The courage and resilience of the human spirit can be seen in abundance around our globe. A few weeks ago if you had asked me if this statement included Afghanistan I would not have known how to answer. It is a place that many of us think has been left behind, war-torn and forsaken by its maker. From Asia Plateau, Panchgani, India, comes the story of two young men who will challenge this notion to its core. Perhaps your own preconceptions will be challenged in the process.
Take a minute to study the photograph above. You will see two young men, seemingly no different to boys the world over. T-shirts, jeans, ready smiles. What you do not see is the remarkable story of change behind their happy faces. Khalid Mohamadi and Javed Orya lived out their childhoods under the Taliban regime; one of the most oppressive governments ever to blight the modern world. Their conflict-ravaged home city of Kabul is slowly being rebuilt, but remains a dangerous place to live.
While both young men suffered immensely at the hands of their oppressors, it is Khalid’s story in particular that will remain hewn into the hearts of anyone lucky enough to hear it from the young man himself. Born a twin, Khalid arrived with only one arm. Within his first year, his twin brother had passed away. While just a young boy, Khalid’s father and grandparents were executed outside their home by the Taliban. The government was punishing all those who did not speak Arabic. Khalid’s family spoke Persian.
As you may know, women faced the harshest treatment under Taliban law. They were not allowed to leave their homes, denied basic freedoms like education, social interactions and fresh air. At the age of about six, Khalid, became the family’s sole bread winner. The only one allowed to leave the home, he scratched a tiny living by selling biscuits on the streets. With only one arm in use, Khalid often struggled to tie his turban properly. If caught miswearing the garment, the boy was beaten without mercy. On one occasion his legs were tied down and whipped repeatedly. Khalid could not walk for three days.
At the age of fifteen, Khalid was to lose his sister, three years older, to cancer. This was only four years ago, and a deep anger filled the young man’s heart. He hated his uncle for refusing to assist the family financially, especially in his sister’s time of need, for she had received no medical attention. He hated his other sister who was also unable to help the family. He hated the regime which had murdered his family and reduced them to their impoverished state. And Khalid hated God, who had seemingly cursed his family, his body and his future.
With the help of Creators of Peace fundraising events across Australia, and selected by Mahboba Rawi, founder of the Afghan women support foundation Mahboba’s Promise, Khalid and Javed found themselves in Panchgani, India. Asia Plateau was a strange place to them, with an emphasis on quiet time, personal change and something called The Inner Voice. Sullen and introverted, the boys initially stayed in their rooms, emerging only for meals. They kept their eyes down and spoke to no one. Within a week, they both wanted to go home.
Whether it was a single event, or the gradual effect of exposure to warm-hearted and dynamic people, a remarkable transformation started to take place in the hearts of both young men. They suddenly began to talk, to smile, and to share their story with people eager to listen. Khalid and Javed began to change. For Khalid this change was more visceral, as he was provided the money for a prosthetic arm. Whole in body and peaceful in spirit for the first time in his life, a handsome smile now radiated from Khalid’s freshly shaven face. The burden of hatred had been lifted, and Khalid’s first endeavour was to write letters to his uncle and his sister, asking for forgiveness for his years of bitterness. When asked if he needed anything else, he replied that he dreamed of one day having the money to buy his sister a small laptop for her studies. With a laptop in hand (donated by generous individuals at Asia Plateau) and a song in his heart he left with Javed for Afghanistan, a changed young man.
Khalid's own words in a report to Mahboba: One of my dreams for my country Afghanistan is for a country without family conflict. When I remembered my own family in one of my quiet times, I myself had some conflict. So I started changing myself to end a very small part of that conflict in my country. I said sorry to my uncle that I did not speak with for more than six years. I said sorry to one of my sisters, and like this Javed also brough some changes in his life. I could not imagine that I will do these kid of things. The idea is to turn people's lives to four absolute standards that are honesty, purity unselfishness and love. We met a lot of people who really inspired me by their life stories. When I heard how people round the world suffered from war, hunger, family conflict, relationships and so many other things, I forgot about myself, what I faced in my life even when I was a child. And I understood that not just in Afghanistan but all over the world people suffer from so many things.
Khalid has now decided he wants to be a doctor, in order to help the disadvantaged communities in his country. He faces a cavalcade of exams almost the minute he puts his foot on home soil. He has quite a journey ahead of him, but with the weight of anger removed, four strong limbs and hope and direction for the future, he will be a weapon against those who would keep Afghanistan in darkness. As this is being written he boards a plane bound for home. I wonder if his family will recognise him.
Khalid and Javed have taken so much value from their time as interns at Asia Plateau. Yet they have given much more in return to those who remain. For me, it is the gift of a changed perspective on what I believed to be a country under a curse. To show this photo, to tell this story, to combat stereotypes and broadcast to Australia and the rest of the world the extraordinary lives of two simple boys with an inspiring tale. That is my gift.
Keith Mills