Thursday, March 10, 2011

Do we really have problems?

The other day, I read a book called One Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini, and it opened my eyes to a whole new world. The two women in this book live in Kabul, Afghanistan, through Soviet occupation, civil war, and the Taliban. While it is a heart-wrenching story, it is also a history lesson. During the Soviet's time in power, women had rights and power. They were going to college, acquiring government offices, and working as hard as men. Despite all of this, there was plenty of turmoil in the country. Foreign governments (including the US) funded Mujahideen to overthrow the Soviet Union. When they finally left, civil war took over the city of Kabul. Various warlords staked out in different parts of the city and bombarded the others to shreds. Years of this followed, so it's little surprise that the Taliban was invited in with welcoming arms. They were thought to be good muslims -- a bunch of boys who just wanted to carry out the Koran's word. But what resulted was oppression, violence, and death. The rules they imposed on women were incredibly restricting; women had to wear burqas in public, women always needed a male escort, women could not work, etc. Part of the justice system involved public executions and cutting off limbs for various kinds of crime. Drought and famine added to the agonies of everyday life. In summary, it was awful.

The problems that the two women in this book face dwarf mine into luxuries. For example, on of the women's mother commits suicide, after which her father sends her to a rancid man who rapes her repeatedly. Or the other one; her lover leaves forever, the day before her parents are bombed to chunks in front of her eyes. It makes me feel nauseous, when I worry about what to wear, too much homework, my phone is broken, etc.

I feel all teenagers should read this book to give them perspective on how blessed we are to even live in this country. When I walk the streets and see the homeless people on the sidewalk, or the poor, tattered man waking to work, I know that each and every one of them are better off than the citizens of Kabul were. It's hard to imagine that not too long ago, there were bombs flying and people dying left and right in such an advanced society.

It makes me even more thankful towards how lucky I am to live here. Imagine, not having anywhere to go and anyone to go to. Here, if something is wrong, I can always go to a teacher, a counselor, my parents, or even the police need be. But a couple years ago, the women of Afghanistan had nowhere -- absolutely nowhere -- to turn. They were required to labor through the years and bend to every last oppressive law men made for them.

So next time you're angry about the broken dishwasher, or the cost of gas, just think of how fortunate you are to be able to have these concerns, and that your most prominent thought is not the safety of your family.

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Littleton, United States