November 27, 2007
Kamloops Daily News

After she had finished speaking, they rose in a standing
ovation.  The packed crowd at Thompson Rivers University was
clearly inspired by what Malalai Joya had to say.

A basket was passed around to collect money for the armed
bodyguards she needs while traveling.

Joya had agreed to speak to me after her speech.  While I
waited for people to disperse, I thought of another crowd
that been stirred to their feet with murderous intentions.
They were angered by her speech to the Afghani parliament in
2003 in which she denounced the corrupt warlords and
fundamentalists in her government.

She is not wanted in the parliaments of Europe and North
America either.  NATO allies don't want hear that their
support of the corrupt government in Afghanistan aids in the
growth of the Taliban.

"The U.S. nourished and empowered the Northern Alliance even
though they are more a danger than the Taliban, as President
Karzai himself confessed.  And the Taliban are getting
stronger simply because the majority of the people do not
support the present government," Joya said.

The theatre was almost empty when I sat down to talk with
Joya. She looked tired and older than her 29 years.  I
wondered if life on the road and the death-threats were
taking their toll.

"I have been on the road for 2 months and although I am
physically here, my mind is back home in Afghanistan.  It's
difficult for me to return because of the threats"

She anticipated my next question.  I wondered what motivated
her to carry on. "I am traveling to appeal to the
freedom-loving, democratic people around the world to
support my struggle against the fundamentalists who are
destroying my county."

Joya's ability to inspire people comes from her direct
appeal to people. Her message of courage and hope strikes a
cord in audiences.

The warlords of the world have good reason to want her dead.
Her frank language and appeal for peace could put them out
of business.

Guns may kill, bombs may reduce buildings to ashes,
oppression may dash dreams to dust but words inspire hope.

The failure of the Canada's mission to Afghanistan is a
failure of words and ideas, not weapons.

If we are at war in Afghanistan, as our government
constantly reminds us, then we are there to destroy the
enemy.

But if we are there to build Afghanistan, then we can't be
at war. Canada is known for peace, order, and good
government and that's what we should bring to Afghanistan.
As long as we are aiming at the enemy, we are missing the
point.

The mentality of war is conquest, not law and order.
Negotiation with the enemy is not possible yet negotiation
is precisely what is required.

War has been a flawed response to a criminal act. This
confusion is evident in the reaction to 9-11. An
appropriate response would have been a criminal
investigation leading to the arrest and trial of the
perpetrators. Instead, the invasion of Afghanistan was
ordered.

War is yesterday's solution to yesterday's problem. War is
history, something to be solemnly studied on November 11.
War belongs in a war museum.

When leaders of nations feel the urge to go to war because
of some perceived slight, let them duel it out with swords
or pistols at 20 paces rather than sending the nation's sons
and daughters into the maw of war.

Globalization has made war obsolete and anachronistic.
Disputes between nations are about markets and subsidies.
Other conflicts are tribal (Bosnia, Rwanda) or the imperial
dreams of building a capitalist utopia from the ashes of
shock and awe (U.S. invasion of Iraq).

War no longer works (if it ever did). Will we call out the
troops when starving millions start migrating in search of
food and water as crops die and rivers dry up?

A less warlike Canadian government would have invited Joya
to speak to our parliament.  The fact that they didn't
demonstrates their fear of what this small unarmed woman
might say.  Like their Afghani counterparts, they fear the
truth: Canadian military operations are exacerbating the
crisis of democracy in Afghanistan, not easing tensions.

Afghanistan is showing us the power of free speech through
the bravery of Malalai Joya.  In return, we are showing
Afghanistan the power of war.  It remains to be seen who
will have a lasting influence.  My bet is on Joya.


David Charbonneau is the owner of Trio Technical.
He can be reached at dcharbonneau13@shaw.ca

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