Afghanistan Awakening
Today several Afghan writers battle the etched stereotypes amid the pandemonium and the lunacy of a raging war, gruesome tales, and bearded men and burqa-clad women in the Afghan society. Most of their tales are based on their first-hand experiences in and from Afghanistan and the Afghan diaspora worldwide. And stereotypes are usually false perceptions and apathy seen through the eyes of those who have not treaded into the region. Hani Yousuf, a South-Asian journalist in her article Progressive Prejudice relates her experiences in Berlin where people stereotyped others as ‘Muslim women’ and ‘Muslim world’. Once while she tried to explain to a woman that people respected her back at home in Pakistan, the response from the latter was, ‘Respect. You call walking three steps behind a man respect’? The Red Wrath by Hatef Mokhtar is one such paradigm that chronicles the history, society, geopolitics and culture of Afghanistan from the 1970s and is an illustration that quells stereotypes. Rich and eloquent in narration, The Red Wrath sets its theme and setting in a village near Mazar-i-Sharif. The 1970s was a time when modernization had not set in and people relied on the age-old methods of transport when travel was menacing in hostile climatic conditions.
The relevance of The Red Wrath Story lies in its universal and timeless appeal in relation to human emotions. It is about lives lost, Afghan resilience in the face of brutality, rising above one’s circumstances, reaching out for clinical help, emancipation of women and then seeking asylum in another country. It also describes love as an all encompassing message: love for parents and siblings and vice versa, love for neighbors and love between a girl and a boy in the throes of an uncertain time and volatile thinking. Life in the village juxtaposes with innocence, respect, brotherhood, honor and forgiveness. The book highlights the growth of communism and the untold disappearances and barbaric killings of many Afghan intellectuals and all those who believed in the freedom of expression. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan took it to another harrowing level where other states were involved to protect their interests. Finally, it discusses how and why the Taliban was born.
Surely, The Red Wrath is an eye-opener to anybody who wants to understand the modern history of Afghanistan. Further it is an account of ordinary people whose stories to be told to the outside world; it is about a race that stands stoical and brave in the face of war. It is indeed a sensitive and unprejudiced version of the Afghan people.
The relevance of The Red Wrath Story lies in its universal and timeless appeal in relation to human emotions. It is about lives lost, Afghan resilience in the face of brutality, rising above one’s circumstances, reaching out for clinical help, emancipation of women and then seeking asylum in another country. It also describes love as an all encompassing message: love for parents and siblings and vice versa, love for neighbors and love between a girl and a boy in the throes of an uncertain time and volatile thinking. Life in the village juxtaposes with innocence, respect, brotherhood, honor and forgiveness. The book highlights the growth of communism and the untold disappearances and barbaric killings of many Afghan intellectuals and all those who believed in the freedom of expression. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan took it to another harrowing level where other states were involved to protect their interests. Finally, it discusses how and why the Taliban was born.
Surely, The Red Wrath is an eye-opener to anybody who wants to understand the modern history of Afghanistan. Further it is an account of ordinary people whose stories to be told to the outside world; it is about a race that stands stoical and brave in the face of war. It is indeed a sensitive and unprejudiced version of the Afghan people.