Truth like the sun
“I am sorry I cannot be in Chicago this weekend physically
but I along with millions of other Afghans will be there in heart and in
spirit, standing in solidarity with the demand that NATO withdraw its troops
from Afghanistan.”
Malalai Joya
Malalai Joya is an Afghan and internationally known political activist, lecturer and writer, a seriously insightful analyst and critic of criminally impaired governance, governments and leaders in Afghanistan and United States, and of foreign relations and domestic affairs on both continents.
Malalai Joya in 2008 in London received the Anna Politkovskaya Award given to courageous women who have defended human rights. In 2009 came recognition from Member of the United States Congress Barbara Lee. In 2010 in Madrid, she received the Yo Dona International award of ‘premio a la Labor Humanitaria’ (from the Spanish daily El Mundo) and the International Award “Donna dell’Anno 2010” (woman of the year 2010) from the Italian Swiss University of Peace. Foreign Policy Magazine in 2010 named her in its annual list of “Top 100 Global Thinkers.” In 2011, The Guardian (UK) listed her among a “Top 100 women: activists and campaigners.”
In Wednesday’s article in the Guardian, Malalai Joya again writes
personally, politically and powerfully about foreign aggression in her country
and the Middle East-South Central Asia-Africa region, about NATO and the United
States war and occupation, about sovereignty and puppet governments.
Excerpt, minor editing by Carolyn Bennett
“No one can believe leaders like [U.S. President Barack] Obama
who say they are working for peace even as they continue the bombings, night
raids and drone attacks that kill civilians every week – sometimes every day –
in Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere,” she writes.
“This weekend’s protests will likely face repression… but it
is vital that people take to the streets to raise their voices. Here in
Afghanistan, peace and women’s rights activists risk their lives to hold
protests against both the occupation and the fundamentalist warlords.
“President Obama lived in Chicago for many years; it is
practically his hometown.
“Mine is in Afghanistan’s remote Farah province, where I was
elected as an MP in 2005, at the age of 26. I faced threats and assassination
attempts – and was kicked out of parliament in 2007 because I spoke out and
denounced the occupation, the warlords and the Taliban.
“Because I was banished, I was unable to stand in parliament
and condemn a NATO bombing in May 2009 that killed about 150 people in Farah.
 |
| Afghan children caught in crossfire |
“Most of the victims of this massacre were women and
children.
“I would like to ask Obama and his wife, Michelle, how they
would feel if their own daughters were killed in this senseless and brutal
manner?
“… This is the reality of the war in Afghanistan. This is
the reality of what NATO does all around the world; and if NATO is allowed to
stay and continue the war in Afghanistan, it will be emboldened to wage more
wars against more people – in the Middle East, in Africa and beyond.
 |
| NATO tankers - Afghanistan |
“We have many problems in Afghanistan – fundamentalism,
warlords, the Taliban – but we will have a better chance to solve them if we
have our self-determination, our freedom, our independence. NATO’s bombs will
never deliver democracy and justice to Afghanistan or any other country.
“The voices of protest in the streets of Chicago will be
seen and heard in Kabul, and in Farah, and eventually in every corner of
Afghanistan. … The truth is like the sun:
when it comes out, nothing can block it.
 |
| Stop the War Coalition |
Sources and notes
Stop the War Coalition note on its website accompanying the
copy of Joya’s article:
The NO TO NATO demonstration in Chicago
is twinned with the May 19 protest in London outside the U.S. Embassy: Joint
statement by National United Antiwar Coalition (U.S.) and Stop the War
Coalition (UK)
“Malalai Joya: These NATO anti-war protests are the most
important of our generation: The protesters remind us that the U.S. government
is not representative of the U.S. people. It’s encouraging to see so many
willing to stand up against this unjust, disastrous war in Afghanistan,” May 17,
2012, http://www.stopwar.org.uk/index.php/afghanistan-and-pakistan/1410-malalai-joya-the-most-important-anti-war-demonstrations-of-our-generation
Original article
“Afghanistan’s’
Chicago resistance: NATO’s murderous occupation will feel the strength of
American and Afghan solidarity in Chicago this weekend” (Malalai Joya in Kabul,
guardian.co.uk), Wednesday, May 16, 2012, http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/may/16/afghanistan-chicago-resistance-nato#start-of-comments
Related:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/20/nato-summit-obama-afghanistan-live
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