tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-223340422009-09-07T13:55:30.333-07:00Golistan"Women Making Change" Global Exchange Delegation to Afghanistan: focused on Afghan women's issues and supporting Afghans in reconstructing a post-US bombing, post-Taliban nation. Global Exchange is a non-profit international human rights organization working to increase global awareness of the American public and building progressive, grassroots international partnerships. www.globalexchange.org. (This is a work-in-progress. Please continue to check in.)Heather Rastovachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11834004331150497566noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22334042.post-1165017470335311302006-12-01T15:53:00.000-08:002006-12-01T16:05:27.710-08:00Welcome December 1, 2006: Greetings! I'd like to express my immense gratitude for visiting my blog about my trip to Afghanistan. The trip (which took place March 2006) has continued to inspire me in profound ways even still, almost nine months later. As many of you have seen, I have been updating the blog with photos and writings at a very gradual pace. I appreciate your patience with this process. I Heather Rastovachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11834004331150497566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22334042.post-1164408507109238062006-11-24T14:23:00.000-08:002006-11-24T15:28:37.170-08:00Wednesday 3/15/06 Day Eleven (day of departure) Writings coming soon...Heather Rastovachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11834004331150497566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22334042.post-1164406422809156732006-11-24T13:59:00.000-08:002006-11-24T14:13:42.823-08:00Tuesday 3/14/06 Day Ten Heather Rastovachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11834004331150497566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22334042.post-1164404451136634772006-11-24T13:12:00.000-08:002006-11-24T15:30:16.676-08:00Monday 3/13/06 Day Nine Above photo of Gulsoma and Kristie by Saverio Sarravezza. To read more about Gulsoma's story, visit: http://www.travelpoet.com/pages/featured_story.php http://hotzone.yahoo.com/b/hotzone/blogs2986 http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article357770.ece Writings coming soon...Heather Rastovachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11834004331150497566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22334042.post-1161492821693904312006-10-21T21:25:00.000-07:002007-04-04T23:47:02.030-07:00Sunday 3/12/06 Day Eight Next five photos: OMAR mine awareness program. View a recent article at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070404/ap_on_re_as/afghan_cultural_minefield Writings coming soon...Heather Rastovachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11834004331150497566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22334042.post-1161413538851069212006-10-20T23:22:00.000-07:002006-11-24T12:49:50.180-08:00Saturday 3/11/06 Day Seven Writings to come soon...Heather Rastovachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11834004331150497566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22334042.post-1159776541464807152006-10-02T00:31:00.000-07:002006-11-24T13:11:28.563-08:00Friday 3/10/06 Day Six Writings coming soon....Heather Rastovachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11834004331150497566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22334042.post-1159638293810928372006-09-30T10:01:00.000-07:002006-11-24T12:49:08.250-08:00Thursday 3/9/06 Day Five Writings to come soon.........Heather Rastovachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11834004331150497566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22334042.post-1157833533867832832006-09-09T13:03:00.000-07:002006-09-29T20:26:41.866-07:00Wednesday 3/8/06 International Women's Day (Day 4) More writing coming soon......Heather Rastovachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11834004331150497566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22334042.post-1151485144079365372006-06-28T01:35:00.000-07:002006-06-28T01:59:04.120-07:00The Most Beautiful Photography by Saverio SerravezzaSaverio was the only man on the delegation with eleven women. I have to say that he exhibited an immense amount of easygoingness among all of us eccentric women! From Italy, he is a freelance photographer who took the most stunning photographs of Afghan children while we were there. His ability to capture the essence of these children, many of whom I saw with my own eyes, really amazes me. You Heather Rastovachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11834004331150497566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22334042.post-1149994065394631412006-06-10T19:27:00.000-07:002006-09-09T13:03:06.596-07:00Tuesday 3/7/06 Day ThreeAbove and below 3 pics:Around Kabul (taken by Cordelia Persen) Below pic: International Center for Human Rights and Democratic Development event celebrating women who taught privately in their homes during Taliban Below 9 pics: A visit with the ICRC/International Center of the Red Cross Below 4 pics: A visit with the Afghanistan Commission for Human Rights (where we had the honor of Heather Rastovachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11834004331150497566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22334042.post-1149992623249280242006-06-10T19:05:00.000-07:002006-08-01T16:24:26.523-07:00Monday 3/6/06 Day Two (Part 2) Above pic: A site in the cityBelow 2 pics: A theatrical play in honor of International Women's Day Below pic: A visit with the Marzia Basel, founder/director of AWJA women judges association Below pics: A visit with Suraya Parleka of the All Afghan Women Union After our visit with PARWAZ, our vans headed back into the center of town toward a high school that was holding an International Heather Rastovachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11834004331150497566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22334042.post-1144875620330706392006-04-12T13:33:00.000-07:002006-04-12T14:00:20.416-07:00The Children of Afghanistan The following photos were shared generously by Cordelia Persen, another participant on the delegation... Heather Rastovachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11834004331150497566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22334042.post-1144832930618744422006-04-12T01:27:00.000-07:002006-06-19T22:38:50.770-07:00Monday 3/6/06 Day Two (Part 1)Above pic: A view in the city... Below pic: Two of the staff at PARWAZ... As soon as my head hit the pillow at 8:30 Sunday night, I slept straight until 6:00 AM Monday morning. I continued to rest, cuddled under my fuzzy blankets, until breakfast was served inside at 7:00. Awaiting us was a spread of fresh bread (nan), honey, black cherry jam, 'happy cow' cheese, and green and black chai. If I Heather Rastovachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11834004331150497566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22334042.post-1144047522116804652006-04-02T23:26:00.000-07:002006-04-12T13:31:09.966-07:00Brief Chronology of Afghanistan's Political PastI didn't even realize the extent of my ignorance pertaining to Afghanistan's political past until I went to Kabul. Like most Westerners, I had been inundated with images propelled by Western media portraying Taliban and burkas - oppressive symbols that would come to define Afghanistan in much of the Western psyche. But I discovered that the complexity of the Afghan situation and political historyHeather Rastovachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11834004331150497566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22334042.post-1143921837018172632006-04-01T11:57:00.000-08:002006-06-19T22:29:12.900-07:00Sunday 3/5/06 Day One (part 4)Above and below pics: Vegetable market/money changing market... Above pic: Stall selling steaming garbanzo beans... Above and below pics: Park overlooking the city... The aroma of our first scrumptious lunch drifted from the kitchen as we began to settle into what would be our home for the upcoming ten days. We briefly met our cooks, two men with kind faces and an older woman with silver Heather Rastovachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11834004331150497566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22334042.post-1143881226488901012006-04-01T00:42:00.000-08:002006-04-04T12:36:51.186-07:00Photos by Kristie McLean "Once snared, as you so well know, one never fully leaves; a portion of one's heart is forever woven into the fabric of that place." Jason Elliot speaks of Afghanistan in An Unexpected Light. These are two photos taken (and copyright) by Kristie McLean, another woman from Seattle who also attended the delegation.Heather Rastovachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11834004331150497566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22334042.post-1143528359169255132006-03-27T22:27:00.000-08:002006-08-04T17:40:43.646-07:00Afghans 4 Tomorrow Guesthouse (Day 1 Part 3) Above pic: Sign in front of guesthouse. To learn more about Afghans 4 Tomorrow, visit their website www.afghans4tomorrow.com Above pic: A view of our mornings piling into our vans. Above pic: The back yard of the guesthouse on a later sunny day. Above pic: This was the little building that Ceanna and I took a room in. Above pic: The back yard view from the guesthouse. Above pic: One of ourHeather Rastovachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11834004331150497566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22334042.post-1143524355832245782006-03-27T21:36:00.000-08:002006-08-03T16:46:39.503-07:00Sunday 3/5/06 Day One (part 2)The weather was grey, wet and chilly. I believe the dim weather made the first sights of the city look especially dismal as our van traveled along the streets of Kabul toward our guesthouse - crumbled buildings, twisted electrical posts, strong local and international military presence, barricades and soldiers protecting government buildings and embassies. Yet it was evident from this first driveHeather Rastovachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11834004331150497566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22334042.post-1143235906748590352006-03-24T13:12:00.000-08:002006-06-19T22:15:09.380-07:00First sights of the city Above Pics: taken from the van...Heather Rastovachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11834004331150497566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22334042.post-1143078493389626182006-03-22T16:20:00.000-08:002006-06-19T22:30:40.576-07:00Sunday 3/5/06 Day One (part 1)Above pic: from left to right: Farid, Ceanna, Naqibullah Above pic: from left to right: Naqibullah, Farid, Daoud's father, Farid From left to right: Najib, Naqibullah, Farid...... The reality that I was actually going to Afghanistan didn't really hit me until I finally arrived at the Dubai airport. My flight from Amsterdam arrived at nearly midnight. Ceanna, the coordinator from Global Heather Rastovachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11834004331150497566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22334042.post-1142971469453947562006-03-21T11:37:00.000-08:002007-04-11T03:26:10.730-07:00Thus begins my reflections of Afghanistan... I have now returned from Afghanistan. I am left copletely in awe, speechless and inspired. My intentions were to update my blog on a regular basis while in Kabul. I was challenged by this for a few reasons. First of all, the jetlag really took ahold of me, as well as my writing and processing abilities. Second of all, we had a limited amount of time at the internet cafe. Lastly, I was so blown Heather Rastovachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11834004331150497566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22334042.post-1141349863520853782006-03-02T17:20:00.000-08:002006-12-27T03:04:23.160-08:00The Whirlwind of LeavingThis trip to Afghanistan has been a true test of how hard I am willing to work for something. From gaining my professors' permission to complete the winter quarter 2 weeks early, to taking on the difficult task of fundraising $3500 in less than eight weeks, to keeping ahead in all of my 16 credits of studies ... and now today, the day before I leave, was quite the climax. It began at 5:00 AM (Heather Rastovachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11834004331150497566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22334042.post-1139734374859385422006-02-12T00:52:00.000-08:002007-03-19T15:53:00.310-07:00Heather Heather Rastovachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11834004331150497566noreply@blogger.com7