Shauzia

by Deborah Ellis

  ‘It was a simple break,’ the nurse said. ‘You were lucky. Stay away from riots from now on.’

  Shauzia took some more steps, trying out her mended leg.

  ‘We’ll have your first-aid kits ready this afternoon,’ the nurse said to Mrs Weera, who had brought Shauzia to the clinic. ‘When are you leaving?’

  ‘Tomorrow, I think. Or maybe tonight. I can’t decide whether it’s safer for us to travel after dark, or if we should wait until daylight.’

  ‘Both have risks,’ the nurse agreed.

  ‘Where are you going?’ Shauzia asked. Was she really about to be free of Mrs Weera?

  ‘Mrs Weera is a very brave woman,’ the nurse said. ‘I hope you treat her with respect. She is taking several nurses back into Afghanistan.’

  ‘You’re going back?’ Shauzia almost yelled. ‘Why would you want to do that?’

  ‘Our people are being bombed,’ Mrs Weera replied quietly. ‘Thousands have gathered at the border, trying to get out, but the border has been closed. Nurses are needed.’

  ‘If the border is closed, how will you get in?’

  ‘We’ll have to sneak in, probably across the mountains.’

  ‘Just you women? You’ll never get away with it. The Taliban will arrest you.’

  ‘We’ll have to take that chance,’ Mrs Weera told her. ‘People need us, and they’ll help us as best as they can. We should get back to the compound now. I have lots to do.’

  The compound had been full of activity for the past week, but Shauzia hadn’t paid too much attention to it. The embroidery group had switched from fancy needlework to cutting strips of material for bandages and patching the worn spots in old blankets. Shauzia had noticed all the rushing around, but she had not cared to ask about it.

  That evening she sat on the ground, her back against the hut where she slept, and where the women’s organisation had their office. Women kept going in and coming out again. They paid no attention to her.

  Farzana sat down beside her. Jasper thumped his tail and put his head in Farzana’s lap.

  ‘It’s going to be awfully quiet without Mrs Weera here,’ Farzana said.

  ‘We’ll still be able to hear her snoring at night. Even if she’s on the other side of the world, her snores will reach us. She’ll probably shatter the eardrums of all the Taliban soldiers, then take their place as ruler of Afghanistan.’

  ‘She’d have a whole country to boss around then,’ Farzana said with a giggle. ‘She’d like that.’

  ‘You think the Taliban has crazy laws? Mrs Weera’s would be even crazier. She’ll force everyone to spend every afternoon playing field hockey.’

  Farzana laughed again. ‘She’ll even make old people play, and the people on crutches.’

  ‘She’s crazy!’ Shauzia was angry now. She threw a stone across the courtyard, narrowly missing one of the busy women. ‘She’s absolutely crazy to be going back into Afghanistan, especially without a man. She thinks she can make anything happen just because she wants it to happen. She’s crazy!’

  ‘What do you care?’ Farzana asked. ‘You’re going to the sea.’

  ‘That’s right,’ Shauzia said. ‘Now that my cast is off, I’ll be heading out.’

  ‘You’re not taking me with you, are you?’ Farzana asked.

  Shauzia didn’t reply.

  ‘It’s all right,’ Farzana said. ‘Mrs Weera told me you wouldn’t, but I already knew.’

  Shauzia didn’t know what to say. She stroked Jasper’s soft fur. She didn’t like what she was feeling.

  ‘So why do you just sit here?’ Farzana asked. ‘Why don’t you go?’

  ‘I am going,’ Shauzia said. ‘I’m just resting first. It’s a long way to the sea.’

  ‘Rest someplace else,’ Farzana said. ‘I don’t want to be around you right now.’

  ‘I was sitting here before you were.’

  ‘Do you have to have everything your way? I’m staying right where I am. You leave.’

  ‘All right, I’d be glad to.’ Shauzia got to her feet. ‘Just about anybody would be better company than you. Come on, Jasper.’

  Jasper rolled his brown eyes to look at her, but his head stayed in Farzana’s lap.

  ‘Stupid dog,’ Shauzia said, and she stalked off away from them.

  She found a place to sit against the compound wall, where she didn’t have to look at anyone. Then she took the magazine photo of France out of her pocket.

  Maybe it was the dim evening light. Maybe it was her anger at Jasper for choosing Farzana over her. Whatever it was, for some reason the field of purple flowers didn’t look so inviting anymore. In fact, it looked a little dull.

  Shauzia put the picture back in her pocket and leaned against the wall. For a long while, she sat and thought.

  ‘They’re leaving! Mrs Weera’s leaving!’

  Shauzia heard the call and got to her feet. She had to see them leave. She had to make certain Mrs Weera was well and truly going.

  Everyone from the compound gathered in the courtyard to say goodbye. Shauzia hung back, watching, wanting to run away, but feeling compelled to stay.

  Mrs Weera sought her out. She wrapped Shauzia in one of her giant hugs.

  ‘You are a precious, precious child,’ Mrs Weera said softly. ‘I hope you get to the sea. I hope France welcomes you with open arms. They would be lucky to get you.’

  Mrs Weera released her and joined her nurses. With one final wave, they left the compound.

  The others drifted off to their homes. Shauzia, Farzana and Jasper stood in the doorway and watched the women walk away.

  ‘They’d be so much safer if they had a man with them,’ Shauzia said.

  ‘Or even a boy,’ Farzana said.

  Without another thought, Shauzia sprang into action. She fetched her shoulder bag and blanket shawl from the hut. She stopped briefly where Farzana and Jasper were standing.

  ‘Take care of Jasper,’ she said to Farzana. ‘If the two of you get to the sea, give him a bath in the waves with this.’ She handed Farzana the bit of flowery soap from Tom and Barbara. Then she reached into her pocket, took out the photo of the lavender field, and gave that to Farzana, too.

  Finally she bent down and hugged Jasper hard. She knew he wouldn’t mind that she was crying.

  Shauzia left the compound then, and headed off to meet Mrs Weera and the nurses.

  She had almost twenty years before she had to meet her friend Parvana at the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. She’d get there. But first she had a little job to do.

  Mrs Weera had long legs. Shauzia had to run to catch up to her.

  GLOSSARY

  Badakhshan – A province of northeast Afghanistan.

  burqa – A long, tent-like garment worn by women. It covers the entire body and has a narrow mesh screen over the eyes.

  chador – A piece of cloth worn by women and girls to cover their hair and shoulders.

  charpoy – A bed consisting of a frame strung with tapes or light rope.

  Dari – One of the two main languages spoken in Afghanistan.

  Genghis Khan – The Mongol conqueror (1162-1227) who formed a vast empire that stretched from China to Persia.

  karachi – A cart on wheels pushed by hand, used to sell things in the market.

  nan – Afghan bread. It can be flat, long or round.

  Pashtu – One of the two main languages spoken in Afghanistan.

  Red Crescent – The Muslim equivalent of the Red Cross, an international organisation that provides aid to the sick and wounded in times of disaster and war.

  roupee – Basic unit of money in Pakistan.

  shalwar kameez – Long, loose shirt and trousers, worn by both men and women. A man’s shalwar kameez is one colour, with pockets in the side and on the chest. A woman’s shalwar kameez has different colours and patterns and is sometimes elaborately embroidered or beaded.

  Taliban – An Afghan army that took control of the capital city of Kabul in September, 1996, and
was forced from power in the fall of 2001.

  toshak – A narrow mattress used in many Afghan homes instead of chairs or beds.

  UN – United Nations, an international organisation that promotes peace, security and economic development.

  UNHCR – United Nations High Commission on Refugees.

  Uzbek – The language of the Uzbek people of central Asia.

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Afghanistan, a small country in central Asia, has been at war since l978, when American-backed fighters opposed the Soviet-backed government. In l980, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, and the war escalated, with both sides bombing and killing with modern weapons.

  After the Soviets left in 1989, a civil war erupted, as various groups fought for control of the country. The heads of some of these groups were known as war lords, and they were particularly brutal.

  Into this mess came the Taliban. These were originally boys whose parents had been killed in the war with the Soviets. They were taken out of Afghanistan and trained in special military schools in Pakistan (funded by the Pakistan and American secret police) to form an army that would eventually take over the country. In September, l996, the Taliban army took over the capital city of Kabul.

  The Taliban imposed extremely restrictive laws, especially on girls and women. Schools for girls were closed down, women were no longer allowed to hold jobs, and strict dress codes were enforced. Books were burned, televisions smashed, music was forbidden, and a free press in any form became seriously illegal. The Taliban massacred thousands of their opponents and put others in prison. Some people simply disappeared, and their families may never know what happened to them.

  The destruction of the war, and the meanness of the governments that grew out of the war, have created a huge refugee population, as Afghans fled their country for what they hoped was safety in Iran and Pakistan. Millions still live in huge refugee camps, or in slums in the cities. The war and terror have gone on so long that many people have spent their whole lives in these conditions.

  Pakistan is a very poor country, and the huge influx of refugees has put a strain on the economy. Some Afghans were able to find work, but they often worked for criminally low wages, just to try to stay alive.

  Although the Taliban are no longer in power in Afghanistan, and many of the refugees have returned home, the decades of war have left the country in terrible shape. Bridges, roads and electrical plants have been destroyed. Few people in Afghanistan have clean water to drink. All the armies put land mines in farmers’ fields, making it impossible to grow food there. As a result, many people die of hunger or from diseases caused by poor nutrition.

  The greatest sign of hope for Afghanistan is that the schools have reopened, and all children – boys and girls – now have a chance to get an education. They have a chance, that is, if their families can afford to send them, if there is a school in their area, if there is a trained teacher to teach them, if there are books or even a piece of chalkboard for them to use. Another problem is that while life is getting back to normal in the capital city, many of the outlying provinces are still controlled by the war lords, and women and girls are again facing severe restrictions in those areas.

  The terrible poverty and destruction in the country means the Afghan people need help from people around the world to rebuild schools, libraries, clinics and roads, and to provide basic supplies. To find out how you can help, you can contact the Libraries for Afghanistan Campaign at www.w4wafghan.ca.

  Royalties from this book will be donated to Street Kids International, a non-profit organisation that works with children around the world who are living on the streets. For more information, contact www.streetkids.org, or write to them at 38 Camden Street, Suite 201, Toronto, Ontario M5V 1V1.

  DEBORAH ELLIS

  May, 2003

  CANADIAN WOMEN FOR WOMEN IN AFGHANISTAN

  LIBRARIES FOR AFGHANISTAN

  Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan (W4WAfghan) is a non-profit solidarity group founded in 1996 by award winning author Deb Ellis. Volunteer members are committed to raising awareness of the plight of Afghan women and their families. Their goal is to fund a number of projects supporting the empowerment efforts of Afghan women both in Afghanistan and in Afghan refugee camps.

  Much support is needed to rebuild literacy opportunities for Afghan women and their families. W4WAfghan is pleased to be starting a campaign to rebuild the libraries of Afghanistan

  For further information on W4WAfghan and Libraries for Afghanistan please visit

  www.w4wafghan.ca

  or email

  w4wafghan@praxis.ca

  Have you read these extraordinary bestsellers by Deborah Ellis?

  There are many types of battle in Afghanistan.

  When soldiers burst into her home and drag her father off to prison, Parvana is forced to take responsibility for her whole family. By turns exciting and touching, Parvana is a story of courage in the face of overwhelming fear and repression.

  In this sequel, Parvana sets out alone to walk across war-torn Afghanistan in search of her family.

  Parvana’s Journey is the riveting story of a young girl’s talent for friendship, hope and gritty determination despite the ravages of war.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Deborah Ellis works as a counselor in a group home in Toronto. Her first children’s book, Looking for X, won the Governor General’s Award for Children’s Literature. A few years ago Deborah traveled to Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan to interview women for her book of oral histories, Women of the Afghan War. The stories she heard and the children she met in those camps were also the inspiration for Parvana and Parvana’s Journey.