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Quote of the Week

2- Personal Essays 6. Star Related

3. Community
7. Literary
4-5. News
8. Interview

Imbue thyself with the power of

imagination, Have courage for the truth,
Sharpen thy feeling for responsibility of
soul.
Rudolph Steiner

Saturday, January 30, 2016

Star Educational Society Weekly

Vol. 1, No. 25

Interstellar (adjective): situated or occurring between the stars; conducted, or existing between two or more stars

From Refugee to Minister of

Democratic Institutions of Canada
A message from Zainab Yosufi, former manager of Stars B branch and the current president of Youth Access Foundation

n January 15, 2016, a group of

liberal party supporters and I
had a visit with the honorable
Maryam Monsef, the Minister
of Democratic Institutions
of Canada, at her office in Peterborough,
Canada. The purpose of this visit was to
congratulate the liberal party for winning
the elections and her for becoming the
first Afghan born politician in Canada.
She is not only the first female Minister of
Democratic Institutions but also the first
Muslim to be appointed to such a position.
The Afghan-Canadian businessmen,
including Mr. Naim Alif, Mr. Yousofi, other
community leaders, elders and other active Liberals from the Afghan community
supported Liberals with their campaign
by helping Maryam Monsef and other Liberal candidates. The majority of AfghanCanadians are spread across Canada and
live mainly in the Toronto and Vancouver
areas.
As part of Afghan culture, we praise
our politicians and use sugarcoated words
that could get a little overwhelming for
politicians in the western world (I guess).
Luckily, Ms. Monsef knows our culture.
The Honorable Ms. Monsef deserves all
the praise she received by Afghan community elders during our visit because of
her tremendous hard work. Getting to
where she is was not easy. She is intelligent, caring, and seems to be very down to
earth and appreciative.
Smiling, she asserted,
too many compliments
may make my head big.
I dont think so. With
praise comes a lot of expectations from many
Afghans and everybody
else.
She politely apologized for not finding the
time to write a thank
you note to the supporters and reading all the
emails after someone
complained about not
receiving a response.
One million emails in
her four inboxes, most
of which are requests,
demands for her response and assistance;
500 pages to read daily,
plus going to conferenc-

The First Graduation of

the Zabuli school
KABUL,
AFGHANISTAN
Razia Jan woke
up before dawn
on the eve of the
big graduation.
It was 4:50 AM
when... Page 3

Codification of
Economic Strategy: a
must
Afghanistan Investment Supporting
Agency (AISA), along with the
ministries of Commerce and Industries,
Economy, Urban Development
Affairs and Housing, and Chamber
of Commerce and Industries held a
seminar entitled... Page 4

Human Rights Watch:

Stop deliberate targeting
of civilians by Afghan
armed groups
Human Rights
Watch asked
Afghan militant
groups to
quickly... Page 5

es, ceremonies, and having three jobs at

once makes it difficult to keep up with her
many emails. Despite that, seeing a smiley, cheerful and positive person makes
me realize that she really loves what she
is doing. It really takes a special person
who is not only passionate about her work
but also responsible and hardworking to
do the type of work and manage it well.
This is when a job is like a hobby. Yes, she
seems to have assistance and a few volunteers.
Who is Maryam Monsef?
Maryam Monsef came to Canada
from Afghanistan at the age of 11 with
her widowed mother and two sisters. She
came as a refugee 19 years ago. She is the
fourth youngest cabinet member in Canadian history. During our visit she said,
The perspective I bring to the table is always going to be shaped by that first-third
of my life and my heritage.
What liberal party promised?
During his campaign, Justin Trudeau
pledged to boost the economy, help the
middle class, and improve the way Canadas government is run. He promised to
boost the economy by increasing spending on infrastructure, military and National security. He promised to regulate
and legalize marijuana. He also promised
that liberals would increase family reunification for immigration and would bring
25,000 Syrian refugees
to Canada by the end
of 2015. He considered
the disappearance and
death of native girls and
women a national tragedy that must come to
an end. Trudeau mentioned that within 18
months of forming the
government, he would
introduce electoral reform legislation.
He
promised to end the
partisan nature of the
Upper Chamber and to
bring a merit-based appointment process to
the Senate. The liberals
under Justin Trudeau
won the seats in the
2015 election and Justin Trudeau became the
prime minister.

An excerpt from:
A Thousand Splendid
Suns
By Khaled Hosseini

It's the whistling," Laila

said to Tariq, "the damn
whistling, I hate more
than anything."
Tariq nodded knowingly.
It wasn't so... Page 7

Vol.1, No. 25

If I were a boy

About the author: Bahara Hussaini is a

new teacher at Star. She graduated from
Kabul University with a degree in English
Literature. Now she is majoring in Political
Science and Public Administration at
the American University of Afghanistan
and plans to work in womens capacity
building in the future.
When I was a small child, I discovered
that the world was unfair. I recognized
that there was a big difference between
me and my brothers. My father paid more

First meeting

About the author: Rubaba Raha

is a Star alumna and teacher. She
graduated from Kabul University
with a degree in French Literature.
Editors note: This is a fictional
story loosely based on an experience
of the authors friend. It was an assignment for Star's Creative Writing
class.
Why did he insist on meeting
me? What was the important thing
he wanted to share with me? Why
couldnt he tell me on the phone?
My mind was full of these unanswered questions as I walked up
the dusty Kabul street.
Upon entering the coffee shop,
I saw him sitting at a table near the
window. He was well-dressed in a
black suit with a blue shirt. He had
a friendly face. I was sure it was him
because he was alone and seemed
to be waiting for someone. Yes,
it was him. We had known each
other through Facebook for about
three months but this was the first
time we were meeting in person.
The morning leading up to our
meeting was the hardest time for
me. The hours seemed like weeks.
He had been asking me to meet
him for several days but I had rejected him because my family is
strict and would never allow me to

Page 2

Personal Essays

attention to my brothers studies while

my mother insisted that I learn housework. Sons are valued more and daughters are considered a misfortune.
I remember how my father asked my
brother about his studies and became
angry if he wasnt doing well. I was happy
when my father did not ask me about my
studies. I wrongly assumed he was not
worried about my education because he
knew that I did well in all of my subjects.
As I grew up, I understood things better
and began to receive a different kind of
education.
There were hidden books of compulsions and secrets shared between my
mother and our female neighbors who
sometimes came together for various traditional events and holidays. One woman
was forced to marry a man whose sister
was selected to marry her brother. Another one said that she was never given
the right to get an education because this
right was for men only. The next woman
asserted that she bears the beatings of
her abusive husband for the sake of her
five children. And one of them said that
she has to work inside and outside of her
home because her husband was addicted
to drugs. At the end of their gathering, my
mother and her friends agreed that it is a
misfortune to be a woman.

go for such a meeting. I kept telling

him, Tell me whatever you want
to say on the phone. But he persisted. He said that it was important and he needed to talk to me
in person. Relax! It is nothing disturbing, he said. And despite my
refusal, he urged me to see him on
that day and I finally agreed.
Some minutes before I arrived,
he called to ask where I was. I was
near the coffee shop. He was twiddling with his mobile when I entered. I didnt know how long he
had been waiting for me. I walked
directly to his table. When I was
near the table, he stood up and
extended his hand toward me.
My hands were trembling. My
cheeks were flushed. He shook
my hand and greeted me warmly
as if we had known each other for
a long time. I sat on the chair opposite him. What would you like
to drink - tea or coffee? he asked.
It doesnt matter, I replied. I told
him I had a class in half an hour - a
good pretext for a quick escape. He
called the waiter and ordered two
coffees.
While sipping our hot coffees,
we started to speak. Actually, he
spoke more. I listened politely and
replied if he asked me a question.
We talked about ourselves and dai-

I walked
directly to his
table. When
I was near
the table, he
stood up and
extended his
hand toward
me. My hands
were trembling. My
cheeks were
flushed.

There is a common expression in Afghanistan about girls. People say three

Oh no!s to express their disappointment and grief for girls. The first Oh
no! is said when the girl is identified as
a female at her birth. The second Oh
no! is said when she gets married and
leaves her parents home because this is
when many new problems will begin for
a woman. The third Oh no! is said when
she dies when people think about the lifetime of struggles the woman had to face
before her death.
By the time I was 13 years old, I had
clearly understood that I was one of these
unfortunate women. As I became older,
I witnessed and experienced more of
the serious challenges against women in
Afghanistan. Women are burned alive.
They are killed by their husbands for not
accepting their illegal and inhumane demands. Women are sold by their families
and utilized as mere tools without any
respect for their human dignity. They are
considered weak and dependent upon
men. These challenges made me fantasize about being a man who is always
considered worthy and important.
Whenever I experience or witness injustice against women, I wonder how life
would be if I were a boy. It is a thought
that compels me to imagine what I could

ly events not special things. While

he talked to me, he looked out the
window like a timid girl too shy to
look in others eyes. I guessed he
was trying to tell me something but
didnt have enough courage. But I
wasnt sure.
Time passed quickly. When I
looked at my watch, he understood
that it was nearly time for me to
leave. He started speaking again
and finally found the courage to say
what was on his mind. He told me
that he had feelings for me. He told
me that he has felt this way since
we first became friends. My heart
started beating faster. His words
were what I hoped to hear. But
now, it was me who couldnt look
at him. It was the first time that
I sat with a boy who talked about
his feelings for me. He was looking at me, waiting for a response.
He spoke hesitantly, I wonder
do you have any feelings for me or
not? Because I would like to meet
each other again. I suddenly felt
shy and didnt say anything. I was
playing with my cup and spoon,
thinking about what I had just
heard. When I was ready to reply, a
conversation between two men at
the next table caught my attention.
These girls are bad. They
dont care about hijab. Their families should pay more attention
to them and should not let them
travel freely and go to university.
The other man replied, I hope the
Taliban comes again and governs
the country. Then these girls will
understand how to dress and behave. I looked back. One of the
men looked like a mullah. I knew
they were talking about me and
became embarrassed and uncomfortable.
I was so disturbed by their
conversation that I forgot all of
the exciting and wonderful feelings I just had. I looked back at my
friend desperately and said, I have
to leave. I cant stay and listen to
these ignorant men anymore. I
could see the disappointment on
his face. We both stood up, said
an abrupt good bye and I left the
coffee shop as quickly as I could.

do for women if I were a boy. I pity the

men who do not realize the value of
women and treat them as a second class
gender.
If I were a boy, I would respect men
and women equally. I would listen to
womens problems patiently without
shouting or assuming that her problem is
my weakness. If I were a boy, I would honor their needs and wishes. I would value
each drop of their tears. I would respect
all women as I respect my family. If I were
a boy, I would recognize the value of their
humanity. I would not consider them as
second sex but as angels who care for
me the same as my mother, sister, wife
or daughter. I would ask them to openly
share their opinions and ideas so that we
may consider the rights of the other half
of the population in the world. If I were a
boy, I would treat women in a way which
would correct their misconceptions
about their birth being a misfortune. I
would decrease and, if possible, eliminate
gender discrimination by respecting and
accepting men and women as equal. If I
were a boy, I would try to reverse the traditional beliefs that women are a sign of
shame, a source of problems, and a cause
of unhappiness. I would change those beliefs so that people recognize women as a
symbol of pride, kindness and blessings.

In our
fathers
absences
About the author: Fatima
Sharifi is a Level 6 student
in Stars B Branch. She is
in the 12th grade at Omide-Sabz High School. She is currently preparing for the
Kankoor Exam and plans to study journalism.
When the Taliban attacked, everything was destroyed. Some people lost family members, peoples livestock was plundered and many left their houses to immigrate to other countries. In this dark period, everyone
lived in the worst possible situation, especially women,
who were compelled to wear chadari, a veil covering
the whole face and body. Women were confined to their
homes and deprived of attending school. Likewise, men
were compelled to grow their beards and begin wearing a
turban from the age of five.
In some cases, women were stoned, hanged or
harshly tortured in public. Contrary to the apparent law
practiced by these Taliban, all were filled with inhumane
values such as raping young innocent teenagers and
threatening them to death if they were to disclose such
scandals.
In the period of the Taliban, my father was in Iran
and we lived in a bad situation. One night the Taliban
surrounded our home, violently kicked in the door and
rushed into our house. They threatened my mom to prepare food and drink for them if she wanted herself and
her small children to live. My mom was forced to bow to
those animals dressed like humans. After they were filled
with food, they started beating my mother and us children and took our food, flour, jewelry and other necessary tools for a shelter. We spent almost a week in critical
hunger until my father showed up.
My school teacher was 13 years old when the Taliban
came to her house. Her father was also in Iran. Since her
father was not home, instead the Taliban got her brother
and after one hour they slaughtered her brother. When
her mother was informed about her brother she lost her
mind and was not even able to recognize her daughter,
my teacher.
When her father returned from Iran, they went to
Pakistan. There, her mother received treatment and
now she loathes Afghanistan and never wants to return
because she believes the land betrayed her son saying,
This soil drank my sons blood. Like these stories, many
of our people have bad experiences from that period.

January 30th, 2016

Community

Vol.1, No. 25

The First Graduation of the Zabuli school

Written by: Beth Murphy from The
groundtruth Project and reprinted from
here: http://thegroundtruthproject.org/thefirst-graduation-of-the-zabuli-school/

Razia Jan, President and Founder of the

Zabuli Education Center

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN Razia Jan

woke up before dawn on the eve of the
big graduation. It was 4:50 AM when she
turned off the small electric heater by her
bed, headed for the kitchen, and began
crushing pistachios and walnuts. By sunrise, the house was filled with the smell of
cardamom as she reigned over an enormous vat of rice pudding.
Twelve hours later, Razia piled eight
trays of pudding into her car along with
hundreds of sambosas, naan, specialty
cakes and chutneys to make the drive
to her school, the all-girls Zabuli Education Center she opened in 2008. She
wanted to make sure everything was perfect for the next days celebration the
schools first graduation.
Thats when the explosion happened.
If I lived in fear, Id never do anything, she said as her cell phone lit up
with news of the Talibans latest bold
bombing attacks in the heart of the capitol.
According to a grim Pentagon report,
the Taliban is the strongest it has been
since 2001, and 2015 brought more instability and insecurity.
The resilient Taliban-led insurgency
remains an enduring threat to U.S., coalition, and Afghan forces, as well as to the
Afghan people, the report states.
The conflict is having a direct impact on the educational opportunities
for Afghan girls. According to the United
Nations, more than 20,500 girls who had
access to education in 2014 no longer do
because of attacks, threats, and school
closings.
This year Afghanistan has witnessed
some horrific incidents of violence
against women Justice and accountability must be upheld, says Tadamichi
Yamamoto, the Secretary-Generals Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan and acting head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
After a year of deteriorating security in Kabul and across the country, the
shock of insurgent attacks is wearing off.
Theres no place thats safe. I cant
say here is safe, or there is safe. You never know where or when something will
happen. Ive had close calls, says Razia,
who was born in Afghanistan but went to
college and then lived for many years in
Massachusetts before the attacks of 9-11
compelled her to try to do something to
help girls in her homeland.
On this Friday night, when a sporadic
six-hour gunfight followed a car bombing in a diplomatic neighborhood thats
considered a safer part of the city, Razia

did what most Afghans have grown used

to doing in the face of escalating violence:
she stayed on schedule.
After all, this graduation could not
wait.
Once the food for the celebration
was delivered to the school, Razia was
back on the road headed home. Her car
bounced along the narrow dirt path out
of DehSubz village as the sounds of Iranian pop artist Ali AbdolMaleki pulsed
through the speakers.
When it was time for her to close her
eyes for the night, explosions and gunfire
were still echoing through the city.
A Graduate
Yalda was awake before the prayer
call came between dawn and sunrise.
In the early morning chill, she fed small
pieces of wood into the familys bukhari,
the metal drum-shaped stove that kept
them warm through the winter. Her husband and mother-in-law were still sleeping as she moved quietly past them to
make green tea.
The anticipation had made it hard
for her to sleep, and now that feeling followed her into the kitchen.
Two years ago, Yalda was a 16-yearold high school freshman dreaming
about playing the guitar and becoming a
writer. Then her parents announced her
engagement to a local shopkeeper. Yalda
was devastated.
I dont want to get married. I just
want to go to school, she said at the time.
Her fianc, Lutfullah, was in his early
20s. Tall and wiry with kind eyes and a
quick smile, Lutfullah owns a small store
near the school, and Yalda often stopped
there to buy pens and candies. She knew
he had dropped out of high school and
worried he wouldnt want his wife to be
better educated than he was.
I really tried to become an educated
person my parents wanted that, but unfortunately, my father died when I was in
11th grade, Lutfullah said. After that we
had a lot of financial problems, and I had
to start working.
Ironically, his fathers death the
thing that kept Lutfullah from continuing his education could be one of the
reasons Yalda is able to continue hers.
In many homes in this deeply traditional
society, future fathers in law demand that
girls leave their education behind when
they are to be wed.
Lutfullah surprised her when he told
her hed allow her to finish high school
and even go on to college. Her father and
uncles agreed, too. But in a community
that was still getting used to the idea of
girls going to school at all, Yalda wasnt sure they would follow through on the promise. As
a pre-emptive strike, she and
her eighteen classmates asked
Razia Jan about skipping a
grade. Seven of them including Yalda scored high enough
on their exams to move from
9th grade to 11th.
Everyone knew that girls
who got engaged rarely lasted
in the classroom. No one had
ever gotten married and stayed
in school. But Yalda did.
She and Lutfullah got
married in August halfway
through her senior year. Wedding pictures on her cell phone
show a serious-looking bride
wearing a deep crimson scarf
and bold eyeliner. She blushed
as she scrolled through the
photos, giggling with her

January 30th, 2016

friends about how much they danced that

night.
During her eight years at the Zabuli
Education Center, Yalda was always vying for the top spot in her class. No one
studies harder than I do. I fast before all
of my tests so that god will recognize this
sacrifice and help me to get the first position, Yalda said last year when she was
ranked second.
But as she juggled the responsibilities
of being a wife and a student, her grades
slipped. It became the diploma not her
ranking that mattered most to her.
At 7AM Yalda slipped out of the house
and walked to school in the shiny black
patent leather shoes Razia had bought for
each of the graduates. Her friends were
waiting for her in the school bathroom.
They had changed so much since enrolling as 4th graders.
The Ceremony
The biggest room in the Zabuli school
can hold about a hundred people. At one
end a stage had been created using crates
from science kits recently shipped from
the U.S. Those crates were then covered
with a huge Afghan carpet.
Another three hundred guests from
around the world prepared to join the
celebration virtually.
In the back of the room, a private
area shielded by white cloth was set up
for mothers, but none came.
Eventually, that space, too, was filled
with teachers and students while fathers,
village elders, foreign journalists and the
president of American University Kabul
packed in shoulder-to-shoulder closest
to the stage.
Across the hall, graduates were taking
in the novelty of the experience. Its unusual for Afghans graduating from high
school to wear caps and gowns. Thats an
honor typically reserved for college graduates. These seniorswho had all started
together in the 4th grade when the school
opened in 2008whispered with a nervous energy as they prepared to graduate. They added pins to keep their caps in
place, straightened their gold sashes, and
repositioned each others tassels to make
sure the metallic 15 was facing out.
Nearly 15 years after the fall of the
Taliban and an end to its barbaric rule
that banned girls from the classroom,
educating girls is still an act of defiance.
The Taliban is again waging an offensive
in the country, and the Islamic State is on
the rise. For the approximately 2.5 million
girls who are in school today, the threat to
their education is very real.
And more and more Afghans are tired

of trying to wait out the war. Noticeably

absent among the graduation guests was
Nazima Naween, one of the schools beloved teachers. She fled the country in the
summer one of 200,000 Afghans who
made the harrowing trek to Europe by sea
in 2015. According to latest figures from
the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Afghans are the second-largest group of new arrivals in the refugee
crisis sweeping Europe, accounting for
20 percent of the more than one million
migrants and refugees who arrived there
this year.
A vacillation between despair and
hope defines this country.
By the time the graduation ceremony
started at 10 AM, every seat was taken,
and the power of this moment as an antidote to fear and terror was palpable.
Today is a very special day for us,
Razia told the crowd. It is beyond my
thought and my dreams that we will be
sitting here with our first graduating
class. Now, I welcome our first graduating class.
With that, she opened the door and
the seven graduates filed into the room to
thunderous applause.
Yaldas place in line at the graduation
ceremony carried profound meaning, a
transformation for this community for
a young wife to be in school. And it was
not lost on Razia who, despite her very
practiced sense of composure around
the girls, could not stop the tears of pride
that welled when she handed Yalda her
diploma.
Razias voice cracked, This is our
first graduate who got married and she is
still in school, and she wants to continue
her education.
Today, I know that anyone who has
a strong faith in doing something can do
it, said Yalda at the gathering after the
girls had thrown their green graduation
caps high in the Afghan winter air. I am a
living example, she said.
Amidst much uncertainty and the
violence, Razia is staying her course. She
is creating new opportunities for girls beyond high school. Construction is nearly
complete for a new community college
that is being built next to the high school.
The community college will offer
young women a chance to study Nursing/
Midwifery and Computer Science. These
professional skills are badly needed in
Afghanistan. Among the students taking
advantage of this opportunity is Yalda.
She is on track to become a midwife in
her community. How does her husband
feel about it? Times have changed, said
Lutfullah. Its a time of learning.

Page 3

Vol.1, No. 25

Codification of Economic
Strategy: a must

News

Translated by: Murtaza Qasemi

Source: Open Society Daily
Afghanistan Investment Supporting
Agency (AISA), along with the ministries
of Commerce and Industries, Economy,
Urban Development Affairs and Housing,
and Chamber of Commerce and Industries held a seminar entitled Investment
condition in Afghanistan and concluded
that the economic strategy should be immediately codified.
On Tuesday, 19th January, the chief
of Afghanistan Investment Supporting
Agency, Mohammad Qurban Haqjo said
that following the seminar, a new agreement between government and the private sectors will be signed, according
to which, the first four-year investment
strategy of Afghanistan will be codified.
In regards to the main objectives of
the economic strategy, AISA asserted that
acknowledgement of the priorities, establishing coordination amidst government and entrepreneurs, amelioration of
economic condition of the country, and
restricting capital flight are the main objectives of formulating the strategy. Haq-

jo also said that the economic condition

of the country is exacerbating as result
of reduction in foreign aids, foreign military withdrawals and escalating security
concerns, and recently, the Afghan government is striving to make the economy
entirely self-sufficient.
At the same time, Chief Executive
Abdullah Abdullah said that the cornerstone of the economic strategy of the
National Unity government consists of
eradication of poverty, job creation, social welfare, and strengthening regional
economic cooperation, therefore; the
government is committed to protecting
domestic production units and creating a suitable environment for national
investors. The problems constraining
businessmen will not be considered as
insignificant, he said. He also added that
the National Unity government has been
indefatigably trying to maintain security
to ensure investments, for the past one
year. Abdullah emphasized that the government has manifold economic and in-

frastructural projects to be implemented

in a year, to ensure growth and fortification of business in the country.
Ensuring that the government would
support and protect investment activities
especially domestic production units at
every step, Abdullah asked the national
businessmen to concentrate in investment activities so that more jobs are created.
Homayoun Rasa, Commerce and
Industries minister also said that he is

solemnly striving to attract investments

and it will earnestly cooperate with AISA
in making the administrative procedures
more convenient, decreasing tariffs, and
providing other conveniences to the investors.
Abdul Satar Murad, minister of economy and Sayed Sadat Naderi, Urban Development Affairs and Housing minister,
too, proclaimed their commitments towards providing a suitable environment
for more investments in the country.

More than fifty terrorists killed and

wounded in military operations
Translated by: Jumakhan Rahyab
Source: Hasht-e-Subh Daily

Quadrilateral talks to be
continued in Islamabad

Ministry of Defense has announced that more than fifty terrorists

as a result of joint operations of the security forces were killed and wounded
during a day-long continuous gun-fire
and heavy artillery exchange.
The ministry said in a statement
that the operations were lunched in
the areas of Hesarak, Chaperhar, Deh
Bala in Nangarhar province, Baraki
Barak in Logar province, Gilan in Ghazni province, Tagab in Badakhshan and
Qaisar in Faryab province, in which
thirty-nine terrorists were killed, fifteen people were wounded and seven
others were arrested.
The Ministry of Defense added
that during these operations a quantity

of arms and ammunition seized by security forces and dozens of mines have
been discovered and neutralized.
The Ministry of Defense says that
three ANA soldiers also have been martyred in these operations.
The ministry announced that they
also began a clean-up operation under
the name "Shahin 13" in Khogyani district of Nangarhar province.
The Ministry added that the National Army, National Police, local police, border police and national security forces are operating jointly in a close
cooperation. Their aim is to clean the
hideouts, eliminating and suspecting
the terrorists. The operations started
on Monday morning.

Translated by: Jumakhan Rahyab

Source: Hasht-e-Sub

The second meeting of the quadrilateral coordination group of Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United States and
China on the peace talks of Afghanistan ended few days ago. The Ministry
of Foreign Affairs issued a joint statement, stating that the coordination
group discussed on a road map and
some progress has been made in this
area.
The joint statement expresses that
the quadrilateral coordinating group
demands the Taliban groups to immediately begin the talks with the Afghan government in order to resolve all
political disputes and ensure a lasting
peace in Afghanistan. They will negotiate in accordance with the will of the
people of Afghanistan and with the
support and will of quadrilateral coordinating group. The declaration also
stated that the quadrilateral coordination group agreed that all forms of terrorism are serious threat to the countries, region and the world. Members
of this group are committed to put all
their efforts together to eliminate all
forms of terrorism, regardless of their
nationality and their activities areas.

Page 4

It is stated in the declaration that

the quadrilateral coordination group
agreed to have regular meetings in order to advance the peace talks of Afghanistan, and their next meeting will
be held in Islamabad on February 17,
2016.
In the meantime, Salahuddin Rabbani, Minister of Foreign Affairs at
the opening of the yesterdays second
meeting (Monday, January 18) in Kabul
said, all the discussions and decisions
so far in this context, to determine the
specific mechanisms for joint work
and collaborate more effectively, In order to provide security and stability in
Afghanistan, Pakistan and the region
is very important for us. Rabbani said,
Pakistan's strong commitment to cooperate with us in various fields, including the fight against terrorism and
to facilitate an outcome-focused peace
talks, in the same time, the progress is
observed by the quadrilateral coordination group, creates hopes to be optimistic.
Minister of Foreign Affairs said,
Representing the people and the government of Afghanistan, I invite all the

Taliban groups to accept our message

of peace to come to the table, so we can
resolve all political divisions and reach
to a lasting peace that is strongly supported by the quadrilateral coordination group. Rabbani stressed that any
delay of the Taliban to come to the negotiations table, they will be more isolated in the eyes of the Afghan people.
He said the Taliban groups, If you miss
this opportunity, obviously it means
that a stable and independent Afghani-

stan is not your will; and your goals

are insurgency. He made it clear that
in such a case, quadrilateral coordination group will find a way to act against
them, those who reject the peace talks.
Rabbani said that an effective road
map, may not so much focus on strict
preconditions, but the red lines should
be drawn to ensure that all victims of
the people are respected and considered.

January 30th, 2016

News

Vol.1, No. 25

Human Rights Watch: Stop

deliberate targeting of civilians
by Afghan armed groups
Translated by: Zahra Wahidy
Source: Hasht-e-Subh
Human Rights Watch asked Afghan
militant groups to quickly stop deliberate
attacks on civilians. Yesterday, a suicide
bomber targeted a minibus of MOBY Media Groups staff. As a result, seven people
were killed and at least twenty-five people wounded. The Taliban has claimed
responsibility for this attack. The suicide attack on the MOBY Media Group is
shown as a targeted atrocity to challenge
the freedom of the press in Afghanistan,
was stated in the Human Rights Watch
newsletter.
Patricia Guzman, senior researcher
for Human Rights Watch, said, Targeting
journalists and other civilians as military
targets does not change the fact. Deliberate attacks on journalists and civilians
is considered a war crime. This suicide
attack was carried out a few months after the Taliban accused Tolo TV and 1TV
networks of impartiality of news coverage in Kunduz and said that the staff and

offices of Tolo TV and 1TV channels will

be targeted as military targets. Both Tolo
TV and 1TV belong to the private sector.
MOBY Media Group is the owner of
several media outlets and media services in Afghanistan, such as Tolo TV, Tolo
News, Lemar TV and Radio Arman. President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, who is
currently participating in the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, has
condemned this attack as an act of cowardice and called it an unforgivable crime
against the people of Afghanistan.
Abdullah Abdullah, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Unity Government, has strongly condemned the attack
on Moby Media Group calling it a cowardly terrorist action. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan
on their official Twitter page condemned
the attack and has stated their deepest
concerns about the safety of media employees in Kabul.

Presidency: Taliban preconditions for

negotiation unacceptable
that have abandoned violence and
Translated by Murtaza Farjad terrorist acts and accept the international
Source: Hasht-e-Subh
standardized norms in the negotiation.
But the people of Afghanistan will not
Following the Taliban groups
accept the conditions of groups who
announcement of their preconditions
determine the conditions.
for peace talks, the office of the
Mr. Hashimi also said that among
presidency said that they cannot accept
other conditions, making decisions on
the preconditions to negotiate with the
releasing Taliban leaders has its special
Taliban.
roles. Reducing violence is one of the
In a meeting recently held in
conditions to make decisions about
Qatar, the Taliban group announced
Taliban leaders.
a precondition to negotiate Afghan
Spokesman Hashimi added that
government. The meeting was organized
removing the names of Taliban leaders
by the international group Pugwash
from the United Nations blacklist
Conferences on Science and World Affairs,
does not depend only on Afghan
which works on conflict resolution.
governments decision, rather it must be
Preconditions demanded by Taliban
issued internationally. Sayed Hashimi
representatives included: removing
emphasized that the Afghan government
the names of its groups leaders from
acts according to the agreements reached
the United Nations blacklist; releasing
by trilateral and quadruple negotiation
prisoners of the group; recognition of
among Afghanistan, Pakistan, China
their office in Qatar; and putting an end
and the U.S. to start peace talks and new
to Anti-Taliban propaganda.
solutions will be adopted.
Sayed Zaffer Hashimi, a spokesman
Spokesman Hashimi said that the
for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani,
Afghan government pays close attention
said that the Talibans preconditions
to the peace efforts, maintaining the
are unacceptable. While speaking in a
gains reached during the last decade
press conference on Monday fifth of
and dealing with the constitution.
Dalw he said, We cant move towards
He emphasized that the government
negotiations
with
preconditions.
considers itself responsible for keeping
Furthermore, we negotiate with groups
the values.

About forty refugees drown in

Turkey Rivers
Translated by: Walid Rahmani
Source: Etilaat Rooz, 996
Forty one refugees died after two
boats drowned in Turkey Rivers. Seventeen out of the forty one refugees were
kids. Relief Forces are also following the
survivors. According to Reuters News
Agency, the boats target was to reach
Greece. A wooden boat that was carrying forty eight refugees crashed with a
stone; as a result, forty one refugees and a
woman and six kids died in Pharmcunicy
Island. A few hours later, another boat
drowned that the exact number of its
crews is still unclear, but twenty six refugees was survived transported to Calolimnous Island and thirty four corpses

are picked from the river. Relief forces are

searching the survivors by their boats.
The boat is expected to have had seventy
crews. On Thursday also twelve refugees
drowned in Turkey-Greece border. Thousands of refugees are trying to reach Europe by Turkey. According to statistics by
International Emigration Organization,
since the beginning of 2016, seventy
seven refugees are dead in the course of
Mediterranean Sea. International Emigration Organization also revealed that
31000 refugees have reached the Greece
Islands.

January 30th, 2016

Page 5

Vol.1, No. 25

Star Related
Teaching at Star a dream come true

About the author: Mohammad Reza

Sharifi is a Star alumnus and teacher. He
is majoring in Computer Science Software Engineering at Kabul Polytechnic
University and will be continuing his
studies in India in the near future.
It was 4 oclock in the afternoon on
the first day I entered Star Educational
Society for getting enrollment in one of
the classes. I had studied English in Excellence Educational Center before I entered Star. I was asked to pass an entry
test with a speaking test. The administrative officer gave me the test paper. I
scored 14 out of 20. Then the administrative officer asked Mr. Ali Shahidy to give

me a speaking test. After five minutes

talking to Ali Shahidy, I was accepted in
Level One.
The office was crowded. Teachers
talked loudly with pure American accents. I liked it. Mahdi Hussaini, who was
the manager of C-Branch that time, entered the office. WOW!! He was great! The
English he was speaking was really alluring to me. I was thoroughly inspired by
his American accent and it gave me positive energy to study English at Star until I
could earn my English diploma.
That was the first time I wished to be
an English teacher at Star. I dreamt of being in such a position, an English teacher
at Star. At Star Educational Society I have
learnt the precious lessons of life. I learnt
to be a different man and to gain the capability of living differently. After facing
many hardships, I could make one of my
dreams come true. This tremendous and
precious dream came true in 2012, when
I received my English diploma from Star
Educational Society.
2012 was the year that my simple life
changed dramatically. In the four years
since then, I have seen many different
people with different attitudes and characters. Some of them were quite intelligent and some of them were fairly lazy.
I saw and met various students. Some
of my experiences were as bitter as poison, and some were as sweet as honey.
But whether it is sweet or bitter, I like
teaching. I am comfortable when I teach.
Teaching makes me calm. Teaching has
been the only beacon of hope leading me

The person I admire most

About the author: Ahmad Mukhtar

Sakhizada is a Star alumnus. He works
as an office manager in a transportation company and is pursuing scholarship opportunities for further studies in
India.
In the world everyone is inspired
and motivated by someone and the
special person means a lot to them.
The person I admire most is Mr. Zakaria Bahaduri, a Level Six instructor
at Star Educational Societys C Branch.
There are many reasons I admire him.
He has a great personality, high goals
and, most importantly, magnificent
achievement in the field of education.
Zakaria Bahaduri is one of the
best teachers I have ever seen in my
life! The characteristics I admire most
about him are that he is kind, respectful, logical, helpful and caring. His assistance in terms of humanity has no
limits. He makes his best effort to be a
useful person in society and to bring
changes. He is my humanism teacher,

Page 6

but his teaching is never limited to

humanism. Mr. Zakaria Bahaduri has
been the one who guided me through
thick and thin. He taught me what is
right and what is wrong, opened my
eyes to differentiate between darkness
and brightness, and directed me toward my goals. In addition, he was the
one who told me to find a real reason
for living. Another reason I admire him
is that he is happy in our happiness
and he grieves when we are in grief.
Mr. Zakaria Bahaduri is the only
person who could be my friend and
my teacher at the same time. To be
precise, when I sit in his class I feel
like a friend is talking to me when he
is actually teaching. I never find it boring or difficult to sit in his class. He
talks about his experiences in the past
years, talks about the issues in our society and how we should we deal with
them and talks about how to set our
own goals. I remember once he told
us, I believe in each and every one of
you! You are the ones who can change
the future of the country, you and others who are sitting here are those who
will be sitting in the parliament of this
country to solve issues. You will be
standing in my place to teach, not as a
teacher but as a professor. He added,
You guys are the hope for the future of
our society. Therefore, being his students has made me one of the luckiest
people.
I am impressed by Mr. Bahaduris
targets and goals and how his goals
direct his activities, work, and actions.
He aims to extinguish ignorance in
order to create a more civilized and
advanced society. He wants to bring
these changes through teaching. I am
thankful to Mr. Zakaria Bahaduri for
all his efforts, hard work and for being
here for us. We will follow the path he
has drawn for us.

to a brighter future.
My mood is happy when I am teaching. I am never angry in my class even if
I have a mountain of worries behind me
because I know that it is easier to learn in
such an environment. When students are
happier and far away from worries, they
can easily catch the lessons. Sometimes,
I have even been treated harshly but I
never gave up. I have promised myself to
be stronger and to teach as well as I can. I
really love teaching.
I cant say I am the best teacher but I
have always tried my best. I feel extremely happy and thankful to those who give
cool suggestions and constructive criticism. I dont allow myself to be nervous
when I am asked questions and given
some suggestions. I try to answer everybody. If I didnt know the answer, I prom-

ised to find the answer.

Teaching at one of the most wellknown English centers exposed me to a
thoroughly diverse society. I am extremely grateful to Star Educational Society for
giving me the tremendous opportunity
to convey my understanding to others
through teaching. At the end I have a
message to all dear readers. Please keep
struggling to English as I have done. I was
a student here for two and half years. As
soon as I received my diploma in 2012,
I applied for a teaching position. After
passing the exams, I was accepted as an
English instructor. But my journey with
English does not end here. I am trying to
do very big things with the English I have
learnt. Come on, work hard! You can be
the next Mohammad Reza Sharifi at Star
Educational Society.

January 30th, 2016

Stories

Literary

32

About the author: Hadi Zaher was the first graduate of Quetta's branch of
Star Educational Society in the year 1999. He has an MA from the University
of Wollongong in Australia and is currently a post-graduate student at the
University of New South Wales.

My Grandmother
Told Me

n my trip last year, I returned

to the village to see who it
was that lived on our land.
I was with your auntie. We walked into the old
orchard, and began looking around to
see what had changed. We saw a little
girl. The expression on her face said she
didnt like us there.
What are you doing?
I smiled:
You have a beautiful orchard here,
dokhtarem. We are just having a look.
She nodded but said nothing. I noticed her hiding behind the trees, and fol-

Vol.1, No. 25

lowing us around the farm.

We stopped by the little stream in
Lingaa, when the girl came to us with another older girl. The older girl was her sister. She greeted us, and recognized your
auntie. She asked us to come over for tea.
We were busy, so I promised to stop by
the following day.
I visited our home the following evening. I met the two girls, and their mother. I didnt see any men. I looked around,
and thought about the old days.
I had tea with them, and told them
our story.
I asked them theirs.

The lady said they were from Urozgan.

We had a house, a place like yours to
call home. We had a farm and orchard.
The Taliban attacked. We didnt have
the weapons or the power to fight back.
They killed some of the villagers to terrorize us. We were terrorized. We fled into
the Hazara mountains, and after weeks,
ended up here.
The Taliban now occupy our village,
farms and home. We are too fearful to return.
*dokhtarem = My daughter

An excerpt from:

A Thousand Splendid Suns

By: Khaled Hosseini
It's the whistling," Laila said to
Tariq, "the damn whistling, I hate
more than anything."
Tariq nodded knowingly.
It wasn't so much the whistling
itself, Laila thought later, but the
seconds between the start of it and
impact. The brief and interminable
time of feeling suspended. The not
knowing. The waiting. Like a defendant about to hear the verdict.
Often it happened at dinner,
when she and Babi were at the table.
When it started, their heads snapped
up. They listened to the whistling,
forks in midair, unchewed food in
their mouths. Laila saw the reflection
of their half-lit faces in the pitch-black
window, their shadows unmoving
on the wall. The whistling. Then the
blast, blissfully elsewhere, followed
by an expulsion of breath and the
knowledge that they had been spared
for now while somewhere else, amid
cries and choking clouds of smoke,
there was a scrambling, a barehanded frenzy of digging, of pulling from
the debris, what remained of a sister,
a brother, a grandchild.
But the flip side of being spared
was the agony of wondering who

hadn't. After every rocket blast, Laila raced to the street, stammering a
prayer, certain that, this time, surely
this time, it was Tariq they would
find buried beneath the rubble and
smoke.
At night, Laila lay in bed and
watched the sudden white flashes
reflected in her window. She listened
to the rattling of automatic gunfire
and counted the rockets whining
overhead as the house shook and
flakes of plaster rained down on her
from the ceiling. Some nights, when
the light of rocket fire was so bright a
person could read a book by it, sleep
never came. And, if it did, Laila's
dreams were suffused with fire and
detached limbs and the moaning of
the wounded.
Morning brought no relief.
The muezzin's call for namaz rang
out, and the Mujahideen set down
their guns, faced west, and prayed.
Then the rugs were folded, the guns
loaded, and the mountains fired on
Kabul, and Kabul fired back at the
mountains, as Laila and the rest of
the city watched as helpless as old
Santiago watching the sharks take
bites out of his prize fish.

About Khaled Hosseini

Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1965. His father
was a diplomat in the Afghan Foreign
Ministry and his mother taught Farsi
and history at a high school in Kabul.
In 1976, the Foreign Ministry relocated the Hosseini family to Paris.
They were ready to return to Kabul
in 1980, but by then their homeland
had witnessed a bloody communist
coup and the invasion of the Soviet
Army. The Hosseinis sought and
were granted political asylum in the
United States, and in September 1980
moved to San Jose, California. Hosseini graduated from high school in
1984 and earned a bachelors degree

January 30th, 2016

in biology in 1988. The following year

he entered the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine,
where he earned a medical degree in
1993. He completed his residency in
Los Angeles and was a practicing internist between 1996 and 2004.
In March 2001, while practicing
medicine, Hosseini began writing
his first novel, The Kite Runner, an
international bestseller and beloved
classic, sold in at least seventy countries. In May 2007, his second novel,
A Thousand Splendid Suns, debuted
at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. Together, the two books have
sold more than 10 million copies in

the United States and more than 38

million copies worldwide. The Kite
Runner was adapted into a graphic
novel of the same name in 2011. Hosseinis much-awaited third novel,
And the Mountains Echoed, was published in 2013.
In 2006, Hosseini was named a
Goodwill Envoy to UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency. Inspired
by a trip he made to Afghanistan with
the UNHCR, he later established
The Khaled Hosseini Foundation, a
501(c)(3) nonprofit, which provides
humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan. He lives in Northern California.

Page 7

Editor-in-Chief: Ali Reza Yasa, Chairman

Editor: Kara Lozier
Designer: Musa Autbin
Distribution: Najibullah Malikpoor 0785103920
A Branch: Ahmad Muradi
0788712334
B Branch: Yasin Rezayee
0748009565
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Add: Star Avenue, Sabiqa Stop, Dehburi, Kabul.
Email: interstellarbulletin@gmail.com
Phone: +93-785 10 39 20
Website: http://www.star.edu.af

+93-744 56 37 55

Saturday, January 30, 2016

Vol. 1, No. 25

Art and filmmaking:

vehicles for change
An interview with Ali Mohammadi Kiyan,
director and founder of the Academy of Art and Cinematic Education
field. When I immigrated to Iran, I started
calligraphy. And I established a private
calligraphy exhibition. When I decided to
start university, I chose art as my field because I felt that it was an essential part of
my life.
Do you like story writing or have you ever
written any stories? Basically, a movie or
a picture itself is a story. When we are producing a movie, at the same time we are
writing a story as well. So, stories play a
vital role in my career. And it is the key of
success in each documentary and movie.
I really love writing stories, but other than
my assignments during my studying years,
I have not ever written any story.
What kinds of problems and obstacles
are you facing in your career? One of the
biggest issues in my career is lack of supply and demand. When I produce a movie
or documentary, unfortunately, it cannot
be in the economic circle. I spend lots of
money to produce them without any financial supporter but I cannot fund it.
What is your idea about art? Art can easily
connect people with different personalities and tastes. Art is in everyones nature
or essence. It can affect people in a natural
way. The movie has a great and wide effect on peoples lives. Pervasively, the art
can change the view and horizons of the
citizens about the society. It can reduce
the rate of violence and strengthen the potentials of tolerance and can lead us to a
more prosperous society. Art gives different messages to different audiences.

Ali Mohammadi Kiyan is the director

and founder of the Academy of Art and
Cinematic Education in Afghanistan. He
was born in 1977 in Malistan, Ghazni
Province. He finished school in his village
and afterward he immigrated to Iran. He
studied art, majoring in cinematic art in
the university.

Can you please tell me about your educational center? Academy of Art and Cinematic Education was founded under the
name Artistic and Cultural Institute of
Exodus Narration in the winter of 2001 in
Tehran, Iran. This institute commenced
its activities in the art and cinema field
abroad with a view to train and educate
human resources.
What were the reasons that you decided to relocate your Educational Center
to Kabul? After relative recovery of the
situation in Afghanistan, the institutes
authorities decided to relocate to Kabul
in order to achieve their long term goals
and concentrate their activities inside the
country since its dark winters had passed
and its green destiny was blooming.

What were the obstacles toward inaugurating your institute in Afghanistan?

Well, I did not have any serious challenges
when I decided to establish my art academy in Afghanistan. In the very beginning,
there were no art departments in the universities. So, there were many students attending our courses. But, gradually, many
art departments were established in Afghanistans universities. Consequently,
the numbers of students who were attending our courses decreased. In addition,
our professional teachers left the country.
The budget was a big problem. The institute could not support itself financially
and, as a result, most of the programs were
stopped.
What has your academy produced up to
the present? The Academy has produced
tens of documentaries, life histories, serials, TV programs, teasers for film festivals,
artistic conferences and exhibitions along
with initiating and running official representative of Hello Canada for two years.
Up to now, the Academy has executed
seven educational courses in different
fields of film making and acting. Its graduated students are engaged in professional
activities in different private TV stations,

filmmaking centers, and radio.

Drum of Democracy (Tabl e Democracy) is known as your best documentary
among the young generation, can you
please tell me about it? I am the director
of this documentary and I love it like all
my other works. So please ask this question from others to learn why they think it
as a great work. But as the director, I can
give you this information: It is a picture
of how the Nomads disturb the people of
the rural district of Behsood and harass
them. It depicts the tragedy happening
under the umbrella of democracy. I think
being real and its identical perspectives
are the reasons which make it a great
documentary.
What made you a director and caused
you to study art as your field at university? In my childhood, I had special feelings. I really enjoyed painting, looking at
colorful and different pictures in books
and also tried to read sentences which
were written on the grave stones. At that
time, I was not able to read them because
I was only five or six years old. But all
those things were enjoyable for me. It was
soon discovered that art was my favorite

What is your message for people as an

artist and active man? Nowadays, technology plays an important role in everyones life. But, unfortunately this phenomenon distances the people from the books.
I suggest and ask all the people, especially
the young generation, to read books and
try to gain knowledge. In my opinion, the
only way to make Afghanistan a developed
and stable country is being educated.

About the interviewer: Soheila Noori is a

Star alumna and teacher. She is in Star's
Creative Writing class and is a regular contributor to the Interstellar Bulletin. She
plans to major in Economics when she begins her university studies.