JANUARY 2012 About This Place
Afghanistan: The Vocabulary Is As Rugged As The Topography
By Lyn Widmyer The first session of “Afghani-
stan and Its Neighbors” left me reeling.
Offered by Shepherd Univer-
sity’s Lifelong Learning pro- gram, the class focused on the history and political setting of a country that was barely a blip on our foreign policy radar un- til 9/11. As a certified packrat, I still
have all 18 volumes of the 1957 World Book Encyclopedia. The section on Afghanistan in- cludes charming drawings of Afghan shoes, a veiled woman, and a tribal warrior. “The Af- ghan tribes have been free to keep their own colorful habits and customs,” the World Book reports. The colorful habit of harboring members of Al-Qaida was many years away. The World Book reports Af- ghanistan’s “relations with Russia have sometimes been strained, but Russia has never invaded the country.” That changed in 1979 when the So- viet Union came in like gang- busters. They left 10 years later, beaten by home-grown insurgents, including Osama Bin-Laden. When Afghanistan became
part of the American political landscape after 9/11, I was as- tounded and appalled at how little I knew not only about Afghanistan. My knowledge was little better than the 1957 World Book Encyclopedia. A course on “Afghanistan
and Its Neighbors” gave me a chance to make amends. Of-
fered by local resident and former ambassador to Tajiki- stan Grant Smith, the class in- cluded commentary by retired Foreign Service officers who served in Afghanistan. Here’s what left me reel-
ing after the first class. Even though Afghanistan has been in the newspapers and on tele- vision for over 10 years, I still do not know the differences be- tween the Sunni and the Shia or whether Shir Khan is a person or a place. Grant and guest lec- turers would refer to Nur Mu- hamad Taraki and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar as they recounted the history of country. I was lost as my addled brain struggled to understand names and places that seemed to be ladled from a bowl of Afghan alphabet soup. Are there no John’s or Sue’s in that part of the world? Back in the day when I stud-
ied history, the focus was on the west with a nod to Russia and China. I took a look at a current high school world his- tory book and was pleased to see a chapter on the Islamic
World. At least this generation is being exposed to Sunni and Shi’ah Muslims and names like al-Razi and Ibn Sina. I am not hopeful I can wrap
my brain around the vocabu- lary of Afghanistan. I will never be able to recite the history of Afghan political leadership. How can I remember names like Sibghatullah Mojaddedi when sometimes I forget the name of our family dog (Zach)? One of the best attributes of the cur- rent President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, is his complete name contains only 4 syllables. The best I can do is take courses like those offered by Shepherd University and focus on politi- cal concepts and policy. Next semester, Lifelong
Leaning will offer a course on Sub-Saharan Africa. I plan to be there. Will the vocabulary be any easier? Not if we study the country of Bukina Faso. Its capital? Ouagadougou. For more information about
Lifelong Learning programs con- tact Karen Rice at krice@shep-
herd.edu.
Have a Safe and Prosperous New Year Sam Byrer Peter Pentony
16
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