Book Recommendation from the Soapbox

So my computer is very hinky and has gone to the computer doctor...along with my Thai pictures. But you'd rather read a book review and a bit of speechifying, wouldn't you?

Stones into Schools is the followup to Mortenson's book Three Cups of Tea. While Three Cups focused on how Mortenson began his mission of building schools in Pakistan and his learning curve, Stones clearly shows the knowledge and understanding that he has acquired. It's the story of his work as it moves into Afghanistan, a country much more remote, unstable, and difficult than Pakistan. I don't know if it's the use of a different writer or the choice to write in first person, but Stones is much better and more inspiring than Three Cups. Mortenson remains so humble, willing to listen and ask questions instead of pontificating, tough enough to travel to some of the most forbidding and dangerous places on earth, yet torn by the hundreds of requests made to him that he can't possibly fulfill. His determination to provide schools for people who have been forgotten by everyone, including their own governments is truly heroic. It was especially eye-opening to read about just how remote and difficult life is in the hinterlands of Afghanistan, how almost 30 years of war has devasted the people, and how desperately they want the same basic things we all do--safety, food, a chance to go go school, to raise a family, to see one's children better off than their parents. So much attention is focused on places in Africa, and the only news that comes from these regions is about the war--very little about the people who just as desperate.

Mortenson's descriptions really served to illustrate just how difficult life is. Mortenson visited Pakistan after the earthquake there and saw first hand what kinds of "aid" makes a difference and how horrific the situation was. The people who ask for the first school in Afghanistan live in snow from September to June and on the brink of starvation every single day. No school, post office, voting box, doctor, or food assistance. They are completely cut off and abandoned, but they found a way to find Mortenson to ask for a school. And then hung on almost 10 years until it could be built.

One of the more heartening aspects of the book was Mortenson's relationships with the US military stationed there. A former military man himself, he has been critical of the actions in that area and refuses to take any federal money or be connected to any military personnel. However, at one point, he needs the military to help access and make contact with the people of an area. He was surprised and encouraged to find out that, despite what has been said by the Bushes and Rumsfelds of the government, the men serving on the ground truly understood the people. They knew the feuds, the powerplays, who trusted whom, the roles people played, the customs and beliefs the governed decision-making. They knew that education was vital, that it had to be sustained by the people and that they needed to follow the traditions that surrounded those relationships. It was a powerful reminder that there are good people that do good things, and that the people who speak for a country don't always speak for the people of that country.

It was an interesting book to read along with my book club book for this month, Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas Friedman and after seeing the news of the Nigerian bomber. Friedman asserts that our friends the Saudis, the one we buy all our oil from, use that money to fund fundamentalist Muslim schools. Basically Friedman states that, in addition to pollution and "green" issues, our dependence on oil actually funds the sorts of schools that encourage that very fundamentalist, often violent, way of thinking. This sentiment was echoed in Three Cups when Mortenson found schools in many communities that were funded by Saudis and were teaching a fundamentalist brand of Islam. But of course, the people in the community can't be choosy--often they are the only schools available. We know from our own experience here what happens when a child is disenfranchised, cut off, unsupported by family, or community. That child will fill that gap with a social group and will do what he or she has to do to be a part of that group. We call them gangs. We see the effects of children who feel like they have nothing to care for, that people don't care for them--they look for places to belong. It's the same all over the world. Find a place where people are poor, where they have to struggle to get food, where educational opportunities are scarce, where jobs and security may be almost nonexistent. Let's call this place AFRICA. I think many countries in Africa are ripe for the picking--if people are promised those things they need and value--food, security, education, status--they will take them at virtually whatever the cost. In areas where the traditional family and community structures are damaged through war, poverty, and AIDs, I don't think it would take much for young men to align themselves with an organization that would give them what they needed.

That's why I think Mortenson's project, and any project that promotes education, is so critical. I love that he doesn't promote a Western or Christian or Muslim or any specific focus for his education, only that school be accessible, that they educate a certain percentage of girls, and that they be neutral politically and religiously--that children have the ability to attend a school that is culturally appropriate and free from the pressures of fundamentalism. I think if the US applied its skills and money to rebuilding these areas at a very grass roots level, we could change the way other countries think about Americans. We could fight back at a basic level using education instead of guns. We could rebuild our image and our relationships with countries that view us with such suspicion (and we, them). We did it all across Europe with the Marshall Plan. Why do we have to fight terrorism with weapons alone?

Read the book. And then write a check, if you feel so inclined. And then give thanks that we are so priveleged to be able to take education for granted.

Greg Mortenson has a blog here that provides more information on articles, programs, and activities related to his passion.