Reeling in readers

Gratitude to Debbie Campoli for reviewing Fear of Beauty in Women's Book Review: "You find yourself rooting for Sofi and admiring her strength. The story keeps a reader wanting for more, and the author does an excellent job of reeling you in."

Now Debbie Campoli has some stories to tell - and we would like to read a book from her!

Photo courtesy of John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland and Wikimedia Commons.

Analysis

What was most fun in writing Fear of Beauty? Switching back and forth in point of view between two diverse characters, an illiterate Afghan woman and an Army Ranger in charge of security of a nearby outpost. First-person point of view suits Sofi, and the more distant third-person suits Joey.

Kristen Elise of Murder Lab analyzes the back-and-forth point of view in Fear of Beauty. She explains that the book's "two subplots mesh at the beginning of Chapter 7" and describes the "approach of juxtaposing the first- and third-person perspectives as hallmarks of independent subplots" as "a fabulous way to include the intimacy of a first-person perspective while, in parallel, allowing the reader to observe scenes that the first-person protagonist would not have been privy to."

Her analysis is sharp, maybe because of her scientific background as a cancer drug discovery biologist within a major pharmaceutical company and as author of The Vesuvius Isotope and The Death Row Complex.

Those who write a book discover that reading other books is never the same. Writers are judges. Do check out Murder Lab.

Image courtesy of Murder Lab.

Lessons

Once again, life imitates art. Fear of Beauty describes an Afghan woman who is desperate to learn how to read after the death of her son - and she finds a teacher with an aid worker - a Bengali-American whose goal is to empower Afghan women though agriculture training.

Women understand that education ultimately improves communities - and Parth Shastri with The Times of India describes women of India heading to Afghanistan to teach. One source describes many similarities between Afghan and Indian ways of learning.

Shastri's article describes a group of 16 consultants and teachers attending a two-week workshop at the Centre for Environment Eucation in collaboration with the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan. Lessons were given, connections made, without complaints about language barriers or two weeks being too short of period. As Fear of Beauty suggests, much can be learned in two weeks, with motivation fired up. Determined students and  teachers overcome the language barriers - and never say can't.

"If Afghanistan has a fresh crop of woman scientists and linguists two decades from now, educationists in that country will have to thank their Indian counterparts," Shastri writes.

We can only hope that we are reading similar stories a year from now - and beyond.

Photo of Afghan teacher at the Nawabad School in the Deh Dadi district, courtesy of Sandra Arnold, US Armed Forces and Wikimedia Commons.

Divided partners

Fear of Beauty and this blog describe the role of the provincial reconstruction teams - groups of civilian and military specialists - in Afghanistan as they provide technical advice and support in agriculture, education, health care, construction and many other areas. Of course, some teams have produced great achievements and others have been less successful. Philosophies differ, as demonstrated by the quarrels between Cameron and Mita in Fear of Beauty. So much depends how the teams worked with local governments.

Alexandra Gheciu details and analyzes NGO concerns about the PRTs in an article "Divided Partners: The Challenges of NATO-NGO Cooperation in Peacebuilding Operations" for Global Governance:

"From NATO's point of view, the contemporary blurring of boundaries between civilian and military actions in peacebuilding operations can be seen as an opportunity to bring into the sphere of humanitarian activity some of the advantages of the military culture of efficiency. But from the perspective of many NGOs, the existing blurring of boundaries is a deeply problematic development that should be contained and, as much as possible, reversed. What is needed, according to this logic, is a clear separation between the military and humanitarian norms and activities, and an affirmation of the leading role of humanitarian organizations in the definition of the rules of the game in activities that involve assistance to civilians in war-torn countries."

Gheciu concludes that a lack of coordination will only lead to more disagreements, wasted resources and "growing disenchantment both in the territories undergoing postconflict reconstruction and in the international community - with international peacebuilding operations."

Strong opinions are the norm. People quarrel, institutions quarrel - and with luck, communities progress.

Saffron project

A pilot project for distributing saffron seeds has been successful throughout Helmand Province and agriculture officials expect cultivation to continue and the small flower to eventually become a common crop.

Agriculture Director Abdullah Ahmadzai also reported that the new program will train 40 farmers in growing techniques. The director explained the climate in Helmand  is favorable for the crop that needs less water, in a report for Pajhwok Afghan News by Shams Jalal.

One concern among farmers - as detailed in Fear of Beauty - is competition among farmers and villages and finding enough markets for the expensive golden spice.

And to read authentic news coming from Afghanistan, both good and bad, but refreshingly local, then head to Pajhwok Afghan News.

Photo courtesy of  Gut Gimritz (Germany) and Wikimedia Commons.  

Trade and peace

It's tough to kill the entrepreneurial spirit, though the Taliban in Afghanistan sure gave it a good try before 2001. Project Artemis, hosted by the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Arizona, hosts Afghan women for an intensive two-week business skills course.

Matthew Hilburn, reporting for Voice of America, describes a woman who ran a secret honey-making business during the Taliban era. Women entering the program run businesses for embroidery and saffron. Hilburn writes: "While Afghan businesswomen still have many hurdles to overcome - they still may need to rely on men for many external dealings such as negotiations and making deliveries - Artemis is making progress toward changing how women are viewed by society at large.

Artemis pairs the entrepreneurs with mentors. Check out the stories on their site - again, they are inspiring. The project operates in other countries, too, including Peru, Jordan and Pakistan.

Secrecy and saffron are part of the plot of Fear of Beauty. Trade, business, a sense of purpose provide security and stability for communities.

Photo of Afghan woman weaving carpet courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and US Marine Corps.  

Rule of law

The only recourse against bullies is the rule of law, according to professionals in the West. But sometimes the bullies oversee judicial systems. So naturally a problem emerges when wronged individuals do not have access to fair courts. 

 The United States Institute of Peace writes about Afghanistan:

"An estimated 80 percent of all criminal and civil disputes in Afghanistan are resolved outside the formal legal system through various community forums known as shuras, jirgas, and jalasas. Disputants often prefer to have their cases resolved by community dispute resolution mechanisms that are popularly viewed by most Afghans as more accessible, less costly, more legitimate, and less corrupt than government courts. Many Afghans find the latter more in tune with cultural values promoting consensus and reconciliation, rather than punitive retribution alone."

Unfortunately, half the population - women - are excluded from overseeing these proceedings and the decisions rendered. Women still prefer the traditional forms of resolution.

The institute also takes pains to point out that individual interpretations can vary. One adjudicator may emphasize forgiveness and another emphasizes compensation or punishment. Evidence can be found in acceptable documents  to support a range of alternative narratives:  "USIP seeks to establish an understanding of the Afghan-Islamic normative values of Islamic jurisprudence. USIP is also expanding its programming to examine land dispute resolution and promote efforts to improve community legal awareness of rights and criminal law by engaging youth and media."

The rule of law is essential for Afghanistan to achieve security and stability. The US Department of State also lists other programs on the rule of law.

Photo of Kunar Judge Ansarullah Mawlawizada updates supreme court judges on Afghan law in 2010, courtesy of US Army Spc. Richard Daniels and Wikimedia Commons.