Shock jock Michael Savage was on the AM radio as I drove through Amarillo, Texas. He was screaming that we should “Nuke Falluja!” and I suddenly felt like veering into the guardrail and ending it all.
I was cranky and road-weary after 23 straight hours of driving from Kansas City to the high Texas plains, guzzling Coke after Coke to keep myself awake. Solace International was on the road again, trying to raise money to build girls schools in Afghanistan.
“They are insects! Wipe them out, nuke their cities!” Savage screamed.
As the United States grapples with the question of how to achieve peace in the Middle East and security at home, we have an ethical and moral responsibility to reject messages of fear and hatred. Conservatives and liberals alike should be able to recognize the tremendous opportunity now at hand in places like Afghanistan: the prospect of creating positive change through education and economic opportunities.
Americans’ compassion – and our can-do attitude – is what distinguishes this country. It is our greatest contribution to democracy around the world. Rather than export hate, we need to send know-how and hope. The example of Solace International, a 2-year-old, non-profit organization dedicated to elevating the status of women in Afghanistan through education and economic development, demonstrates how well this approach can work.
Over the past 2 years, Solace International has built six girls schools in Northern Afghanistan. Much of this work has been done with funds raised at our first benefit auction in Washington state last year. Proceeds from this year’s auction will help Solace meet an ambitious 2005 goal of building six more girls schools – along with a design center for women’s cottage industry textiles, an Internet learning center and an expansion of the local university.
Solace International works in Afghanistan’s rural north where the people are overwhelmingly pro-American. They hate the Taliban and are tired of war. They are hopeful, hardworking and ready for change – yet frustrated because they wonder where the funds allocated for Afghanistan have been spent. Many times I have heard Afghans say “foreigners come and take photos but never come back.”
But at least some of the money being sent to Afghanistan is making a difference. The schools we build are for 300-plus girls, some in villages that have never educated women. Labor and materials are incredibly cheap in Northern Afghanistan; we build quality schools for just $25,000 apiece, which includes children’s supplies, classroom materials, desks and chairs.
In a country littered with the rusting detritus of war, the cost of one Abrams tank would build 180 girls schools.
When I return to the United States after a stint in Afghanistan I am always taken aback by the overwhelming fear that permeates our news media. Terrorism, suicide bombers and fundamentalists fill the networks. Afghanistan seems a much more dangerous and radical place when I’m back in the states.
If Americans want a secure homeland we should start by helping to educate the people whose nations we have occupied – giving them a reason to hope for some kind of future. Providing women an opportunity to participate in a society through education may be the single most effective way to combat terrorism. If done correctly – without huge multinational corporations calling the shots – reconstruction is cheap. It’s a great bang for the buck.
We now have a window of opportunity to play a role in providing a lasting peace in Afghanistan by applying common sense and a willingness to get our hands dirty.
Nate York is executive director of Solace International Inc. The group’s annual auction is scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday at the Mountaineers Club, 300 Third Ave., W, Seattle. For ticket information, call 206-409-2508. For more information about Solace’s work, visit www.solaceinternational.org.
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