My Name Is Parvana

by Deborah Ellis

  She picked up broken cups and dropped them again, set chairs and broken bits of chalkboard right side up. The remains of a padlock lay not far from where the shed used to be. She moved through the rubble, shuffling it around until she found her father’s shoulder bag under the remains of a table.

  The shoulder bag was still intact.

  She opened it up and took out the old copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. It was the last of her father’s books. She and Asif and Hassan had tried to eat pages of it when they were wandering alone and hungry.

  “I guess we can eat you again if we have to,” Parvana said.

  She slung the bag across her shoulders and turned to leave.

  She stubbed her toe against the broken school sign. All the words were smashed. Leila’s Academy of were now all trash. The only word still intact was Hope. Parvana picked it up, placed it on a high piece of rubble and dusted it off.

  She had almost cleared all the dust from the nooks and crannies of the word when the American army trucks rolled up.

  The soldiers got out, and Parvana left her school for the very last time.

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  “Any last words?” the major asked.

  They were outside, in the bright sunshine. Parvana had shackles on her ankles, a chain around her waist and handcuffs around her wrists. Two strong soldiers held her on each side.

  “You’re being transferred to the prison north of Kabul,” he said. “I tried to protect you, but you left me no choice. You could have talked to us but you chose not to. I hope whatever you are hiding is really worth it.”

  Parvana thought of Kinnah, who would no longer be raped by the old man she had been forced to marry. She thought of Ava, who would always now be with people who appreciated her. She thought of Badria, and knew that Shauzia’s friends would find a teacher who could see how smart she was. She thought of Maryam, who would find some way to sing whatever she wanted to sing, of Hassan, who would grow up to be kind to the women in his life, and of Asif, who was acting more like a man than all those crazy bombing, shooting, yelling and hitting men that gave everyone such a pain.

  And she thought of Shauzia, who would continue to bring the good taste of real freedom to the girls who just wanted a chance to live.

  “Yes,” she replied, and she smiled. “It’s worth it.”

  She did not want to cry.

  And then she heard something else.

  It was the sound of a car horn blaring. It came closer and stopped right next to Parvana. She could feel the heat of the motor against the backs of her legs.

  “You let her go this instant!”

  A loud, bossy woman’s voice hit Parvana’s eardrums like birdsong.

  “Get those guns out of my face. What do you mean, treating a minor Afghan child in her own country this way? Under whose authority do you dare do this? Get those chains off her!”

  There in front of Parvana was the beautiful, furious face of Mrs. Weera, Member of Parliament.

  “I represent the Parliament of Afghanistan. I have a letter in my hand from the president of the country demanding you release this child into my custody right now, and if you hesitate even a second, if you take the time to blink or breathe before obeying this order, I will have Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the United Nations International Children’s Fund, the American Civil Liberties Union and every television station in the world come down on you like a ton of bricks!”

  The major started to argue, but Mrs. Weera stepped right into his face and kept shouting until he gave the order and Parvana was released.

  The grip Mrs. Weera held her with was as strong as any chain. There was no way anyone was taking Parvana away from her.

  “Get in the van,” she ordered.

  Parvana climbed into the government van and Mrs. Weera got into the seat beside her. The door slammed and the car took off.

  They passed the garbage bins.

  “Stop!” Parvana shouted.

  The van stopped. She jumped out and grabbed her father’s shoulder bag from the top of the trash heap. She got back in the van and they sped away, off the base and out into the world.

  “I can see that getting older hasn’t meant you get into less trouble,” Mrs. Weera said.

  “I didn’t tell them anything,” Parvana told her.

  “Of course you didn’t. You’re much tougher than they are. How would you like to get out of those army clothes? I think if you look on the seat behind you, under that blanket, you’ll find what you need.”

  Parvana turned around and lifted the blanket. There was Shauzia’s laughing face.

  “I figured we still had some catching up to do,” Shauzia said. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fantastic,” Parvana said.

  She didn’t know how they had found her. And just now, she didn’t need to know.

  “What now?” Mrs. Weera asked.

  “Oh, I’m ready for France,” Shauzia said. “I’ve had enough adventure. How about you, Parvana? Want to go to France? Climb the Eiffel Tower?”

  “Yes,” Parvana said. “That’s exactly what I want to do.”

  “Let’s do it,” Shauzia said. “It’s time.”

  Parvana sat back on the seat and looked out the window at the rocks, dust, poverty, wildness and hard-working people of her country. People who only wanted to live and laugh and not hurt too much.

  France would be calm, clean and peaceful. She could learn to speak French, walk wherever she wanted and build her own future.

  It would be a good life. A life anyone would envy.

  She wondered whether it would be enough.

  “On the other hand,” she said, “maybe we could rescue a few more girls first. After all, we already know how to do that.”

  “I guess we could save a few more,” Shauzia agreed. “France isn’t going anywhere.”

  “There are some brochures that need folding in one of the boxes on the floor back there,” Mrs. Weera said. “You won’t mind doing a little job while we drive.”

  Shauzia got out the brochures and handed a stack to Parvana.

  “So,” Parvana said, “more of the same, then. More hunger, more fear and more work.”

  “This is Afghanistan,” Shauzia said. “What do you want — a happy ending?”

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  When I heard about the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 1996, and the crimes they perpetrated against women and girls, I decided to get involved. This started me on a journey that resulted in the first three books about Parvana and Shauzia — The Breadwinner, Parvana’s Journey and Mud City.

  Since then, readers have wondered what happened to Parvana after she was reunited with her mother and sisters and living in a refugee camp, still writing letters to her friend Shauzia. Parvana and Shauzia are fictional characters, but in my head they are very real people, and I wondered myself how they were managing in an Afghanistan that is still at war after more than three decades.

  In late 1979 the Soviet Union invaded the country, but even after they were defeated in 1989, the fighting continued, as various groups fought for control of the country. The Taliban militia, one of the groups that the United States and Pakistan once funded, trained and armed, took control of the capital city of Kabul in 1996. They imposed brutal and restrictive laws on girls and women. Schools for girls were closed down, women were no longer allowed to hold jobs, and strict dress codes were enforced.

  The Taliban also harbored al-Qaeda, the terrorists who were responsible for the September 11th attacks on the United States in 2001. In response, the US led a coalition of nations into a war in Afghanistan. The Taliban was defeated, and by the end of 2005 a new constitution had been approved and a new president and parliament had been elected.

  But the fighting continued. The Taliban returned to fight against the Afghan government and the
various foreign military forces that remained in the country. Other regional leaders known as war lords splintered into different groups and have continued to fight for power. A lot of money has gone into Afghanistan for the reconstruction effort. Unfortunately, much of this money has gone to the war or into corruption at all levels.

  The Afghan people are trying to rebuild their lives and their country against this backdrop. The years of war and repression left Afghanistan lacking many basic things that other countries take for granted. School buildings, books, chalk, pens and trained teachers are still in short supply. Half the children in Afghanistan still have no access to any kind of schooling. Many Afghans still live in informal refugee camps without water, plumbing or electricity.

  And the situation remains difficult, especially for women and children. Their daily lives are still threatened by suicide bombings, armed conflict and other forms of violence.

  Violence against women in Afghanistan continues because of poverty, the ongoing instability caused by decades of war, and the clinging of many to a system of values that believes women are property and are to be silent and obedient. Although there are laws on the books against forced marriage — and against child marriage — the laws are seldom enforced. Struggles for women’s rights continue, with girls’ schools being burned and women activists being assassinated.

  Today some foreign countries, including the United States, are moving to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan. But the war continues, and it is not clear who might be the winner in the end.

  For the Afghan people, life must go on. And individuals like Parvana, Shauzia and Mrs. Weera are working to make life better. They, and the many, many Afghan women, men and children like them, are the ones the world needs to support. We owe it to them.

  The Breadwinner

  Deborah Ellis

  Eleven-year-old Parvana lives in Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital city. Her father works from a blanket on the ground in the marketplace, reading letters for people who cannot read or write. One day he is arrested and the family is left without someone who can earn money or even shop for food.

  As conditions for the family grow desperate, only one solution emerges. Forbidden to earn money as a girl, Parvana must disguise herself as a boy, and become the breadwinner.

  “A great kids’ book ... a graphic geopolitical brief that’s also a girl-power parable.” — Newsweek

  “... a book ... about the hard times — and the courage — of Afghan children.” — Washington Post

  Hackmatack Award • Middle East Book Award • Rebecca Caudill Young Reader’s Award • Sweden’s Peter Pan Prize • YALSA PPYA

  Paperback • 978-0-88899-416-5 • $9.95 CDN / $8.95 US

  EPUB • 978-1-55498-007-9 • $9.95 CDN / $8.95 US

  Parvana’s Journey

  Deborah Ellis

  A war is raging in Afghanistan as a coalition of Western forces tries to oust the Taliban by bombing the country. Parvana’s father has died, and her mother, sister and brother have gone to a faraway wedding, not knowing what has happened to him. Parvana doesn’t know where they are. She just knows she has to find them.

  And so, masquerading as a boy, she sets out across the desolate countryside through the war zone that Afghanistan has become.

  “Through spare, affecting prose, Ellis … makes the children’s journey both arduous and believable.” — Booklist

  * “This sequel to The Breadwinner easily stands alone... An unforgettable read.” — School Library Journal, starred review

  Jane Addams Children’s Book Award • Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award Honour Book • Governor General’s Literary Award Finalist • Ontario Library Association Golden Oak Award • Ruth Schwartz Award • YALSA BBYA

  Paperback • 978-0-88899-519-3 • $9.95 CDN / $8.95 US

  EPUB • 978-1-55498-030-7 • $9.95 CDN / $8.95 US

  Mud City

  Deborah Ellis

  Parvana’s best friend, Shauzia, has fled Afghanistan and now has to survive on her own on the streets of Peshawar, Pakistan. With her dog as her only friend, she must scrounge for food, beg for money and look for a safe place to sleep every night.

  But could it be worse than a lifetime spent in a refugee camp? This is a powerful and very human story of a feisty, driven girl who tries to take control of her own life.

  * “A stunning portrait ...” — Quill & Quire, starred review

  “… a fine, strong addition to Ellis’ growing list of novels. Highly recommended.” — Toronto Star

  Hackmatack Award • Lamplighter Award • New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age

  Paperback • 978-0-88899-542-1 • $9.95 CDN / $8.95 US

  EPUB • 978-1-55498-027-7 • $9.95 CDN / $8.95 US

  Kids of Kabul:

  Living Bravely Through a Never-ending War

  Deborah Ellis

  Since its publication in 2000, hundreds of thousands of children all over the world have read and loved The Breadwinner, the fictional story of eleven-year-old Parvana living in Kabul under the terror of the Taliban.

  But what has happened to Afghanistan’s children since the fall of the Taliban in 2001? In 2011, Deborah Ellis went to Kabul to find out. The two dozen or so boys and girls featured in this book range in age from ten to seventeen, and they speak candidly about their lives now. They are still living in a country at war. Yet these kids are weathering their lives with remarkable courage and hope, getting as much education and life experience and fun as they can.

  “This nuanced portrayal of adolescence in a struggling nation refrains, refreshingly, from wallowing in tragedy tourism and overwrought handwringing. Necessary.” — Kirkus Reviews

  * “... compelling and motivating.... A valuable, informative resource.” — School Library Journal, starred review

  Hardcover with jacket • 978-1-55498-181-6 • $15.95

  EPUB • 978-1-55498-203-5 • $13.95

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Deborah Ellis is best known for her Breadwinner series, set in Afghanistan and Pakistan — a series that has been published in twenty-five languages, with more than one million dollars in royalties donated to Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan and Street Kids International. She has won the Governor General’s Award, the Ruth Schwartz Award, the University of California’s Middle East Book Award, Sweden’s Peter Pan Prize, the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award and the Vicky Metcalf Award for a Body of Work. She recently received the Ontario Library Association’s President’s Award for Exceptional Achievement, and she has been named to the Order of Ontario.

  Deborah lives in Simcoe, Ontario.

  ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

  Groundwood Books, established in 1978, is dedicated to the production of children’s books for all ages, including fiction, picture books and non-fiction. We publish in Canada, the United States and Latin America. Our books aim to be of the highest possible quality in both language and illustration. Our primary focus has been on works by Canadians, though we sometimes also buy outstanding books from other countries.

  Many of our books tell the stories of people whose voices are not always heard in this age of global publishing by media conglomerates. Books by the First Peoples of this hemisphere have always been a special interest, as have those of others who through circumstance have been marginalized and whose contribution to our society is not always visible. Since 1998 we have been publishing works by people of Latin American origin living in the Americas both in English and in Spanish under our Libros Tigrillo imprint.

  We believe that by reflecting intensely individual experiences, our books are of universal interest. The fact that our authors are published around the world attests to this and to their quality. Even more important, our books are read and loved by children all over the globe.

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  Deborah Ellis, My Name Is Parvana