Young Adult Book to Span the Cultural Divide in Afghanistan

Words in the Dust, by Trent Reedy, paints a vivid picture of the mission American and NATO forces are attempting in Afghanistan for young people. The fictional character Zulaikha, a young girl based on a person the author met when he was serving in Afghanistan, has a cleft lip. He draws the reader into her home, her family, her neighborhood...into her life. 

Her mother had been killed by the Taliban for possessing books, her step-mother always seems annoyed with her and the town bullies call her Donkeyface.  Her only comfort is her slightly older sister who, halfway through the book, is married to a middle-aged man who has several other wives.  (The married couple see each other for the first time when they look into a mirror at the end of the wedding ceremony.)  And then come the Americans!

At first the natives are terrified of these strangers who bear arms and ride in military vehicles.  But, in spite of their egregious lack of knowledge concerning Afghan customs (they even greet a female before greeting the male at her side!) the Americans manage to gain their confidence and cooperation in building schools and other public buildings. 

When a female officer approaches Zulaikha's father about allowing the American doctors to fix his daughter's cleft lip, he is overwhelmed by the American practice of having a female in charge of male soldiers and she even dared to shake hands with the Afghan men!-a practice unheard of in their country-a female touching a male who is not a relative!

In Zulaikha's story we learn of the vast cultural differences between Americans and Afghanis and we can see small inroads into the American goal of giving women a chance to learn, a chance to be full citizens.

As the beloved author, Katherine Paterson says in the forward, the author "has given me an Afghan friend for whom I care so deeply I cannot read a news report without wondering how what has occurred is affecting her life."  It seems we all, young and old, need to foster this kind of connection to people of other cultures.

Find Words in the Dust at Otto Book Store, 107 W. fourth St, Williamsport. Call (570) 326-5764, or toll free (888) 762-4526. On the web at http://ottobookstore.com.