The Outsiders who cherish education - The Hazara's

I just finished reading this article. In the magazine, there is a photograph of a small hazara boy in a classroom, looking earnestly at what presumably is the blackboard while his friend is scratching his head trying to understand. That encapsulated the power of education for me. Despite the brutality and stupidity of the Sunni Pashtuns and Taliban who have discriminated against the Hazara and blown up schools, they still decide that education is the way forward. Some quotes:

"The Hazaras are producing the most enthusiastic, educated, forward-looking youth, who are seizing the opportunities provided by the new situation," says Michael Semple, a red-bearded Irishman who serves as the deputy to the special representative of the European Union in Afghanistan.

And read this quote and applaud

In this tiny hamlet and throughout Hazarajat, education is a priority. Even if the school is a tent or a building with no doors or windows, even if the teacher has only a few years of schooling, parents want their kids to study, far more so than elsewhere in the country. Hussain Ali lives in a cave in Bamian, where his family sleeps on thin bedrolls and the walls are blackened with soot. His children could bring in extra income, but he wants them in school. "I'm old, my time has passed," he says, "but my children should learn something."

This is what will distinguish the animals from the civilised people. People who want to learn and study, improve themselves. And when Allah asks for an accounting of their deeds, the Taliban will say that they blew up schools, and the Hazara will say that they studied and read. Do you know what the first word in the Quran is? IQRA meaning read!

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