Today on Listen Up - Canada’s war time mission and
the reality of hope over it all. On the ground in
Afghanistan…
Afghanistan is a land locked in mystery and mountains. Many have tried
to conquer it and failed.
Today
on LU, How Canada and 35 other nations are part of a UN
sanctioned
force trying to bring peace and security to a country on the brink.
And the cost has been high, not just in human lives but dollars.
Parliament has a big decision to make. To extend its mission
until 2011 or pull out in 2009.
In
the meantime there’s a war of another kind going on
Afghanistan’s soil
– a developmental war - and Canada is heavily
engaged. Our guests
today are recently back from that front in Afghanistan –
Listen Up
Producer Dave Pascoe and Denise Lodde of 100 Huntley Street.
The power of the media to change lives through telling stories is what
drew Denise to pursue journalism as an idealistic teenager and what
still keeps her passionate today. After graduating from Carleton
University's renowned journalism program she took her first assignment
as a freelance foreign correspondent in Vienna, Austria where she
covered everything from natural disasters to the fine art of yodeling.
After several years she felt God calling her back to Canada and to a
new adventure, Christian television. She worked as an associate
producer and later as senior producer for Listen UP, a national faith
based news and current affairs program. Three years later she joined
the field reporting team on 100 Huntley St, where she continues to
pursue the powerful God stories behind the headlines and in the lives
of Canadians.
Dave is excited about making television with meaning. He comes to
Listen Up with a variety of production experiences from CBC, The
Documentary Channel and Crossroads Television. His work has taken him
to Costa Rica, Israel and Africa. Dave has a passion for documentary
production and fits into the role of Producer with Listen Up TV. On his
recent journey to Afghanistan with Denise Lodde, he and Denise
discovered some unique hope-filled stories of Canadians who are making
a big difference.
Health Partners International Canada has shipped 2 million in donated
medicines to Cure Hospital Kabul – a Christian hospital in
the heart of the city.
Providing health and spreading hope...
This is the mission of Health Partners International of Canada (HPIC),
a Canadian humanitarian organization that sent its first shipment of
medical aid in 1990. HPIC has shipped more than $225 million (wholesale
value) in donated medicines, vaccines, medical supplies and devices
since 1990.
We partner with Canadian companies and individuals from across the
country to provide medical aid. Together we are improving the health
and lives of children and adults in the developing world.
What CURE is all about is bringing help and healing. And once you walk
in the corridors, you see evidence of the need everywhere you go.
Bringing quality care to people who would never be able to afford
[care] is its own reward. And CURE is widely considered the
best hospital in Kabul.
Quite a feat since it’s only been operating the last two and
a half years. Still the plan is to be here for the long term.
Craig
Hammon, CURE International
“The thing we’re tying to do and doing quite
successfully is come here with our hands open and do everything to
serve anyone irrespective of their background and beliefs. And
hopefully breaking down stereotypes of what westerners and Christians
are all about.”
And it’s not just about bringing healing, but hope to a
people exhausted by trauma. The CURE clinic down the street is one
place where traumas are an everyday occurrence.
Hard to believe, but true. In the face of so much pain, there is still
faith that everything will be alright.
Letters written by students at Margaret Manson Elementary School to the
troops in Afghanistan:
…”We will not forget you in Afghanistan. All the
Canadian soldiers will be in my heart.” Your Friend, Tatiana
…”If
I was a soldier in the Canadian Army I would be strong for my country
and my family. I would go to help the people there and try to bring
peace to their life.” Your Truly, Tomas
“Dear Peace Keeper, My
name is Sarah… Did you make any new friends? Do you sleep on
a cozy
bed? Is the food different then in Canada? DO the people respect you in
Afghanistan?” Best Regards, Sarah
“Dear Canadian Soldier, My
name is Gabriel…It’s hard to be a
soldier…Do you miss watching or
playing sports? How many badges do you have? I won’t forget
you…”
Sincerely, Gabriel
Thoughts
from People in Afghanistan:
Arif Lalani, Canadian Ambassador to Afghanistan
“We’re
leaders in this country and I think it’s unusual role for
Canada to be
so much in the lead. We are the third or fourth largest contributor to
just about every program in this country.”
Dr. Momin, WHO
“Half
the country is described as non-go areas when it comes to UN
humanitarian programs…health workers are targeted and
threatened and
there are clinics that have to close and can’t deliver health
services
because of threats.”
John Kelsall, Health Partners International
“…as
Christians we see that as an essential part of our call. So we will
work with the government here and people of Afghanistan with great
joy.”
Jim Kline, Cure Hospital Kabul
“…they’ve
done stories in the most difficult place to work, there are these
matrix, security being one, cost being another, difference in culture.
Afghanistan rates at the top. It takes a lot of devotion and drive that
frankly has to come from something deep seeded…”
Dr. Jacqui Hill, Cure Hospital Kabul
“…the
majority of us came here because we were able to train. That was the
whole point. We feel that’s the key to making a difference in
the
medical care in this country.”
“… you have days where everything
is frustrating and exasperating, and you go home thinking right
I’m
going home now. There’s nothing to be accomplished here. Then
the very
next day you can come in and the day is full of amazing things and
encouragements. Very moving experiences and you think I can never leave
this place, it’s amazing what God is doing
here…”
Dr. Nour Safi, Cure Hospital Kabul
“…it’s
hard to explain... But something was in my heart that tells me to do
something for my country….Without hope there is no
life… I am hoping to
see in my time my country on the right track.
The
ruins of the Queen's Palace is seen in the distance as Afghanistan
tries to rebuild.
Minutes-old
twins born at the CURE hospital in Kabul.
Still
living in an incubator, this baby was born at 800 grams at the CURE
hospital in Kabul.
Waiting
in the emergency ward of a hospital in Kabul, a young
girl has suffered from a severe burn on her face caused by a pressure
cooker accident. The sad reality is that many girls
purposefully disfigure themselves to avoid being sold into a
marriage.
0A young
Afghan girl recovering from a fistula operation.
After travelling for 5 days and 5 nights to the CURE Hospital in Kabul,
a mother who is expecting her 9th child awaits results of her pre-natal
examination. Her eldest daughter looks on.
I’m glad my tax dollars are supporting military and
humanitarian action
in Afghanistan. Here’s why: 4 million
Afghans live as refugees, the
country sits at the bottom of the Global Needs Assessment
index. More
than a million children have been killed, disabled or orphaned due to
war. A mother dies in childbirth every half hour.
It’s a war against
evil. Let’s do our part.
The
Plight of Women in Afghanistan
By Denise Lodde
Zorah Rasek is another Afghan who heard the call to come home. Though
for most of her life home has been the United States.
As director of human rights and international women’s affairs
she has her work cut out for her.
“In
1998 I came to Kabul looking at the situation of women under the
Taliban and the devastation at that time I
couldn’t’ forget.”
Not only didn’t she forget she championed their plight in a
book and lobbied for them around the world.
“Under
the Taliban, women were not human beings, they were things. They
couldn’t go out they couldn’t speak out. They
couldn’t’ even choose
what to wear. They couldn’t’ walk on the street
alone. “
Today
you see women walking the streets of Kabul. Some still clad in that
iconic blue burqa, others not. And while they are back in schools and
the workplace they are still constrained.
Change takes time. That’s something Zorah’s learned
how to make the most of….
“… all the afghan anchor women are wearing it
[burqa] like this…”
All joking aside I ask her what it was like to wear the burqa.
“…Psychologically
impacted me more than anything else I felt like I am a criminal being
hidden from other people. It really had an unusual impact on me. But I
think most women who wear it are used to it…it’s a
new look for me.”
Under
the Taleban regime you would have seen few women on the street
– today
in Kabul you see women outside and even young girls on the school
playground.
Still many girls are expected to marry young. And home can often be a
hostile place.
Dr.
Wajiha, CURE Clinic
“…lots of abusing women in their families.
Husbands, mother in laws, father in laws. This is the problem with our
culture.”
Educated women have their own burdens to bear.
But many have chosen to use their education to help other women.
Like Dr. Wajiha, an ob/gyn who is the director of the CURE clinic
…
“In
our clinic we are trying to encourage people to come for prenatal care,
for delivery and postnatal care. And as we see the patients are
interested to come they’re happy.”
Still many afghans distrust
hospitals. And even though the waiting room is full of expectant
mothers most will have their babies at home due to cultural pressures.
Feyrosa is five months pregnant with her ninth child. I ask her who
will deliver her baby.
“…she has a sister-in-law at home and she will
take care of her and also her daughter can help.”
Change takes time and a lot of patience and resourcefulness. Something
you see a lot of here.
But at the end of the day it takes a lot of work. Work that
doesn’t always have immediate rewards.
Even
though there is still a battle going on for the heart and soul of their
country, it seems that Afghans are finding a way to get on with life.
Out of necessity and out of determination.
There’s an old
afghan proverb that drop by drop a river will flow. And while the
streets of Kabul are awash in dust and debris there are signs of life.
Who are your heroes?
Dr.
Nour Safi, CURE clinic
“…The people of Afghanistan. Because they survived
30 years of war. They are the real heroes in this
country…”
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On April 30, 2005 Lorna was privileged to receive an honorary Doctorate of Christian Ministries from Canada's largest Christian university, Trinity Western University. Lorna was recognized for the witness and leadership that Listen Up TV has provided in public messaging: "a leader in the voice of evangelical life in Canada."
