The Straightline
Secret to Hope
by Eric Watt
Kabul –
The fully armed young Afghan man in his early twenties approached the woman school headmaster and said, “Can I swap my gun for a pen and paper? I have only been taught to hate and to kill, but I have never been taught to learn.”
My eyes held back the tears as I listened to story after story of the brokenness and despair of a nation ravaged by two decades of war and terror. Sitting on a floor mattress surrounding the perimeter of the living room, my mind wandered from the conversation as a worker came in to stoke the wood stove. How could I possibly make a difference, I thought. What could be done to re-build a nation that only knows the pain of destruction?
Our meeting ended, and we rose to show our appreciation. With graciousness befitting a queen our hostess invited us to her home the following evening for a meal. Her words echoed in my heart, “I do not live my life for myself, I live for others…”
A few minutes later we moved to the lunch table and were joined by a gentleman of utmost dignity. He began to describe to us his own journey over the last 23 years of war. Once the Taliban took over, he lost his job, and his children could not go to school. Eventually he had no means to provide for his family yet continually found ways to give to others and build his homeland. As he began to describe a water project he designed for the northern part of the city, a troubling question began to haunt me. How could this man, so wounded and hurt, find the strength to serve others?
The answer lies in the depth of the Afghan heart. Rising to the challenge of re-building their nation, these fiercely loyal and compassionate people know that their only hope lies in sacrificing what they have to insure a future for Afghanistan. If only they could draw strength and hope from the Master -- “He saved others, but he could not save himself.”
Central Asian Resources