A message from Rahmatullah Doorandish, Futsal Tournament Organizer

Saturday, December 26, 2015 Vol. 1, No. 20

2. Community3. Personal Essays4-5. News

6. Movie Reflection7. Literary8. Interview

See Inside Quote of the Week

Sports activities and other competi-tions provide many positive opportunities for youth. Our society is competitive and we should teach youth to function in com-petition and how to both win and lose as good sports. Young people should know that winning and losing are both tempo-rary, and that they should never quit. Like-wise, they must learn to be humble in vic-tory and gracious in defeat.

In our efforts to develop the potential of talented Afghan youth and to help nur-ture their bodies, minds and spirits, Star Educational Society offers many activities besides English language instruction. Star is not only an English language institution but also a small community of thinkers and activists that employs a multi-dimen-sional approach to bring changes in other aspects of our people’s lives. In this spirit, Star will be hosting its 4th annual futsal tournament on January 1st, 2016. In the future, Star intends to launch co-educa-tional chess competitions and volleyball competitions for our female Starians.

Our intention in organizing and host-ing an annual Futsal tournament is to trig-ger enthusiasm to participate in sports for Star Educational Society students. Hence, we now hold Futsal tournaments to en-hance active contribution of students and consequently dictate the significance of sport for their health and how sport can prove beneficial in efficient learning. Fut-sal tournaments and its likes help steer youth and society away from drug addic-tion and create a sound environment for the growth of an advanced and healthy community.

Similarly, we endeavor to hold a qual-ity tournament and to introduce emerging talents to the Futsal society and Afghani-stan Futsal Federation to play in national teams. For example, Sayed Ali Naser, Mohsen, and Hussain, the players com-peting in 2nd and 3rd Futsal tournament of Star, are currently national team mem-bers and compete to win Afghanistan na-tional and international awards.

What is Futsal?Futsal is an exciting, fast-paced foot-

ball game that is widely played across the world. With five players per side, it is nor-mally played on a flat indoor pitch with hockey sized goals and a size 4 ball with a reduced bounce. Games are 20 minutes per half, played to a stopped clock with time-outs permitted.

Review of the first three Star Futsal tour-naments

Star Educational Society strives for a sound society and has always encour-aged our youth to actively participate in activities which can push us forward. Star believes that taking part in sports can pro-mote good health and steer youth away from the tendency toward narcotics and drug abuse. Sports are a vital ingredient for better physical and mental strength and, therefore, Star has organized several Futsal tournaments in recent years.

In 2013, Star Educational Society held its 1st Futsal tournament which was

highly welcomed by schools and other educational centers. Moreover, the aus-picious and unique tournament held by Star caused Sport and Olympic Federation Committee officials to attend, encourage and honor our Futsal Tournament.

1st Futsal Tournament: (2013)In our first tournament, we registered

40 teams from all over Kabul. Ultimately, in the finals, Real Star Futsal Team defeat-ed Tak Star Futsal Team by 5-4 in penalty, winning the cup.

• Best player: Qader, member of Na-tional Futsal Team of Afghanistan

• Best Goal Scorer: Mustafa Sakhizada, member of Super Star Fursal Team

• Best Goalkeeper: Rohullah, member of Jawanan Maihan Futsal Team

2nd Futsal Tournament: (2014)Mujahideen Futsal Team won the

tournament after defeating 32 other teams registered in this competitive tournament.

• Best Player: Hussain, member of Af-ghanistan National Futsal Team and Real Futsal Team

• Best Goal Scorer: Sayed Ali Nasir, member of Afghanistan National Futsal Team and Mujahideen Futsal Team.

• Best Goalkeeper: Abdul Ali from Mu-jahideen Futsal Team

3rd Futsal Tournament: (2015) Sarallah Futsal Team won the cup after

a close competition with Sedaqat Futsal Team.

• Best Player: Mohsen, member of Afghanistan National Futsal Team and Sedaqat Futsal Team

• Best Goal Scorer: Ali Naweed, mem-ber of Sarallah Futsal Team.

• Best Goalkeeper: Sultan, member of Afghanistan National Futsal Team and Sedaqat Futsal Team.

The 4th Futsal Tournament of Star is going to start on January 1, 2016 in Mo-hammad Baqer gym, located in Dasht-e-Barchi, Tang Teel Bus Stop. Everyone is highly requested to come and participate in this competitive tournament. Join us for a difference!

“I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has had to overcome while trying to succeed.”

-Booker T. Washington

Star Educational Society Weekly

Star's 4th Futsal TournamentInterstellar (adjective): situated or occurring between the stars; conducted, or existing between two or more stars

December 26th, 2015

Vol.1, No. 20 Community

Page 2

to-people movement to abolish war. With over three decades of war, almost

every Afghan family has lost their loved ones to war. For many decades, the people of Af-ghanistan, just like the millions of people in Middle Eastern countries, have experienced the deadly cost of war. Considering the cur-rent situation everywhere, I understand that peace does not come with the use of weap-ons or by increasing military troops to fight against terror. These actions do not only make the situation worse, but they destroy the lives of more people and create more destruction.

Living in a war-torn country like Af-ghanistan is a perfect example that “war cannot bring peace.” Poverty, corruption and terrorism are worsening our lives ev-ery day and every second. We have tried to bring peace by waging war for more than 40 years. War has not worked. So the Afghan Peace Volunteers have formed a commu-nity at the Borderfree Community Center of Nonviolence in which weapons and war are banned! We reject hatred, revenge and killing because we believe that nonviolence can change Afghanistan and the world.

Recently, on 21 of September 2015,

Janet’s review:The Last Thousand unfolds during

America’s final year of military occupation in Afghanistan. And even though since the book’s writing America has reversed its position and decided to leave as many as 10,000 troops on the ground, many feel that is a token compromise.

The book is really a story about Mare-fat School and the struggles and opinions of six members of that school. Marefat’s mis-sion is to educate its community’s youth, both boys and girls, and introduce them to a secular curriculum, civic participation, and the arts. The Marefat community has embraced the U.S. and flourished under its presence; they stand to lose the most when that protection disappears. Through the eyes of these characters, Stern presents a portrait of Afghanistan, American occupa-tion, and the different ways people in the Marefat community have faced the last thirty years and their hopes and willingness to fight for a future of peace and tolerance.

The Last Thousand tells the story of what any foreign war leaves behind. Stern’s book is comparable to the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature writer, Svet-lana Alexievich’s book “Zinky Boys” which tells the story of the Soviet war in Afghanistan. Both books use a compelling testimo-nial account of war, by which the narrative carries the reader to the scene and its personal effect on

bread. I visited his house and heard the sad stories of his family members who had fled Kabul to Pakistan because of war and social inequalities. Their stories brought tears to my eyes and, at that moment, my whole life changed forever.

I saw a very different world through my people’s eyes in Quetta. I saw how hard poor people work to build a peaceful life for their families and others. I realized that immigration is not a long-term solution for refugees. When I returned to Kabul, I visited more Afghan families who were affected by the trauma of war and I decided to start a new life.

The realization that not everyone has the privilege to choose where they are born and what type of job they will have makes me feel compelled to use my time and ef-forts in ways that support positive change in this world and bring some happiness in my people’s lives. As a result, I started a new life and began to work with the Afghan Peace Volunteers to help the most vulnerable families and street kids in Afghanistan. We created the Borderfree Community Center of Nonviolence, a place for 100 street kids to study and join us in our long term, people-

The book’s blurb:Under the protection of foreign forces, a

special place has flourished in Afghanistan. The Marefat School is an award-winning institution in the Western slums of Kabul, built by one of the country's most vulner-able minority groups, the Hazara. Marefat educates both girls and boys, embraces the arts, and teaches students to question the world around them, interrogate their lead-ers, and be active citizens in their quickly-changing country. As the United States withdraws from Afghanistan, this commu-nity is left behind, unprotected.

Acclaimed journalist Jeffrey E. Stern ex-plores the stakes of war through the eyes of those touched by Marefat: Aziz Royesh, the school's daring founder and leader; a moth-er of five who finds freedom in literacy; a clever mechanic; a self-taught astronomer; the school's security director; and several intrepid students who carry Marefat's mis-sion to the streets. We see how Marefat has embraced the U.S. and blossomed under its presence; and how much it stands to lose when that protection disappears.

The Last Thousand tells the story of what we leave behind when our foreign wars end, presenting the promise, as well as the peril, of our military adventure abroad. Stern presents a nuanced and fascinating portrait of the complex history of Afghani-stan, American occupation, and the ways in which one community rallies together in compelling, heartbreaking, and inspiring detail.

Last year I visited Quetta, Pakistan. I remember the white snow and cold wind when an Afghan refugee boy came up to me and asked for 10 Kaldar to buy himself some

Editor’s note: Janet is a personal friend of The Last Thousand’s author, Jeffrey Stern. She arranged to receive an advanced copy of his book which will be released on Janu-ary 26, 2016.

the International Day of Peace, the Afghan Peace Volunteers launched a Campaign called: #Enough! GEN – a long-term people movement to abolish war. We, the people of the human family, agree to abolish war. We renounce all violence and wars and agree never to resort to war in any circumstance.

We are tired of war costing us every-thing and resolving nothing. We abolish war by forming small, local peace communities of two or more persons in which we agree to ban all kinds of weapons and wars. We con-nect with the human family across all bor-ders to build a critical mass of egalitarian relationships and autonomous, nonviolent alternatives for every aspect of life, not only opting out of war, but also opting out of the violence of global warming and inequalities which the same elite impose on us by force. We heal, living differently and working to-gether for a green and equal world without war.

#Enough! We want to abolish war. We in-vite you to sign ‘The People’s Agreement to Abolish War’ at http://enough.ourjourney-tosmile.com/wordpress/sign-petition/

the common man and woman. The reader is challenged by the personal accounts to ponder if not able to conclude the answer to the questions, “is war necessary to have peace” and “when we launch our foreign wars do we inevitably raise in people the desire for things they cannot have forever”?

Peace and justice for all is a noble rally-ing cry, but does it resemble the desire to be happy…a fluid state of being…obtainable but difficult to sustain and at what price. Whatever the reader’s opinion about the right or wrongness of America’s war in Af-ghanistan before reading the book, they will not be able to close the book without some soul searching. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote about the Biblical story of the Good Samari-tan, “The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?..the good Sa-maritan reversed the question, If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?” I ask myself this question: If I do not stop to help what will happen to me?

Jeffrey E. Stern wrote the book he says not to answer the question, but to ask the question. “I wanted to put the book out there and see what people said.” He told me in an interview. Let Jeff know at his publisher’s website: The Last Thousand, Jeffery E. Stern, St. Martin’s Press. http://jeffreyestern.com/the-last-thousand

About the author: Hoor Arifi is a former student of Star and a peace activist. He is currently attending high school and plans to study peacebuilding when he begins university.

About the reviewer: Janet Brongers is a regular reader of the Interstellar Bulletin and the former Admissions Director for the American University of Afghanistan. She and her husband lived in Afghanistan from 2007-2009. She has recently retired from 40 years as an ESL instructor and is living in the U.S.

# Enough ! The journey that helped change my life

Book Review of The Last Thousand by Jeffrey Stern

December 26th, 2015

Vol.1, No. 20Personal Essays

Page 3

money was four days of his mother’s mea-ger earnings. How could he go home with empty hands? While he sat on the ground crying, a king and his bodyguard crossed the warm, dry plain. As they neared the boy, the king got off his horse and asked him, “What are you doing in this lonely desert? And why are you crying?”

The little boy answered the king with polite and kind words and told the whole story about what happened to him. The king took out his own money and said, “I found your money.” The young boy couldn’t believe his ears, his face became flushed and he felt a little hope. But when he took a closer look at the money, as he never lied to anyone, he thanked the king and rejected the money. He said, “But it isn’t mine, your majesty, and I can’t take

for him to survive was to take his medi-cations on time. When his medicine was finished, his son needed to travel three hours away from home to buy more for his father.

On his way to the city, the son thought about his poor family and won-dered how he could be the man his father needed him to be. When he reached into his pocket, he discovered that the mon-ey was gone. He looked inside and saw only the light coming from a hole of his pocket. The little boy felt hopeless and began to search desperately for his miss-ing money.

While looking for the money, the boy was thinking about his sick father and wondering what would happen to the old man if he could not buy his medicine. The

I pressed the accelerator either too hard or too soft. When I saw a car coming towards me from a long dis-tance ahead, I turned the car out of the road and let them pass. I realized that I had already passed a long dis-tance driving. I focused on the road so intently so that I would not cause any damage to the car. But what could I do with my brother’s abra-sive shouting? His yelling distracted and disturbed me.

Unfortunately, I reached a point which was not an area for an inexpe-rienced driver - especially for some-one who struggled to properly ad-just the accelerator with a talkative, distracting and angry teacher. The road became like a labyrinth. I had no choice, I had to take my chance. As the road was maze-like and hilly, I had to accelerate to reach the top of the hill. However, as an inexperi-enced driver, I did not know that the top of the hill was not straight. I was overwhelmed by the curvy roads, my brother’s harsh and noisy commen-tary, and the anxiety of maintaining proper acceleration while climbing a hill. By the time I reached the top of the hill, I realized that the road took a sharp turn. But it was too late. A few meters ahead, there was a mulberry tree on the side of the road. I was un-able to adjust the accelerator and the side of the car crashed with the tree. Finally, I could stop the car just af-ter the crash. God blessed me! I was safe. And my first driving experience came to an end.

expect to become a teacher, mostly I was interested to secure a job that was easy and paid the most money. Surely teach-ing is neither easy nor high-paying. In a country like Afghanistan, teachers have the lowest salaries and most difficult duty. Although there are teachers who earn good salaries through their knowl-edge and perseverance, it would take too much time for somebody like me to reach that position. But now, my motivation to become a teacher is mostly because I feel myself a non-separable member of the academic society. I have learned to serve.

With this direction, I really hope to become a university lecturer in the near future in order to interact more with the motivated and ambitious students who want to bring positive changes in their lives and environment. I am a student of International Relations and by next year I will graduate. But at the university level I would like to teach English. Study-ing English is compulsory for most of the fields at the university level in Afghani-stan. I would be very glad to become an English instructor. As a university lectur-er, I can be in touch with more students, those who have specific goals from learn-ing English. I become very happy to see that the youth are developing and they are following their goals. If I become a university lecturer, I can achieve better experiences, and I think I can be a good friend for the students who want to make a change.

Once upon a time in a very far village, there was a poor family with a man, his wife and their twelve-year-old son. The old man became sick and the only way

I can still clearly remember the first day when my brother took me for my first driving experience. He wanted to teach me how to drive a car. We had a white Toyota Sara-cha. It was a sunny afernoon in late summer in my homeland, a hilly and mountainous area. Driving there is really a challenge because of its narrow and twisty roads. It was the first time that I grabbed the steering wheel as a driver.

My body was trembling and a sense, deep in my heart, was tell-ing me, “Go ahead man, you can do it.” My brother switched off the car, took the key out of ignition and gave it to me. He said, “You have to start from the very beginning. Go ahead and start it. Let me see how you can switch it on.” I slowly took the key and inserted it in the ignition. I turned the car on and pressed the accelerator several times for a test.

Since we were in a quiet area out of the city, I did not have any ten-sion regarding busy streets. My only concern was the twisty and bumpy roads. But I had no choice, I had to start. The car had a manual trans-mission, so driving was more diffi-cult. So, I put the car into gear, slow-ly released the clutch and started driving. Oh, it is nice being a driver! But regulating the accelerator was challenging. I could not adjust the accelerator properly and this made my brother mad. He was talking and talking and sometimes even shout-ing for me to be careful. “Take this hand, go ahead, be careful, what you are doing,” he was screaming. Since he was my elder brother, you know, because of respect, I could not tell him to shut up and let me drive. I continued driving anyhow.

I am a calm, quiet and non-talk-ative person. I rarely involve myself in people`s discussions or casual talks. Normally, I prefer to stay quiet or to only speak when I am asked to. Most of the time, in response to somebody`s words, I reply with just a smile. Usually, this is not a conscious choice, it is just my nature.

Since becoming a teacher, I have discovered that I am a totally different person in my classes. I become very talk-ative, friendly, sociable, delightful and an active participant in my environment. I communicate with members of the class, I ask other teachers for suggested teach-ing skills, and I engage freely in discus-sions. Sometimes I create a subject for discussion. I am much happier in my class and finally my class is where I feel I really exist.

At first, I was not very interested in teaching. In 2010 when I started teach-ing, I was not prepared. But since I had an A grade in my certificate and I had good English skills, I decided to join that center as a teacher. At the time, I was in the tenth grade of high school. That ex-perience was not a very successful one. On one hand, I was very young and in-experienced and, on the other hand, the educational center where I taught had no specific program for teachers. After five months I left that center and did not con-tinue to teach English for a long while.

Then in 2014, I started to teach Eng-lish Speaking Skills to an acquaintance and one more student. When I started teaching privately, I understood that I am a good teacher and able to be an effective person. I was respected as a teacher and that encouraged me to continue teach-ing. I taught speaking skills in other centers for a while. A few months ago, I applied for teaching at Star Educational Society, and after passing the Teacher Training course, I was accepted as a teacher at Star.

Teaching has been the best experi-ence of my life. I started by teaching pri-mary classes and in the previous semes-ter I had a Prep One class. In addition, I had a special conversation class as well. I am glad that I become an instructor of English language. By teaching English to young students, I hope to pave the path toward a better education for them. I do my best for my students to help them learn English and I usually give them the vision that English is not just a language, but it is a necessary skill for a better edu-cation and a brighter future.

Actually, when I was younger, I didn’t

it.”The king was impressed with the

boy’s honesty, “This is your money. I just found it right over there a few minutes ago.”

“Mine wasn’t that much, sir. But thank you. I will keep searching and may-be I will find it,” said the boy.

In the time that the king and the little boy were talking, the king’s bodyguard was watching and listening. He was also impressed. He came closer to the boy, took the little boy’s money out of his pocket and said to the king, “My lord! On the way, my things had fallen down and when I got off my horse to pick them up I found this money too.” The boy con-firmed that it was his money and the bodyguard returned it to him. The king was so impressed. He touched the boy’s shoulder and took out his money again, “I insist that you take and accept my money as a gift for your honesty.”Follow Nematullah's blog here: https://ahangosh.wordpress.com/

About the author: Nematullah Ahangosh is a high school junior and a Star alumnus. He is a passionate writer and plans to study computer science in university.

About the author: Mohammad Hadi Shaikhzada is a Star alumnus and current teacher at Star’s A Branch. He graduated from the Department of Civil Engineering at Jodhpur National University in India.

About the author: Farid Shefayi recently joined Star Educational Society as a teacher. He studies Political Science and International Relations at Ibne-Sina University. He has worked as an English teacher and private tutor in the past and aspires to be a diplomat and university lecturer in the future.

The Honest ChildA Short Story

My first

driving experience

Teaching becomes addicting

Page 4

The moment on top of an Afghan mountain peak was one of bittersweet triumph for 20-year-old Shopirai Ot-monkhel and her friend Zahra Karimi Nooristani, 18. The budding mountain-eers from Kabul beamed with pride as they held up the Afghan flag after climb-ing to heights no Afghan woman had ever reached.

Nooristani — a shy athlete who ear-lier this year would blush and mumble when asked a question — spoke elo-quently about how she'd discovered women can learn to do or be anything, whether it's mountain climbing or be-coming a physician or teacher.

The sheer joy they felt during the dif-ficult climb was a first, Otmonkhel said. She realized during the expedition that Afghan women have limitless potential — but too few opportunities.

The pair were part of a 16-day ex-pedition in August with 11 other young Afghan women, trained by a nonprofit called Ascend, based in Norfolk, Va.

Nooristani and Otmonkhel scaled two peaks, including a 16,500-ft. moun-tain — taller than any in the continental United States. They were among seven Afghan team members who made it to the top of that peak.

They named it "The Lion Daughters of Mir Samir" — a nod to the moun-tain's scenic province of Panjshir, which translates to "five lions" — as well as the legendary, cliff-faced mountain in the distance that has daunted even veteran climbers and was the subject of a classic 1958 memoir, A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush, by British travel writer Eric Newby.

The young Afghan women's jubila-tion was tempered by the fact that nei-ther peak they scaled is the highest in Afghanistan. That one, which they'd originally planned to climb, is 24,580-ft. Mt. Noshaq, in the far northeast along the border with Pakistan. But the plan had to be abandoned because of security concerns.

Ascend founder and director Ma-rina Kielpinski LeGree, whose program teaches leadership skills through athlet-ics, says her experience this past year showed that empowering Afghan women in their war-ravaged, ultra-conservative, patriarchal country is far more difficult than summiting any mountain.

The young women's families, for example, were uneasy at the prospect of their daughters traveling without male guardians, given the presence of male porters who accompanied the expedi-tion. Ascend worked intensively with the families and made sure they got to know

But the highlight of the expedition came when they reached the summit, a moment captured by an HBO/VICE film crew.

The young women, who often clashed with each other and their trainers during their year of training, also learned to be there for one another. Nooristani carried her year-younger sister, Rabia, after she injured her knee during the ex-pedition. When teammate Diba Azizi, 17, lost her balance and took a nasty fall off a boulder on the way down from base camp, a male coach scooped her up and rushed her to a clearing. Diba's team-mates gathered around and urged her to be strong as Drinkwater wiped blood off the teen's forehead.

"It's okay," Drinkwater encour-aged her. "Breathe, keep breathing, keep breathing."

Azizi suffered the expedition's worst

On Saturday, 21 Qawos, for the first time women participated in Saudi Ara-bia’s election process. This election was held for city councils where seats in 284 municipal councils will be elected. The first city council election was held in 2001 where men were the only partici-pants in the election.

According to Zamana Radio, there are 7,000 candidates in this election whereas 900 of the candidates are women. City and Village Councils are the only members in Saudi Arabia who are elected however they have limited authority. Men and women voted sepa-rately and Saudi Arabian officials have announced that nearly 1.5 million peo-ple registered to cast their votes in this election of which 120,000 are women.

In September 2011, Malik Abdullah son of Abdul Aziz, former king of Saudi Arabia, announced that women in this

the program's male trainers and manag-ers, who ended up serving as guardians.

"It just reinforces the fact that we have to be flexible," LeGree says about the exhaustive preparations and sud-den shift from Mt. Noshaq to the lower range in Panjshir. But, she emphasizes, "The program isn't about climbing the mountain. It's about the experience on the way."

It's also about keeping the girls safe, LeGree says.

Panjshir, the province where they ended up climbing, has a government loyal to Kabul and is in firm control of its districts, which are free of the Taliban. Even so, the entire expedition there had to be conducted in secret, with an armed police escort for the young women's safe-ty.

The Afghan team's leader in Panjshir, Danika Gilbert, a professional guide from Ridgway, Colo., and fellow guide Emilie Drinkwater, of Salt Lake City, became surrogate mothers for the girls, helping them through homesickness as well as injuries — including sprained ankles and cuts — and altitude sickness.

Drinkwater and Gilbert said they'd never seen so many injuries on expedi-tions they've led before. Both believe the high injury rate had to do with the girls not understanding the consequences of moving carelessly or too fast.

Many also had never spent a night away from home. Plus they had no train-ing or experience in snow or at altitude.

But many moments were rewarding. Drinkwater says a highlight was helping the two strongest team members — Ot-monkhel and Nooristani — on a techni-cal climb on loose rock, with much of the communication via hand gestures be-cause of the language barrier.

"They did great," Drinkwater says. "They climbed smoothly and carefully, and when they arrived at the next big ledge system, we switched into a differ-ent style of climbing where I had them both at the end of a rope — so, six feet apart from each other climbing on one rope. And this was all completely new and unfamiliar to them, so it was a bit of learning curve that they picked up re-ally quickly." The Ascend team included accomplished athletes. Half of them are also on Afghanistan's national women's taekwondo team and relied on a martial arts training regimen to keep fit during the expedition.

Using donated and purchased cram-pons brought from the U.S., the girls crossed glaciers and learned how to climb in snow.

injuries and had to be carried off the mountain on horseback. She received stitches on her forehead and a bandage for a sprained ankle at a Panjshiri hospi-tal.

For many of the young women, the difficulties of the expedition were miti-gated by the beauty of the Panjshir Val-ley, where they'd never been before. It was the home of Northern Alliance com-mander Ahmad Shah Massoud, who op-posed the Taliban and was assassinated by al-Qaida operatives two days before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

But they were eager to reunite with their families, even as many worried about returning to Kabul. An hour be-fore they arrived in the capital, a suicide bomber struck the capital, dampening their excitement about going home.

A few of the climbers worried that their communities would not accept them back because they'd spent nights on the mountains without mahrams or male guardians from their families.

Others — including Diba Azizi, who became engaged — dropped off the team.

Since the expedition, some team members have visited schools in the Panjshir Valley and Kabul to lecture about their experiences. Their presenta-tions have sparked so much interest that scores of Afghan schoolgirls have asked to join the Ascend program. But LeGree says she only has funds and staff to han-dle 20, who she's since signed up.

The new girls are now training with 10 of the original expedition members, LeGree says. She plans next year to se-lect the best few to scale Mt. Noshaq, the peak that eluded the team this year.

"It's out there and the mountain needs to be climbed," LeGree says. "And everybody wants to go do it."

country will have the right to partici-pate in elections and cast their votes. This decision has been implemented after four years. There have not been any concerns about this decision in the last four years.

Saudi Arabia has a population of 31 million and it is a country where wom-en do not have the privilege of their full rights. Driving, traveling and working without permission of their father or husband are among the rights they are deprived of.

The government system of Saudi Arabia is an Absolute Islamic Monar-chy but when Salman came into king-ship (sultanate), women gained some privileges of their rights in the social sphere.

For Young Afghan Women, Scaling Mountain Peaks Brings Highs And Lows

Women vote for first time in Saudi Arabia

December 26th, 2015

Written by: Soraya NelsonSource: http://www.npr.org/2015/12/19/458966111/for-young-afghan-women-scaling-mountain-peaks-brings-highs-and-lows

Translated by: Mohammad AsifSource: Etilaatrooz

Vol.1, No. 20 News

Page 5

The conference on "Migration, Opportunities, and Challenges" was held by the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation on Tuesday in Kabul. The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation declared the aim of this conference is changing the migration challenges into opportunities.

At the meeting, Sayed Alemi Balkhi, the Afghan Refugees and Repatriation minister, said that the special solutions strategy for Afghan refugees will be pro-vided and, in order to be implemented by 2017, will require 553 million dollars. So far, more than half of the budget is committed and a number of the strate-gies are in effect and being implement-ed.

Mr. Balkhi said that this year about 300 thousand refugees returned to the country and 150 thousand refugees have entered Europe. The main cause of migration is insecurity, Balkhi said.

Ms. Maria, the head of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Afghanistan and a speaker at the seminar, said that economic issues, insecurity, fear of pressure from the opposition and their recruitment, and the violation of human rights are the reasons refugees are fleeing to foreign countries.

She added that Afghanistan wit-nessed a large number of civilian casu-alties over the past year and reported that 29 out of 34 provinces have been

Kabul University has separate dor-mitories for girls and boys and there are now more than 3,000 students living in these two dormitories.

In the girl’s dormitory there are around 1,600 students, most of them are from Badakhshan, Ghazni, Takhar, and Daikondy provinces. In the girl’s dormi-tory, all of employees are female, from managers to teachers, cooks, and clean-ers are all female. Sports equipment and facilities are also available in the dormi-tory. Whoever is interested can partici-pate in sport exercises in the dormitory.

However, students faced many problems the most important of which are:

First, low quality food. Unfortu-nately, in this dormitory diversified menus are not available and the foods are heavy at night. The acting dormitory head said that the menu is approved by the president, so the Ministry of Higher Education doesn’t have the authority to change the menu. Students eat the same food at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In every lunch students have rice. The

Being a refugee is not a choice but a last-ditch bid for survival. The journey is fraught with danger, and gaining a foot-hold in a foreign culture is a difficult task. Unaccompanied minors are particularly vulnerable, which is why, on paper at least, there are safeguards to protect them. For instance, authorities must prioritize their identification and registration, and refer them to special hosting facilities.

In reality, however, unaccompanied minors arriving in Greece are often nei-ther identified nor recorded correctly by the authorities, leaving them to fend for themselves in unfamiliar environs.

Greece’s track record on receiving unaccompanied minors was already abysmal back in 2012 with only about 10 percent processed as they should be. As arrivals have surged over the last couple of years, these numbers have gotten even worse. Amid the chaos of the reception centers, we’ve seen unaccompanied mi-nors registered as members of families with whom they have no connection, or as adults when they have no proof of identity or birthdate. For instance in Ath-ens a year ago, a team from the Greek Fo-rum of Refugees met a 14-year-old Syrian who was staying in a flat with a group of family friends. Alone and lost, he told us he wanted to reunite with his brother in Sweden. In the absence of official mecha-nisms, we connected the boy to legal aid groups and organizations running psy-chosocial services for children, where he received help dealing with the stress and

affected by war and witnessed internal displacement of people. Lack of em-ployment and facilities are other factors of migration, said Ms. Maria.

According to the UNHCR, she said that after Syria, Afghans are the second largest category of refugees to Europe and about 20 percent of immigrants are Afghans.

UNHCR chief in Afghanistan, Ms. Maria said that the majority of Afghan refugees who are moving towards Eu-rope faced severe economic problems in Greece and the Office of the UNHCR found that many of these people spent all of their assets and resources to reach Greece.

Ms. Maria said that some of the European countries intend to reduce or cut off aid to Afghanistan because of the presence of Afghan refugees in their countries. She said that it is an irratio-nal action and said that they should help to resolve the problem in the ori-gin country. Mark Bowden, the UN's deputy representative for Afghanistan, said that the United Nations’ coopera-tion will continue and they ask the at-tention of the countries to this issue.

In this conference, the books en-titled Opportunities and Challenges, published by the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations, were also distrib-uted.

concern is that if students don’t get more food diversification, it can lead to malnutrition. Although the authorities responded to the stu-dent demands, after a short time the aforementioned problems be-gan again. A few students who have good economic situation can solve their problem, but the rest of stu-dents still face many problems.

The Ministry of Higher Education rejects students' criticisms in relation to food and other issues. If the Ministry of Higher Education does not address the problems of students, the students say that they cannot learn effectively.

The second problem is that several students are living in one room. The girl’s dormitory has the capacity of 1,200 students, and currently there are 1,600 students live in it. Each room is gener-ally designed for four or five people; though dormitory officials have allowed six or even more students in each room and that has caused problems. For ex-ample, eight students live in one room, which disrupts the studying atmosphere and disrupts the sense of calmness. However, every night girls study their lessons with mobile light in order to not interrupt others. Fortunately, the Minis-try of Higher Education has heard this problem and said that new dormitories will need to be constructed to solve this problem. The students want the Minis-try of Higher Education to address and solve their problems.

trauma of the perilous journey.We stumbled across this lost teenager

purely by chance. So many other minors, victims of an incompetent system, are still out there and don’t know where to seek help. Even minors who are registered properly often have to wait for months or even years before they reunite with their families or are granted appropri-ate guardianship. During this time they reside in inadequate facilities with insuf-ficient resources that cannot meet their needs in terms of shelter, education, or health services.

This extended wait time is even more problematic for minors who are almost 18 when they arrive. There is no provision to continue care for them once they turn 18, at which time they age out of the system, forcing them to become undocumented, and hence unprotected. Left to fend for themselves without any financial means or support, they run the risk of becom-ing impoverished or pushed into forced labor.

In this humanitarian crisis, special attention should be paid to underage children to guarantee their rights and safety. If their parents are not there to as-sure them a proper childhood, then the state should give them the opportunity to build themselves a decent future. All refu-gees deserve the opportunity to thrive, particularly the youngest among them.

The Greek Forum of Refugees is a grantee of the Open Society Foundations.

The first conference on "Migration, Opportunities and Challenges" in Kabul

The life situation of girl’s dormitory in Kabul University

Unaccompanied Minors Struggle to Navigate a Chaotic Asylum System

December 26th, 2015

Translated by: Jumakhan RahyabSource: Etilaatrooz Daily

Translated by: Zahra AmiriSource: Daily Open Society, 609

Written by: Yonous Muhammadi, president of the Greek Forum of Refugees.Republished from: Open Society Afghanistanhttps://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/unaccompanied-minors-struggle-navi-gate-chaotic-asylum-system

Vol.1, No. 20News

Page 6 December 26th, 2015

Vol.1, No. 20 A Ref lection on the Film

In the case of the followers of the People’s Temple, the once promised “socialist paradise” turned to be their burial place. The guns which were supposed to protect them, were

pointed at them. Such Apostolic Socialism which promised that “those who remained drugged with the opiate of religion had to be brought to enlightenment” – socialism, reversed in bearing poisons to kill them. Like the deluded Germans during the Second World War, the over 900 followers of Jones were dreaming of their Utopia in Jonestown in the north of Guyana. These devotees had suffered from a state of self-alienation, a state in which due to the overwhelming power of propaganda and the effects of mass-psychology, individuals do not possess individual independent personalities. Even at a time when these deluded individuals had the chance, they would not be able to decide independently.

I have been in situations where my personal individual independency is en-tirely lost in what the crowd chooses to do. When I was among the crowd, a collective psychological pressure took away the pow-er of individual decision from me. What-ever the crowd did, be it breaking into the shops and looting the city, would be eas-ily adapted by the individual self. This is partly because the responsibility is divided and thus a bad and immoral act is no lon-ger received as seriously by the agent as it applies to him while being alone. In such circumstances one person thinks for all. And one person is the head and soul and the power of the whole community. People thought they were exceptionally special as Jim Jones offered something bigger for them by taking them to their utopia.

As the real face of Jim was uncovered, his paradoxical sexual ambitions and cun-ning personality became public due to the media and Jim fled from California. Jim decided to take away his followers to Guyana and call his city “Jonestown.” In Jonestown, there was only Jim’s voice was talking to his devotees even in the middle of the night. “Give us our liberty or give us our death,” he would say. He was an-swering and talking and thinking for the entire town. The most forbidden thing for the crowd was to talk about “wishing to be alive.”

When nuances of disagreement took root among a few of the followers, he used force to maintain law and order. Such a re-action is what some governments do too. Most of the regimes use force and coercive methods when they happen to sense that their ideological propaganda is not work-ing well.

Under such pressures, like the last days of Hitler, Jim was changed a lot. He was taking drugs and was getting paranoid. “We always need be vigilant about our movement. We had to build our city out-side of the racism and cruelty of the US.”

In an interview with a senior citizen who had survived from the collective sui-cide, the following statements were made, “I saw equality about races, the good

things they were doing. Black church led by the white minister. He understood how it was to be treated differently. He would say sell your home and don’t depend on the 20% but give the money to the church. We would feel that if we gave our homes to the church, we would be taken care of.”

In the course of human history, re-ligion, besides being a magnificent tool

f o r l i b e r a t i n g people has also endangered their lives and often brought atrocities and tor-ture instead of the fascinating dreams. The historic city of death (Teotihuacan) in north western New Mexico, the general massacres of ethnic cleansing under the

slogan of Nazi in Germany (Auschwitz), the religious purification of Hazaras by Abdul Rahman Khan in 1890’s under the name of Sharia in Afghanistan are some of the very few similar ordeals of what religious and ideological dreams have imposed upon the human generations in recent centuries.

Part 2

About the author: Ali Reza Yasa is the founder and Chairman

of Star Educational Society. He is the only instructor who

has been teaching at Star for the past 17 years. He has

an M.A. in Central Asian Studies from American

University of Central Asia with a concentration in

Anthropology. He also holds the Editor-in-Chief

position of the Interstellar Bulletin, Star’s Weekly.

Sohrab Sepehri was born in Kashan on Octo-ber 7, 1928; a very talented artist and a gifted poet, Sepehri shot to stardom with the publication of The Water’s Footfall which was subsequently fol-lowed by The Traveler and The Green Volume. Sepehri died of blood cancer in Tehran in 1980.

Sepehri translated speech into a language hitherto unknown to the Iranians. A pioneer poet, he utilized western forms and deconstructed the normal way of poetry. His use of new forms in po-etry makes him complicated to understand. Yet, readers find themselves so attached to him and his poetry that there remains no room for boredom. Readers are so immersed in his poetry that they sometimes forget the world of realities and expe-rience a fresh recognition of man and the whole universe.

Sohrab was the Child of Nature. Just like a child nestled in the bosom of his mother, Sohrab finds rest in the bosom of nature. He regards great respect for nature and whatever is relevant to it. He looks at Nature and the creatures within it in the

manner of a lover who sees no faults in his beloved. He is a true worshipper who loves God and His creatures, believing that one has to plant the flower of love in his heart for the entire universe. To Sohrab, love is everything.

Well-versed in Buddhism, mysticism and western traditions, he mingled the western concepts with eastern ones, thereby creating a kind of poetry unsurpassed in the history of Persian literature. To him, new forms are new means to express his thoughts and feel-ings. His poetry is, indeed, like a journey. Every time you read him you understand him differently. There is a bottomless ocean of meanings in his poetry.

“Friend” is a poem written by Sohrab Sepehri that was an elegy for his friend and fellow poet, Forough Farrokhzad, who was killed in a car accident in 1967. With her death, Sepehri lost not only a close friend, but a fel-low poet who shared much of his world vision and sensibilities, both emotional and poetic. The death of Forough Farrokhzad had a pro-found impact on Iranian literati in general, and Sepehri in particular.

FriendShe was greatAnd belonged to the present timeAnd had affinity with all bright horizons.And fathomed the language of the earth and water.

Her voiceSounded like the sad tone of truth.Her eyelidsPointed To the heartbeats of elements.Her fingersLeafed throughThe generous air.And she directed kindnessTowards our hearts.

She was the image of her solitude.And for the mirror she interpretedThe most amorous moments of her own Time.Like rain, she was full of fresh repetitions.And like the treesShe grew with the blessing of light.

She called out the wind's childhood.And tied the strings of wordsTo the latch of water.And one night she enunciatedThe Green Message of LoveSo vividlyThat we touched the emotion of the earthAnd felt fresh like a bucket of murmuring water.

Again and again we saw herBasket in handGoing to pluck a cluster of glad tidings.

Alas, She failed to sit in full view of the pigeonsAnd walked to the brink of NilAnd stretched out beyond the patient Lights.And she did not mind at all How lonely we would feelTo eat applesAt the intervals of the distressing closing of doors!

(Translated by Ismail Salami)

دوستبزرگ بود

و از اهالی امروز بودو باتمام افق های باز نسبت داشت

و لحن آب و زمین را چه خوب می فهمیدصداش به شکل

حزن پریشان واقعیت بودو پلک هاش مسیر نبض عناصر را به ما نشان داد

و دست هاشهوای صاف سخاوت را

ورق زدو مهربانی را

به سمت ما کوچاند به شکل خلوت خود بودو عاشقانه ترین انحنای وقت خودش را

برای آینه تفسیر کردو او به شیوه باران پر از طراوت

تکرار بودو او به سبک درخت

میان عافیت نور منتشر می شدهمیشه کودکی باد را صدا می کرد

همیشه رشته صحبت رابه چفت آب گره می زد

برای ما یک شبسجود سبز محبت راچنان صریح ادا کرد

که ما به عاطفه سطح خاک دست کشیدیمو مثل یک لهجه یک سطل آب تازه شدیم

و بارها دیدیمکه با چه قدر سبد

برای چیدن یک خوشه ی بشارت رفتولی نشد

که روبروی وضوح کبوتران بنشیندو رفت تا لب هیچ

و پشت حوصله نورها دراز کشیدو هیچ فکر نکرد

که ما میان پریشانی تلفظ درهارای خوردن یک سیب

چه قدر تنها ماندیم

Page 7December 26th, 2015

When I turned 9, like the girls of my age in the village and beyond, I had to observe fast. The boys had it easy;

they could wait until they were 16 before having to do the same.

I was young, quick on my feet, and hence the family shepherd. Shepherding was exhausting work. I had to go up and down the hills all day, chase and look af-ter the herd. It didn’t make fasting was any easier.

The summer days were long, the Sun shone bright and hot like the Sun of roz-e-qiyamat. You can imagine what it must have been like to eat and drink nothing from dawn to dusk. My tongue would dry up and stick to the palate of my mouth.

Ibrahim is the one guy who I know killed his wife. He lives in the next village over, and is related to your grandfather. He is wicked.He beat up his wife. He beat her up so

bad, her young daughters had to arrange transport to take her to Kabul for treat-ment. She didn’t make it. She died on the way to Kabul and the vehicle returned her lifeless body to the village.

I had met his wife. She was hard work-ing – dokhtar-e-watan. Like the other poor women in the village, she labored hard, spent her days working the farms. She looked after his horse and cattle.

We were shocked to hear about her death. They lied to us about it. They said she had suddenly fallen ill and passed away. We still don’t know why he killed her.

The women who washed her body to prepare it for buri-al said the body was covered in marks and bruises, especially on her head. The hit on the head was what probably killed her. Nobody asked him ques-tions or even tried to find out what had happened. They just took her and buried her body. That dog didn’t even attend the

To avoid exhaustion, I dipped my feet in the cold spring water, and poured water over my head before heading back into the Sun. I wouldn’t dare drink water or eat anything, or even think about it. If I did, I would be punished by my par-ents, and bring bad name to the family.

After observing fast all day, we gath-ered around the earth-oven where my late mother baked bread. We quenched all that thirst and hunger with a piece of bread, and water. Occasionally, mother made tea. In that hot weather, we would rather have that than anything oily. For Pash-Shawi we would eat bread with yoghurt. The food in Watan wasn’t good or plentiful to begin with. By observing fast, we just made it so much worse for ourselves.

funeral. Then it all went quiet.Her sister came over from Hotqol. She

screamed that her sister had been beaten to death. We believed her but could not do much. His daughters cried and screamed but they didn’t say much. This continued for a few days and then everyone returned to their lives. People stopped caring and then forgot what had happened.

Ibrahim later remarried. He is still alive and lives in the village. I hear his son has taken to banditry.*dokhtar = daughter*wantan = homeland*dokhtar-e-watan = daughter of the home-land

Vol.1, No. 20Literary

StoriesMy Grandmother

Told Me

27-28 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.

Sohrab Sepehri(1928-1980), notable

Iranian poet and painter

Saturday, December 26, 2015 Vol. 1, No. 20

About the interviewer: Rasool Ahmadi is a senior student of French Literature at Kabul University. He joined Star as a student in 2009 and he has been teaching at Star for the past 5 years. He also works as a translator. He together with some of his classmates translated a novel of Victor Hugo, 'Le dernier jour d'un condamné' from French to Dari, published by IFA.

n you briefly introduce yourself? My name is Assadullah Rahimi, I graduated from Habibia High School in 2005 and with my bachelor’s degree in Physics from Kabul University in 2009 where I did my thesis on electromagnetic waves. Now I am working as a Frequency Manage-ment Professional Member at Spectrum Management Department of Afghanistan Telecommunications Regulatory Author-ity (ATRA). In addition, I have the honor of serving my people as an English instruc-tor at Star Educational Society and being a member of Star Family.

How long have you been in these jobs? I have been working at ATRA for the past five years and at Star for more than six years.

Can you please give me some details? What is ATRA? Afghanistan Telecommu-nications Regulatory Authority (ATRA), is an independent Afghan government Regulatory agency. It functions within the framework of the Ministry of Communica-tions and Information Technology (MCIT) and is responsible to regulate, supervise, promote, and develop telecom services, and the telecom market in the country. The Spectrum Management department is responsible for allocating and assign-ing the radio frequency Bands for broad-casters, GSM operators, internet service providers, and others. Broadcasters (TV channels, FM Radios) As a Frequency Management Professional Member in the non- broadcasting section of Spectrum Management Department, I deal with fre-quency assignment for GSM/3G operators in Afghanistan.

What major activities have you done at STAR and ATRA? At Star, besides teach-ing my classes, I have worked as a team leader for Intermediate Classes, and in the Evaluation and Capacity Building team. At ATRA, besides my main duties, I have done research on the feasibility of Mobile Number Portability (MNP) implementa-tion in Afghanistan. MNP is a new mobile technology that enables mobile subscrib-ers to change their service providers with-out having to change their existing phone numbers if the subscribers are not satis-fied with the services of their service pro-vider. I have also participated as an Afghan delegate in several workshops, seminars, symposiums and meetings held in dif-ferent countries like Switzerland, China,

line training courses and attending high level regional and international meetings, and getting membership in one of Inter-national Telecommunication Union (ITU) study groups was not possible for me without knowing English.

What are some of your future goals? I have a short term and a long term goal. The short one is to apply for the Fulbright Scholarship and to do my graduate stud-ies in Master of Science in Telecommu-nication Management in one of the U.S. universities. The long term goal is to work as a Telecommunication Expert in Inter-national Telecommunication Union (ITU) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

How do you think you can accomplish your goals? To answer your question, I would just quote one of Walt Disney’s fa-mous sayings which says, “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” So I am doing my best to have the courage to pursue my dreams and to accomplish my goals.

When did a big change occur in your life? How did it influence you? I was studying school when the Taliban were ruling Af-ghanistan. There was no hope for getting an education. My life changed when the Taliban Regime collapsed and I transferred to Habibia High School. Finding new, hard-working and motivated classmates and a completely different educational environment influenced my life positively and motivated me to learn more.

What is an achievement that you are most proud of? I was selected as a mem-ber of Study Group 9 (SG9) of the Interna-tional Telecommunications Union (ITU), which is one of the oldest specialized agencies of the UN. The Study Groups of ITU’s Telecommunication Standardiza-tion Sector (ITU-T) assemble experts from around the world to develop international standards known as ITU-T Recommenda-tions which act as defining elements in the global infrastructure of information and communication technologies (ICTs). SG9

Japan, India, Pakistan, Thailand and Viet-nam.

How do you evaluate the situation of Telecommunications and Information Technology in Afghanistan? Fortunately, Afghanistan is one of the countries which have made great progress in a short period in telecommunication in the past 13 years. Previously, Afghans would have to travel to neighboring countries like Pakistan to make an international call. Since its re-birth in its modern form in April 2002, when the first private telecom company was authorized to provide mobile (GSM) services, the telecom sector in Afghanistan has witnessed an unprecedented and phe-nomenal growth and has become the big-gest revenue generating sector. Now there are five Mobile (GSM/3G) operators and more than 50 licensed Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the country. Telecom services (mostly mobile) are now available in all 34 provinces having their own satel-lite by the name of “Afghansat1” and mi-grating from analog to digital TV are other great achievements that Afghanistan has in this sector.

How did joining Star impact your life? In 2005, I learned about Star from my friends. When I came to Star for studying English, I met Mr. Yasa and I was really impressed by his English and his motivation. Passing the placement test, I got admission and studied one semester and then because of university entrance exam preparations, I left Star and joined back in 2007. In 2009 I earned my English diploma and started working as an English instructor at Star. My English skills are a privilege in my working career. The ability to do some on-

carries out studies on the use of telecom-munication systems in the distribution of television and sound programs supporting advanced capabilities such as ultra-high definition and 3D TV. My membership in SG9 is a huge step toward my future goals and makes me feel very proud.

You recently attended a workshop in Vietnam. What can you tell us about your experience there? Yes, actually it was an ITU symposium on Satellite which was preceded by a workshop on efficient use of Spectrum/Orbit resources. It was organized by ITU and the Ministry of In-formation and Communications of So-cialist Republic of Vietnam. For me, as a Frequency Spectrum Management Pro-fessional Member, it was very useful and I got a lot of experiences especially in the field of Spectrum Management. I learned new methods of frequency allocation, as-signment and got familiar with new inter-national standards.

What are your favorite hobbies and in-terests? I sometimes listen to music and go to gym. I am also interested in photog-raphy and playing soccer.

What is your message to students at Star? Star is not just a language center. It is a window of hope and aims to make youth shine brightly in the sky of education. Star students and teachers have secured great scholarships in some of the best universi-ties around the globe. So my message for students at Star is that they should follow the footsteps of those successful Star stu-dents and teachers and shine brighter in their educational and working careers.

“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them”

An interview with Assadullah Ghalib Rahimi, telecommunications expert and Star teacher

Editor-in-Chief: Ali Reza Yasa, ChairmanEditor: Kara LozierDesigner: Musa AutbinDistribution Manager: Najibullah Malikpoor 0785103920

Add: Star Avenue, Sabiqa Stop, Dehburi, Kabul.Phone: +93-785 10 39 20 +93-744 56 37 55Email: interstellarbulletin@gmail.com Website: http://www.star.edu.af

"...My English skills are a privi-lege in my working career and [many of my achievements would not have been possible] without

knowing English."