This touches me deeply. I spent the summer of 1981 as a refugee worker in the northern districts of Pakistan. Every day we were moving through the valleys and villages seeking small encampments of Afghans and other Central Asians who had fled the Soviet Army's invasion. Our hosts were a husband and wife who had been school teachers in Kabul who relocated to Peshawar to set up an orphanage for Afghan children displaced during the fighting. They taught them rug weaving and when they reached adult age, along with their own loom, they were relocated to a community of rug weavers in Lahore, where an American rug importer from Chicago would buy their rugs for sale here in the States. The rugs that I purchased for my family that summer are a constant reminder of how we can cross cultural boundaries when we choose to treat one another with respect. One of those moments was a day on the desert plain between Peshawar and the Afghan border where we came upon a small encampment of refugees, between 100 and 200 men, women, and children. We met with the leaders. Determine their needs. Went to the agency's warehouse in Peshawar, and returned with tents, clothing, and food. As we were leaving, an Afghan man came up to me, took my hands, cupped them within his, shooked them up and down, and then reached up and stroked my beard. That evening, our host told me that his action of gratitude was how one Afghan man shows another Afghan man honor. As a young man, still in my twenties, I had never been thanked, much less honored, in such a meaningful way. It was a defining moment in my life. I very much look forward to reading Major Gant's paper and remembering with honor the people of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other Central Asia republics who welcomed us into their lives, even for only few minutes of engagement.
Outstanding. This should be required reading for every PR pro.
Agree! Thanks Mike!
This touches me deeply. I spent the summer of 1981 as a refugee worker in the northern districts of Pakistan. Every day we were moving through the valleys and villages seeking small encampments of Afghans and other Central Asians who had fled the Soviet Army's invasion. Our hosts were a husband and wife who had been school teachers in Kabul who relocated to Peshawar to set up an orphanage for Afghan children displaced during the fighting. They taught them rug weaving and when they reached adult age, along with their own loom, they were relocated to a community of rug weavers in Lahore, where an American rug importer from Chicago would buy their rugs for sale here in the States. The rugs that I purchased for my family that summer are a constant reminder of how we can cross cultural boundaries when we choose to treat one another with respect. One of those moments was a day on the desert plain between Peshawar and the Afghan border where we came upon a small encampment of refugees, between 100 and 200 men, women, and children. We met with the leaders. Determine their needs. Went to the agency's warehouse in Peshawar, and returned with tents, clothing, and food. As we were leaving, an Afghan man came up to me, took my hands, cupped them within his, shooked them up and down, and then reached up and stroked my beard. That evening, our host told me that his action of gratitude was how one Afghan man shows another Afghan man honor. As a young man, still in my twenties, I had never been thanked, much less honored, in such a meaningful way. It was a defining moment in my life. I very much look forward to reading Major Gant's paper and remembering with honor the people of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other Central Asia republics who welcomed us into their lives, even for only few minutes of engagement.
Thanks for sharing Ed!