Fieldnotes on Humanity

In my earlier blog post , I alluded to candle lighting, but I did not elaborate on it. The candle lighting is important specially at the night of 40th anniversary of t hose 80 (or more) people who lost their lives and more than 250 wounded on July 23, 2016 . In this post, I'm going to call your attention to some of its important aspects of lighting candles. I will explain why it is symbolically significant for Hazaras - and maybe others who sympathize with the cause - to simultaneously light candles in order to commemorate the lost ones' memories, while reemphasizing on their nonviolent movement against unjust and discriminatory policy of the central government. Symbolically, candle lighting is intrinsic to the quality of life, the very matter that the movement has based upon. It directly relates with the nature of our demands, and with our struggle against an autocratic management, which does not only listen to its citizens, but tacitly allows terrorists to kill our ...

Now, it is clear that we are battling with a government that is facing a crisis of legitimacy, that its leadership has lost its ethical credibility due to persistent lies and deceptions. What the  Enlightenment Movement, at this point, can do is to defiantly answer to government's demands and rules by using tools of civil disobedience. It does not have to be feigning illness to go to work, or resigning from a post; although these tactics are important, currently, it is unexpected and unacceptable for any Hazaras to resign from any government job in protest at its discriminatory policy. The Hazaras must stay in their posts in order to remain as a conduit of communication and information between people and government. Afghanistan has not experienced nonviolent movements before, therefore we have to look at other nonviolent movements in other countries. One of the most recent nonviolent movement took place in Iran in which the pro Green Movement  turned their demands and anger...

At this point, we all know what happened with the nonviolent Enlightenment Movement on July 23rd, 2016. The government is obstinately resistant to hear the movement's demands, not only that, but its security apparatus did not cooperate with peaceful protestors, and in some way, it showed a tacit green light to terrorist to kill the peaceful protesters. The numbers of casualties have increased, there are now over 90 dead and over 200 individuals fatally injured. Some are in critical condition and need to be flown to another country for better medical operation.  The movement's leadership has recently announced and warned the Afghan government that if there legitimate demands won't meet in near future, they are going to come back to the streets again. This time their tactics could be different than before, where government's tactic to block the streets with containers will not be enough.  While coming back to the streets is one of the options to raise our v...

I have been reading Goethe's poems every once in a while, and I found most of his poems, in symbolic form, mystical and transcendental, like the one below. I finally decided to translate the following poem from German into Farsi. I am not sure weather it is translated into Farsi already or not. I put it on my Farsi blog and asked my reader to comment on the translation, and I'd like to extend the same request here. I would welcome any comments and critiques. Gefunden Ich ging im Walde so für mich hin, und nichts zu suchen, das war mein Sinn. Im Schatten sah ich ein Blümchen stehn, wie Sterne leuchtend, wie Äuglein schön. Ich wollt es brechen, da sagt' es fein: Soll ich zum Welken Gebrochen sein? Ich grub's mit allen den Würzlein aus, zum Garten trug ich's am hübschen Haus. یافت شده در جنگلزاری قدم گذاشتم نه اینکه دنبال چیزی باشم همینطوری برای دل خودم نیتم چیزی جز این نبود ناگاه دیدم ،در سایه ای گل کوچکی ایستاده است درخشان بسان س...

Nothing compares to the happiness when you receive your first postcard from the country that you have love for. I have been to Germany a few times and upon every visit, I learned something new, something real and serious. I have heard stereotypes about Germans being austere in their mannerism. That may be true, not only about Germans but about a lot of people in the United States and around the world. But what I experienced and learned during the time I spent in different cities in Germany was unique. I found people who were serious in their promises, honest in speaking the their minds, forthcoming when asked for help, and beyond all that, sincere in their relationship. Germans also have stereotypes about Americans, and one of them is  oberflächlich, which means superficial. It might be true to some extent, but again it could be said about any people or culture anywhere that we know nothing or know very little about them. Even that little information which is usually from TVs...

Eid is arriving everyone is in preparation, Everyone is taking pleasure whether rich or poor But me, without you, I look at my state I see that Ramaḍān is still in distance. عید آمد و هر کس پی کار خویش است می نازد اگر غنی وگر درویش است من بی تو به حال خود نظرها کردم دیدم که هنوز هم رمضان در پیش است Eid āmad-o har-kas payī kār khish ast mināzad agar ghanī wa-gar darwīsh ast man bi-tu ba hāli khod nazarhā kardam dīdam ki hanuz ham Ramaḍān dar pish ast Poet: Mirza Abdul-Qadir Bidel (Trans. Nasim Fekrat, July 06, 2016) Ustad Sarahang has sung this lyrics in a very commendably touching sense. Here is the video that you can enjoy listening.

Millions of people speak in Pashto language, but not many people around the world know how beautiful the language is. Today, I was searching for Pashto landei -  literally means short, only two lines - I stumbled upon a four lines love poem, which I thought deserved to be translated into English. That is what I did. --------- Lover, he cries day and night, the pain of his love but the beloved is a stony-hearted one who spills blood from the lover's heart Oh, her eyes! her eyebrows, like bows of war shoot the eyelashes into my heart. O people! Don't you see the wounds of her arrows in my heart? مین چه آشنایی کا، شپه ور څ به گریانی کا شهی، ده ستمگاره، خوشحال ز ړ و به زخمی کا لندۍ لری د ورڅـیو، با ڼو غشی کاری‌کا پرهار می گوره خلقه، دَ دلبر دَ تیر نبنان سو In Farsi عاشق، دردِ عشق خویش می‌گرید، شب‌ها و روزها معشوقه‌، جفاکار است، می‌ريزد خونِ سرخ قلبش را ابروانش کمان جنگی است و تيرهايِ مژگانش کشنده ای مردم زخم‌های تیر كمان یار را در من ببینید Poet: Unknow...

You can feel the spiritual power of this Sufis dancing in this video. You can feel the energy that emanates from their chanting, their circling, the clapping and pounding. This kind of ritual is rare in the Muslim world, but still exist in some part of the world. They are Chechen Sufis as part of a larger group of Sufi brotherhoods. Chechnya is mostly Muslim, and they relate to the Shafi'i school of thought. Their mystical tradition is mixed of muridism (according to Arabic Al-Ma'ani dictionary , murid means adherent or disciple) and in which a Murshid (spiritual teacher or guide) plays a central role in the spiritual journey. Some of Chechen associate themselves with different branches of Sufism. Mainly there are two tariqas (order) in the north of Caucasus region: Naqshbandiyah and the Qadiriyah. The word that they keep repeating is ' Yahu or Yahoo (which in English means oaf or a lout person),' not the website though, it is an Arabic term and is a pronoun f...

If you haven't yet read  this week's incredible about Sultana on the New York Time , a young girl living in southern Afghanistan who dreams to study in the United States, I highly recommend to read it. Sultana is definitely in of some attention for her future. If you want to donate money towards her education, there is a page made for her in which money goes directly into her account. Sultana at her desk, photo already published on  the NYT . Like Sultana, there are thousands of girls in areas under the Taliban control who can't go to school. It is unfortunate that Sultana and girls like her are forbidden to go to school, but there is always an incorrect perception that deludes our understanding of the nature of south, where Sultana comes from. ( It is not known where exactly she comes from. The impression that I have from the photos that she has provided to her supporters is that she lives in city). Most of often people think that the Taliban are foreigners, the...

Picture: Muhammad Ali Credit: Michael Gaffney He was beyond words to be described. Muhammad Ali was the greatest of all time, the greatest who ever lived, and will be the greatest athlete who ever will be. Rest in peace, the beautiful man! Here is a great quote of him: "A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at 20, has wasted thirty years of his life."  Muhammad Ali Here is a video of Muhammad Ali on goodwill visit to Kabul, Afghanistan.

Yesterday morning as I walked into the UGA science library, I saw huge stacks of red boxes ready to be loaded into a big truck. I passed by without paying much attention. I assumed that the boxes are filled with books that might be transferred to a new library. Curious and maybe a little worried about the books, I walked to the main gate and approached one of the guys who was loading the truck. I asked him where the books go and how many truckloads do they make a day. He kindly explained to me that the boxes are filled with books and they are going to a warehouse, which finally will be destroyed. He added that for the next two weeks, they are going make one truckload every day.  "How bad." I said to myself. I felt a profound sadness due to thousands of books are going to be destroyed one day. As I walked back to my desk, I thought that this is an indication of an ominous future that is looming on the horizon. I am worried that one day libraries' shelves are being...

I have never seen this in my life until now. A group of men - who don't look to be students because they look in their 40s and 50s - just arrived in the coffee shop with their own thermos and cookies. I watched them carefully because they are sitting next to me. From their accent, I can tell that they are not from the Gulf. Surprisingly, only two of them bought coffee, the rest didn't. They even brought their own cups and sugar. I can't fathom the depth of this contradiction. It is a fascinating social and cultural paradox to see this mingling odds from two different world. I asked myself whether people in the Middle East and North Africa take their food out to the restaurants and coffee shops to eat? I don't think so and I don't know it. This is an odd thing that I saw this evening at this coffee shop. I am a regular coffee shop camper, especially in the evening because the library is closed at night. I also go to the coffee shop because I find my solace in dr...

In March this year, I submitted a poem in German to a monthly poetry competition called " Gedicht des Monats " at the Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies at University of Georgia . A few weeks later, I surprisingly received this message from the head of the department: Dear Nasim, Congratulations! The committee has chosen your poem “Vergessen” as the winner of the Poem of the Month competition. Please see Ms. Petti in the departmental office (Room 204) about your prize; she will need to get some information from you in order to put in a check request. Is it OK for us to display your poem on a bulletin board in Joe Brown and on our departmental website or Facebook page? I am not a poet by profession, but I am glad to be the winner. I was also hesitant to share the news with my friends, because I wanted to avoid any boastful pretension. But finally, I thought, since no one reads blog posts anymore, it would not be harmful to share it here after all. So, here's ...

Dew evaporated as soon as the dawn’s veil was taken off Oh, companion! I just recalled my love, au revoir! Tā sahar bi-parda gardad, shabnam az khod rafta ast Al-widā' ay ham-nishīnān! delbaram āmad ba yād تا سحر بی پرده گردد، شبنم از خود رفته است الوداع ای هم نشینان! دلبرم آمد به یاد Poem by Mīrzā Abdul-Qādir Bidel (Trans. Nasim Fekrat, May 26, 2016)

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has just released its quarterly report on Afghanistan to congress . The special project's report contains a list of reports that are highly concerning about Afghanistan's future. Among the many of concerns on the country is its economic prospect. Despite more than a decade of reconstruction and development efforts, the Afghan economy remains in fragile and worsening condition. Intractable insurgents, cutbacks in foreign military personnel, persistent emigration of people and capital, and a slowing global economy are shifting Afghanistan’s economic prospects from troubling to bleak. Source: SIGAR Quarterly Report Giving the fact that the country has been in turmoil for decades, long enough that the infrastructure eventually extirpated, it is considerably hard to measure Afghanistan’s economy growth on a global economic index, but there are some reports that give a good estimate of how has Afghanistan...

A decade-and-a-half after the end of Taliban rule, women in Afghanistan still face pressure to dress conservatively in their Muslim-dominated society. That makes holding a fashion show with female models a risky endeavor. But some young women are making a fashion statement, defying threats and social taboos to take to the runway. (RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan).  Source RFE/RL Here is another example of bravery that is presented by Hazara women defying the threats against themselves. However, there is just one caveat to remember. We must be careful and distinguish when we are talking about women in Afghanistan. Ethnic plays an important role in women's freedom. You won't see women from other ethnic groups among them. These young females are ethnically Hazara, the most persecuted and downtrodden people on earth. If chance given to them, and they receive support, these women can be an embodiment of courage and freedom that can exemplify it for others.

I posted this on my Facebook page, then I realized that I must have first published it here to make it an official piece, but then I thought an official piece means that I have to do a thorough review of the book. Well, I might come back and do that soon, before my classes start, but for now, it is not a bad idea to share a glimpse of the book which contains inspirational stories of young Hazara girls at Marefat High School . Contrary to other books that so far have published on Afghanistan and have tried to give a grim outlook of the future, The Last Thousand is the opposite, it gives an optimistic picture of Afghanistan's future, while noticing the lack of insecurity and warning about the fall of the country into the hands of the Taliban.  I just finished reading The Last Thousand: One School's Promise in a Nation at War   by a renowned journalist Jeffrey E. Stern . The original version of the book will come out on January 26. I started it three days ago, and thou...

The 'Egyptian Shakira (Suha Mohammed Ali) and her recent album is call " al-Kamoun " In Egypt, freedom of speech has been worsening since the military has taken over control of the country after it ousted President Morsi, in 2013. Recently, an Egyptian court sentenced two women to six months in prison . The two performers are famous belly dancers and known as Bardis and Egyptian Shakira (Suha Mohammed Ali and Dalia Kamal). Their charges are committing debauchery and promotion of immorality through their videos. If carefully watched, neither of the two videos contains nudity or promotes immorality. So, why the court has charged the two singers into six months prison? What is in the video that could be assumed offensive to Egyptians? For Egyptian Shakira, the video clips starts with a scene where a dancer swings her hip while clinging to the wall. Then, the scene leads to a decorated room, more looks like a bar, or a nightclub, than a studio. The main character of...

Who cares what Karzai thinks, today? No one, really. In a recent i nterview with the BBC , Hamid Karzai said, Americans have thrown hundreds of millions of dollars without any useful or beneficial purposes. Well, Karzai might be right on this partially, but it was his family members who benefited the most from American money than anyone else. Among members of his family, the one who directly received American money was Hamid Karzai's controversial half-brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai. (Wali was assassinated in 2011 , and later, it was speculated that he was shot by one of his family members.) Ahmad Wali used American money for various purposes, one of which made him well-known and rich was illegal land grabbing , in Kandahar. While Wali was engaged in illegal land acquisition by using Karzai's influence, who also tried to cultivate power and buy support of Polpalzai tribesmen; others were engaged with Americans as private security contractors and they also owned several constru...

Lets imagine ourselves living in a boundary where lines have divided us from each other based on our colors, ethnicity and language. Imagine that we are being told throughout our lives that it is our noble duty to protect our national values from others; others who are different from us in many ways, and there might not be even a single sign of commonality between us and others. What would happen hereafter? It is encountering others that sometimes ignites our sense of ignobleness, and it projects fanaticism, which then let us discharge hatred towards others. The sense of otherness that infuses with ire and then invades our conscience; and eventually replace our morality and ethics with zealotry. That is when humanity disappears. Zealotry is a threat to human civilization; Petra Laszlo is a small example of what could happen if we let our conscious be governed by zealotry that is often reinforced by political entities. It might recur in the future. We are definitely experiencing...

While other ethnic groups in Afghanistan are trying to stay busy fighting and killing each other, the Hazaras of Afghanistan are doing something different, the art. Here is an example, Anahita Ulftat is a Hazara girl who last year participated in Afghan Star - Afghan idol - has just released a new video clip, which is astonishingly beautiful and artistic in post-modern context. By Afghan standard, this kind of art is astoundingly rare and new. This is an example of how freedom, education, and liberalism benefit the very people who Ms. Ulfat belongs to, have been excluded from all basic rights. It has been only a decade since the Hazaras have been through a period of relatively peacefulness, which bestowed freedom under the protection of the U.S. and the international community. Hazaras are proud of their identity and country. In sport, Hazaras have often took their country's flag to the international stage and garnered gold medals for their country. Last year, in February, I...

I swear by my mustache and my love of it that I will not surrender to Jeff’s (Jeff is a real person who lives on this planet) request to shave my mustache, nor ask any man on earth to shave for me. I swear by my mustache and the love of its amusement in which my fingers twirl it every second, that I behold and hold this truth to be self-evident that every mustache is being grown free and independent with inherent natural rights that cannot be, by persuasion and lure, deprived or interrupted its spread and domination over the lips.

April Fool’s Day is a great day for people who deliberately play jokes on one another, but in some countries like Afghanistan April Fool's Day does not exist. What instead these countries have are their leaders who play pranks on them and the world. The latest prank from Afghanistan came on April 1, 2015 when President Ashraf Ghani announced that his government is ready with ALL its POWER (yes, that is correct, with all its power) to support Saudi Arabia in its fight against the Huthi rebels in Yemen. "The Afghan government stands with all power by the brotherly government and people of Saudi Arabia in defending the sacred territory should there be any threat." Read the entire statement here . It is quite amusing to hear the Afghan president announces his country's support for Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is a country that is largely responsible for exporting the extreme interpretation of Islam to other Muslim countries. Afghanistan is one of those countries. The...

I am having difficulty creating a jump break in my blog post. It looks dull and boring to see a single post is a foot long, sometime even longer. As everyone tries to adapt to newer widgets and features, it necessitates me to spend a little on bringing some changes to the appearance. The current theme doesn't represent my optimal style, still, I think the simplicity of it matches my taste. I have installed the current theme in 2009, and I can't exactly remember where I found it, and who has designed it. It's, as resembles, a basic Wordpress theme called " Pilcrow " (see the theme on wordpress website). Is there anyone who could help with the xml codes? I attempted several times to change the codes, but wasn't successful. I would appreciate anyone who could assist me to solve this problem. To contact me, please use the contact form on the right column.

On March 11, the First Lady Michelle Obama hosted a celebration of Nawruz, at the White House. Participants were mostly from community diasporas including Afghans, Iranians, Tajiks and Kurds. I felt honored to be invited by the White House and celebrate Nawruz with Mrs. Obama. Nawruz, as part of the United State's presidential greetings, was introduced by Georg H.W. Bush, in 1992 . Since then, though sporadic, Nawruz, has keenly been celebrated. Georg H.W. Bush, uninformedly called Nawruz as Iranian new year, a tradition that is widely celebrated across the region and Iran is part of it. In fact, if we call Nawruz as an Iranian new year, we belittle the historical importance, the traditions and its relevance in a larger context of Khorasan, a historical region comprising Afghanistan and some parts of Central Asia. The word Iran derives from eran , in Pahlavi dialect which once spoken in northeast Iran, where it meant aryans. Though old, the word "Iran" is used in t...

In my previous post , I explained that how certain historical events have shaped the future of Hazaras and also how those events have affected Hazaras relations with Iran. The 9/11 attacks and its aftermath, which ushered in a new phase of Hazara’s liberation with the opportunity to finally enjoy some freedom. I indicated that such achievement has not been possible without the support of the United States and the international community. In this post, as promised earlier, I will address some opposing arguments, which have often made by some other Afghan ethnic groups against the Hazaras. From Pashtun and perhaps some Tajiks viewpoints, the Hazaras are still agents of Iran and spying for Iran, and they are not loyal to their country. Why? Here is one of the popular accusations that has always been made. I will discuss the scale of such accusations in historical context and will argue how such accusations have helped perpetuate persecution and discrimination against the Hazaras. Thi...

In my previous blog post , I argued that Iran has not been successful in exerting its influence through the Hazaras in Afghanistan, despite its strong historical, cultural, linguistic, and religious ties with them. In this post, I will elaborate my argument about the extent to which some historical events, particularly during the Taliban regime contributed to Hazaras’ awareness, which eventually led to changes in their attitudes and their political behavior toward Iran. In the next blog post I will review some opposing arguments, but first, let me straighten out why this political divorce have happened and why the Hazaras are mistrustful of Iran. To find an adequate reason to why Hazaras refused and warded off Iran’s infiltration and noxious intention of fueling anti-American sentiment in Afghanistan, we have to look at some historical events that led to such drastic changes. In November 1998, when the Taliban force took over the city of Mazar-e Sharif for the second time, the chau...

Two years ago, in February 2013, I gave a talk at the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies (CREEES ) at Stanford University on how Iran’s soft power is in decline in Afghanistan, and how it has overly been inclined to resort to hard power. (Here, you can read a short synopsis of my talk’s proposed content .) While some may argue that Iran’s influence is undeniable and perhaps, is more profound than we think, here, I will explore the relationship of Iran with the Hazaras of Afghanistan, especially in the post-Taliban era to determine the extent of Iran’s influence in the country. I will argue that Iran has not been successful in pursuing its goals appertaining to its foreign policy in Afghanistan because it has lost one of the most useful and traditionally accessible avenues for channeling its influence to the country. This avenue could not be anything else, but the Hazara people who are historically, culturally, linguistically, and religiously closer than anyone e...

Across ages, we are being amused at expressing worthlessness and we are the opener of pages of the stories of nothingness You could expect nothing from us, but name we are the messengers of the world of nothingness عمریست که سرگرم ِ بیان ِ هیچیم طومارگشای  داستان ِ هیچیم با نامی از آن میان، ز ما قانع باش ما قاصد ِ پیغام ِ جهان ِ هیچیم ’aumr î st k î sargarm-e bay â n-e heech îm tum â r gush â yee d â st â n-e heechim b â n â mi az â n m îy â n, zi m â qane ’a b â sh m â q â sed-e paigh â m-e jah â n-e heech îm                                                                       By Mirza Bidel                                   ...

هرکه رفت از دیده داغی بر دل ما تازه‌ کرد در زمین نرم نقش پا نمایان می‌ شود Harkî raft az dîdah dâghe bar dîl-e mâ tâzah kard dar zamîn-e narm naqsh pâ nomâyân meshawad whoever left us  ailed us,  like fresh wounds in our heart  And like the footprints left in the sand                                                                          Poem by Mirza Bidel                                                                       Translated by Nasim ...