.Young Afghan women in Yakima, learning to be free
YAKIMA, Wash. -- One watched in horror when a bus blew up in front of her, strewing body parts all over the street.
The other looked in sorrow at ancient works of art in a museum, all in pieces, purposely destroyed.
Although both have lived through the kind of trauma our country has never had to endure, they're determined to return to Afghanistan and help right its course.
Sisters Heena, 18, and Khoshboo, 19, (who asked to use their first names only because of possible danger for their family) have endured war and violence for most of their lives.
"We've had a very bad past," explained Khoshboo.
The young women arrived in Yakima earlier this fall to enroll in college. They're here under the auspices of the Yakima Valley Community College Foundation Afghan Women's Education Fund, founded by Ken Zontek, a history instructor at the college.
This fall, they've been taking classes through English as a Second Language program at Central Washington University and will enroll winter quarter at YVCC, where Heena will study business and banking and Khoshboo will focus on accounting.
The violence of their lives is never far behind - or forgotten. For that reason, they will be on hand at YVCC on Thursday evening to help tell the story of their country at a special showing of a movie profiling the struggles of Afghan women,
"Last Night, Last Verse " written by the director of a women's shelter in Afghanistan, where Heena and Khoshboo lived, is based on a woman at the shelter who was murdered when she returned to her family.
"These two (Heena and Khoshboo) have had a tough life, but not nearly as hard as the woman in the film," said Zontek.
Zontek became familiar with the shelter after he was sent to Kabul in 2004 with the National Guard. While he was helping guard the center, he met Heena and Khoshboo, who are nieces of the director.
The two girls moved into the shelter when they were 13 and 14, after returning from Pakistan, where their family had lived for seven years to flee violence in Kabul, their home.
Their mother, a nurse, and their father, who is retired, decided the girls should move to the shelter, partly because the family of six lived in a one-room home and money was scarce. The main reason, however, was they envisioned more educational opportunities there for their daughters.
"Our family focused on our education so in the future we could help others," explained Heena.
Motivated and hardworking, the girls were serious about their studies and strived to learn English.
"These two represent the future of their country because they have big hearts, good English skills and the character for success," said Zontek.
They've also witnessed enough bombings to know that Afghanis deserve better.
"Reading books like 'The Kite Runner' and 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' (both novels by Afghan native Khaled Hosseini who now lives in the United States) makes me cry even if we know all about the violence," said Heena.
They're well aware of the danger to women in their country, recalling the fate of two young women from the shelter who decided to go out by themselves one evening and ended up being raped and nearly killed by a gang.
Some trauma they witnessed in person. Heena saw a bus, just in front of the car in which she was riding, get bombed, killing babies, women and police. "The whole day, I was quiet and very shocked. I saw pieces of bodies blowing up in the air and clothes hanging in trees," she said.
Khoshboo, too, was stricken when she visited a museum and viewed the destruction to irreplaceable artwork and statues.
"We have bad memories, but we try to forget what we saw in the war and fighting," she explained. "Sometimes it (the violence at home) comes into our minds, but then we think about the good future for Afghanistan, and we're not sad."
They disparage the discrimination women suffer in Afghanistan, pointing out that females essentially have few rights, especially in rural areas.
The violence directed toward women is most noticeable in the countryside, they said, where forced marriage is common, and not so prevalent in Kabul.
Devout Muslims, they attribute much of the abuse in the countryside to Taliban supporters, a fundamentalist sect of Islam. "They don't want freedom and rights for women; they're too strict," said Heena.
The juxtaposition of freedoms enjoyed in the United States has made a large impression, as have the general safety of the country and the kindness shown them by students and others.
They're successfully integrating into a world of pasta, French fries and cowboy pants (blue jeans) and are especially looking forward to seeing Santa Claus and the various traditions surrounding Christmas.
However, they're not losing sight of the prize: returning as educated women to their home.
"That's part of our dream - to go back and help our family and others," said Heena.
After graduating from YVCC, they plan to transfer to a four-year college.
When they return to Afghanistan, they intend to help others at the shelter and work to improve women's lives and those of the poor in the country, too.
As Zontek pointed out, "There's a lot of responsibility on these girls' shoulders."
To the sisters, returning is the only option. "Who will build Afghanistan if we stay out of the country?" she asks. "America and other people won't stay forever. Afghanistan needs Afghanistan people," she said.
Too many people leave never to return because they can make more money and it's safer elsewhere, she noted.
But not the two sisters.
"We say that God will love you the most if you help the poor and your country," said Heena.
SeattlePI
The other looked in sorrow at ancient works of art in a museum, all in pieces, purposely destroyed.
Although both have lived through the kind of trauma our country has never had to endure, they're determined to return to Afghanistan and help right its course.
Sisters Heena, 18, and Khoshboo, 19, (who asked to use their first names only because of possible danger for their family) have endured war and violence for most of their lives.
"We've had a very bad past," explained Khoshboo.
The young women arrived in Yakima earlier this fall to enroll in college. They're here under the auspices of the Yakima Valley Community College Foundation Afghan Women's Education Fund, founded by Ken Zontek, a history instructor at the college.
This fall, they've been taking classes through English as a Second Language program at Central Washington University and will enroll winter quarter at YVCC, where Heena will study business and banking and Khoshboo will focus on accounting.
The violence of their lives is never far behind - or forgotten. For that reason, they will be on hand at YVCC on Thursday evening to help tell the story of their country at a special showing of a movie profiling the struggles of Afghan women,
"Last Night, Last Verse " written by the director of a women's shelter in Afghanistan, where Heena and Khoshboo lived, is based on a woman at the shelter who was murdered when she returned to her family.
"These two (Heena and Khoshboo) have had a tough life, but not nearly as hard as the woman in the film," said Zontek.
Zontek became familiar with the shelter after he was sent to Kabul in 2004 with the National Guard. While he was helping guard the center, he met Heena and Khoshboo, who are nieces of the director.
The two girls moved into the shelter when they were 13 and 14, after returning from Pakistan, where their family had lived for seven years to flee violence in Kabul, their home.
Their mother, a nurse, and their father, who is retired, decided the girls should move to the shelter, partly because the family of six lived in a one-room home and money was scarce. The main reason, however, was they envisioned more educational opportunities there for their daughters.
"Our family focused on our education so in the future we could help others," explained Heena.
Motivated and hardworking, the girls were serious about their studies and strived to learn English.
"These two represent the future of their country because they have big hearts, good English skills and the character for success," said Zontek.
They've also witnessed enough bombings to know that Afghanis deserve better.
"Reading books like 'The Kite Runner' and 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' (both novels by Afghan native Khaled Hosseini who now lives in the United States) makes me cry even if we know all about the violence," said Heena.
They're well aware of the danger to women in their country, recalling the fate of two young women from the shelter who decided to go out by themselves one evening and ended up being raped and nearly killed by a gang.
Some trauma they witnessed in person. Heena saw a bus, just in front of the car in which she was riding, get bombed, killing babies, women and police. "The whole day, I was quiet and very shocked. I saw pieces of bodies blowing up in the air and clothes hanging in trees," she said.
Khoshboo, too, was stricken when she visited a museum and viewed the destruction to irreplaceable artwork and statues.
"We have bad memories, but we try to forget what we saw in the war and fighting," she explained. "Sometimes it (the violence at home) comes into our minds, but then we think about the good future for Afghanistan, and we're not sad."
They disparage the discrimination women suffer in Afghanistan, pointing out that females essentially have few rights, especially in rural areas.
The violence directed toward women is most noticeable in the countryside, they said, where forced marriage is common, and not so prevalent in Kabul.
Devout Muslims, they attribute much of the abuse in the countryside to Taliban supporters, a fundamentalist sect of Islam. "They don't want freedom and rights for women; they're too strict," said Heena.
The juxtaposition of freedoms enjoyed in the United States has made a large impression, as have the general safety of the country and the kindness shown them by students and others.
They're successfully integrating into a world of pasta, French fries and cowboy pants (blue jeans) and are especially looking forward to seeing Santa Claus and the various traditions surrounding Christmas.
However, they're not losing sight of the prize: returning as educated women to their home.
"That's part of our dream - to go back and help our family and others," said Heena.
After graduating from YVCC, they plan to transfer to a four-year college.
When they return to Afghanistan, they intend to help others at the shelter and work to improve women's lives and those of the poor in the country, too.
As Zontek pointed out, "There's a lot of responsibility on these girls' shoulders."
To the sisters, returning is the only option. "Who will build Afghanistan if we stay out of the country?" she asks. "America and other people won't stay forever. Afghanistan needs Afghanistan people," she said.
Too many people leave never to return because they can make more money and it's safer elsewhere, she noted.
But not the two sisters.
"We say that God will love you the most if you help the poor and your country," said Heena.
SeattlePI
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