Last Wednesday, a couple perpetrators used water guns to shoot acid at a group of girls headed to school in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Details about this despicable act are still rather muddy, with the number of perpetrators and victims still unclear after reading several reports. The New York Times report has the number of victims reaching about half a dozen girls and a teacher at the school and quotes a provincial governor stating that arrests were made. In any case, at least two girls were severely burned and may be blinded.
“We were on the way to school when two men on motorbikes stopped next to us. One of them threw acid on my sister's face. I tried to help her, and then they threw acid on me, too,” Latefa, 16
“These cowardly acts reflect how dishonorable the insurgents truly are,” Gen. David McKiernan said. “No one can honestly say they are fighting for the people, then purposefully attack innocent women and children.”
The most tragic part of the story was the sight of the school the next day….it was empty. The perpetrators, allegedly members of the Taliban, but no group claimed responsibility, no doubt intended to intimidate the city's girls from going to school, and it appears to have worked, at least in the short-term. Instead of highlighting the disgusting actions of the despicable perpetrators of this act, I want to end by mentioning the courage of Afghanistan's teachers, school administrators, parents, and young female students who have to brave mortal danger in order to attend school each day. Their daily efforts are an inspiration.
Here is a CNN video featuring some of victims and a reaction by First Lady Laura Bush:
Embedded video from CNN Video
Sadly, innocents were also violently attacked in Moscow in similarly brazen actions. During Russia's National Day of Honor parade in the country's capital in early November a large group of xenophobic thugs stabbed to death an Uzbek and Turkmen national and targeted the Turkmenistan embassy, injuring a staff member.
The government banned a planned rally on the same day by a neo-nazi, immigrant-hating group, but things still obviously got out of hand. Back in May I wrote about the growing violence toward immigrants from Central Asia by white Russians and the lack of protection being provided by the Russian government. Though at the time it seemed that the state was making moves against such unlawful, violent behavior, including higher rates of arrests, but it appears much more needs to be done.
(Photo Source: CNN)
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[...] water guns to shoot acid at a group of girls headed to school. Posted by Adil Nurmakov Print Version ShareThis [...]
[...] Good news that hopefully just keeps getting better. The Afghan government, not US/NATO troops, has arrested 10 suspects in the Nov. 12 female student and teacher acid attack. It looks like it was a combination of local Kandahar and federal police and law officials who performed the investigation, arrests, and has reportedly garnered confessions from the suspects. The Afghan officials accused a high-ranking Taliban member of instigating the attack by offering 100,000 Pakistani rupees for any violence against Afghan schools and female students. Now this is almost definitely not a watershed moment showcasing Afghan government strength and law enforcement, but it is a positive development nonetheless, one that can hopefully lead to a greater sense of citizen faith in the government’s ability to protect and serve them. [...]
[...] Afghan girls are going to school and even when they are attacked, it is now not by government officials, but by ruthless insurgents, while a local governor condemns the act and attempts to arrest the perpetrators. Now this may seem like not much, but before 2001, it would have been the government, led by Omar and the Taliban, targeting the girls. Courageous NATO and Afghan soldiers risked their lives transporting a colossal turbine, paid for by the US, that when installed will bring electricity to thousands of Afghans and hopefully soon after jobs and opportunity. For every story like these I read in the media, there are a thousand more detailing the latest casualties and Taliban attack. It is unfortunate that the only time aid workers or Afghan police make their way onto the headlines is when they are killed. [...]