Our Shared Stories: An Afghan Diary

by Emal Dusst (Editor), Jahan Shahryar (Editor)

Overview

One of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People. A social entrepreneur who founded the first coding school for girls in Afghanistan and won the Google RISE Award. The 2016 Forbes Impact Winner and founder of the first boarding school for girls in Afghanistan. A woman who was shot in the face by her husband. An author who has been published in 20 languages (A Fort of Nine Towers). All of them exemplify the resilience of the Afghan people and are just a handful of the writers in this book – an anthology of 40+ personal stories from around the world. 100% of the book proceeds are dedicated to supporting girls’ education in Afghanistan.

The stories in this book should leave you with emotions and perspectives that were yet to be developed. This anthology will shed a new light on both the country of Afghanistan and the individual Afghan experience. The contributors offer thoughtful reflections about their experiences escaping from the wars in Afghanistan, resettling in host countries, and working to rebuild Afghanistan in the past decade.

This book connects Afghan people around the world. While many of us are displaced from the land of Afghanistan, we are, nonetheless, tied to our rich Afghan culture. Though we may be spread across continents, we are not alone. We hold common traditions, languages, foods, and dance. We have endured similar experiences during the wars or throughout our journeys abroad. We are Afghan, hyphenated or not.

Additionally, this book is a great opportunity to share our culture outside the Afghan community. It is a chance to show others that we are not so different from them, that we love our new homes, and that we have contributed to our adoptive countries as well as our motherland. You will also find several stories from non-Afghans who relay their own conception of the Afghan people.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781513613956
Publisher:	Our Shared Stories: An Afghan Diary
Publication date:	08/29/2016
Pages:	274
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.99(h) x 0.58(d)

Table of Contents

Introduction
Editors' Introduction
Belonging and Home amongst the Afghan Diaspora, Deepali Gaur

Chapter 1 - The Departure
Of Sunshine and Ghosts, Shakieb Orgunwall
The Decision, Layma Murtaza
I Forgot My Toys, Jacob Ayubi
The Divine Whole, Rokhshana Daudi
"And still, a part of your heart is in this world", Najla Ayubi (written by Gabrielle Clifford)

Chapter 2 - Hyphenated Identity
The Inevitable Experience of Afghan Diaspora: Acculturation, Dr. Nahid Aziz
Fighter, Frishta Bastan
Stuck, Frisha Bastan
The Full Price, Qais Akbar Omar
Afghan-American, Hoda Sana
My Grandfather's Ghost, Reza Hessabi
Art, Ali Baluch

Chapter 3 - Culture
What's in a Name? Joan Kayeum
Sarina: An Afghan Girl, Betsy Arsala
I Am a Girl and I am Free, Roia Shefayee
What is Afghan Culture? Suleiman Wali
A Soft, Beautiful Sound, Nawa Arsala

Chapter 4 - Family
Under Your Crescent Moon, Krystle Ahmadyar
From Coche Ali Reza Khan to the White House, Jahan Shahryar
Jamila, Shakil Nooristani

Chapter 5 - The Motherland
Freedom, Ariana Delawari
Back Home, Dr. Mohammad Ali Aziz-Sultan
Fighting the Good, Baktash Ahadi
A Visitor from Hollywood, Masuda Sultan
Inside the President's Circle, Ajmal Ahmady

Chapter 6 - Innovating for the Future
Educating Girls: The Power to Change a Nation? Shabana Basij-Rasikh
Technology as an Agent of Change for Our Women, Roya Mahboob
Afghan Girls Inspire Future Brilliance, Sophia Swire
Building Afghanistan 2.0 with Afghan Girls Who Code, Fereshteh Forough
The Almighty Tylenol, Ahmad Bassam
The Present Afghanistan Needs Your Attention More Than the Past, Mina Sharif

Chapter 7 - Reflections
Lyrical Devotion for My Rusty Áina, Sara Wais
Wakhan Adventure, Ambassador Ronald E. Neumann
A Dream of the Grand Canyon, Nang Attal
My Adopted Home: A Country in Transition, Lael Mohib
Counting Hope, Yasmeen Gailani
Killburn to Kabul, Dr. Thomas Wide
Remembering Who You Are & Where You Are Going, Krystle Ahmadyar

Chapter 8 - The Departure Part II
I Was Shot, Shakeela Zarin
Ravenna, Hyphen Pending, Jasmine Afshar
People of Nowhere: Inside the Refugee Crisis, Freshta Poupal
In Transit, Dr. Shinkai Hakimi

Supporting Girls' Education