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HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan - In the morning sunlight, Mohamed Nadar was building his house in Nawa, Afghanistan. The work was slow going. It was Ramadan, and the farmer didn’t exert himself as he was observing the tradition of fasting during daylight.
Ramadan aside, the work has always been slow. The 42-year-old Afghan man has been building for the past three years. Nadar is the patriarch of a family of nine, but he works on the house alone. He should be farther along than he is, but about a year ago when Marines and insurgents battled in the area, Nadar didn’t stick around to watch the bullets fly. Although Nawa has always been his home, Nadar and his family packed up and left, waiting for the area to become more calm before they returned.
“I prefer living a simple, peaceful life,” Nadar said.
It wasn’t the first time Nadar has had to leave his home. When he was 12 the Russian invasion prompted his family to emigrate to Pakistan and Iran. Nadar didn’t just miss his home during those years abroad; as a passionate student, he missed his education.
“I wasn’t able to study. I wasn’t able to learn. Everything was ruined,” Nadar said. “We went away, and when I returned, I was stuck with working in farms.”
A life as a farmer beat other options.
“I didn’t want a troublemaking life,” Nadar said. “I didn’t want to be a warrior, carrying a weapon or making trouble. I prefer my peaceful life as a farmer making income for my family.”
Nadar ensures his children attend school so they don’t miss out on the opportunities he did. But as Nadar spent the morning hours working on a new house for his family, it appeared he hadn’t missed his chance completely. He kept a radio perched on an unfinished wall. A missed opportunity in the form of a radio commercial came blaring through the tiny speakers.
Third Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment has begun preparations to stand up an adult literacy program, a way to further education in Nawa.
“In counterinsurgency, educational development is one of the metrics of success and an educated populace is definitely something we’re striving for,” said 1st Lt. Louis Feaman, an artillery forward observer with Kilo Company, 3/3.
Feaman is one of the Marines responsible for the literacy program. He’s working with the 3rd Civil Affairs Group, among other Marines, to make sure the program succeeds.
Among the first steps was finding Afghan teachers to lead the program’s classes, which lead to Feaman creating a seminar of sorts to select possible teachers. Nawa District councilmen spread word of the program, and Feaman worked with 3/3’s Information Operations section to create a radio announcement — the announcement Nadar heard while building his house, which led him to register for the seminar.
Along with 30 other Afghans, Nadar completed the last day of training, Sept. 16. Feaman now has the teachers he needs to spread the program throughout Nawa, in addition to having created a pool of substitute teachers for Nawa schools to use. Nadar now has a new chance at an old dream.
“I was very lucky to hear the announcement,” Nadar said. “I will farm in my free time and work to become a full-time teacher.”
| Date Taken: | 09.23.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 09.23.2010 06:09 |
| Story ID: | 56825 |
| Location: | AF |
| Web Views: | 369 |
| Downloads: | 15 |
This work, Afghan farmer uses Marine program in hopes of becoming teacher, by Mark Fayloga, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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