug Lords in power, and support US Oil Imperial policies?
What the HELL does any of this have to do with CANADA? The entire fiasco is totally at odds with Canadian values.
Replace 'Canadian' with 'human' and I'd agree with you.
WHY ?
that is a question.
but what is clear is the HOW:
PRIME MINISTER HARPER and his "conservative" wanna-be-USA government.
this is a far cry from when the canadian leaders basically made it a matter of pride NOT to join the USA in any of these "adventures" of war. ..which if nothing else, was what they had to distinguish themselves as canadians from the "USans".
it is similar to the matter of the difference ,within the context of western culture and economics, between
the USA's glorifying of the Milton Friedman Disaster Capitalism
and Canada's very famous and revered John Kenneth Galbraith who also already talked about, since the 1950's, the coming "disaster economics" espoused by the USA.
now -the canadian leadership is drinking the USA "kool aid".
Opium profits for the very, very rich ... That's one reason why. The War Lords are worked with to get the stuff out. Where does it go? Mostly to North America, with U.S. citizens the prime users.
I am so tired of hearing the constant hypocrisy from Obama about Freedom, Justice and Democracy, Human Rights, Fairness, etcetera, and the same from particular Canadian officials, ... to justify their CRIMES against the Afghan people and their callous deployment of the usual cannon-fodder soldiers to carry out their dirty deeds ... Dinosaur mentalities.
/cm
"Canadian values" are for sale, haven't you noticed?
Only 36% of Canadians have voted for selling their values. They voted for Harper, the neo-con king. Polls have consistently shown that Canadians did and do not want the Cdn. military to be in Afghanistan as butchers for the American killing machine.
Joya is coming to my city on Tuesday next and I will be there.
Yes, unfortunately it's Harper and his buddies that call the shots. What city? I live in Montréal.
I wish there were a million more of her.
There are.
More Canadians need to wake up and resist being part of the U.S. global empire of full-spectrum dominance.
More U.S. citizens need to wake up and resist being expendable pawns in the U.S. global empire.
Empire destroys democracy, as history proves.
If only we paid attention to history.
Joya is a true heroine. I wish I had her courage.
I hope she decides to continue her fight from the US or Canada. She would probably be safer in Canada. I fervently hope she does NOT return to Afghanistan. She will surely be asassinated if she does.
Jim Shea
If Obama only had Malalai Joya's courage and honesty!
Obama has become a scapegoat for all those who don't have the strength of mind to find out the truth for themselves. He has become a lightening rod for those who can do nothing but sit around and complain. What have you done to make this world a better place? How have you made a positive difference in the lives of others? Don't you think its time for you to take your share of responsibility for being a good influence instead of a negative one? Don't you think its time for you to become a part of the solution, instead of being a part of the problem?
Obama looked very good, but if you still think he looks good then you aren't paying enough attention.
Complaining and performing positive actions are in no why mutually exclusive.
Why do so many posters come to such a spurious conclusion regarding the exclusitivity of the two?
i want to echo this.
Just because i point out things that are wrong, IN NO WAY demonstrates that i am not doing anything to change the way the world is.
In fact, people who "complain" are far more likely to be taking positive action than people who do not.
But this dismissive trope will continue to be spewed. "Just a bunch of whiners."
The majority of posters on CD are activists that are doing what they can to make change we really can believe in and the fact that they point out the truth, is not complaining if one is trying his best to do something positive as an antidote to this disease. Just like a Dr.needs to have a proper diagnosis of any disease before he can prescribe the correct medicine before he can heal it.
I did not vote for Obama, but I know many good, decent Americans who did. Obviously the above comment betrays the fact that the writer has no idea how hard thousands and thousands of loyal, consciencious Americans worked to bring Obama to power and how bitter the disappointment of these same people as the first year of the new administration draws to a close. Those who supported Obama and who worked their hearts out for "change" now feel betrayed as they watch their hopes turn to ashes before their very eyes. You may label their outcry mere "complaint" and brand their efforts indications of a refusal to take their share of responsibility, but the voters deserve better.
We were promised better and we voted for something we believed was much better. It's not an easy adjustment after such high hopes to seeing your freedoms continue to be trampled upon and the national integrity continue to be bartered away without the informed consent of the people. There is a growing realization that we in the USA are at the mercy of powerful shadowy forces who have used all the manipulative wiles of a Machiavelli to decieve and to delude the voters.
I do not agree that to simply be an American makes anyone "part of the problem." Is there any decent American with a conscience who does not cringe in shame when learning about what goes on in our name against countries like Afghanistan who never lifted a finger to harm us and against whom so many Americans have nothing but good will?
This war is not our choice. We are not the enemy. Let's put blame where it belongs--and that is at the feet of those who have failed to uphold the constitution of the United States and to represent the voice of the American people.
The United States has been taken over by the corporations and the military; the Republicans are their slaves. We have lost our democracy, if we ever had one, and Obama is only one man. He has an impossible job, Bush badly damaged the gov't's ability to function, and the American people are living in a dreamland. It will take heroic actions to get us out of this mess, it will take people who are willing to put their lives on the line. If we can't do this, then we have no right to "liberty and justice for all". The day may very well come, when you might have to make that choice. "Give me liberty, or give me death." What will you choose?
Obama is a corporate slave too.
As for the liberty or death thing, I found liberty by moving to Canada. This should work at least temporarily, although as the US goes into its death throes I realize things could start to get bad up here too and I will be forced to relocate again.
The US put the bloody-handed warlords and drug kingpins in charge. Mission Accomplished!
It is a very difficult and emotional decision to leave one's own country - no matter the reason. Half of my family had to do that once, when faced with extermination - it isn't easy, but sometimes it is necessary. Most people who have left still yearn to return - your homeland is important, sometimes even more important than your own life.
When my family and I had entered the US in 1965 when I was a teenager, we didn't feel too emotional. The US was then a land of opportunities or that was what it looked like. My parents never returned to Mexico and neither do I plan to do so either. We didn't face extermination but poverty was too much to make them reconsider staying. The US government and multinationals are responsible for messing around with other homelands. Even Germany wouldn't have been as atrocious in the 1930s and 40s had it not been for unreported financial relationships between big corporations and pols like Prescott Bush.
I don't know who flagged my comment for whatever reason but having reread what I wrote, maybe you the flagger chose to misinterpret what I wrote on moving back to Mexico. I live in El Paso, TX and I know that's not a perfect place but neither is Mexico. Since the rightwingers in Mexico have made conditions in that country worse for decades, I could not choose to go back. If you the flagger had another reason such as my comment on Germany, look up some history on the untold financial transactions between Germany and the US during the 1930s and 1940s. If you would like to flag this comment, then please do so but I am sure the administrator will understand what I meant now that I explained.
Imperialists of all types create synergy with each other. Hitler had mucho international support of the mysterious kind.
I know a missionary who underwent a conversion in Columbia. When he saw the suffering of the poor at the hands of the rich he forgot about saving souls.
After spending some years being a political subversive he left one step ahead of arrest.
When he reported back to the organized religious authorities who had sponsored his little adventure they were less than happy about his following the teachings of Jesus. The rich in Columbia had complained to the rich Lutheran church that he was a malcontent.
He suffered some months of persecution at the hands of his superiors until he, just by chance, made a considerable amount of money for them.
Now as far as his superiors are concerned nothing is too good for him.
The flag is unjustified. It should be removed.
Joe