Jesuit Refugee Service - Refworld

accompany
Afghanistan
Uncertain but hopeful
Jestin Anthony SJ
Jestin is a Jesuit in formation from Gujarat
province in India.
In 2001, the world watched
helplessly as the Taliban destroyed
two massive Buddha statues,
carved nearly 1,500 years earlier in
the cliff face overlooking Bamyan.
Today, the silent mountains
still depict the wounds of this
small isolated province in central
Afghanistan. It was more than
precious cultural monuments
that were destroyed. The male
and female Buddha statues stand
for all the men and women of
Bamyan, neglected, marginalised
and, still today, in pain.
The beautiful green valley of
Bamyan is mostly home to the
Hazara people. Shia Muslims, as
opposed to the overwhelming
Sunni majority in Afghanistan,
the Hazaras suffered terribly
under Taliban rule. Many fled
to neighbouring Iran, where
they spent years as refugees.
Their suffering has prompted
a realisation in the people of
Bamyan that education is the only
way to fight injustice. Their desire
to gain knowledge is so intense
it really motivates me to give my
best, always.
The needs of Bamyan are
many and diverse. But knowing
that education is a major key to
development, JRS has invested in
this field. I was asked to manage
the English Access programme in
four schools, the teacher-training
centre and at the university.
Jerome Sequeira SJ, JRS director
in Bamyan, had to go to India
for tertianship (the final phase
of Jesuit formation), and I was
slightly anxious about being alone
The desecrated cliff face overlooking Bamyan. (Peter Balleis SJ/JRS)
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