Flying Kites for Peace

   

Events sponsored by the United Nations show that Afghans are hungry for peace.

By Wahidullah Amani in Kabul (ARR No. 266, 20-Sep-07)

As International Peace Day, September 21, approaches, efforts are being made to inspire Afghans to lay down their arms and turn their thoughts to peace.

The United Nations has decked out the capital Kabul in sky-blue flags, peace posters dot nearly every lamppost, and on September 20, 80 children took to one of the city’s favourite recreation spots for the traditional Afghan sport of kite flying.

Tapa-ye Maranjan, famous for the tomb of Nadir Khan, where several generations of Afghan kings are buried, makes a perfect site as it is perched high on a hill overlooking Kabul, and catches the wind.

The children have not been chosen at random. They all belong to Aschiana, an Afghan non-government group that helps street children, most of whom were orphaned during Afghanistan’s many years of war.

“I do not want war,” said Warez, 11. “We lost our fathers and mothers, we lost our people.”

Warez proudly showed off his blue kite, adorned with the UN’s dove of peace holding an olive branch in its beak.

“This kite has a bird on it, with a flower in its mouth. It’s because of peace. I hope it stays forever,” he said.

His face falling a little, he continued, “I am very sad because my kite is torn. I learned to fly a kite but now I can’t. Still, they brought us here to be happy.”

Twelve-year-old Aziz Agha had his own joys and sorrows to recount.

“I am very happy to be flying a kite for peace,” he said. “But I had a fight with another boy and I lost my kite.”

In Afghanistan, kite-flying is about more than sheer enjoyment. It is a cut-throat sport where one player does whatever he can to cut the string a rival. It may seem a strange choice for Peace Day, except that battling with paper and string is far preferable to using deadly weapons.

“We need peace to rebuild our country,” said Mustafa, 13. “If there is peace, we can live together and go to school.”

Aschiana’s head, Engineer Mohammad Yusuf, said he used existing funds and staff to mount the Peace Day event.

“These children are the most damaged by war,” he told IWPR. “They know how necessary peace is. They are tired of fighting, they have been orphaned, and they work in the streets to support their families.

“We chose this event because Afghan children are very good at kite-flying. We didn’t pay them - it is enough that they are representing all the children of their country.”

Even the Afghan penchant for violent sport will serve the cause, he said.

“This hill is high, and there is always wind,” he said. “If a kite’s string is cut, the wind will take it to another neighbourhood. That way, the symbol of peace will go all over the sity.”

Aleem Siddique, spokesperson for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA, explained the goal of the various events that were going on.

“Just for one day, the children of Afghanistan want the guns to be silent,” he said. “They want to live their lives without fear.”

International Peace Day is a UN initiative that seeks “to promote peace and well-being for all people everywhere”. It calls for a global ceasefire, or as a UN statement puts it, “a twenty-four hour respite from the fear and insecurity that has plagued so many places”.

UNAMA has scheduled many events around the ceasefire call, including a polio vaccination campaign in the conflict-torn south. Many children have still not been inoculated because security problems have kept health workers from reaching some areas.

There is no guarantee that the Taleban will heed the call.

“Certain elements have indicated that they will support the polio campaign,” said Siddique. “If those who are fighting heed the children’s voices, there will be no guns and no bullets.”

But the celebration of peace has left the general population largely untouched.

“I don’t know when it’s Peace Day and when it’s fighting day,” said Mohammad Ibrahim, 39, who sells old clothes. “I come to my job early in the morning and go home late at night. I am always thinking about how to find food for my family.”

Kabul resident Mohammad Akbar, 39, was sceptical about the initiative. “This is all just for show,” he said. “Where is the peace? We don’t see peace in the world. Which peace are they celebrating? Every day people are killed, there are suicide bombs, and police or other officials are beheaded. If there is peace, then why are all these people being killed?’

Wahidullah Amani is an IWPR trainer and editor for the Helmand project.