The Sewing Circles of Herat - My Afghan Years
7 journalers for this copy...
A journalist's story of her experience in Afghanistan.
The title refers to groups of women who used to meet reguarly to "sew" - something not banned by the Taliban. The sewing circles were actually underground networks of writers and poets educating women.
The books was very interesting to read, but slightly dissapointing as only one chapter focussed on the women and the sewing circles, the rest of the book was about Afghanistan in general. I would have liked to have delved more into the lives of the ordinary women of Afghanistan and what gave them courage to join these secret gatherings to learn.
From the cover...
"A gold-inscribed invitation to a wedding in a foreign land led Christina Lam - best-selling author and The Africa House and Foreign Correspondent of the Year - to abondon surburban England for the wilds of Peshwar on the frontier of the Afghan war. She found herself drwan into the lives of the people who smuggled her into Afghanistan to cover the final stages of the mujaheddin victory over the Soviet army.
Among them was Hamid Karzai, now President of Afghanistan, who took her to his homeland of Kandahar where they went on daring raids with a group of motorcycling mullahs who later became founder-members of the Taliban"
The title refers to groups of women who used to meet reguarly to "sew" - something not banned by the Taliban. The sewing circles were actually underground networks of writers and poets educating women.
The books was very interesting to read, but slightly dissapointing as only one chapter focussed on the women and the sewing circles, the rest of the book was about Afghanistan in general. I would have liked to have delved more into the lives of the ordinary women of Afghanistan and what gave them courage to join these secret gatherings to learn.
From the cover...
"A gold-inscribed invitation to a wedding in a foreign land led Christina Lam - best-selling author and The Africa House and Foreign Correspondent of the Year - to abondon surburban England for the wilds of Peshwar on the frontier of the Afghan war. She found herself drwan into the lives of the people who smuggled her into Afghanistan to cover the final stages of the mujaheddin victory over the Soviet army.
Among them was Hamid Karzai, now President of Afghanistan, who took her to his homeland of Kandahar where they went on daring raids with a group of motorcycling mullahs who later became founder-members of the Taliban"
Book Ray particpants (note I don't want the book back so last on the list - do as you please!)
Also lots of you wanted to be at the end - I did my best but not everyone can be last!! But as everyone has a huge Mt TBR I don't think it will matter too much if you take a while to get to this one.
* jackiea - NSW
* amberC - NT
* kalasue - WA
* bookfairy65 - NSW (later please)
* puppymummy - VIC (near end please)
* ravenbear - Qld (near end please)
Also lots of you wanted to be at the end - I did my best but not everyone can be last!! But as everyone has a huge Mt TBR I don't think it will matter too much if you take a while to get to this one.
* jackiea - NSW
* amberC - NT
* kalasue - WA
* bookfairy65 - NSW (later please)
* puppymummy - VIC (near end please)
* ravenbear - Qld (near end please)
Posted to jackiea this morning.
Arrived yesterday, thanks hillcat.
Although we are bombarded in every news broadcast with a blow-by-blow description of events in Iraq, the public is told next to nothing about the situation in Afghanistan. This book went a long way to covering events there over the past twenty years.
Christina Lamb writes well and with an obvious affection for the people and the country, and the fact that she has visited at different stages of its recent history lends credence to her views and impressions.
She doesn’t flinch from the ugly details of what has happened to this country and yet, in spite of all that, this book seemed to me a story of hope and optimism. In the midst of the most brutal regime imaginable, the indomitable spirit of the Afghani people led them to find any way possible to not only endure, but to try to improve their lives under the rule of the Taliban.
This book stirred a lot of memories for me.
My overland trip at the end of the seventies through south-east Asia, the sub-continent, Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkey was a revelation. The final stages of the three month trip were fraught with danger, not only due to the upheaval in Afghanistan but also Iran, where a revolution was fermenting and travel on local transport was uncertain and difficult.
Every one of those countries was fascinating and exotic, but the one that lodged itself most deeply in my mind and my heart was Afghanistan. I spent several weeks of December 1978 there.
When I was there, Kabul was a beautiful city, full of fine buildings and beautiful parks and to see what has befallen it after more than twenty years of destruction by the various factions is heart-breaking.
Wild, primitive, dirty and almost medieval it certainly was, but the spirit of the people was palpable in the fierceness, pride and self-assured arrogance of the local Pathan tribesmen, striding about the streets wreathed in cartridge belts and brandishing rifles. In spite of that, they were the most wonderful, friendly and welcoming people we encountered on our journey.
This is a country that has never been subjugated by another nation and this quote from the President who was assassinated when the Soviets moved into the country just months previously bears out his and his countrymen’s determination.
"We will never allow you to dictate to us how to run our country and whom to employ in Afghanistan. How and where we employ the foreign experts will remain the exclusive prerogative of the Afghan state.
Afghanistan shall remain poor, if necessary, but free in its acts and decisions."
Daoud Khan - President of Afghanistan (1973-1978).
We can only hope that some day, all their lives will resume some sort of normality.
Sadly, Afghanistan has become a forgotten country and unless you are one of the truly intrepid, like Christina Lamb, impossible to visit.
Forgive me for rambling but this book really moved me. Thanks so much for the opportunity to read it.
Will send it on to amberC when I have an address
Christina Lamb writes well and with an obvious affection for the people and the country, and the fact that she has visited at different stages of its recent history lends credence to her views and impressions.
She doesn’t flinch from the ugly details of what has happened to this country and yet, in spite of all that, this book seemed to me a story of hope and optimism. In the midst of the most brutal regime imaginable, the indomitable spirit of the Afghani people led them to find any way possible to not only endure, but to try to improve their lives under the rule of the Taliban.
This book stirred a lot of memories for me.
My overland trip at the end of the seventies through south-east Asia, the sub-continent, Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkey was a revelation. The final stages of the three month trip were fraught with danger, not only due to the upheaval in Afghanistan but also Iran, where a revolution was fermenting and travel on local transport was uncertain and difficult.
Every one of those countries was fascinating and exotic, but the one that lodged itself most deeply in my mind and my heart was Afghanistan. I spent several weeks of December 1978 there.
When I was there, Kabul was a beautiful city, full of fine buildings and beautiful parks and to see what has befallen it after more than twenty years of destruction by the various factions is heart-breaking.
Wild, primitive, dirty and almost medieval it certainly was, but the spirit of the people was palpable in the fierceness, pride and self-assured arrogance of the local Pathan tribesmen, striding about the streets wreathed in cartridge belts and brandishing rifles. In spite of that, they were the most wonderful, friendly and welcoming people we encountered on our journey.
This is a country that has never been subjugated by another nation and this quote from the President who was assassinated when the Soviets moved into the country just months previously bears out his and his countrymen’s determination.
"We will never allow you to dictate to us how to run our country and whom to employ in Afghanistan. How and where we employ the foreign experts will remain the exclusive prerogative of the Afghan state.
Afghanistan shall remain poor, if necessary, but free in its acts and decisions."
Daoud Khan - President of Afghanistan (1973-1978).
We can only hope that some day, all their lives will resume some sort of normality.
Sadly, Afghanistan has become a forgotten country and unless you are one of the truly intrepid, like Christina Lamb, impossible to visit.
Forgive me for rambling but this book really moved me. Thanks so much for the opportunity to read it.
Will send it on to amberC when I have an address
So sorry to have held this book up for so long, it will be moving on tomorrow to amberC
arrived safely in the mail today
i enjoyed the personal stories, especially Marri's letters and diary but found myself sometimes skimming over the political details. i too, would have liked to have read more about the 'sewing circles'.
thankyou, jackiea, for sharing your memries of Afghanistan. you are so lucky to have visited that part of the world.
to be posted to kalasue on Monday
thankyou, jackiea, for sharing your memries of Afghanistan. you are so lucky to have visited that part of the world.
to be posted to kalasue on Monday
Received and on top of tbr pile...
Journal Entry 10 by kalasue from Kalamunda, Western Australia Australia on Sunday, September 18, 2005
This book also had meaning for me as my brother is in Afghanistan at the moment (they are having elections this week so is a dangerous place to be)- he is a lawyer working for an international refugee agency and gets sent in to hot spots to monitor the situation. This book certainly gave me a much greater insight, but I also found myself skimming parts, and I never do that! Will post on this week...
Received this book in this mornings mail. I will get to it ASAP. Thanks to hillcat and all who have held this book before me for sending it on.
This book is very informative and presents a very insightful look at the history, culture and people of Afghanistan. It is almost impossible for me to imagine living in a country where the life expectancy is 42 years; where 75% of the population is illiterate; and where two thirds of all children have witnessed the killing of another human being.
One quote in the book from Marri's letters which really stood out for me is as follows:
"maybe when you watch the bombs on television you will think of me and know we are real feeling people here, a girl who likes to wear red lipstick and dreams of dancing, not just the men of beards and guns."
This book was a huge eye-opener for me, as I have to admit that I really did not know a great deal about Afghanistan before I read it. Thankyou hillcat for the opportunity to read this book.
I will be forwarding this book to puppymummy as soon as I confirm her postal details.
One quote in the book from Marri's letters which really stood out for me is as follows:
"maybe when you watch the bombs on television you will think of me and know we are real feeling people here, a girl who likes to wear red lipstick and dreams of dancing, not just the men of beards and guns."
This book was a huge eye-opener for me, as I have to admit that I really did not know a great deal about Afghanistan before I read it. Thankyou hillcat for the opportunity to read this book.
I will be forwarding this book to puppymummy as soon as I confirm her postal details.
Posted out to puppymummy this morning.
Arrived safely in Melbourne. I should warn you all that I have had a ridiculous number of bookrings arrive in a short time, so I can't promise that I will get to it soon, but it is in the correct pile and I will read it as soon as I can.
Finally finished - it took me some time to read this.
This was not at all what I expected the book would be. I remember the email petition circulating before September 11 about the terrible plight of women under the Taliban, and I was expecting this book to focus on those injustices, instead it was more about Afghanistan as a country and was probably 95% about the men and boys of the country. Still an important topic, but I think whoever marketed this book hasn't read it at all!
It was fascinating reading about the interviews with the Taliban leaders and their reasoning behind their actions, and also sheltering Osama bin Laden etc. I wonder if they've finally accepted that he is behind bombings and terrorism? It was disturbing to read once more about how the CIA and aid provided in the form of arms has caused the problems with terrorism which now face Western countries. I'm not saying foreign policy would be easy, but interfering in battles between warlords has led to a much worse outcome than if the aid had been directed elsewhere.
I was particularly moved by the accounts of the destruction of the museum and the gallery (and of course the Buddhas). Nobody has a right to destroy these works of art, they belong to the world, not the latest warlord. That was terrible.
I got very lost in the historical bits of different warlords and different groups and all of the infighting, I don't know how Christina Lamb keeps it all straight in her own head. That was confusing, and while I didn't skip it I also didn't bother to go back over it and try to understand it all (I did in the beginning, but it didn't work!)
I am waiting to hear back from ravenbear to see if she still wants to read this, or from hillcat on whether to send it whether there's a response or not.
This was not at all what I expected the book would be. I remember the email petition circulating before September 11 about the terrible plight of women under the Taliban, and I was expecting this book to focus on those injustices, instead it was more about Afghanistan as a country and was probably 95% about the men and boys of the country. Still an important topic, but I think whoever marketed this book hasn't read it at all!
It was fascinating reading about the interviews with the Taliban leaders and their reasoning behind their actions, and also sheltering Osama bin Laden etc. I wonder if they've finally accepted that he is behind bombings and terrorism? It was disturbing to read once more about how the CIA and aid provided in the form of arms has caused the problems with terrorism which now face Western countries. I'm not saying foreign policy would be easy, but interfering in battles between warlords has led to a much worse outcome than if the aid had been directed elsewhere.
I was particularly moved by the accounts of the destruction of the museum and the gallery (and of course the Buddhas). Nobody has a right to destroy these works of art, they belong to the world, not the latest warlord. That was terrible.
I got very lost in the historical bits of different warlords and different groups and all of the infighting, I don't know how Christina Lamb keeps it all straight in her own head. That was confusing, and while I didn't skip it I also didn't bother to go back over it and try to understand it all (I did in the beginning, but it didn't work!)
I am waiting to hear back from ravenbear to see if she still wants to read this, or from hillcat on whether to send it whether there's a response or not.
Received at last night's meet-up, on the understanding that once I finally get around to reading it, I will then send on to the next ray member. So for now, it's going down the bottom of my tbr pile, but I do look forward to getting to it sometime in the near future...
