U.S. group inspired by nation's former glory
By Dwight Martin
Afghanistan generally is regarded in the West as a distant, mysterious place.
Associated Press
Shrouded in unfamiliarity, this Central Asian country rarely pops up on the must-visit list of vacationers or others seeking the comforts of four-star travel.
Widows, a product of Afghanistan's many wars, line up for monthly rations.
It's our shortcoming, not theirs.
For centuries, Afghanistan has been a majestic, magnificent and magical place, located far too strategically as a global crossroads for its own good. Babur (founder of the Moghul dynasty), Genghis Khan and Alexander the Great are among the historical figures who attempted to exploit the country's location and opportunities.
In recent centuries, British and Russian armies have tried to occupy this remote land. But history shows that the only successful long-term occupation has been by the Afghans. They are a proud, strong-willed, determined people from five major ethnic groups.
My interest in the country began in 1966. I was in the seventh grade in Trenton, N.J., when my father, a college president, was tapped by the State Department to join a foreign aid mission in Afghanistan, heading the Education Division of the U.S. Agency for International Development operation there.
Photo courtesy Dwight Martin
Plucked from our suburban environment, our family of four moved to Kabul, on the other side of the world, where we settled in for an amazing five years.
A man hawks coconuts during a typically bustling afternoon in Kabul.
Those were kind, peaceful, plentiful years for Afghanistan. Its friendly constitutional monarchy and National Assembly were leading the country toward democracy. The majestic Hindu Kush mountains, foothills to the Himalaya, provided a magnificent backdrop to five of the most incredible years of my life, attending the American International School of Kabul.
In the years since, reunions, newsletters, a robust school Web site and private get-togethers have kept many from our school and overseas community in contact.
But the tenor of our contacts has shifted in the past year from recounting memories to actively embracing the Afghanistan of the present and future. We're all too aware of the country's tumultuous recent past: coups, assassinations, invasions, occupations, fighting warlords and tyrannical fundamentalist rule.
Associated Press
In response, a handful of the former students founded a nonprofit organization, Advocates for Afghanistan, with the mission of raising awareness of the plight of the Afghan people.
Afghans have fought many invaders, from the Taliban to the Russians.
After months of footwork, Advocates for Afghanistan embarked on a mission: to assemble a goodwill delegation to return to Kabul and meet with children, adults, students, teachers and government officials to exchange ideas as citizen ambassadors with experience in the country.
Eight alumni, accompanied by three Afghan Americans who had fled their war-ravaged homeland as youths, embarked on a 16-day goodwill trip to Kabul on Sept. 28. Advocates for Afghanistan also raised money to hire a documentary film crew to capture highlights of the trip for future use.
Bittersweet return
It was truly exciting to be back after 32 years, but also bittersweet. Knowing the strife of those years, then walking through the debris of war, had a sobering effect on our sugar-coated memories.
Photo courtesy Dwight Martin
Kabul sits in a basin at nearly 6,000 feet, surrounded by the 14,000-foot peaks of the Hindu Kush. The streets of the capital city of 2 million are as dense as Afghan custard, with a mind-boggling mix of fast cars, slow minivans, stopped trucks, wobbling bicycles, rolling vendor carts and baksheeshseeking beggars. With no electrical power to run traffic lights, flow is managed by policemen holding stop/go hand paddles. It's both chaotic and controlled.
A boy crosses the Panshir River near the mountains of the Hindu Kush using a pulley and cable system.
Our delegation maintained a busy schedule of visits and meetings with a wide variety of community members. We also met with high-level government officials, including four Cabinet ministers and a most gracious private audience with President Hamid Karzai.
Of course, we tracked down our old haunts, beginning with a visit to our alma mater, now a roofless, windowless shell in a crowded area of city expansion. It was awesome to be walking down the central hallway again, picking my way around the rubble, and stepping into classrooms where I spent the eighth through 12th grades.
We also went to find the homes we had lived in. Some were gone or gutted. Others were in good shape, which was the case with my family's home. By a stroke of luck, and with a small tip to the watchman, my brother and I were able to walk through the house again.
Afternoon at the theater
Photo courtesy Dwight Martin
Members of our delegation also met with people in our own fields. For me, this translated into an afternoon with the Kabul National Theatre, a government-subsidized theatrical troupe headed by Makai Shaw, a dynamic, passionate woman totally focused on redeveloping the company and the national theater facility.
Dwight Martin, right, greets members of the Kabul National Theatre and its director, Makai Shaw, to his right. The troupe is subsidized by the government but its facility is in ruins.
At a reception, I was greeted by each member of the troupe. With our cameras rolling, we talked about the role the theater is playing in the rebuilding of Afghanistan, how the plays are created and actors found, how the organization is structured and financed.
The Kabul National Theatre has been in existence for 35 years (the same as Manoa Valley Theatre), and performs in Kabul as well as in the provinces. The troupe receives nominal government support, augmented by admission charges of about 40 cents per person.
Some of the plays are about the tyranny of Taliban rule, and some are about health and education, but many are comedies and love stories intended to entertain.
Tears welled up in Shaw's eyes as she conveyed her love for theater, her dream for the Kabul National Theatre, and the extraordinary challenges ahead.
After the interview, we traveled across town from her office to the National Theatre building, where her troupe was giving a special performance for our group. I had no previous knowledge of this once-magnificent structure, built 60 years ago from German designs and engineering. The face is torn off, the roof is gone, there are holes in the sides wide enough to drive a vehicle through, and there is only the cracked cement understructure of the facilities remaining.
The building once held 700 patrons, had orchestra and balcony seating, a special viewing area for the king, a large lobby and foyer, a restaurant, a full bar and many ancillary spaces. The stage floor is gone, exposing a massive iron circular structure once used to revolve scenery from scene to scene. The pit below was exposed, and we were told the Taliban used the backstage as a killing area, hurling corpses into the pit.
Photo courtesy Dwight Martin
I could picture the facility in its years of splendor. It would have been the envy of any country. Now it is in ruins. But the show must go on. As night fell, and we sat in the front row of what would have been the orchestra section, now under stars, Makai's theater troupe stepped onto the apron of the stage, where they had put together a makeshift playing space.
Members of Advocates for Afghanistan were granted an audience with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, center, during a visit last month.
With a net overhead to protect them from falling structures, and a photographer's light on tripods on each side for illumination, the show began. It was a story of two lovers burdened by a lender to whom they are indebted by inheritance. The sole musician, clad in traditional dress and chanting to a drumbeat, accompanied the action.
Like so many classic love stories, this one ended tragically. The acting ensemble was so focused and expressive that I wish I could have understood the Dari language to follow the dialogue.
Nevertheless, I was moved beyond words. The troupe was so dedicated, so proud and committed, so lacking in material and financial resources. It truly was a testament to the national character.
I look forward to developing a friendship between Manoa Valley Theatre and the Kabul National Theatre, and to helping raise awareness of the Afghan troupe's many simple needs.
Citizen diplomacy
Our goodwill mission required a little explaining with each new encounter. Most Afghans initially were skeptical because there are so many foreigners in the country working with nongovernmental organizations as a part of reconstruction efforts that are perceived to be opportunistic. We were quick to explain that we were Americans who formerly lived in Afghanistan and had returned because we cared deeply for the country and its people, not to help ourselves. Once that was made clear, the faces would light up into big smiles, and we were welcomed as family.
I had an opportunity to meet with the minister of information and culture, whose purview includes the Kabul National Theatre, and to discuss with him the government's hope of rebuilding the national theater building. Plans have been drawn up and would cost a modest $3 million to $5 million to realize.
He was pleased to hear of my interest in creating a friendship between the Manoa Valley Theatre and Kabul National Theatre, and would support any efforts I made in that area.
Several of us in the delegation met with the minister of higher education and the president of Kabul University while seeking permission to stage our goodwill presentation for faculty and students.
The questions we were asked over and over, on the streets and in the university, were: What is America's plan for Afghanistan now? Will America come back and help us? Why do Americans dislike Muslims?
It was embarrassingly clear to us that the policies and priorities of the U.S. government are not being understood. Promises of assistance made by Washington in 2001 remain unfulfilled, and other countries (Germany and Japan) are far more visible and generous in the rebuilding effort.
The United States left the country to its own devices after the voluntary withdrawal of Soviet troops in 1989, and it appears to the Afghans that we are doing that again, as our energies and dollars shifted to the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Afghanistan's infrastructure is in ruins: no power grid, no water system beyond neighborhood communal wells, no salaries for its professionals (medical, educational, governmental) whose expertise and commitments are essential to success.
The government is in good hands for the time being. President Karzai is educated, articulate, smart and worldly. The private audience we were granted with him on our last day in Afghanistan was a glorious crescendo to an already successful mission. Although he was overheard whispering to an aide, "Signal me in five minutes" as he entered the room, our compassion for his country was clearly evident, and he was moved by our commitment to help in any way we can.
Our five minutes graciously rolled into 20.
In many ways, Afghanistan probably looks quite like it did centuries ago. But it is 2003, and there is enormous work to be done to get the land back on its feet. If you could see the smiles on the faces of the laborers working feverishly to rebuild their communities, hear the laughter of the children whose bombed-out schools have no windows or furnishings, you would feel, as I do, that a positive future definitely lies ahead for Afghanistan, and that this once-magnificent country will achieve its greatness again.
Salaam Alaikuum.
Dwight Martin, producing director of Manoa Valley Theatre, is a founding member of Advocates for Afghanistan.
