Some little known things about the Afghan people...

*I didn't write this - my friend 'Afghan Princess' sent this to me - she didn't write it either.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=97188083

I don't agree with some of it, and it's not the most well-written thing I've ever seen, but I thought it might be of interest to some people...


*** " THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN TALKING TO AN AFGHAN " ***
1. We do NOT know Osama personally!!!! Because of him our BEAUTIFUL mountains were bombed into hills!!! Just imagine Switzerlands mountains would be bombed into hills!! A Tragedy!Just because he was hiding in Afghanistan does not make Afghans terrorists just like you wouldn't be called a bankrobber if some Swedish bankrobber sneaks into your cellar to hide and invite his Swedish friends to the cellar to teach them how to rob banks. Is this analogy logical enough for you?
2. Osama Bin Ladin IS NOT AFGHAN!!!!!! He is an Arab.
3. I'm sorry to dissapoint you but over 99,999999 percent of Afghans do not qualify as: Terrorist, part of the Taliban(mostly men from Pakistan and Arabian countries), part of the Mujahideen, or part of the Northern Alliance.There was NO Afghan man involved in any of the terrorist attacks or any terrorist actions, not one single person with an afghan nationality or afghan roots was sitting in any terrorist plane or was bombing any western country.Afghanistan is a country in Central Asia and far away from Arabian Middle Eastern Countries.
4. Afghans are called AFGHAN not afghani or afghanistani,afghanistanian,afghaninanian or afghanistanmarsian !"Afghani" is our currency , i'm not calling you Dollar either , right?
5. All Afghans LOVE their country...and when I say love, I don't mean patriotism....I mean deep heartfelt passionate love...the kind of love that makes you want to kiss Afghan soil and cry for Afghanistan and die for Afghanistan...Afghans love for Afghanistan goes WAY deep.
6. Afghans have their OWN language!!Pashto and Dari are the official languages of Afghanistan. Dari has always been used for business and government transactions.Both belong to the Indo-European group of languages.(Dari is similar to the iranian Farsi , Pashto is a unique language)
7. Simply to be CORRECT Afghans / Pashtuns do fall under the White racial group. Historians trace the origin of the country Afghanistan into remote prehistory, referring to it as ancient Aryana , Land of The Aryan .Technically we may be Asian ( Afghanistan is called "The Heart of Asia" ) , but we fall under the white category.If you don't believe it:every country including the United states of America officially stated that Afghans/Pashtuns are considered white/caucasian(<-thats what we correctly mark on legal documents ;). Don't get me wrong because racism is a horrible disease and of course EVERYONE lovable no matter what ethnicity, race , religion , nationality , mentality etc. is loved.Afghans are one of the original White people to populate the planet and that does NOT mean that we would be european because anthropologically we are the ORIGINAL Aryans , that's just a fact and doesn't mean any ethnicity would be any superiour or anything in that wrong direction.It's just very sad that some Europeans used this catchy word Aryan and used it to kill other people.If you say"Aryans have blue eyes and blonde eyes or they are basically European" that's just wrong because Aryans refer to people who lived thousands of years ago,in today's Afghanistan.Ethnicity isn't about what colour your skin has.For example africans have different bone structure,asians have different eye and body features as well.You can even differentiate a persons ethnicity by looking at the bones after their death to identify them. Afghans/Pashtuns fall into the White/Caucasian category most simply because of our built/makeup etc.(...some might now ask.. and why all that when we're all equal anyway?? well you're right and just let me say it even more simplistic : "If you gotta label your ish you might as well label it correctly ! " )
8. Afghans are not persian durrana either , because persians are from Iran and yes that's another country and not part of Afghanistan. Yes India is another country too.
9. Afghans don't take negative opinions about their country well...be it an insult or constructive criticism.....say it to our face, and...well don't say it to our face...or behind our backs for that matter...believe me we Afghans stick up for our country. Don't blame a lot of people for not wanting anyone else /soldiers/ troops in their business . Especially when they've had bad experiences before.If you have a fight at home with your wife or a neighbour would you want some complete stranger who doesn't even speak your language to get unasked into your business and move into your bedroom for the next years acting like a superhero?Wouldn't you be afraid?I could also use this comparison:imagine there's is a civil war in Texas and the Chinese Government would say they send troops to help Texas not even knowing anything about Texas,not knowing any of the mentality,not even speaking english.And since most governments are not quite as selfless as Mother Theresa the question is ..Why?.. What's in it for them?)
10. Afghanistan is located in South Central Asia. Afghans are NOT Middle Eastern.In terms that you geography retarded people might understand: Afghanistan is above Pakistan (which is above India) and to the left of the outskirts of China (please tell me you know where that is) and is right of Iran (which is the outskirts of the Middle East) and south of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan (just think of it as south of Russia)...Simple enough for you?
11. There is no stereotypical Afghan outer appearance. We have brown, black, blonde and red hair. We range from white white skin to dark South Asian skin... We have brown , blue , black , grey , hazel and green eyes. Basically, there is no way you can rule someone out as not being Afghan...we are a diverse peoples .
12. Islam is the main religion of Afghanistan but not the only one. Most Afghans are very traditional in their way of thinking but more moderate when it comes to religion . Also you can not judge a religion only based on some male extremist fundamental fools and psychos who drag their noble loving religion in the dirt by making up LIES about it.and REMEMBER: before you ask if I have to wear a burka or a scarf on my head....LOOK...it will save you the trouble of dealing with a scary look on my face and me forming a fist. Same goes for asking guys about beards and stuff.We believe that the God we pray to is the same as the God all other monotheistic religions like Jews and Christians pray to(Monotheism means the worship of the One God.)Let me explain it to you this way.. assume you're Christian and you move to Italy and their word for God is translated "Dio" that doesn't mean it is a different God does it??same as the word "Allah" or as Afghans say "Chodda".And again it is just sad that some use this language barrier to create false enemies.
13. Here is the Afghan philosophy about men and women: Women are like flowers and men, well, they are the dirt that surrounds a flower (summed up by some Afghan poem I can't remember). Women are beautiful, fragile, a gift from God....They must be carefully watched over because just like a flower, they will dry up from too much exposure....Men are strong, sturdy, and they are the caregivers...they provide nourishment and a home for the women...It's really complex, but just understand that women are not oppressed in our culture; they are revered and highly admired. Men are not superior or oppressive; they are respected and appreciated!
14. Afghans have sadly experienced life the hard way for more then the last quarter century of going through different wars.....many many of them have seen family members be murdered in front of their eyes ..have seen family members being raped(don't you think there is a reason they even tried to hide women under something ridiculous like a burka?if there would be the chance of getting raped by various foreign soldiers/invaders any minute would you still run around in your sexy miniskirt or let your sister or other loved ones run around like that?THINK ABOUT IT,ok?..)..have been innocently imprisioned and tortured...have fled their treasured country by foot hundreds of miles just to save their children... have held, and even shoot a bazooka,none the less a gun..they have lost family treasures..they have lost the respect of others....they have been through A LOT.Just imagine for a minute how you and your close family would feel like going through horrible things like that and how your hometown would look like after being constantly attacked.So Next time you see Afghanistan on TV/ News..remember this is what you see ....a country and population exploited and traumatized by war for many many years.
15. Afghans are tough.....I mean seriously.....Our national sport consists of men on horses racing around with whips to attack the opposing team and using a 60 lb dead goat as a ball. Deaths..common..... injuries....unavoidable..... HAHA and you thought Rugby was bad..
16.Afghans are some of the most hospitable people in the world...they love guests like they love family.... and the way they love family is beyond imagination . It's really very sweet .Invite yourself to ANY afghan family , even if you don't know them , to dinner and you'll be welcomed with open arms and you'll experience what being treated like a honored guest is like.
17.Afghans know how to party....and I don't mean "get drunk and though you don't remember what you did you know you had fun" kind of party...I mean the kind of good clean fun you didn't even know existed....endless tea, endless food...dancing, singing, playing instruments, telling stories, telling jokes, kids running all over the place while movies and music playing in the background, neighbours complaining about the noise, the aroma of afghan food in the air , old and young all together....laughing,smiling,hugging....endless fun until the break of dawn...literally
18. Afghans rock . Period :)