Sad news

I listened to the radio this morning on my way to work. I don’t have the Volga anymore and the new car has a radio. The radio newscaster was interviewing local Afghans about the recent suicide bombing. Everyone I heard on the radio was against suicide bombings. The real question is, do they think that the suicide bombers are martyrs (and therefore, destined for a place in heaven?)? Some Muslims, unless they are religious scholars, are hesitant to make these pronouncements. But that wasn’t the case here. Everyone on the radio said, “No, the suicide bombers aren’t martyrs. The innocents he killed were martyrs.”

I have been trying to avoid the news regarding the recent attack. It’s just too much to dwell on right now. Unfortunately, things are getting worse. The governor of Paktia, Governor Taniwal, was killed. He was an academic who taught in Australia and moved here to help rebuild Afghanistan. He was a true patriot. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5333178.stm

Today is September 11, 2006. Please say a little prayer for all the lives lost, everywhere. My life has changed so much since September 11th, 2001. So many lives lost, yet a re-birth for Afghanistan. I pray that Afghanistan isn’t forgotten again.

I'm sad but still, determined and hopeful. Drop by drop, we make a river.