Welcome!
If
you haven't perused the blog written by Afghan
women writers lately, take a look now - you don't
want to miss the essay from Freshta about the
time a gun-toting Taliban member confronted her on
the street as she was heading to a secret,
forbidden school. Or the one from Fattema about a
woman who twice attempted suicide before finally
escaping from her Afghan husband and their home in
Iran. Or Zaralasht's story
of fleeing the start of war. Other compelling
essays and poems are highlighted below, with more
on the site; encouraged and mentored by our
teachers, these brave women are doing breathtaking
work.
At the same time, our efforts
continue to supply them with laptops and jump
drives so they can keep writing even as conditions
grow more restrictive, particularly in the south.
Just a few days left to plop down ten dollars, tax
deductible, for a ticket for the literary raffle
being run by author Cari Luna, (whose
short fiction, btw, was nominated for a Pushcart
Prize last year.) Great prizes for those who love
words and music! See the list here. http://fromutopia.com/?page_id=3531.
You can also help by forwarding this newsletter to
anyone you think might be interested. And if you
are a creative writing teacher and would like to
volunteer to teach online in a three- or four-week
block, please let us know.
The Afghan
Women's Writing Project was begun as a way to
allow the voices of Afghan women - too often
silenced - to enter the world directly, without
any mediation. This project is possible only
because of the outstanding American women authors
and teachers who generously donate their time and
energy. Additionally, the tireless contributions
of webmaster extraordinaire Jeff Lyons and
web designers Terry Dougherty
and Rose
Daniels have been crucial. Notice our new
banner; many thanks to humanitarian, photographer
and former TV journalist Kathleen Rafiq
for shooting this photograph in Kabul. We hope to
have a coordinator in Afghanistan soon. And our
inspiring partners are SOLA in
Afghanistan and the Peter M. Goodrich
Memorial Foundation based in Vermont;
please visit thei
Be in touch with any
questions. Thank you.
Masha
Hamilton
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Narrow
Escape
My heart was shaking.
My clothes were moist with sweat, which fell from
my body like rain. Suddenly one of them jumped
from the car with his gun and appeared in front of
me. "Where you are going?"
By
Freshta
Click here to read
the full story.
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Hope Helps Me Move
On
Sara's story: "After a
long journey, we arrived in Iran. My step-brother
took me to my husband's house. When I first saw
him, I couldn't believe my eyes. My husband was
Afghan but he had an Iranian wife with four
children. His oldest child was twenty years old,
older than me."
By Fattema
Click here to read
the full story.
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My
Eyes - A Poem
I
accept pain for those eyes.
I accept tears for those
eyes.
I love poetry for those eyes.
They are
God's
book of poems.
By
Roya
Click here to read
the full poem.
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From Idyllic
Life to War
Our parents carried us
in their arms and ran barefoot from our home. We
were not the only family running away without
knowing where we were going. The street was filled
with people just like us who were trying to flee
the fighting and killing....Our parents tried to
not let us see the dead people who were lying
along our path.
By Zaralasht
Click here to read
the full story.
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Mother's Day in
Farah
Ballal, a six-year-old
boy, gives his mother flowers at a provincial
ceremony this Mother's Day. But on the same day, a
young midwife is fatally shot on her way to work,
and the government blames the Taliban.
By
Seeta
Click here to read
the full story.
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A
Word From Our
Teachers
Louisa
Ermelino is
the author of three novels that celebrate the
power of women. She is also Reviews Director at PW
Magazine and Chief of Reporters at InStyle
Magazine. She's worked at Time and People
magazines and for the television show Top Cops.
This has been a sheer
delight. I was anxious as to how I would
be able to encourage and help these women with
their writing but soon realized that the act of
just making contact was already moving forward.
Every message from them was so endearing and
sincere and intelligent that I was completely
bowled over. And they were so open to my comments
and truly used them to improve the work.
Three weeks is not such a long
time, I have realized, but giving the women
two themes worked well. I asked them to work
with one or both of two ideas: "Narrow Escapes"
and "Taking Chances" which are very broad and
could go anywhere and they took them up and
ran! It was a fun way to start off.
As with any good teaching
experience, I learned as much as I taught and
will always feel a connection to these women and
all women struggling to improve their
lot...sisters all. Many thanks to everyone
involved.
Connie May
Fowler
is the author of
five acclaimed novels, as well as a memoirist and
screenwriter. She performed The Vagina Monologues
alongside Jane Fonda and Rosie Perez, raising over
$100,000 for charities in 2003. Her lauded work
has been translated into 15 languages.
Since beginning my work with
the Afghan Women's Writing Project, I have
struggled with various manifestations of
disconnection.
As I read the emails,
essays, and poems penned by these wonderful and
brave women, news feeds from Afghanistan flash
across my computer screen. The offensive in
Helmand is the first step in what has become
America's second Afghan war . . . A 24-year-old
Illinois soldier was killed by a roadside bomb
Sunday fighting the war in Afghanistan . . . The
line between life and death has become dangerously
thin in Afghanistan's bloody war
zone.
I get these feeds because I
requested them; I had to search them out. Unless
you have a loved one deployed there, the situation
in Afghanistan is not a part of the American
consciousness. It's not a Twitter trending
topic. I rarely see the subject roll by in
my Facebook live feed (but tons about Michael
Jackson). Lately, TV pundits have been
spending their time yukking it up over a quitter
named Sarah Palin; they've reduced Afghanistan to
a sidebar.
Then I read the
women's words. And I am struck with the
complexity of their lives, at how disconnected
Americans are from the realities of our fellow
humans on whose soil we wage-rightly or
wrongly-war.
In their words, I
spy a gentleness of spirit that I do not believe I
would possess if I walked in their shoes. I
spy courage and determination; hope and sadness;
wisdom and fear; and perhaps most important, a
wily insistence on maintaining-against huge odds-a
relevant voice in their society. Americans,
by and large, tend to think of Afghan women as
victims who need to be saved by the West.
When I read their words, I know that they are
survivors whose circumstances must change and that
they will be and must be the ones who define that
change.
These are women who
have lived through unspeakable trauma yet they-in
ways great and small, in moments hidden and
revealed-insist on soaring. Read their words
and you will spy, as I do, a beautiful thing:
ascension amid the
rubble.
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Contact
AWWP:
For more information on the Afghan Women's
Writing Project please contact:
The Afghan
Women's Writing ProjectMasha Hamilton, Project
Founder686 Sterling Place
Brooklyn, New York 11216Phone: 917.821.6119 /
Email: masha@mashahamilton.com
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Donations:
Online Donations for
Afghan Women Writers:
Many of our
students and women writers, especially outside of
Kabul, cannot get to an Internet cafe due to
security considerations. A laptop at home and a
jump drive would allow them to write their pieces,
and then ask a male relative to send the work at
an Internet cafe. A $20 donation will buy a flash
drive and $500 in donations will buy a laptop for
our women writers. No contribution is too small.
Thank you for considering it.
Your credit
card donation will be handled by Friends of
Afghanistan's secure Paypal payment. Or you can
mail a check made out to Friends of
Afghanistan:
Terry
Dougherty , 15021 Prairie Park Cv, Hoagland, IN
46745.
Write SOLA or
Afghan Women Writers on the
check.
We will send your tax
deductible donation to the Peter M. Goodrich
Foundation for the purpose you indicate.
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To
stay informed about the latest news, events, and
other developments with the Afghan Women's Writing
Project, please CLICK below and join our mailing
list. We appreciate your
support.
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Sponsors &
Friends:
Please visit
our sponsors as a way to thank them for their
wonderful support:
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