I talked to a man today. He casually mentioned he was at an Army base last week. I asked if he was in the Army. He said he was. I thanked him for his service. He told me he had been to Afghanistan twice and Iraq once. He'll be going to Afghanistan again in about a year for 12 months. He is in special operations. He said he got really close to some people there. He worked with an interpreter or a "terp." The terp was a wealthy businessman who made $13 per month. The terp said he hoped someday the Army friends could make as much money as he did. They didn't tell him their wages but at the end of their tour of duty, they collected $200 and gave it to the terp and his family. The terp and his family overwhelmed them with gratitude. The man also talked about making friends with the youth in Afghanistan. The youth were very interested in their eyeglasses. The youth thought (because they were told) that with American eyeglasses, one could see straight through the clothes. The eyeglasses had x-ray vision. This meant the Americans were disrespecting the Afghan women simply by looking at them with eyeglasses on their faces. The youth shyly asked to try on the eyeglasses. One by one, the young people put on the glasses and immediately looked at a woman wearing a burqa. To their surprise, the glasses didn't work. They couldn't see through the burqa at the woman's figure. The man said a little bit of education can go a long way. He thought it would take about 15 years for the education to take effect in Afghanistan but he had hope for the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment