Feeling Absurd

Absurdity doesn't go away, it has recently been persistent in numerous ways. I began to think if it is in fact the existence itself that perpetuates the absurdity. One may wonder weather it is an entity that operates within the sphere of life and if so, wouldn't it be proper to say life is absurd?

Feeling absurd is just like you become part of it. It carries you from one level to another, it passes through your judgement, it blurs the path which you go through, lest you find the trace. You are thrown into an opaque world. You are absurd.

The landscape that absurdity occupies is not minatory, you are not being thrown into a hostile state, it is rather a placid tedium not known to you. Absurdity is a liminal world, albeit not in spiritual sense or something that would include ritual. The climate of absurd world is desolate, dolorous and inescapable. It forces itself into you to do away with your desire to live. Such is the state that I am thrown in.

This is an undated note which I found in my notebook. I thought I should post it here. It reminds me of the Myth of Sisyphus that I read a couple of years ago.

From the University of Arkansas

In regards to my previous blog post on Bahar Jalali's racist tweet, today, I received the following e-mail from the University of Arkansas saying that Bahar Jalali does not work in their institution. 

The University of Arkansas was contacted by a reader of your blog, http://www.afghanlord.org/2017/09/bahar-jalali-afghan-educator-or-racist.html regarding Bahar Jalali. There is no employee on our campus named Bahar Jalali, so to refer your readers to Dean Michael Miller isn't useful to your cause. If you could please correct this on your blog, I would be most appreciative.

Thank you,
Laura Jacobs
associate vice chancellor

The information is corrected in my previous blog post. I would like to ask the readers of this blog that please do not contact the university anymore. I am sorry that I misinformed you. Bahar Jalali has probably worked their before but not anymore. She may have forgotten to update her Linkedin profile, which says that she currently works there. 

Bahar Jalali: An Educator or a Racist?

Bahar Jalali is a well-educated Afghan-American woman. According to her Linkedin profile, she has received her MA from the University of Chicago and studied her doctorate at the University of California, Berkeley. She has taught at American University of Afghanistan for six years.

I was hoping that those Afghans who grew up in the West have skipped the inherited hatred of the Hazaras, but it turns out that I have been wrong. Here it is an evidence from an American born Afghan woman:

What makes Bahar Jalali, an American born Afghan to harbor such hatred towards the Hazaras who have been persecuted throughout the history? She says that the Hazaras should leave Afghanistan. That is exactly what the Taliban wanted almost two decades ago.

In November 1998, when the Taliban force took over the city of Mazar-e Sharif for the second time, the Taliban/Pashtun governor of Balkh, Mullah Manan Niazi, announced that the Hazaras are infidels and killing them is not a sin. Niazi then gave Hazaras three options: convert to Sunni Islam, leave the country, or die.

It is surprising to read such a racist tweet by an Afghan-American woman regarding the Hazaras who have been oppressed by her people for centuries. She must know better than anyone else what the Hazaras have been through. I can't help but to surmise that she has is a racist and she hates the Hazaras; the same people who have been working hard to rebuild the country. The sons and daughters of the same people whom she hates serve in army and police. In fact, when Jalili worked at American University of Afghanistan, the Hazaras have been protecting her from danger. The Hazaras were security guards at the compound where she held her classes.

I might write another blog post on this, but for now what can be done about it? What would you do to help her learn that she must take responsibility for her actions?
Remember she is an American citizen and she lives and works in the US.

Stories of Eclipse from Around the World

Wouldn't be interesting if stories and reactions of people regarding the eclipse collected from around the world?

That would a fascinating work because it would not only be entertaining but also enlightening and informative. People will learn about different culture and people's myths regarding the eclipse. It would also tell us about the world view of particular culture influenced by religions and traditions. I guess this would be an anthropological project for, perhaps, a Ph.D. candidate or anyone else who would be interested in folk culture and myths.

If I do this project, I would start from my father. He used to tell us stories that earth is on a giant horn of an ox. But the weight on its long horn of the ox causes its neck to hurt or ache. And that is when the earth quake happens when the ox is changing the burden from one horn to another.

When the eclipse happened, he blamed it on people's sin that evaporates like cloud in the air and rise up until it reaches the solar or moon and finally covers it. Maybe most of the stories would narrate in similar fashion, but I'm doubtful that a person in Africa or South America would think the same way that my father does. It would definitely be different and collecting stories of such myth is worth it.

Professor: Jesus Made the Eclipse

This man believes that Eclipse is Jesus's work. He said, he's a professor.

On Monday, August 21, more than 20,000 spectators gathered at Sanford Stadium on the University of Georgia campus for a "Blackout Eclipse Watch Party." (You can see some photos here.) When the eclipse was over and everyone was trying to make their way through throngs of people towards open areas, some encountered unexpected scenes. 

There were some individuals, like this person, who were preaching the gospel to the students. This person in the picture believed that Jesus made the eclipse. I approached him and made a tongue-in-cheek comment: "Hey, saying such thing that Jesus made the eclipse on a university campus is insulting to human intelligence," in which he answered: "Oh you are insulting me, sir!" He was obviously serious, but I was not. I left. Some students stopped by and took selfie while joking and laughing. 

This man reminded me of my father. Just a reminder for those of you who visit this blog for the first time and read this post, I was born in a far-flung village in central highlands of Afghanistan known Hazarajat. 

Every time there was a solar or lunar eclipse, my father used to tell us that it is the work of God. He used to ask us to read the Qur'an, (I used to joke with my brother that how terrifying verses of the Qur'an would be to stop God from what he likes to do) loud enough that can be heard across the planet. He himself used to weep while standing upright in front our house or sometimes on the roof for supplication. He was sad and made us sad, but we were sad because our dad was sad, not because of lunar eclipse. We had no idea what that was. Our sadness also had another element. When my father was sad, he would get irritable and difficult. We had avoid engaging with him in any sort of conversation. He would become unpredictable and that was not good. So, when the eclipse was happening, one could read from my father's face that the world was ending and we had to be careful not to contribute to it.

Yes, I grew up with such myths, that God does such and such and if you do wrong you go to hell and if you do right, you go to heaven. My father is an illiterate peasant. He can't read and can't write. But when I encounter someone blaming the eclipse on human sin and says he's a professor, I feel hopeless and sad, not for the society, but for that individual person who still lives in the dark.

Trump's New Strategy, a New Hope for Afghans

Tonight, President Trump, announced his long-awaited strategy on Afghanistan. He vowed to work with Afghan government, to increase the number of troops and most importantly, to pressure Pakistan into ending harboring terrorist networks in its land. Trump's new strategy will ignite hope across Afghanistan, especially among young Afghans.

Factually, this speech was by far one of the most important of Trump's speeches both historically and geopolitically. It is true that Pakistan is the nest for all sort of terrorist networks. Surprisingly, these terrorist networks are controlled and administrated by the Pakistani intelligence service ISI and the army. We all know that the ISI was complicit in harboring Bin Laden for years and we also know that the 2008-Mumbai attacks were carried out by the Lashkar-e-Taiba, a terrorist network based in Pakistan. Trump has put his finger on the pulse of the problem in Afghanistan. That is that the Pakistan must end its support for the Taliban.

Trump's words tonight will reverberate across Afghanistan, especially among the youth. The exodus of Afghan refugees to Europe since 2014 was as a result of U.S. troops drawdown by the Obama administration. It was a mistake. Obama's speech in 2014 on troops drawdown like a bolt of thunder among Afghan people, especially the young ones. It left them weakened and terrified because in the absence of U.S. presence, the Taliban can run over the capital overnight. Currently, Afghan security forces are so ill-equipped and inadequately trained to take over the country's security.

However, Trump did not specify how many troops he will send to Afghanistan. Nevertheless, whatever number it would, it will boast the morale of Afghan government, its security forces and most importantly it will diminish the fear of living under stress and threats from the Taliban among Afghan people.

Finally, this new strategy will also ease the anxiety of U.S. ally, especially some of European countries that are being inundated with Afghan refugees. Trump's speech tonight was a promise that the U.S. will not leave Afghan people alone. Any troop surge on Afghanistan will enhance security and Afghans would be reluctant taking long and perilous journey to Europe. 

Solar Eclipse in Athens, GA

In a few minutes, we will have a complete solar eclipse in Georgia. A a few minutes ago, I was sitting outside the Journalism Department preparing for my tomorrow's class. A little girl who was playing at the lawn came to me and asked me if I need eclipse glasses. I said yes and thanked her. She was jolly and sprang back to her mom across the lawn. A minuter later she returned with a pair of eclipse glasses.

This reminded me of my childhood in far the far-flung of the central highlands of Afghanistan. I remember we had a few solar eclipse and moon eclipse in our village. It was different. We were told that our sin has blurred the sun or the moon. We felt guilty. So we had to go through various rituals of repentance and when the eclipse was over, we were relieved. We believed that our prayers helped the eclipse go away. I will write more on the eclipse in another post, but here is a photo of me prepared for the eclipse. I'm excited to watch the nature's beautiful event. I must stop this line here otherwise I miss the eclipse.

There were more than 20,000 spectators at Sanford Stadium at UGA

I hate to take selfie but well, this time I loved it @ Sanford Stadium at UGA

How do You Feel When Strangers Touch Your Hair?

Yesterday, I took a stroll in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland. On my way out from the Silver Spring library, on Wayne Avenue, a group of African-American teenagers was walking towards me. I was not paying attention much as I was approaching them. Then suddenly one of them who looked a tad lanky moved towards me and said: "How you doin?" "Fine," I said. Then the same person touched my hair and in a funny tone he said: "Nice hair." I said thank you. His friends laughed gleefully.  I think there were maybe five or six of them. 

I don't know what they had in mind and why one of them took his courage in both hands to touch my hair. I was quite amused, honestly. I was a bit in hurry otherwise I would ask them why they touched my hair. As I kept walking, I began thinking that maybe these kids had something else in mind. I have heard that sometimes African-Americans are annoyed by white people when they touch their hair, which I don't know why, maybe out of curiosity. I was wondering if this kid was taking vengeance. After all I am not a Caucasian, my features resemble Asian. Anyway, I was amused by their loopy behavior. 

Ein Dialog

Wir sind gerade am Flughafen in Berlin angekommen. Mein Freund John und ich hatten keinen Plan, sondern besuchten Salzburg. John ist ein Amerikaner und er kommt aus einer kleinen Stadt im südlichen Bundesstaat Georgia. Er ist Student an der Universität Georgia und er studiert Biologie. Er war in Europa, aber nicht in Deutschland. Für ihn ist diese Reise informativ und auch für mich. Bis jetzt haben wir eine gute Zeit, aber es bedeutet nicht, dass wir uns auf alles einigen.

Als wir in Salzburg ankamen, hatten wir etwas Uneinigkeit darüber, was zu sehen und was nicht zu sehen war. Hier sind unsere Gespräche:
John: “Zuerst sollten wir den The Sound of Music Tour machen und dann können wir einige Sehenswürdigkeiten sehen.”

Ich: “John, wir haben nicht genug Zeit. Wir sollten zuerst die Mozart Tour machen und wenn wir noch ein wenig Zeit haben, können wir die Sound of Music Tour machen.”
John: „warum denkst du, dass wir die Sound of Music Tour nicht zuerst sehen sollten?
Ich: “The Sound of Music ist ein musikalischer Film, der weltweit berühmt ist, aber du kannst es sehen und weißt alles darüber.”

John: “Bist du verrückt? Ich spreche nicht über den Film. Ich möchte die Szene sehen, wo die Geschichte im Film stattfand.”
Ich: “ Oh es tut mir leid, aber trotzdem ist es nicht so wichtig wie die Mozart Tour zu machen. Die Mozart Tour beitet viele spannende Sehenswürdigkeiten. Zum Beispiel kann man Mozarts Geburtshaus besuchen. Du wirst sein kleines Zimmer, sein Musikinstrument und seine Spiele sehen. Du kannst auch seine Musik hören, während du die Ausstellung anschaust. Zusätzlich kannst du Mozartkugel probieren und auch Souvenir für deine Freunde kaufen.”

John: “Ich finde, dass die Mozart Tour sehr wunderschön ist. Ich stimme mit dir überein. Lass uns gehen und die Mozart Tour machen.

50 Children: The Rescue Mission of Mr. & Mrs. Kraus

I usually don't watch TV or movie, if I do, I would prefer to watch documentary films. Recently, I watched 50 Children: The Rescue Mission of Mr. & Mrs. Kraus, by Steven Pressman, which is the story of Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus, a Jewish couple who, in 1939, decide to travel to Vienna to save the lives of 50 children. The couple are Jewish, but the mission that they take is not out of religious passion, it is rather a benign version of self-sacrifice and humane action, something that we now rarely hear or know.

Their journey to the Austria, which is under the control of Nazi is not easy. They encounter numerous government bureaucracy and discouragement from people who afraid to have Jewish in their communities, event Jews - who afraid of increasing anti-semitism - tried to persuade the couple to give up on their plan.

The couple eventually travel to Berlin and then to Vienna. There, the Kraus met with hundreds of families who are willing to send off their little ones to thousands of miles away in hopes that if they would die, their children will be alive. This is a heart-wrenching story, specially when some of those children who are now in their 70s or 80s narrate their own stories about abandoning their parents. This is the story that is relevant to our time and it also teaches us what we can do to make this world more beautiful and more tolerable for each other.

From the Stans: Yulduz Usmonova and Loiq Sher-Ali

Earlier in one of my blog posts, I translated a poem of Loiq Sher-Ali, one of Tajikistan's famous poets. Today, I was reminded by a Tajik friend that the exact poem that I translated here is adapted into a song by a famous Uzbek female singer, Yulduz Usmonova. I have listened to this song a few times, the poem sounds simple but contains some powerful imagers. Usmonova's voice has masterly echoed the sentiment that is lurking among the lines. The striking part of this song is the mesmerizing choreography of dance around at a memorial (maybe saint) by the lake.

The embodiment of imageries, allegories and overall the concept of the poem into sentimental corporeality is extraordinarily beautiful. A famous female Iranian singer Googoosh has copied the exact song with little alteration in the lyric (it seems to me that the lyric is appropriated which artistically does not sound very ethical), the music is quite the same but the dance choreographed dully - yet still beautiful with Googoosh's voice. Googoosh's version is titled "Nemidouni" (You don't know). Usmonova's song is called "Namekuni" (You can't). Here is the song. The lyric that I translated from Tajiki into English and Persian is copied below.

If you can’t make me laugh, don’t make me cry
If you can’t help me, don’t hurt me

If you can’t make me happy, don’t remind me of joy
If you can’t make me joyful, don’t make me tearful

From the four corners of life to the pathway of life
If you can’t be a protector, don’t be an invader

If you haven’t been befuddled, don’t even try
With vaunt and flaunt, don’t try to fool me

If you haven't feel the pain of being in love
Your hands are empty, don’t make mine empty

You haven’t seen the world, don’t promise me the world
You haven’t seen the sea, don’t make me thirsty for the storm


In Tajiki
Хандон агар намекунӣ, гирён макун маро,
Обод агар намекунӣ, вайрон макун маро.

Хушбахт агар намекунӣ, аз бахт дам мазан,
Шодон агар намекунӣ, нолон макун маро.

Дар чорсӯи зиндагӣ то кӯи зиндагӣ,
Раҳбон агар намешавӣ, сарсон макун маро.

Ҳайрони дил набудаӣ як лаҳза худ ба худ,
Бо лофу бо газофҳо ҳайрон макун маро.

Ҷонат тиҳист аз ғами ҷонсӯзи ошиқӣ,
Дасти тиҳӣ ту ин ҳама дастон макун маро.

Дунё надида, ваъдаи дунё мадеҳ ба ман,
Дарё надида, ташнаи тӯфон макун маро.

Лоиқ Шералӣ
[1986]

Lolita and Morality

The immorality of Humbert Humbert and his actions towards Lolita tell us how far one can get from his or her righteous conscience, the very inner quality of guiding to the rightness. It raises questions related to our understanding of ourself in our modern time, like to what extend has the human conscience lost its moral judgement. This is a chronic affliction that a reader might experience in reading Lolita and this is exactly what Humbert Humbert suffers from.

Lolita is a testimony to our pain and suffering in our modern day that is defeated by an indiscernible joy. We do not understand what Nabokov really says unless we put aside our preconceptions about the moral issues that the book raise.

I thought it is relevant to bring in Schopenhauer's input. In his essay on pessimism, Schopenhauer says in order understand this world’s suffering and misery, one must be accustomed with the fact that this world is a penitentiary, a sort of penal colony. If we do accustom ourself with such reality, we can locate ourself in front of a campus that would guide us through life and perhaps banish our doubts as to the right path to looking at it. If such authentic view is created, and if such desire has kindled a light in the darkness of our conscience, one can claim to understand what Nabokov means in Lolita.