Come Back to Afghanistan

Come Back to Afghanistan: Trying to Rebuild a Country with My Father, My Brother, My One-Eyed Uncle, Bearded Tribesmen, and Pr Said Hyder Akbar Date: 2006-10-31   —   Book product page Rating:

This is, hands down, the most inspirational story I've heard in our war on terror. The book is on some schools' reading lists, and it should be required reading for every high school kid.

Said Hyder Akbar grew up in California's Bay Area, but his family has deep roots in Afghanistan. His Dad was there when te Soviets took over, and was subsequently a Mujahadeen fighter where he got to know everybody who's anybody in Afghanistan. Hyder actually begins his adventure helping his Dad run President Hamid Karzai's press office.

Hyder's tale is a classic "coming of age" story. Here's a kid who grew up in one of the more wealthy areas of the US, who suddenly gets plopped down in a strife-torn impoverished country that he's never seen before, and eventually learns to love Afghanistan and decides to be a part of it's rebirth. Along the way, Hyder provides us with an often hilarious -- "He's not retarded, he's just here from America." -- and sometimes surreal contrast between California and Afghanistan which makes the country real in a way newspaper reports never can.

I've always been optimistic about Afghanistan's future, and so is Hyder. But he also documents the serious problems Afghans must overcome to break the cycle of tribal violence, warlordism and corruption that that plague the country. According to Hyder, the biggest cause for hope is the fact that most Afghans -- after decades of war -- are just plain tired of fighting.

NPR has an excerpt from the book and some of Hyder's audio diaries. Check it out. It's time well spent and a story that needs to be heard.

tags: come back to afghanistan  afghanistan  hyder akbar