100 Projects for Peace

Author: Derek Schlickeisen, Mary Lane

To celebrate her 100th birthday, philanthropist Kathryn Wasserman Davis chose to award $1 million in $10,000 Project for Peace grants for 100 projects designed to promote peace throughout the world, all of which would be carried out by undergraduate students in the summer of 2007. Recognizing the success of such grassroots initiatives, Davis has chosen to continue Projects for Peace for the summer of 2008. Two of these grants were awarded to Middlebury students and will be implemented in Afghanistan and New York City. This week, The Middlebury Campus profiles the projects of these innovative and creative students.

Schools, wells and the fight for hearts and minds

For many American high school students, the transition to college life looms as one of the most transformative experiences to date in their lives. Yet, for Shabana Basij-Rasikh '11 of Afghanistan, challenge came much earlier.

"When I was six years old, the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, and education became illegal for girls," she said. "But because my parents were educated, they risked their lives to send me to a secret school in a teacher's living room with about 100 other students. We would come and go at different times pretending to be family members, because if the Taliban found out, well..."

The wan, fleeting smile which followed said it all. Before the U.S.-led invasion in late 2001, the violent Taliban regime which had ruled Afghanistan since 1996 routinely beheaded the teachers and families of young Afghan girls found to have been studying in these secret schools. Basij-Rasikh explained that in order to get from her home to school every day, she dressed as a boy and pretended to be escorting her sister to a religious study program.

"There were times when we'd have a week or two off after another secret school was discovered by the Taliban and they had killed the teacher," she said. "I spent six years dressed like a boy in public, because under Taliban, girls had to be escorted outside by a man in their family. There were times when Taliban asked what books we had and we would pretend to be going to religious school."

It is a personal history inextricably linked to Basij-Rasikh's winning application this year for a Kathryn Wasserman Davis "100 Projects for Peace" grant. Selected from dozens of Middlebury applications, her plan ­- to build six wells in impoverished communities across Afghanistan - will receive $10,000 in funding from the Davis Foundation.

"I'm working on building a girls' school in my ancestral village, Qalatik in Laghman province," Basij-Rasikh explained. "There are 700 children or so in the 'school,' but they still meet outside on the bare ground. One of the first things we noticed was that it was really necessary to dig a well for this school, which would give the community clean drinking water. So I got the idea of digging wells from that experience."

When she visited Qalatik with her father, Basij-Rasikh found that inhabitants of the village were drawing their drinking water untreated from the local river - a health concern in light of that river's contamination upstream.

Her project will pay for three freshwater wells in the impoverished outskirts of the country's capital, Kabul, as well as three more scattered throughout more rural regions yet to be determined. With the new, U.S.-backed government preoccupied with security concerns raised by the resurgent Taliban movement, Basij-Rasikh believes the people of Afghanistan must provide the impetus for infrastructural projects such as hers.

"Our government is really poor, and it needs the support of the people to do these kinds of things," she explained. "So I understand why the government is not doing that much. But we still need what these wells will provide. As the saying goes, people in Afghanistan don't need fish - they need to learn how to fish for themselves. That is what my project brings."

As a crucial step in building the infrastructure required for education, the well project offers an alternative route - especially for the country's younger population - to the insurgent movements which have created a security nightmare for coalition forces and the government of President Hamid Karzai.

"Right now, only a very small percentage of our population is educated," Basij-Rasikh explained. "[Building local infrastructure] could also avoid the recruitment of young males who are being recruited to madrasas on the borers with Pakistan - it would prevent their potentially becoming terrorists. If they see opportunities at home in their own villages, then they'll be less tempted to cross the border to go to a madrasa in Pakistan."

It is precisely that sense of opportunity which motivates Basij-Rasikh.

"When I came to the U.S., I learned the concept of volunteerism here in such a different way," she said. "And when I went back home, I saw so many opportunities to do things as a volunteer. I told myself that because I have the skills and ability to do things as a volunteer in my community, it has become my responsibility to take part. As an Afghan, I feel the responsibility to do this."


Four Middlebury students seek to "Heal the Rift" between Western and Middle Eastern Cultures

With the United States war in Iraq entering its fifth year and continued violence attributed to Muslim radicals throughout the Middle East and parts of Europe, the cultural zeitgeist of the 21st century has grown to include increasing cultural hostility between inhabitants of the Muslim and Western worlds.

Nicholas Alexander '10, Alexander Kent '10, Saad Khan '10 and Shujaat Khan '10 aspire to diffuse such cultural tension through their non-profit organization Heal the Rift (HTR). HTR is one of two movements created by Middlebury students to promote cultural awareness which won $10,000 Kathryn Wasserman Davis Projects for Peace grants, which fund initiatives to promote cross-cultural understanding.

"The essence of our proposal is to generate a solidarity movement between moderate Muslims and other American groups through the organization of a mass rally in New York City," states HTR's Mission Statement.

The event will take place on July 26 in Bryant Park and will "feature prominent speakers, musical performers and Olympic athletes from both worlds," HTR's Web site explained.

"It's sort of a combination between a festival and a forum," explained Kent.

As the organization has yet to secure final confirmation from entertainers and speakers, specific names were unavailable as of press time. Despite being in the earlier stages of organization, however, HTR has already received positive public attention. To aid in the creation of the intercultural initiative, "Afghanistan's ambassador to the United Nations, Dr. Zahir Tanin, has offered his support to HTR," said Alexander, who interned along with Kent for Tanin in the summer of 2007.

"Life is Good is also donating free, custom-made merchandise for our staff, and we are using the networks and resources of two non-profits, Americans for an Informed Democracy and Bridges of Understanding, both of which have agreed to sponsor our event," said Alexander.

The idea for a cultural festival sprung from a desire to "counterbalance the negative images of both cultures present in the public consciousness," said Kent.

According to the Gallup Center of Muslim Studies, "only seven percent of the global Muslim population can be characterized as extremist," which is defined as Muslims who hold "unfavorable" or "very unfavorable" opinions of the United States and who believe that the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist acts were "completely justified."

Several prominent Muslims are actively engaged in trying to dispel stereotypes of all Muslims as "radical." Since the March 2007 launch of her YouTube channel, Queen Rania of Jordan has realized the succes
s of her short question-and-answer-style video clips that seek to dispel common myths about Muslim Culture. Imran Khan, a famous Pakistani cricketer, has also "used his fame to make documentaries helping to portray a clearer, more accurate depiction of Muslim culture," Shujaat Khan said.

The less-famous, everyday Muslims and Westerners have had little opportunity to express their views or portray their cultures accurately in the Middle Eastern and Western media. According to HTR, many moderate Muslims have already attempted to present a less extreme view of Islam and the Islamic world, but have not been heard. "They have spoken out against extremism but they haven't been heard because they haven't done so on a mass platform. It's been more individual," said Saad Khan.

Alexander was quick to point out that part of the reason is a lack of specific, interesting events on which the media can report. "It's not necessarily the fault of the media but more that our shared values aren't really considered 'newsworthy' enough," he said. "All Muslims see are American troops fighting in Iraq while Americans only see Muslims in the streets burning effigies. There needs to be a place in the public consciousness for the moderate side."

Kent feels that HTR will serve as such a moderate yet newsworthy cross-cultural event. "It will project this very simple truth and give people and the media something specific to point at to see a true representation of both cultures," he said.

The Middle Eastern speakers and entertainers present on July 26 will be "representatives of the majority of the Muslim world," added Shujaat Khan.

Although the events prompting the creation of HTR are certainly politically charged, Alexander, Kent, Saad Khan and Shujaat Khan emphasize that July 26 will be culturally focused, rather than politically or religiously, stressing that both American and Middle Eastern cultures are defined by more than just politics and religion.

The four or five speakers HTR is planning to host "will be talking about shared values and generating optimism," said Saad Khan, adding that HTR as an organization will shy away from giving a specific definition of Islamic culture. "We're going to be very careful about trying to portray a true vision of Islam or something. We're not trying to define Islam, and say what it is or should or shouldn't be."

Instead, Kent added, "Speakers will be dispelling myths," and debunking negative stereotypes. "This is more about making people aware of the basic message that moderate Muslims exist. People need to see in the news people getting outside and coming together in mass expression, standing together without fear."

The simplicity of the message that HTR portrays is intended to make the event accessible to a larger spectrum of participants than smaller, more academically based initiatives, according to Kent. "Most other projects like this are student exchanges or dialogues, small scale ones that reach people who already want to listen and are open-minded," he explained. "An exciting seminal event such as this will reach people who wouldn't normally want to open their mind. They'll be able to see the truth and the way things really are."

Saad Khan and Shujaat Khan, who are both Pakistani citizens studying at Middlebury on student visas, expressed that their families have voiced concern about the project.

"Although we have received support from one of the biggest newspapers in Pakistan, Dawn, our parents are concerned due to the sensitivity of this issue and also public scrutiny on both sides that might follow," Shujaat Khan said.

Saad Khan added that although his peer group supports the idea, not all Pakistani students necessarily share his openness. "My friends at colleges and universities were really excited about this, and realized the need for such events in Pakistan, but all my friends are educated college kids who are in good universities," he said. "I can't say that's the general opinion of Pakistani youth."

Shujaat Khan agreed, adding, "I am aware that some people back home might not be as convivial towards it, and that is precisely what we aim to change on both the sides."

Despite the doubts surrounding the efficacy of their project, Alexander feels the group's optimism is justified. "A lot of criticism we get is that we're too idealistic, but we feel that our kind of idealism is needed when addressing an issue like this one," he said.

Layout by Hannah Wilson