Afghan refugee children's thoughts on life and education

Further to the news that due to increased violence in Pakistan, the Marnie Smith Middle School closed for a few days, we are very pleased to report that the schools are open once again. Rahema Sherzhad, the headmistress of the Marnie Smith Middle School and Jamilla Abassy, the headmistress of the Bakhtar Middle School have reassured Trust Sulha that everything is fine and that they are safe and well supported by the communities around them.

It was always the intention of the Trust Sulha founder, Marnie Summerfield Smith, that this new blog could become a place where the Afghan refugee students could speak to the world. So we are delighted that Silsila Abassy, (Jamilla's daughter), has been to Bakhtar Middle School to interview two students whose stories appear below. Thanks Silsila for all your hard work - much appreciated.

"My Name is Neak Mohammad and I am a student at the Bakhter Middle School.

Three years ago my father died of cancer. He had been ill for one year.

I have three sisters. One is very young, the other comes to school with me and my older sister works with my Mum preparing food and cleaning in people's houses.

Through this work my Mum and sister try to make things better for us. But of course the money isn't always enough so we have to adjust and make the best of things.

Sometimes when my Mum is ill, she cannot go to work. This means my sister cannot go either. On those days we are hungry and we go to sleep hungry.

All of us, especially my youngest sister wait patiently for my Mum to be well again, so that she can go to work and we can get something to eat. Sometimes our hopes come true and she does get well soon.

But sometimes our hopes do not come true and our Mum is ill for a long time.

I hope to complete my studies at the Bakhtar Middle School. But sometimes, when I see the condition of our house, my hungry sisters and my poorly Mum, I feel compelled to go out to work instead.

But what could I do? I am not strong enough to work very hard.

Our house is very, very far from our school but I have to travel this journey because the schools that are near my house all charge fees, which my family could not afford to pay.

At Bakhtar Middle School our fees are paid for by Trust Sulha. They also pay for the stationery that my sister and I need and also warm uniforms for us to wear.

We are so happy and thankful to Trust Sulha and everyone who helps them. We look forward to more help so that we can continue to study like other children do.

Thanks a lot Trust Sulha."

"My name is Sami Ullah. I am ten years old.

I am a student at the Bakhtar Middle School.

My Mum and Dad died in an accident on a very dark night. I was left alone with my four-year-old brother and my sisters who are 14 and 16.

It was too terrible to tolerate the dead bodies of our Mum and Dad because we knew that they were our guards, our life, our hopes, our parents, our relatives, our world and our everything.

Now we feel as if we have no arms or legs and we feel so alone.

We have lost our world, our hopes and all our happiness.

Since the accident I have not seen a smile on the faces of my brothers or sisters.

We just celebrated Eid here and although everyone was celebrating with their families, we had no-one. After 15 days, it was the biggest celebration of Eid and we didn't know what to do.

Every Eid my Dad would bring us new clothes and shoes. Now my little brother asks me where my Dad is and I have to tell him that Dad has died. Then he asks me where Mum is and I have to tell him that same answer.

Eid brings happiness for everyone but sadness for us.

When I think about losing my Mum and Dad, I feel that I want to leave my studies. Sometimes I even think that I want to leave this world.

But then I think about my sisters and my little brother and I am so confused about what we should all do.

I see other people with their Mums and Dads and I feel so alone.

One year ago I had a Mum and Dad but I lost them.

I don't know what I want to do but I know that I want to study. When I go to school I am a little bit happy, but when I go home and see the sad faces of my brother and sisters, I am unhappy again.

I want to study so much. In the future I would like to be a great personality and open a free school for orphans and help them as much as Trust Sulha helps us.

I want to be helpful to orphans.

Thank you Trust Sulha and Marnie and everyone who helps Trust Sulha."

Temporary School Closure due to violence

Pakistan shut all schools, universities and student hostels indefinitely this week as the country braced itself for further attacks on soft targets after Tuesday’s suicide bombing at a university campus in Islamabad. Read the full story in The Times here.

This has affected the Marnie Smith Middle School run by Rahema Sherzhad. But in an email to trust founder Marnie Summerfield Smith, Rahema said she hoped school would open again on October 26th.

Trust Sulha sends it best wishes to all students in this testing time.

Dance For Peace 2009 raises £1218.76

Excellent news! Dance For Peace 2009 raised £1218.76 - every penny of which will help to educate almost 2,000 Afghan refugee children in Quetta, Pakistan. This money will make an enormous difference to the lives of these hard-working and committed children, their supportive, kind families and wonderful, dedicated teachers. Thanks again to everyone who was involved, from the dancers to theatre volunteers and everyone who came to watch on Saturday, October 3rd, 2009. See you all next year!

Photo by David Vango - thanks David.

Tonight on BBC Radio 4 at 8pm: Afghanistan: Is It Mission Impossible?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00n3lbp

(45mins. Repeated this Saturday evening, 10th october 10.15pm to 11pm.)

As President Obama debates whether to send even more troops to the country, and the British death toll there rises, Eddie Mair chairs a debate at Chatham House in London about how close the west is to achieving its ambitions in Afghanistan.

What is its 'mission'? To close down terrorist cells in the country, making the UK a safer place? To introduce democracy, greater freedom for women, more electricity, water?

Taking part in the debate are:

Francesc Vendrell, who was the European Union's Special Representative for Afghanistan from 2002 to 2008; before that he was the Personal Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Afghanistan.

Brigadier Buster Howes, who is the Head of Overseas Operations at the MOD.

Eric Joyce, a former major in the army and now a Labour MP. He resigned as an aide to the defence secretary, calling on Gordon Brown to make clear to the British people that the Afghanistan campaign was 'time limited'.

Lindsey German, a senior organiser of the Stop the War Coalition.

Dr John Mackinlay, a counter-insurgency expert from King's College, London.

At Dance For Peace 2009 photojournalist Justin Sutcliffe showed some really uplifting images of Skateistan. This is a project set up by three Australians to bring skateboarding to Afghan kids in the country's capital, Kabul. Here is a story that appeared on The Guardian newspaper's website about Skateistan and Skateistan's website - which has some fantastic images.

Dance For Peace 2009, which took place on Saturday, October 3rd was a magnificent success. Two shows, a matinee and an evening performance took place at the Playhouse Theatre, Whitstable in Kent, UK and more than 160 people came along. The dancers, aged from four to 24 entertained the audiences with ballet, contemporary, street, jazz, Spanish and tap. The standard was outstanding and included a bit of breakdancing as well as singing and excerpts from Cinderella and the musical Fame - a real mixture. The dancers and their teachers were so wonderful to give up their time to raise funds for the students of Trust Sulha. Money was raised through ticket sales, programme sales, a raffle and donations at the end of the show.
We don't know how much we have raised yet, but we'll let you know...
As always, Trust Sulha founder and Dance For Peace creator Marnie Summerfield Smith started rehearsals with an explanation for the young performers about why young Afghans live as refugees in Pakistan and why they need our help to get an education.There was a fantastic atmosphere of generosity and comraderie all day and everyone said, "Can't wait until next year!" Definitely! Roll on Dance For Peace 2010.
As you may know, Dance For Peace was extremely lucky to have photojournalist Justin Sutcliffe as a guest to speak at both shows. As a winner of World Press Photo, it is more than accurate to describe Justin as one of the world's best photographers. He showed a series of images of the Afghanistan we don't normally get to see. And they were truly stunning. The audience was transfixed as well as fascinated by his knowledge. Thanks again to Justin for giving up his time Visit his website to see some of them and keep an eye for future exhibitions.
And as a little bonus to the dancers, we had photographer David Vango there to capture rehearsals. But during the performances, David was video-recording the shows. Fortunately Justin Sutcliffe was backstage throughout to capture some truly beautiful moments, both on stage and off. Trust Sulha can't wait to see those images and will be finding a way for the dancers to see them too.
A great day for everyone, but most importantly a day that raised funds for the Trust Sulha students who work so hard and deserve all the help we can give them.

Pictures from the Marnie Smith Middle School in Quetta, Pakistan. Trust Sulha raises funds to help educate these children and give them hope of a different future - a peaceful future. Go students! You are inspiring!