Words by S. Abedi
Art by H. Hidai
There is no place for hope in the current situation of Afghanistan. Afghan people do not have any access to their most basic rights, poverty has been reaching its highest peak, social justice does not exist, the ruling regime is mono-ethnic and authoritarian, women are fading from society and in the general forty years of war has been exhausting the soul and spirit of the people of Afghanistan. So much so that their hopes and dreams for better life become less and less common in Afghanistan.
From my point of view, I am a girl currently living in Afghanistan and the abnormal conditions of my country have had a direct impact on me: I lost my young uncle in the war, I have experienced a terrorist attack at my university and currently I do not have any access to right of work or education, and almost ten other different types of discrimination against me and other women. To revive the hope of Afghan people once again, we must understand two things which will change our mind about hope and mental health: first, acceptance of these conditions. I do not mean to accept surrender, it will be different. Like how the collapse of the previous regime was not believable for the first few months for me and other Afghans, but then I knew it was a fact. I ought to know the way and the purpose of my struggle.
Second, we must know hope is a struggle for survival. In this kind of struggle, hope for better conditions is a basic condition for victory. In the end, I want to share a poem by Hafez Shiraze which is a lesson of hope.
“Arrived the glad tidings that grief’s time shall not remain. Like that joy’s time remained not; like this grief’s time shall not remain!”
