At the Natural History Museum

This summer I did a fieldwork in a small community of immigrants in Washington DC & as part of giving back to the community, among other things, I made videos & shared them on their Facebook page. Here's one of them from the Fossil Hall at the Natural History Museum pic.twitter.com/nlOIZ7JIaB

— Nasim Fekrat (@NasimFekrat) August 10, 2019

The Hazaras who Create Afghanistan's Arts

While other ethnic groups in Afghanistan are trying to stay busy fighting and killing each other, the Hazaras of Afghanistan are doing something different, the art. Here is an example, Anahita Ulftat is a Hazara girl who last year participated in Afghan Star - Afghan idol - has just released a new video clip, which is astonishingly beautiful and artistic in post-modern context.

By Afghan standard, this kind of art is astoundingly rare and new. This is an example of how freedom, education, and liberalism benefit the very people who Ms. Ulfat belongs to, have been excluded from all basic rights. It has been only a decade since the Hazaras have been through a period of relatively peacefulness, which bestowed freedom under the protection of the U.S. and the international community. Hazaras are proud of their identity and country. In sport, Hazaras have often took their country's flag to the international stage and garnered gold medals for their country.

Last year, in February, I published a blog post about Anahita Ulfat and her talents. Here's that blog post:
Anahita Ulfat, Sings Songs of the Oppressed

US Drone Crashed in Jalalabad not in Herat

This is a correction note on my earlier post "America's drone war stoned by Afghans" on January 29. In that post, I made a reference to a news on Iranian government's propaganda channel, Press TV. It said that the American drone had crashed in Herat, without naming a source. Later, I investigated and found out that the drone was crashed in Jalalabad city, in eastern Afghanistan which is populated by Pashtun tribe. The drone was crashed after technical problems and before the Taliban notice the drone was taken away from the area by U.S. forces.

Those who follow the news on the Middle East and Afghanistan know that Iran has a hostile foreign policy towards the U.S. presence in Afghanistan and in the Gulf. Being under a direct control of the government, Iranian media use any opportunity to galvanize Afghans against the U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Why does Iran want to sabotage the U.S. presence in Afghanistan? The answer is simple: Iran thinks the United States may use Afghanistan as a platform to attack Iran. In December 2011, an RQ-170, a C.I.A. stealth drone crashed in Iran. Later, Iran complained to Afghanistan about the U.S. drone and claimed that the drone had flown from Afghanistan into Iran's airspace. So, an ultimate goal for Iran is to kick out the U.S. troops from Afghanistan and its media does not shy away from lying and distorting any news against the United States.

America's Drone War Stoned by Afghans

Apparently this drone has crashed three weeks ago. According to PressTV, the unmanned drone has crashed in western province of Herat. From people's words in the video, it appears that the incident has happened in a Pashtun area. Nothing has yet said or published online by American officials in Afghanistan to disclose any details about the incident.

The militants has claimed they have shot it down and then they have taken away the wreckage of aerial vehicle. Since the incident happened in Herat province, which is coterminous with Iran, it might be possible that the Taliban have sold it to Iran. If the Taliban have not sold it to Iran, then, one would wonder, what use the wreckage of drone may have to the Taliban? Apparently nothing and they may destroy it by throwing stones at it, as they do in this video.

A friend of friend who had shared this video on his facebook page sarcastically titled "the stranded pilgrim." According to some, this beast has done a great job, so far, on going after the Al Qaeda members and the Taliban militants. Most of the operations have been taking place in Southern Afghanistan, alongside the borders with Pakistan. The area is predominately populated by Pashtun tribe, a major ethnic group in Afghanistan.

In particular and related to this incident, a plausible guess would cast on American drone operation on Iranian soil, otherwise Herat has not been a hotbed of Taliban activities. Previously, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has often been accused of supplying weapons and funds to the Taliban. It is also possible that the drone had cruised alongside the border of Afghanistan adjacent to Iran to observe the Taliban's movement on the border.

Warlord Carries out Brutal Public Flogging in Ghor Province

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Do you remember last year in April 2009, the Guardian published a video of a 17-year-old girl's flogging by the Taliban in Swat Valley? Another incident just happened a few days ago in Dolina district in Ghor province, central Afghanistan. Ghor is one of the poorest provinces in central Afghanistan, and Dolina district has been a safe haven for illegal armed groups, which have committed these kinds of brutal acts before. The video, released on February 18, shows a man with a white turban flogging a woman who is submissively standing against 40 lashes. Continue reading...