لر او بر یو افغان

The last will and testament in the title of this poem is very apt and a fine reminder of where we are. It comes from this fine collection of poems by Basheer Ghowakh that I have been reading of late and is an appeal for unity for Pashtuns, Lar and Bar - from Pakistan and Afghanistan. Given that the Pashtun masses face multiple challenges and that all is not well on the home patch, a periodic reminder of what binds us in commonality is no bad thing. This poem is especially poignant as it takes the form of a short piece of advice given to the poet by the Sun - a waseeat. The message contained herein makes a lot of sense.

تور خان

 وصیت

بشیر ګواښ

دا د تېر

مازیګري لمر

په تلو تلو کې

راته وایي

سره یو شئ لرو برو

کنه زما په شان ډوبېږئ

Over the Moon

I've always been fascinated by Space and the possibilities of exploring and learning about what is out there. So it is rather appropriate that I should choose to write on a day that is none other than the birthday of Buzz Adlrin, the second man to walk on the moon. He happens to be in Scotland today and whilst we are not likely to cross paths, I am intrigued by the stories of a man who has been to the moon and back. 

I particularly admire the inspiration, the hope and the possibilities in Buzz's words to the next generation, so I'm going to dedicate this space to both the man and his mission:

Your parents may have told you “the world is yours” and I’m here to tell you they’re right. I want to take it even one step further and let you know that “the worlds are yours” as well!

When we look up at the sky, especially at night, we can see thousands of stars and planets. Every day, scientists and mathematicians and everyone in the Space Program are doing their homework and getting closer and closer to reaching these heavenly bodies.

When I was a boy, I wasn’t the only kid on the block who looked up at the stars and dreamt about going to the moon or other planets. I read science fiction books about it. But no one had ever gone up there before, so we used our imagination and dreams and figured out ways to make those dreams come true.

Your Mom and Dad, grandparents and great-grandparents, created a lot of terrific machines, from airplanes to rocket ships and space shuttles to land rovers. They worked smart and accomplished fantastic things that people had only ever dreamt of—from flying in the sky to blasting off of the Earth into outer space and, eventually, walking on the Moon.

I should know; I was one of the first two people to set foot on the Moon with my friend, and commander of the Apollo 11 mission, Neil Armstrong. The most important thing about everything we’ve done is to get you off to a great start on your mission.

You are the future. And I’m your number one fan!

You are going to achieve super things that are out of this world and that no one else has done before and go to places that no one has ever gone. Earth isn’t the only world for us any more.

It’s up to you to take the first steps on Mars and other worlds, to discover and explore. A good friend of mine, Buzz Lightyear, best describes where you’ll go: “To Infinity and Beyond!”

Are you up for the mission? Will you be one of the first people to walk on Mars? You could even be among the first human settlers to colonize Mars!

But don’t stop there! You can go further on to Venus, Saturn’s rings or Jupiter’s moons—farther than your eyes can see and as far as your mind can dream.

Reach for the Stars!

With such inspirational words, just imagine.  

Twitter: TheRealBuzz

Protecting Education from Attack

Students and educators in situations of armed conflict face violence every day. Schools and universities should be safe havens, where communities can work toward a better future. Instead, in many places, these institutions have become the targets of violent attacks for political, military, ideological, sectarian, ethnic, religious or criminal reasons.

Attacks on education are any intentional threat or use of force—carried out for political, military, ideological, sectarian, ethnic, religious, or criminal reasons—against students, educators, and education institutions. Attacks on education may be perpetrated by:

• State security forces, including armed forces, law enforcement, paramilitary, and militia forces acting on behalf of the state.
• Non-state armed groups.

Attacks on education include attacks on:

• Students of all ages.
• Educators, including school teachers, academics, other education personnel, members of teacher unions, and education aid workers.
• Education institutions: any site used for the purposes of education, including all levels of education and non-formal education facilities, and buildings dedicated to the work of ministries of education and other education administration.

The occupation or use of education institutions by armed forces or other armed groups can lead to attacks on education institutions and can displace educators and students, denying students access to education.

Learn more by following the GCPEA website and their postings on Twitter.

MMXIII: Happy New Year

!نوی کال مبارک

Created in Tagxedo.

Peace. Hope. Prayers.

 !سال نو مبارک
!نیا سَال مبارک

Hope and Opportunity: Goodbye 2012

Sure there isn't much difference between the 11.59 31 Dec/00.00 1 Jan, but the passing of one day to the next heralds the opportunity to do things differently. Hope drives me and for what it's worth, I wish you all a brilliant new year. As the year draws to a close, I share a few images that have made this blog over the past year.

Made in Pixlr Express

Prayers and wishes for the coming year. Ameen.

ښايسته افغانستان

ښايسته افغانستان
This song by Zeek Afridi is one of my favourites at the moment. Enjoy.

تور خان

Check out this post with a similar title, sung by Shafiq Mureed. 

Mayan Apocalypse

13th/14th B'ak'tun, 13.0.0.0.0

One of the things that comes up in class when I am working with children is the numerical patterns around dates such as Palindromes or those have some significant attachment. Yesterday's date was such a talking point since it was the winter solstice for those living in the northern hemisphere. However, this event was overshadowed by Mayan doom theories of the impending expiration of the Long Calendar, and with it the end of life, time and the Earth.

Hype

I have mentioned hype before and how I often feel that being swept up in popular hype goes against rational balanced thinking. This is just one of those stories and the apocalypse theories have been stirred in part by those who have taken the Long Calendar as some kind of prophesy. Even the ancient Mayans astronomers and mathematicians using their own Base 18/20 counting system did not make that claim.

One day, scientifically and/or theologically speaking the Earth will end, so this is a subject that isn't about to go away and that I may come back to explore at some further point InshAllah. As it is ... here's a video by NASA with their view on yesterday's doomsday scenario and how Al Hamdulilah, the Earth is still here one day later.