'Dialogues for Peace' launches

Author: Julia McKinnon

Remember Afghanistan?! The organizers of last week's "Dialogues for Peace" symposium thought carefully about the title they gave the series of lectures, discussions and films. The question mark, Haseeb Humayoon '09 explained, inquires about the lack of press interest in Afghanistan recently. The exclamation point emphasizes how important it is that the United States continues to pay attention to Afghanistan.

The event's organizers were concerned that Afghanistan, overshadowed by continuing turmoil in Iraq, has all but disappeared from the news. So, in order to spark interest on campus, a number of students came together for a symposium that devoted attention to raising awareness of the current situation in Afghanistan and updating students and the public on that nation's progress. "While American attention is presently focused on conflict in Iraq, the task of reconstructing Afghanistan is of utmost importance," said Professor Allison Stanger, director of the Rohatyn Center for International Affairs "The symposium events reached a broad audience and in so doing put Afghanistan back on the community's radar screen."

Anton Altement '07, Beslan Visambiev '08, Haris Ghertos '08, Paval Svaton '08, Haseeb Humayoon '09 and Zohra Safi '09 provided the main student initiative in planning the lecture-discussion series. Humayoon and Safi are the only Afghan students on campus.



A Week of Events



The symposium began last Sunday night with a screening of "Baran," a film by Academy Award nominee Majid Majidi that portrays the struggle of Afghan refugees working in Iran.

On Wednesday, Ashraf Haidari, first secretary of the Afghan Embassy in Washington, D.C. came to speak about the current state of Afghanistan. His talk, entitled "Rebuilding Afghanistan: Achievements, Challenges, and the Future," was positive in tone and stressed the importance of a continued American presence in the nation while it transitions to a democracy. The peace in Afghanistan, he noted, is still "fragile."

First-year Lissa Crane said she felt hopeful after hearing the diplomat speak. "Haidari talked about progress since the fall of the Taliban," said Crane, who attended most of the week's events. "He gave encouraging statistics. It was a more positive picture than I'd imagined."

Stanger agreed that there was a sense of hope emanating from the speakers, "The speakers who hailed from Afghanistan were impressive, reflecting most favorably upon the country's future prospects."

The next day, organizers showed the film "Taliban Country," a documentary that followed the U.S. Marines through remote areas of central Afghanistan. After the screening, Humayoon hosted a discussion about the U.S. presence in Afghanistan.



Moving Speeches



On Thursday evening, chairperson of the Afghan Red Crescent Society Fatima Gailani, Safi and Paula Nirschel talked about the emergence of women as a political force to an enthusiastic crowd. Many students said that this talk was the highlight of the week. "Gailani started her speech by explaining why she wore her burka," said Izzy Marshall '07. "She said that it was her choice, not an obligation, and this is why it was okay for her to wear it." She discussed the situation of women in Afghanistan and described what life was like prior to the U.S. invention. She discussed her extensive education, women in the government and the progressive nature of the country.

"People think of Afghan men with beards and turbans and women in burkas," said Safi. "But the speakers have different impressions." Safi also highlighted how much funding the United States has given to the Afghan development process, explaining that there are more than three hundred American-backed development projects in addition to government advising and aid from humanitarian agencies. Gailani had a strong message for the international aid community, Humayoon said. "She appealed to them, don't tell us what to do, ask us what we want. This is great insight for the world."

Immediately following Gailani, Nirschel got up to speak on her involvement with Afghanistan and women's education. Nirschel founded the Initiative to Educate Afghan Women (IEAW). "Hearing individual stories was very inspiring," said Pooja Shahani '09. "I realized that we have the ability to make our dreams come true if we have the perseverance."

IEAW brings Afghan women to various universities and colleges in the United States on scholarship. Safi's attendance at Middlebury is an example of this program in action. "I'm learning so much here. I'm changing in positive ways," she said. The IEAW program requires that she travel home each summer and that she return to help her country after she completes her education.



Wrapping Up



On the last day of events, John Sifton, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, gave a closing address entitled "A Future for Justice? Addressing Afghanistan's Legacy of Impunity." Sifton spoke as an expert on human rights issues in Afghanistan.

After Sifton's talk, Safi and Humayoon shared photos, videos, traditional sports (including "Buzkashi," or goat grabbing), music and stories about their homes. "It was a mix of their culture," said Visambiev. "It was beautiful."

Safi spoke about being a young girl in today's Afghanistan and Humayoon recounted living during the war and under the Taliban rule. He also commented on his youth involvement in the current reconstruction phase.

Student reaction to the symposium was encouraging. "The people who came to the events were very engaged," said Crane. "They always had lots of questions."

Organizers were also pleased to see that every generation in the Middlebury community seemed to be represented. Indeed, their only slight disappointment was the feeble turnout of American students. "The goal of the symposium was to tell U.S. citizens about what the United States. is up to in Afghanistan," said Humayoon. "I was looking for how many [Americans] were in the audience."



The Symposium's Message



Organizers emphasized that the symposium was designed to showcase Afghanistan as a role model for U.S. involvement in the Middle East and Central Asia. During the symposium, discussions about Iraq inevitably arose. While it seemed in 2001 that Afghanis were glad to be liberated, questions regarding American motives have arisen as U.S. involvement in the Middle East has increased. "You never want a foreign army on your soil," explained Visambiev.

Overall sentiments, however, remain largely receptive to U.S. presence. "We can't fight the Taliban, warlords and Al Qaeda by ourselves," said Humayoon. "We need international presence."

The symposium seems to have achieved its aim of raising awareness on campus. Safi noted that a number of students she spoke with became so interested that they expressed the desire to travel to Afghanistan this summer. Svaton said is still receiving mail from people abroad thanking him for his efforts in holding the symposium. "A U.S. marine [in Afghanistan] heard about the program and e-mailed me to thank me," he said.

Following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, the press reported continuously on Afghanistan's potential to be another post-World War II Japan-a successful modern nation. Even as the press has moved its attention to Iraq, however, Afghanistan remains far from permanently stable.

The students wanted to convey Afghanistan's potential to move forward so long as public attention keeps America's commitment to reconstruction strong. "They need the support of the international community to improve conditions and to avoid more chaos," said Visambiev. "It's fragile right now."

These issues exemplify the reason for the sonorous punctuation in the symposium's title. "This is the last chance that we will get as a
nation," said Humayoon. "The backing, enthusiasm and support are unprecedented."