In my own research, I found that there are over 500,000 widows in Afganistan. Most people may not realize that the terrorists who terrorized America on September 11 were mostly from Saudi Arabia and other third world countries....Afganistan unfortunately happens to be the place where the terrorists training camps are.
The widows blame the taliban...they are sorrowful over what happened in America as they are in their own country. I watched a documentary of two widows from 9/11 who both lost their husbands, and had children at home. They received much compensation for their lost, however the widows in Afganistan recieved nothing. They went from living off of 46.00 a month to 16.00 a month. In fact, many have lost their children to starvation. The women aren't given the opportunity to be independent and provide for themselves, however, now there are foundations and groups that are enabling these widows to bring in some money by raising chickens and selling their eggs or chicks, in order that they might feed their children and send them to school.
When the widows were asked why they wouldnt remarry as their life would be easier, they said no, they cannot keep their children and marry again. In their culture, you start over, you would have to disown your church to marry again. The rest of their life will be spent trying to survive.
Nothing in all the reading of this country and it's people touched me as the story of the widows. If you would like to watch the documentary yourself, you can watch it instant play on Netflix.It is a documentary called Beyond Belief.
Want to learn more about Afganistan? Check out these books:
- Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
- A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
- The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad
- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
- I Dared to Call Him Father: The True Story of a Woman's Encounter with God by Bilquis Sheikh
These are just a few.....I have a lot of reading to do :)
With my husband in Afanistan who sees these women often and speaks with the children, it kinda hits a little close to home for me, although I've not been there. I would love to see Afganistan for myself and go to these widows homes to see firsthand what life is like.
Till then, I am currently working on doing a fundraiser through the foundation for the widows in Afganistan. I am an avid hiker...I recently set goals to hike the highest peaks wherever we live or close to home, except Nepal and Tibet aka Mt Everest ;) Recently did the highest peak in the Adirondacks and wishing I had known about this organization then. :( So my goal is to organize a fundraiser with the help of Beyond the 11th. You may not have the ability to hold fundraisers ect, but you can also donate at Beyond the 11th as well. I also am hoping to hold a seminar on post in the spring educating people especially women and army wives to support this foundation and their cause (to help and empower the widows in Afganistan). I hope and pray to also use this opportunity as a way to reach this women for Christ. There is a HOPE that is available to them and they have a right to know!
No matter how different I may think people are in other countries, I know that these women are still women, mothers, wives, and sisters. They care about their children's education and nutrition same as I do, they care about where their children are going to sleep, orlive, except they don't have the same liberties and privileges that I have here...I don't take this for granted. I am extremely humbled, and so very thankful that I have the freedom and means to educate my children, and I have provisions to make sure my children are fed and have a roof over their head. I could not imagine being a mother and not being able to provide these essentials for them. I spend nearly 24 hours of my day caring for my children. I can't imagine what life must be like for these widows who are mothers.
I would love to hear what you think, if you watched the video, or read any of these books.....
Thanks for reading~ Aubrey
5 comments:
I have read The Bookseller of Kabul. It was an eye-opener. It is hard to imagine what women in these countries go through. They have so very few liberties that we take for granted. Good luck with your fundraising.
My mother heard Bilquis Sheikh speak at a church in Tulsa years ago and her book was one of Mama's favorites.
Your post touched me. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
Loree~ I just finished that book. I couldn't put it down!
Carla~ Thank you! I would love to hear her in person!
such a sad situation for the women there and especially their situation without Christ, i feel horrible for the young children there, soo many who dont know the Love of Christ....i havent read those books but i did read "Son of Hamas", written by Mosab Hassan Yousef, as well as all of Brigitte Gabriels and Robert Spencers books (im a huuuuge bookworm). those were all very eye opening....
I checked Amazon for "I Dared to Call Him Father"; it said the original publishing date was 1978, so Mama must've heard her speak then or sometime close to that year. That church (Tulsa Christian Fellowship) had some great speakers visit: the real Maria von Trapp, Corrie ten Boom, Bilquis Sheikh, Jamie Buckingham. I was able to hear Maria and Corrie.
Your new decorating looks wonderful.
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