03/04/2018
Dear Friends and Readers
Wish you a very Happy New Year.
I am a student of MA Creative Writing at Brunel University London, and have just finished my second taught term there. I intend to complete my course work for this term and my dissertation from home in Kabul. My experience as a mature student has given me an idea that I believe is very relevant in our context in Afghanistan, and I intend to make it my project for the rest of my life in Afghanistan. I call It:
"My Voice My Story -- A History of Afghanistan Told by The People Who Live it."
While pursuing a module called Writers at Work, I was struck by the need to initiate a community writing initiative in Afghanistan, and to compile an archives of personal live histories of people of different ages, sexes, and backgrounds, who have lived during the nearly four decades of conflict and before. I believe it is important to record their lives and experiences both to celebrate the value of their resilience and struggles, to track the cultural and demographic changes and adaptations, and to preserve a community narrative of the impacts of the war on people. I believe these will generate a valuable knowledge reserve for historians and researchers of a future time beyond the war.
Encouraging people to write is a powerful tool for promoting education and peace, and for reaffirming life and preserving culture and memories, in a country, where so many people believe there is no hope.
I have a small NGO registered as Be The Change Organization in Afghanistan, which promotes education and empowerment of women and children primarily, and I plan to use this organization to plant my plan in.
I am eager to begin working on this as soon as I can, and am looking for partners and contributors among individuals, and governmental and non-governmental agencies.