乐播传媒

A Kabul resident and a Marine veteran agree that education is key for Afghanistan 鈥� and for Americans who want to help

By Doug Hubley

Back home in Afghanistan last summer, Mustafa Basij-Rasikh 鈥�12 found that 鈥渄emocracy鈥� means different things to different people.

Not always good things.

After decades of having democracy defined for them by such champions of the concept as the Soviets and the Taliban, many Afghans harbor 鈥渢his preconceived notion, orally passed from generation to generation, that democracy is not good,鈥� says Basij-Rasikh, who worked for an organization providing civic education programs.

鈥淧eople hold on to that. And that just comes back to lack of education.鈥�

But similarly, Basij-Rasikh and his good friend, Jared Golden 鈥�11, a Marine veteran who served in Afghanistan, also see how the American perception of Afghanistan is defined more by what we don鈥檛 know than what we do.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 missing from the equation is an effort to really understand Afghans and listen to them,鈥� says Golden. 鈥淲e love the quick fix and the quick answer. And it鈥檚 not that simple.鈥�

“The only factor that can overcome adversity in a country is education.鈥�

The College鈥檚 first Afghan student since at least 1984, Basij-Rasikh comes from a country where more than 70 percent of the population is illiterate. Yet this Kabul resident is a scion of what he terms 鈥渁n unusual liberal family鈥� that鈥檚 not only willing, as many Afghans are, but able to give its children good educations.

Three sisters are also studying in the United States. 鈥淢y upbringing always reinforced this notion that the only factor that can overcome adversity in a country is education,鈥� says Mustafa, a 21-year-old politics major. 鈥淚 have a dream that my generation will be the generation who will solve the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan.鈥�

His dream is all the more moving because Basij-Rasikh and other Afghan students in the U.S. are supported by the Peter M. Goodrich Memorial Foundation, founded by Sally and Don Goodrich, whose son Peter 鈥�89 died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. And for all concerned, Mustafa鈥檚 presence at 乐播传媒 seems to personify Peter鈥檚 legacy.

Golden, meanwhile, grew up in Leeds, a town near 乐播传媒, but applied here only after his Marine Corps service, which took him to Afghanistan in 2004 and Iraq in 2005鈥�06. An infantryman, he spent much of his Afghanistan tour in Kunar province, a hotbed of insurgent activity.

鈥淔our years in the Marines was enough to make me realize the importance of education, and I just love it,鈥� says the 27-year-old Golden. Coming from homes 6,500 miles apart, the Afghan student and the American student of Afghanistan have arrived at much the same place in their thinking about education鈥檚 role in rebuilding that country. But for a deeply conservative nation, after three decades of war, education is by no means a given.

鈥淧eople are more familiar with the gun than the pen,鈥� says Basij-Rasikh. 鈥淪ome people are making a life of this war because they are good at that. And if you are good at that you鈥檙e not going to give it away unless somebody gives you an alternative.鈥�

The alternative of universal education could provide ethnically diverse, tribally oriented Afghanistan with common principles to rally around, says Don Goodrich. Especially in rural areas, the Taliban have exploited people鈥檚 piety by imposing a politicized interpretation of Islam. With universal education, says Basij-Rasikh, 鈥減eople who manipulate Islam would no longer be effective, because everybody could read, everybody could write, everybody could think critically and they would question them.鈥�

鈥淯ltimately education is everything in Afghanistan,鈥� agrees Golden. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 likely to change the situation in Afghanistan in the long run much more than war can.鈥� He adds, 鈥淭heir younger generation now is a big sponge 鈥� they just want to suck up education, they love it.鈥�

Here at 乐播传媒, Basij-Rasikh and Golden have also found some teachable moments as they鈥檝e encountered stereotyped beliefs about both Afghans and the Americans involved in their country. Golden rejects such stereotyping. To him, 鈥渁ll people should be understood and approached as individuals.鈥�

鈥淕et as many different perspectives as possible. Don鈥檛 just jump on a bandwagon or make assumptions.鈥�

He adds, 鈥淚鈥檓 really always trying to paint the picture from both angles. I can see Afghans who do appreciate our being there, who feel better that the Taliban no longer runs their area or who love the fact that their child is going to school. And I can also see that that same family has lost five or six family members to U.S. air support.鈥�

He adds that at 乐播传媒, 鈥渟ome people, I鈥檓 happy to say, don鈥檛 really associate me with my military experience anymore.鈥�

Drawn together by their common ties to Afghanistan, Golden and Basij-Rasikh have much else in common. Among other things, Golden jokes, 鈥渨e like food and are both good at spending money.鈥� More seriously, 鈥渨e are both big thinkers and share similarly ambitious goals and dreams. And I believe we share similar values and ethics.鈥�

Summer 2009 found them both contributing to education in Afghanistan, Basij-Rasikh with the NGO Counterpart International, and Golden in Kabul with the School of Leadership, Afghanistan, or SOLA (Pashto for 鈥減eace鈥�), which receives support from the Goodrich Foundation. Both hope to return this summer: Golden to work for a shipping company and Basij-Rasikh to pilot a program offering occupational support to people disabled by landmines.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 tell people what鈥檚 necessarily right or wrong in Afghanistan,鈥� Golden says. 鈥淵ou have to do your research and get as many different perspectives as possible. Don鈥檛 just jump on a bandwagon or make assumptions.

鈥淚鈥檓 just trying to go there and find ways to make a small difference.鈥�