What must it feel like to have grown up under an oppressor and suddenly been given the gift of knowledge, rights, and freedom? I’m looking at a beautiful young girl on the cover of Junior Scholastic Magazine. The title story is, “This is my home.” This young lady is a child of Afghanistan and the article profiled her need to have the United States as an ongoing force in her life.
Her eyes express fear, and anguish, her olive skin glowing behind green gauze attire common for her people. Behind her is a mountainous area with military vehicles on alert. I wonder what this beautiful child is doing so close to a location where violence waits to erupt just around the corner. Why isn’t she in school, giggling with other girls her age, bent on an afternoon of teen girl discovery? How could anyone look past the pleading in her eyes? This child, but for the placement of her soul at birth, could be anyone’s child; strong and beautiful, with hope and promise.
I will pray for this young lady, so that she may live a long and productive life, one with a chance of flourishing amidst the ever present danger of the terror network alive in her land.
I’ll pray for her to receive the necessities of life and the gifts of an education, human rights, and good health.
I’ll pray for her new transitional democratic government to uphold its position and continue to fight against the danger the Taliban presents to her nation.
As moral human beings, can we do less? Can we continue to be uninformed and ignorant about the world? The time to respond is NOW to the needs of those who are helpless and oppressed, OR how can we live with ourselves?
Debbie ~ 4-15-10
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