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July 4th in Afghanistan
By maudeaster on 2009-07-03 07:32:40
As the sound of firecrackers fills our neighborhood, I am thinking about what this July 4'h season means. Surely, above all,
Americans celebrate Independence Day as a symbol of efforts in 1776 to end foreign (then British) occupation. Are we still
opposed to foreign occupation? I grew up hearing other more recent stories of foreign occupation - particularly, in my
family, how the Nazi occupation of France divided families and communities into resisters and collaborators. As a child, I
admired the bravery of those who resisted the occupation and hoped, if I ever needed to, I'd have the courage to help people
flee persecution or to organize non-cooperation against military occupiers. I loved the story of the king of Denmark calling
on all Danes to risk arrest themselves and protect Danish Jews by donning a yellow star. This year, I have felt inspired by
Malalai Joya, a courageous young Afghan woman. In 2005, she was elected to the Afghan Parliament with highest number
of votes from Farah Province. The BBC has described her as one of the most popular MPs in Afghanistan. [caption
id="attachment_927" align="alignleft" width="294" caption="Malalai Joya"]
[/caption] Despite threatening criticism, she fearlessly denounced the presence of warlords and criminals in the parliament,
resulting in her being expelled from the legislature in 2007 for "insulting fellow representatives" - an expulsion now under
appeal. Joya has also dared to speak out against the American military occupation of Afghanistan as intensifying, not
helping, the conflict in her country, "It is a shame that so much of Afghanistan's reality has been kept veiled by a western
media consensus in support of the 'good war'. Perhaps if the citizens of North America had been better informed about my
country, President Obama would not have dared to send more troops and spend taxpayers' money on a war that is only
adding to the suffering of our people and pushing the region into deeper conflicts. " So, on July 4th, please join me in
thinking about what protesting the suffering of her country means for Afghans like Joya. As an American, I find it shameful
that it means that she and others must take great risks to resist a US military occupation - how we have turned July 4") on its
head! Speaking in Canada in 2006, Joya said, "No nation can donate liberation to another nation." It is time for Congress
and President Obama to listen to her wisdom and replace American troops with regional diplomacy and funding for Afghan
organizations to rebuild their country. That would be a wonderful way to celebrate the spirit of July 4th
