Afghan Girl Translates for Chairman at School Opening

American Forces Press Service ^ | Capt. Stacie N. Shafran, USAF

[SandRat]

PANJSHIR PROVINCE, Afghanistan, July 21, 2009 – The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other senior U.S. military members, a best-selling author, and Afghan officials all were on hand for the opening of a girl’s school here last week. But among the dignitaries, a 16-year-old Afghan girl stood out.

Lima, 16, a 12th-grade student at a Kabul high school, translates English into Dari for local Afghans as Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks during the opening ceremony of the Peshgur School for Girls in the Khenj district of eastern Afghanistan’s Panjshir province, July 15, 2009. U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Stacie N. Shafran  
(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Lima, a 12th-grader and top student at a Kabul high school, was allowed to travel to Panjshir with her brother to attend the opening ceremony for the Peshgur School for Girls in the province’s Khenj district. She translated Navy Adm. Mike Mullen’s speech from English to Dari and served as an example of hope in educating Afghan girls.

Throughout the morning, Lima spoke with many of the girls, explaining the hard work and determination she’s applied toward her education.

“We must make our own decisions,” she said. “Nothing is easy. My decision is to study and make a future for myself.”

Lima’s high school is run by Greg Mortenson, the author of “Three Cups of Tea,” who has it made it his life’s work to promote and support community-based education, especially for girls, in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Mortenson coordinated the building of the six-classroom Peshgur School for Girls, which is managed and funded by the Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team in coordination with the Panjshir director of education. It is among the team’s 12 education projects, worth $2.8 million, throughout the province, including nine schools, two dormitories and a multi-purpose building that will be used as a library and laboratory.

Lima, who is fluent in Dari, Pashto, English and Urdu, is preparing for her college entrance exams. She plans to study medicine at Kabul University. Although Lima’s father is unemployed and her mother is a homemaker, she said it’s their support and Mortenson’s vision that have helped her get to where she is today.

During the ceremony, Mullen addressed the large crowd of children, village elders and provincial leaders, including Panjshir Gov. Haji Bahlol and the provincial director of education.

“The focus of today is opening a school for our children, and our future together depends very much on our children’s education,” he said.

The chairman also said he brought good wishes from the American people and expressed gratitude to those who built the new school, which can accommodate 400 students. He commended Mortenson, calling him a good example for all to follow.

Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the school’s entrance, the chairman distributed new notebooks to two classrooms of girls.

“The effects of Greg Mortensen’s work, as well as the work of the [provincial reconstruction team], will not be seen overnight; however, their combined efforts will prove enduring for generations to come,” said Army Capt. Chris Mercado, the team’s operations officer.

Mercado added that education is but one area of focus in a larger effort to connect the people of Afghanistan to essential services, governance and security.

(Air Force Capt. Stacie N. Shafran serves with the Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team public affairs office.)

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Related Articles:
Mullen Helps Celebrate New Opportunity for Afghans

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[SandRat]

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, cuts the ceremonial ribbon at the entrance of the Peshgur School for Girls along with Panjshir Gov. Haji Bahlol in the eastern Afghanistan province, July 15, 2009. Also in attendance was Greg Mortenson, author of “Three Cups of Tea.” U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Stacie N. Shafran   Download screen-resolution    Download high-resolution

[nuconvert]

(Ya know, for some FReepers, the fact that’s she’s muslim, makes her the enemy.)

Thanks for posting

[Valin]

Of course this is all just part of the Muslim plot.

Teacher, Can we leave Now? NO!
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/opinion/19friedman.html
THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
7/16/09

Pushghar, Afghanistan
I confess, I find it hard to come to Afghanistan and not ask: Why are we here? Who cares about the Taliban? Al Qaeda is gone. And if its leaders come back, well, that’s why God created cruise missiles.

But every time I start writing that column, something stills my hand. This week it was something very powerful. I watched Greg Mortenson, the famed author of “Three Cups of Tea,” open one of his schools for girls in this remote Afghan village in the Hindu Kush mountains.(snip)

Indeed, Mortenson’s efforts remind us what the essence of the “war on terrorism” is about. It’s about the war of ideas within Islam — a war between religious zealots who glorify martyrdom and want to keep Islam untouched by modernity and isolated from other faiths, with its women disempowered, and those who want to embrace modernity, open Islam to new ideas and empower Muslim women as much as men.
(snip)

But there, out front, was Mortenson, dressed in traditional Afghan garb. He was surrounded by bearded village elders and scores of young Afghan boys and girls, who were agog at the helicopter, and not quite believing that America’s “warrior chief” — as Admiral Mullen’s title was loosely translated into Urdu — was coming to open the new school.

While the admiral passed out notebooks, Mortenson told me why he has devoted his life to building 131 secular schools for girls in Pakistan and another 48 in Afghanistan: “The money is money well spent. These are secular schools that will bring a new generation of kids that will have a broader view of the world. We focus on areas where there is no education. Religious extremism flourishes in areas of isolation and conflict.

(snip)