laleh_pishrow

Everything. Afghanistan is a puzzle to Afghans themselves. It has been very difficult for outsiders to understand us.

I find something basic that most westerners are surprised by is the landscape of Afghanistan. I have surprised many people by searching "Afghanistan landscape".

I would like to answer your question more specifically. I think Abdul Ghaffar Khan offered us a way to avoid the current situation. As a nation we rejected his appeal and instead embraced violence.

Every experience is unique. I think if you listen to the stories of people you will help them to carry the pain. Asking someone to sit over a cup of tea and tell you about their life is the best way to empathize. Forget the grand stories and abstract ideas. Talk to the person directly. Talk to them about what is alive in them. Their needs, hopes, fears, etc.

I think our problems run deeper than what politics can solve. Another political system might be more efficient, but I don't think it will fundamentally solve our problems.

Yes! This is the subject of the book. I think we Afghans could have avoided this fate. It would have been a hard road, but one with a better ending than this one.