AFGHANISTAN
The Land of Afghans
This young Afghan girl became a “symbol of the dignity and resilience of her
people.“ (McCurry, photographer)
“Afghanistan is one of the most impoverished nations
of the world. It is one of the most war-torn, most
ravaged, and most beleaguered of nations.” (A
Brief History of Afghanistan, by Adam Ritscher)
Geography
Landlocked –
Pakistan, Iran,
China
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Mountain and
desert
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Hot summers, cold
winters
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Size of the state of
Texas
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Resources - Metals:
gold, silver, copper,
zinc, iron ore
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Other resources –
emeralds,
petroleum, natural
gas, coal, sulfur, salt
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Kabul - capital
The People
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Mosaic of ethnic groups
Pashtuns
Tajiks
Hazara (most oppressed)
Turkmen
Other ethnicities
Muslim, small groups
of other religions
Predominant languagesFarsi, Dari, Pashtu
Young Hazara girl
History
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Seen many invaders
Persian Empire – 643-330 BC
Alexander the Great – 356-323 BC
Arabs – 800-900 AD
Mongol nomads (Ghengis Khan) –
1206-1405
Freedom in 1747
1800 – British Empire
Anglo/Afghan wars – 1839-1919
Aug 19, 1919 – liberated from Great
Britain
A time of freedom
Modern History
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Civil war – 1978
Soviet Invasion – 1979
Civil War – 1989-1992
Civil War – 1992-1996
Taliban movement – 1994
Taliban Control – 1996-2001
Oct 2004 – elected president
Are Canadian troops helping in the fight against the Taliban?
Taliban
The children are caught in the middle of a
political war.
What will the end suffering of these people?
Kite Flying
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Hobby of duelling kites – try to
take down the other kites and be
the last kite flying
Runner s race to find the fallen
kite
Tissue paper and bamboo
Tarred string with small shards of
glass imbedded
Taliban banned kite flying
Kite Running
The streets of
Kabul
Khaled Hosseini
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Born in 1965, in Kabul,
Afghanistan
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Moved to the US in 1980
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Studied biology, then medicine
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The Kite Runner - his first novel
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A Thousand Splendid Suns –
second
And the Mountains Echoed - third
The Kite Runner
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Told through the eyes of Amir, the
protagonist
Two friends from opposite sides
of the social hierarchy
Seeks redemption for his
betrayal of his friend Hassan
Themes - betrayal, loyalty,
redemption, forgiveness, honour,
best and worst in the human
spirit, discrimination
A Thousand Splendid Suns
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Female perspective
Two stories intertwined –
Mariam and Laila
Themes – best and worst
in the human spirit, inner
strength, discrimination,
loyalty