“I’m proud Pashtoon. I’m proud Tajik. I’m proud Hazara. I’m proud Uzbek. I spit on you all for considering yourself higher than an Afghan. “ – some dude on TV.
I’m so sick of it.
Seriously, Pashtoons paranoid that any ‘Farsiwan’ is anti-Pashtoon and vice versa. Or Tajiks going against Hazaras etc. And I resent groups such as the Pashtoon Society of USA or Tajiki Group of Australia bla bla and other crappy organisations as such that break Afghans into small groups. Why not Afghans in general? Why does it have to be broken into ethnic groups? There is so much hostility — it’s unbelievable.
Pashtoons hating Dari and Tajik Afghans hating Pashto – when will they accept their differences and realise it’s the same land and same people? When will they realise it was the pride in their tribe/provinces that brought this country down? They defended their province against insurgents, how about standing together and protecting their country — their Afghanistan!
The time when Afghans need to be united most against murderers and thieves – they are breaking down into provinces, villages, tribes etc. And they are proud of it too. Why? The repercussions it had last time – is it really worth it? To group ourselves and have so much pride that it causes us to look down on the other ethnic groups?
Nangarhar is a clear example because I’ve witnessed it myself - the villagers from one village think they are better than the village next to them because that village has very ‘dumb people’. And this is INSIDE Nangarhar – so someone from Mazaar or Herat or Panjshir to them is a complete outsider. And I’m sure this happens in other provinces too, not only Nangarhar.
If this continues, God forbid, dare I say why not chop Afghanistan into different countries? It’s a shame, Afghans are so hospitable to western foreigners, but amongst themselves — there’s so much rivalry and hostility.
If your Tajik, embrace the Pashtoon culture. If your Pashtoon, embrace the Tajik culture. And the same goes for Hazaras and Uzbeks. Learn the different languages and cultures that exist in Afghanistan and accept that we’re all one. Teach both languages to your children and pass on the values of unity.
I grew up not knowing about the provinces and the ethnic divisions that exist in Afghanistan and I thank my parents for that. I have friends who are Afghan and I had no idea which provinces they were from and quite frankly, I didn’t care because it didn’t matter — until I came to Afghanistan and learned of the differences that exist.
Through my veins, there runs Pashtoon blood with a bit of Tajik blood. Don’t want to single out my ethnicity but I’m mainly Pashtoon but I didn’t speak a word of Pashto until I married my husband and learned from his family. I’m happy to say that I was a Dari speaking Pashtoon because it meant I had both in me and that made me an Afghan and I salute my parents for that. I’m even prouder today because I can speak both Dari and Pashto – both are the languages of Afghanistan, equally. And I’m a proud Australian-Afghan.
I hope to teach our children both Dari and Pashto and teach them they are Afghan, and not from a particular province. Inshallah.
United we stand, divided we fall.
Ethnic and national divisions are highly undesirable. Ultimately it leads to conflict.
I describe myself as Pashtoon, but would you consider it wrong, for me to put Pashto first? It’s what I identify with mostly.
I wasn’t raised with Dari – rather when my grandparents moved to India and then Pakistan, Urdu replaced Farsi as the functional language outside the home (my paternal side is mixed Farsi-Pashto). Later Urdu was replaced by English when my parents moved to the UK. We still held onto our Pashto quite strongly and this is what defines me.
I am drawn mainly to Pashto, culturally and linguistically, because for me it was the dominant language. It’s not about racism or division.
Trying to counter racism with nationalism is like multiplying zero with zero, the end result is zero. 99.9 % of our problems will be solved if we consider our selves Muslim first and every thing else latter.
the Messenger of Allah (saaw) said, narrated by At-Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud,
“There are indeed people who boast of their dead ancestors; but in the sight of Allah they are more contemptible than the black beetle that rolls a piece of dung with its nose. Behold, Allah has removed from you the arrogance of the Time of Jahiliyyah (Ignorance) with its boast of ancestral glories. Man is but an Allah-fearing believer or an unfortunate sinner. All people are the children of Adam, and Adam was created out of dust.”
in the Hadith recorded in Mishkat al-Masabith, the Messenger of Allah (saaw) said,
“He who calls for `Asabiyyah is as if he bit his father’s genitals”
“United we stand, divided we fall” So very true
(as is your post) of not just things there, but the world in general.
The day the we learn that we are no different to our neighbor, that we all belong to the same race (human) that beneath the skin and clothes and beliefs we are all the same and equal – then we might stand a chance.
My children are raised to believe that we are all equal – no matter the colour of our skin, our religious or political beliefs, that pride in our nation is nice, but pride in our planet is nicer and friendliness and tolerance should be shown to all.
I raise them to understand just like we all have a favorite song or dish that our choice is no better than someone else who enjoys a different tune or meal. That their opinion whilst true for them may not be another’s truth.
Respect for others great or small and the concept that we are all different (not better or worse)
Hopefully one day they will fly from my nest and experience many cultures and people, and that they learn from all they meet.
Your life in Afghanistan sounds fascinating and I cant wait to read more.
Couldnt agree more with your post, I too pray for unity amongst our people as we have seen the results of ethnic division and the bloody outcomes of that. I hope to see more regular posts and that you remain safe.
Why not broaden things further – consider ourselves Human Beings first and foremost, and affiliates of our country second, then town, tribe, family, whatever.
Dividing ourselves into groups is fine, as long as the choice of others to divide themselves into different groups is also respected, and our common humanity considered a priority, rather than maintaining our identities in particular groups.
The less defined identity we have, the better as far as I’m concerned.
I am a college student from the US and am doing a final project on the use of Community Media in Afghanistan. I am wondering if we could have an email dialogue about it.
The only way forward is education
a route that is obstacle-d by, well..
By the way, I haven’t had the time to read your blog that thoroughly but – why are you still in Kabul again? I remember reading your post after the bombings and never got to asking you. Must be a some مجبوریت, eh?
Afghans are the least racist people i can think of, they just talk a lot, but at the end of the day they don’t reject anyone, unlike europeans who pretend to be egalitarian but really hate everyone
this is specialy for range slider basicaly your arguments are based on speculated theories not reality and i think you are in middle age mentaly and accidently existing in twenty first century.nation is natural and and cannot changed in the contrary the religion can changed.religion is some thing which concerns with morals conduting.
This was a very good article as It is a very deep and soul grabbing topic unfortunately this tribal dividend will not go away as long as MOST of Afghans stay uneducated. They only way this problem will go away is if the WHOLE country goes back to SCHOOL and get an education. The Afghan government has to do a lot in this regards but unfortunately they are not and neither are the STUPID AFGHAN TELEVISION NETWORKS. They are too busy promoting music videos… The past 30 years of WAR has really missed Afghans up and divided them apart…
I guess only stupid and illiterate people create such problems. Actually this problem is not only among Afghans but everybody around the world. That’s why there is no peace in the world. We need to embrace each other as we all are human beings. why should we care where people come from and what religion or ethnic groups they belong to? I love all ma Afghans no matter what.
Hey i dont know your name but you did talk about some good point point. I support you all the way . Proud to be an afghan