Follow Me It was the life most boys from my area were forced into; living in this region of Pakistan we are susceptible to these kinds of pressures. We did not have much choice in how we live our lives; either follow the leader or die. My mom and I moved here after my father was killed. He was a suicide bomber. Because he died for the cause and he was an obedient follower we were taken care of. Since I was the youngest of six boys the rest were already recruited and I haven’t seen them in years. Some of them dead or probably imprisoned. It had crossed my mind that I would come to the same cross road that everyone else had, but I did not like thinking about it. It was a death wish… I know that I am suppose to believe in this stuff, that dying for the cause will secure your spot in heaven. I would rather earn my place their by hard work than by sacrifice. I have been working in the yards of some of my elderly neighbors; the earth is dry and rough. We haven’t seen moisture in weeks; the air is a dead heat that stiffens you everywhere you move. I would love a cool place to go so maybe I could get rid of my lingering headache from the constant heat. We do not even have shade under trees because we have no trees in this small little crappy town. Ever since the split with India some fifty years ago all these little towns have not been taken care of in any shape or form. I was originally from Karachi but after my fathers death and our realization of the reality of our world we moved, hoping that maybe my life could be spared. I may only be nine years old but you learn a lot quickly when you become the man of the house. My cousins had received the highest of educations for people of this time and had moved to London, England to b... ... middle of paper ... ...irty minutes later my mom came home and found me hiding under my bed sobbing. She had already seen the body and could assume what had gone on. She wasn’t going to ask questions, she knew I fought for her. She also knew that this was the sort of reason she was waiting for to leave Pakistan. Mom immediately got my uncle on the phone to get the plans underway. We would have to leave within the next day. Any longer and we would be dead too. We won’t tell our families why we are leaving and know one will know we have gone until we are well on our flight to London. We will cross the boarder into Afghanistan, than be on the earliest flight to Istanbul than London. We will vanish from this life and never have to worry again. The image of Aaqib's eyes will haunt me forever, but I have to remember that it was he or I and that I will now get the life I have always dreamed of.
A violent environment and family reunification plays a vital role in driving children to abandon their home country, but crime, gang fears and hostility seem to be the strongest factors for children’s decision to emigrate. According to Elizabeth Kennedy. This is especially true for most young males, who have no other choice but to join vicious gangs, or leave their homes in hopes to find a job that allows them work half the day and focus on their education the other half in order to achieve a better opportunity of life. According to Sonia Nazario, “One in three children lists family reunification as the principal reason to depart home. Not surprisingly, over 90 % of the children she interviewed have a family member
In the article titled “Pashtana’s Lesson” by Beth Murphy, she records the story of a 15 year-old Afghani girl who has a fiery passion for acquiring knowledge and pursuing education, but old traditions oppress her devotion to study. Pashtana is in the 7th grade at an all girls school which has been rejected by the elders in their community, asked to be torn down, or turned into an all boys school. Her mother strongly enforces studies on her children because she never went to school herself and she doesn’t want her children to end up blind to things in the world like her. In order to support her mother and three younger siblings financially, Pashtana is being forced by her uncle and father to marry her first cousin which is not uncommon, the
The cover of this autobiography is stunning and interesting. The lay-out of this non-fiction is put together nicely and they play a significant role in displaying this novel. The pictures in the book bring the whole piece to perfection; they give a visual to what the author is writing. They are appealing to the text and fascinating to look at. This book includes a table of contents, an introduction, a conclusion, a timeline of events in Pakistan and Swat, a glossary, and acknowledgments.
One day, my parents talked to my brothers and me about moving to United States. The idea upset me, and I started to think about my life in Mexico. Everything I knew—my friends, family, and school for the past twenty years—was going to change. My father left first to find a decent job, an apartment. It was a great idea because when we arrived to the United States, we didn’t have problems.
This was back in November 2007, in India. I was 12 years old. I was enjoying my normal life. But I didn’t know that my life will change surprisingly. One day I came home from the school and my parents made decision of moving to the United States. I was totally amazed at that moment. My parents wanted move so that me and my sister can have a better life, education, and opportunity.
Perhaps I thought that this was how the will of God was being manifested to me. Before I knew it I had packed and was on my way. A contributing factor may have been that my Mother had been seriously injured in a car wreck, and I was worried about
...ry religious, it would seem, because he owns a huge copy of the Qur'an which he keeps safe in a fancy box covered in velvet. Atiq doesn't like his job, he doesn't feel that it is respectable, and the more he thinks about it the angrier he gets. He also feels that the war will never end. Atiq is losing health, sleep, and weight in this desolate environment. Kabul is even more depressing while he watches a young poor practice for his future by killing animals in the street. Atiq doesn't want to go home to face his sick wife and messy home. Atiq prays for his wife's death while looking for a remedy for her disease of the blood. He meets with Mirza Shah who tells him to divorce her. Atiq refuses, he speaks of her loss of family and the fact that she saved his life, but maybe he just loves her. Mirza has a bleak outlook on women, they are suspicious propery and slaves.
Born in a rich Afghani family as the only child, Amir was brought up by his father, a wealthy businessman and a philanthropist who had built up an orphanage. However, Amir didn't feel be loved by his father because his father was stringent and not appreciated Amir’s bashfulness character. Amir had a friend, Hassan - who is the son of Ali, the servant in his family. Amir not only played with Hassan but also envied him because Amir presumed that his father loved Hassan better than himself. One day, Amir was intercepted by the antagonist of the novel, Assef, because Amir and Hassan won the competition of flying a kite. Hassan passed by and saved Amir by shooting Assef’s face with his catapult. Thus, Hassan’s action enraged Assef and bred Assef’s revenge - Assef insulted Hassan in a remote alley. Amir witnessed the process but didn't stand out. Amir felt guilt of his behavior and, therefore, told his father that Hassan has stolen something in the house to fire Hassan. Although Amir’s father didn't believe Amir’s words but Hassan still left. A few years later, to escape for the war, Amir and his father left Afghan for America. Amir became a writer and married with Soraya, daughter of an Afghan officer, yet he still felt guilt of his offense about Hassan. One day, unfortunately, Amir heard that Hassan was killed by Assef and Hassan’s child, Sohrab, was captured. Told that Hassan was actually his brother, his father’s child with Ali’s wife, Amir decided to return Afghan to save Sohrab. Exper...
Ahmad was writing a paper for his English class from the morning. He was writing this paper because he wanted to get a good grade, so he could please his sponsor who was paying for his school. At the same time, Ahmad also hoped to make his parents proud of his grades, because they worked so hard to raise him. Besides, his parents also care for his life whiles he was growing up, so they deserve to see a good effort for him. Due to the fact that Ahmad did not eat anything from the morning and till the lunch time because he was writing his paper. When he returned from the school, he ordered a pizza to eat because he was so hungry that he thought he will die if he did not eat at that moment. Ahmad ordered the pizza so it can give him energy and power to complete his homework’s, because if he did not eat he will not be able to finish his works. He has a calculus homework due tomorrow, and that homework is difficult and needs time to be solved because Ahmad is not that good in math. Moreover, Ahmad realized that he still needed to learn about differentials before he could start his homework. Which he would probably have to work all the night long to finish this homework. Because he was tired and he also have works to be done, he needs to eat something, and the pizza was his choice.
Mrs. Kandahari grew up in the dusty, rocky outskirts of Afghanistan. From being smuggled to Pakistan to catch a flight to America, to surviving through the war in her hometown, Mary and her family have been through it all. "My family never had a choice, the war was so brutal
Islamic leaders tend to care more about their values based on how they think a young women should act based on their customs and beliefs toward their religion that they completely forget about how the women may feel toward this. These bright young girls leaving their homes to travel to Syria to join Isis was no coincidence at all, having everything planned out and strategically organized for months. We had no idea that these girls would plan something as devious as this, not even their families. These young girls represent what the article calls “the face of a new, troubling phenomenon,” young girls succumbing to the allure of what Sasha Havlicek, the chief executive of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, labels a “jihadi, girl power subculture.” As we look to remember these three young girls we can reflect upon their actions and motivations for fleeing their country for Syria as we think abruptly to ourselves Why Isis? And why decide to run away so soon and not wait? But maybe the question we should be asking ourselves is to why not turn to Isis during times like this. On television and many social media websites we see broadcast and reports authorized by Isis intending to persuade young women especially to come to come to Syria help protect
Childhood is a powerful and important time for all humans. As a child, the things one sees and hears influences the choices and decisions they make in the future. “How a child develops during early and middle childhood years affects future cognitive, social, emotional, language, and physical development, which in turn influences their trust and confidence for later success in life” (Early and Middle Childhood). Yehuda Nir’s, The Lost Childhood is a first person memoir based on the life of a youthful Jewish child who survived the Holocaust. Taking place from pre-World War II 1939, to post-World War II 1945, this memoir highlights the despicable things done during one of the darkest times in modern history. Prior to being published in October
At one point in the novel, Najmah, brings her goats up a hill for them to feed on the grass. As she comes down a few days later, she hears loud crashes and booms. She spots her mother and attempts to run towards her but "by then the explosions are closer and louder” (Staples 65) and she is not able to make it. Najmah hides behind a rock until the bombings have stopped. When she she sees her mother lying “on the ground nearby with her legs splayed out" (Staples 67), she realizes that she is the only member of her family left in the village. This is something that could very much happen to someone living in the Middle East, and the author portrays it without any exaggeration. Later on in the novel, after a long and treacherous journey, Najmah finds her brother Nur. He tells her the story of how "'they took Baba-Jan and the other village men in their trucks’” (Staples 254) and they “‘heard gunshots very close together" (Staples 254). Once again, a member of Najmah’s family has been killed. Many people that are taken under the Taliban’s control are ruthlessly murdered and this is no exception. Though a fictional portrayal, these events are what some people actually experience when they live under the rule of the Taliban. Najmah and Nur decide they must take the journey back to their home of Golestan. Nusrat, the one caring for them warns them of how dangerous it can be for two children traveling alone. Nur responds by saying "'yes, we know about the danger. But we feel we have no choice'" (Staples 264). The children fear that if they do not return to their home the Taliban will take their land. Before leaving, Nur decides to tell Nusrat of the news he knows. Nusrat has been listening for news about her husband who works at a clinic to tend for wounded soldiers for a long time. What Nur tells her breaks her heart. He sits down
...er-life. And that must have somehow influenced my decisions. Even though the religious part of this came to me only afterwards. At first many others and I thought that this ridiculous trial was an obvious hoax. Who would have thought that such a crime, which I was evidently not guilty of, be punished by the death penalty. I fooled with the court. They on the other hand were quite serious about it. In the last days, I realized that there was no way out. True I could have argued with the court and won. I could have escaped using the plan devised by my dear friends. But since there was a high-ranking leader who wanted me dead, it was going to happen no matter what. Furthermore, my governmental beliefs stand true in all situations; the law should be followed and that is all. There was not much I was willing to do. After some thinking, I decided to go along with the law, after all, I had lived a happy life. One that I was proud of living, no matter how unusual it may appear to others. I was an old man of seventy. I found and understood myself, and had achieved happiness and goodness. There was nothing more that I desired. I knew what was waiting for me after death and was ready for it.
The frontline documentary shows the rise of ISIS in Afghanistan and the extent ISIS militants are willing to go to recruit young jihads. ISIS is an INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM organization that uses VIOLENCE against citizens with different political ideologies than their own in order to intimidate or coerce them into accepting their goals or idea. The documentary takes place In the Kunar province and shows the effect ISIS has had on the people living in this area. The most senior commander in the village, Abu Rashid, a former member of the Taliban who defected and joined ISIS, shows the frontline correspondent around the village introducing him to many ISIS fighters and the young people they are recruiting. The film features children as young as three learning how to properly handle weapons and the STEREOTYPES of the western world as evil. With no government help, these areas taken over by ISIS are rendered helpless to their rules and regulation of the ISIS leaders. Many families were separated and forced to leave their homes in order to escape ISIS control. These families’ values of AUTONOMY are contradicted by the reality of ISIS. Speaking up for one’s self in an effort to gain autonomy would result I death. This documentary outlines the devastating effects ISIS has on Afghanistan and people stricken by ISIS rule.