At The End Of Years Of Storms, Afghanistan Finds A Rainbow

Photo Credit: Rainbow Cultural Diversity Summer Program

August 14th marked the fourth, straight day of fighting in the Afghan city of Ghazni as Afghan government forces faced off against Taliban insurgents. According to an NPR report published on August 13th, the conflict had already claimed a total of 300 lives, and some are reportedly beginning to doubt US plans for peace in the region.

The Taliban are a predominantly Pashtun, Sunni Islamist organization. According to a primer prepared by CNN, “The group's aim is to impose its interpretation of Islamic law on Afghanistan and remove foreign influence from the country.

They say that at the end of every storm, there’s a rainbow. Afghans have refused to accept the toxic rhetoric and the violence. A group of young people in Afghanistan established the Rainbow Cultural Diversity Summer Program to teach high school and college students about the importance of cultural diversity.

Photo Credit: Rainbow Cultural Diversity Summer Program

 

The program just finished its second year on August 2nd.

“One of the pernicious legacies of war in Afghanistan is ethnic intolerance and ethnic division,” explains Ali Sina Doosti, one of the program’s co-founders, in an email exchange with this author, “…Since Afghanistan is a pluralistic society, enriching cultural variety and tolerance can nurture coexistence and reconciliation.”

Photo Credit: Rainbow Cultural Diversity Summer Program

 

Doosti didn’t know what a Summer program was till he was in his junior year of high school and learned about the camp experience from a friend who was attending one abroad. His experiences are sort of the norm in Afghanistan. Doosti says that the school system tends to place more of an emphasis on classroom-based learning.

Fast forward a bit, and Doosti went from not knowing what a Summer camp was to helping to establish the Rainbow Cultural Diversity Summer Program during his gap year. The program is the very first program of its type in Afghanistan. Working with a group of young people who had experienced Summer programs while abroad, Doosti and program organizers have tried to create an experience for participants that they can’t get while at school, or from any textbook.

Photo Credit: Rainbow Cultural Diversity Summer Program

 

At the Rainbow Cultural Diversity Summer Program, it’s all about tangible experiences—whether it be cross-cultural dialogues, attending panel discussions, taking part in group work with those who might be from backgrounds different than your own, or taking in performances of ethnic dance and music. The application for the program tries to take the complete student into account—looking at the student’s ethnic background, their academic background, and their personal background and abilities.

Photo Credit: Rainbow Cultural Diversity Summer Program

 

Doosti says that successful applications also demonstrate an enthusiasm and curiosity about the different cultures in Afghanistan.

The program is both an educational exercise, but also a trust-building exercise for students in some ways.

“Through the presented workshops and seminars, we expect they learn to expose themselves freely without the fear being judged, and to step out of their comfort zones,” explains Doosti.

The learning and exchange of ideas doesn’t end at the end of the program day. Program organizers also hope that participants will put what they’ve learned into practice in their everyday lives.

“We hope students gain the knowledge of different cultures and sub-cultures existing in Afghanistan,” writes Doosti, “Moreover, we expect the participants to learn to promote the culture of tolerance and understanding.”

For Mustafa, a program participant, the program accomplished exactly what it set out to do. Mustafa completed most of his education in Pakistan. Though he says he appreciates his teachers, he also feels that the education he received there didn’t really allow him to experience the diversity of the region.

The Rainbow Cultural Diversity Summer Program helped him to “fill in the blanks.”

“…I have completed most of my education in Pakistan, which I am very grateful for, as I have learnt from extremely competent teachers,” writes Mustafa in an email exchange with this author, “Unfortunately, it also means that I was mostly exposed to the Pakistani culture and customs, and thus I have very little knowledge of Afghan cultures, especially when it comes to the minority and the diversity of the cultures between Afghanis.”

Mustafa says that most importantly, the program taught him to think beyond labels and embrace our shared humanity.

“The most important lesson I learnt is that we need to remove the labels of ethnicities from others when we meet each other and most importantly understand [that] we are all humans and Afghans,” he writes, “Then we must focus on individual characters, manners and education—no matter where they come from.”

Unlike last year’s Rainbow cohort, which only included high school students, this year’s cohort also included college students so participants could really get diverse perspectives on the topics they were discussing.

Students were talking, and they were certainly listening. Doosti says that program organizers have seen program participants take the lessons they learned and establish programs similar to the Rainbow Program in their own schools.

It hasn’t just stopped with the students though.

“One of the greatest achievements of Rainbow is the positive response we got from the public,” writes Doosti, “After organizing the first ever Summer camp for high school students in Kabul, we witnessed many other similar programs taking shape.”

Doosti has co-organized the program, but in some ways he identifies with the students who participated in the program.

“Looking back to the two years of Rainbow, I can say it is a great success,” he writes, “As an organizer, I have learnt pretty much things I didn’t know before about the traditions and cultures of Afghan people.”

And other people want to get in on the action!

Doosti says program organizers get Facebook messages and emails from people asking to join the organizing team, and asking for the program to run in the Winter as well.

As for the Rainbow Cultural Diversity Summer Program, organizers plan to keep doing what they’re doing. Last year, they took 35 students. This year, they took 40 students. They hope to keep taking larger cohorts to make the program more diverse and inclusive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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