On Deadly Ground

As if the War in Afghanistan, constant suicide bombings, and militant attacks wasn't enough for Afghan people to worry about, now they are dealing with the aftermath of recent earthquakes. Last week two earthquakes with magnitudes of 5.4 and 5.7 occurred in northern Afghanistan. These quakes have taken the lives of an estimated 70 to 100 people. Although, no official death toll has been provided just yet while search efforts continue.

In other current events in Afghanistan citizens and NATO soldiers are still being killed like clockwork intentionally and unintentionally.  Just a couple of weeks ago several civilian women and children were killed by a NATO air strike, which has left many Afghan people upset. Within the same week or so a U.S. military helicopter was shot down by a rocket killing two crew members.

The troubled country continues to be a work in progress in many aspects; education is still up and down across all the provinces, and women live day to day as inferior people compared to their male counterparts. And it seems like if people are not being killed or blown up in Afghanistan, they are threatened, kidnapped, or seriously injured by militants and the Taliban.

What makes Afghanistan's situation so sad is a lot of the Afghan people want a better life and country for themselves and their children. There are just pockets of bad seeds (extremists) spread throughout the country along with Taliban rule that make the whole country struggle to overcome the corruption and mediocrity. The people in Afghanistan who do want a better home must continue to work with the Afghanistan government system and military, NATO, and Film Annex for the long term to keep making progress.

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The Price to Pay For A Education

For most children across the world going to school means gathering knowledge in preparation for a bright future. And it generally means children are at the one place where they have nothing to focus on other than getting an education. However, schooling in Afghanistan is recognized as an opportunity for the Taliban to spread fear and rampage. In the minds of normal people, there's a saying "children are the future," but that's not the case for some people in Afghanistan.

In the last several weeks over 800 children have been poisoned while at school. These poisonings are showing control, capability, and quite frankly, just how putrid the Taliban is. Women in the country already have a hard enough time being respected and earning rights. Now girls ranging in ages from 10 to 20 have to worry about getting through a full day of class without being attacked. This makes parents second guess if an education is worth it or not if their child's well being is on the line.

The lack of education in Afghanistan continues to be a black eye for the war torn country, but now education is a way for terrorists to impose their will if they don't agree with something. The Khost, Balkh, and Takhar provinces have all seen children hospitalized with headaches, vomiting, dizziness, and unconsciousness because of poisonings that were Taliban retaliations. In other provinces schools are still fully directed as to what and when they learn due to the stronghold the Taliban has. And if guidelines are not followed, children are subject to severe physical violence (e.g., acid thrown on them) and risk the school(s) being closed down completely.

When health becomes a factor of deciding to go to school or not, there is a concern that needs to be seriously addressed. Unfortunately, Afghanistan education is seeing a double threat of physical harm and closed-minded curriculum. And though some parts of the country try to educate normally, there continues to be struggles everyday. Consistent efforts from the Afghanistan Government, NATO, and Film Annex are bright spots that work to bring education forward in the country. Hopefully, the good guys prevail which allows Afghan children to learn peacefully like in the rest of world.


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