This morning, outside my daughter's first-grade classroom at Coe Elementary, I looked into the eyes of a tall man in a dark suit, a man with eyes so dark his pupils were lost, a man responsible for the killing of hundreds, if not thousands, and shook his hand. Tashakor, I said quietly, unsure of which syallable to stress. He replied in kind, warmly: thank you.
His name: Ustad Atta Mohammad Noor, the governor of Balkh Province in Afghanistan and a former schoolteacher / mujaheddin / warlord or freedom fighter, as you wish. Of all the provincial governors in that fragile, tormented country, Atta has been the most successful in keeping the Taliban at bay. The dollar amount of U.S. aid to his region was recently tripled.
On this first visit to the U.S., he (ostensibly) came to Coe today to thank the community -- particularly the 400+ students who sat before him on the lunchroom floor -- for aiding his people. Coe helped build a sister school for 1,000 girls in Balkh, in 2002 after the fall of the Taliban. Students, through a program run by former Seattle attorney Julie Bolz, continue to raise funds for, and exchange artwork with, this sister school.
What was Gov. Atta's agenda? Who knows? He was accompanied by several Afghan professors who are studying law at the UW and drafting legislation for their fledgling government. Atta has events at UW and Seattle University this week.
It is surprising that such a promiment figure would choose to visit Coe, asking for no media or special handling. He paid no mind to the camera crews (go here for a Seattle P-I article), although I've been told he travels under heavy guard in Afghanistan, and his schedule is not public. Al Quada has made several attempts on his life.
I hope he is genuine about his support for girls' education. I hope he protects the schools and teachers.
And I hope more Americans see the necessity of helping. A stable, educated Afghanistan is not just a good thing for Afghans, but for the world, for our children and their future. Go here for a rundown by Kurt Vollker on: 'Why Helping Afghanistan Matters." Some quotes:
"In 2001, when we went into Afghanistan and liberated it from the Taliban and al Qaeda, only some 900,000 children were enrolled in school. Today there are more than 5 million students in that country. More than 1.5 million of them are girls. We know the exact number of girls were in school in 2001 because that number was Zero . . . "
"We have to remember that we've already seen what can happen when Afghanistan becomes a failed state and a haven for terrorists--the export of violent extremism. This was Afghanistan under the Taliban, where not only was there brutal repression at home, but there was an open door for al Qaeda, using Afghan territory and facilities, to train thousand of extremists and terrorists."
"Although we've made substantial progress in eliminating places al Qaeda can call home, the simple truth is that this terrorist group is still out there, and still dangerous to people of good will, whether in Afghanistan, the wider region, Europe, or America."
My small contribution to the event: these lines from Jalaladin Muhammad Rumi, the beloved 13th-century poet from Balkh. When principal David Elliott recited them to Gov. Atta, his expression could be described as pleasant surprise.
Rumi is the best-selling poety in the U.S. today, 800 years after his birth, no doubt because he calls us to a unity beyond race, religion, and country. It seemed a fitting tribute.
Stay together, friends
Don’t scatter and sleep
Our friendship is made
of being awake.
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