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A Convergence of Worlds 10/2006 - Afghanistan is at a crossroads, and we are firmly standing on the frontline for peace. The scene of landmine survivors on the streets of Kabul is a common occurrence, yet how can the world ask Afghanistan to stand on its’ own two feet with the paradox of an estimated 10 million landmines sown in their once bountiful soils? The seeds of terror at ground zero must be removed from the landscape in order for this resourceful country to rebuild from the bottom up. Traveling with Shamim Jawad, wife of the Afghan Ambassador to the United States, has unveiled many unexpected twists in the road. Planning our journey of hope from the comfortable setting of my family home in California, I could only manage the practical aspects that would assure a well-scheduled series of visits to Roots of Peace projects. Yet, as an Afghan and American mother walking in the name of peace, our footsteps through life truly reflect unforeseen pathways of intersection where East meets West. Born and raised in the decade of the peace movement of the 1960’s, we were both “girls” pursuing our childhood dreams from other sides of the world. While Shamim attended the University of Kabul, Afghanistan, I was graduating from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in Political Economics of Industrial Societies. As I received my diploma, Shamim’s world began to shatter with the invasion of the Soviets on the streets of her beloved Kabul and her family was forced to evacuate to California leaving all of their worldly possessions behind. My textbook understanding of political strife and conflict resolution could not compare with the on-the-ground experience that Shamim was simultaneously living worlds apart. As we drive together through the streets of Kabul in 2006, we gaze out the window at once familiar scenes of her childhood home—now gated and riddled with bullet holes. The newly build theater where Shamim confidently walked with girlfriends to see the latest Clint Eastwood movie in the 1970’s was now reduced to rubble with only the remnants of a spiral stairway leading to nowhere. Continuing our drive to the Roots of Peace offices in Karte Char, we approached the University of Kabul which is now surrounded by high walls and shattered glass. Yet, Shamim holds her head high…knowing that her life experiences will help to rebuild the foundation of her proud country. Glancing at her profile as she peered at the twisted street scenes of her homeland, my heart was filled with deep respect for a woman that I only knew from the context of Embassy receptions and diplomatic gatherings. This was the profile of a woman of inner strength. As the bells of Ramadan toll from the Mosques, I recall the words of my grandmother, “Coincidence is a miracle in which God prefers to remain anonymous…” |
