Courage for Peace, Not for War, in Afghanistan

Afghan Peace Volunteers at work in their permaculture plot in Kabul.

Courage for Peace, Not for War, in Afghanistan

When activists like me return from visiting the Afghan Peace Volunteers in Kabul, Afghanistan, young seamstresses there often entrust each of us with about fifty sky-blue scarves. The word "Borderfree" is carefully embroidered, in English, on one end of each scarf; on the opposite side, they've stitched the translation in Dari, the language they speak.

When activists like me return from visiting the Afghan Peace Volunteers in Kabul, Afghanistan, young seamstresses there often entrust each of us with about fifty sky-blue scarves. The word "Borderfree" is carefully embroidered, in English, on one end of each scarf; on the opposite side, they've stitched the translation in Dari, the language they speak. The scarves express their yearning to end four decades of war in Afghanistan, a land dominated by ruthless warlords.

"We are the generation who must try to put an end to all war and violence," wrote Nematullah, an Afghan Peace Volunteers member who teaches children from internally displaced families. His students, most of them displaced by war, live in a wretched refugee camp.

Nematullah wrote in response to my anxious inquiry following a truck bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, on May 31, which killed more than 150 people. Pictures from Kabul's "Emergency Surgical Center for Victims of War" showed his staff ministering to hundreds of survivors, people who suffered burns, lacerations, wounds, and amputations.

Happily, the letter brought good news. "We're all safe," wrote Hakim, who mentors the Afghan Peace Volunteers. "Yet we don't want to 'get used' to life in a war zone. War is brutal, and begets more war, again and again."

After the bombing, some of the volunteers went to work on a permaculture plot they maintain at the Kabul University. They shared a moving image of themselves at work in the field, images of people doing their best to stay human amid war's traumas.

Over the following days, dozens of Afghans have been killed in attacks across the country, including in Kabul where at least four demonstrators were killed by Afghan armed forces. The demonstration called on the Afghan government to provide greater security for people. The next day, three suicide bombers attacked a funeral for one of the protesters, killing five people and wounding 119.

Some reports say that Kabul has been shut down. Yet sit-ins are being held in multiple spots, across the city, calling on the government to fulfill its role in helping protect people.

Their determination is remarkable. I'm also impressed by the every-day courage and fortitude of so many Afghans who continue to care for one another in their communities.

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