American Afghan
With Masuda Sultan
President, Young Afghan-World Alliance
Friday, Feb. 8, 2002; 2 p.m. EST

She was raised in Brooklyn and Queens, and went all her life to New York public schools, so Masuda Sultan, 23, considers herself a real New Yorker. But she was born in Afghanistan and her ties there are strong -- or were, until a U.S. bombing raid in October killed 19 of her family members on the farm they had fled to near Kandahar. ("New York Afghan Navigates Two Shattered Worlds," (Post, Feb. 8)

Sultan, who has since founded the Young Afghan-World Alliance (YA-WA), was online Friday, Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. EST, to talk about her experiences, YA-WA and cultural relations.

Born in Kandahar, Afghanistan in 1978, Sultan fled to the U.S. at age 5. Raised in New York City, after receiving her Bachelors in Economics, she returned to Kandahar in August to explore her family roots. Founding the Young Afghan-World Alliance (YA-WA) upon her return, Sultan has worked on numerous outreach efforts including leading YA-WA's humanitarian aid efforts in Afghanistan. While filming a documentary in Afghanistan in December 2001, Ms. Sultan learned of the deaths of 19 members of her extended family in the U.S. bombing campaign. Currently working with Global Exchange and the victims' families of September 11th, she speaks throughout the U.S. and to the world community about Afghanistan.

A transcript follows.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

Bethesda, Md.: Hi Masuda, thanks for being online today. Do you have a regular job in addition to YA-WA?

Masuda Sultan: I have left my work in non-profit soccer to pursue this issue full-time. I hope through donations to be able to continue our work.

Harrisburg, Pa.: What led you to form your Alliance? What are the messages you want to get out to the public?

Masuda Sultan:
We formed Young Afghan World Alliance (www.YA-WA.org) in August after my trip to Kandahar. What I saw there was unbelievable—there was so much poverty and sadness. Not only that, people were living in constant fear of the Taliban. We decided we MUST take action. Everyone who has been to Afghanistan seems to feel the same way.

What we are seeking to do is raise awareness about the plight of the Afghan people, foster understanding between Afghans and Americans, and what we would love to do is build a school in Kandahar (former stronghold of the Taliban –and no coincidence that it was). This school will offer a world-class education, an opportunity for children that show potential in the public education system.

Silver Spring, Md.: Masuda, salaam. I'm also a 23-year-old Afghan who has grown up in the U.S. (around D.C.) and I'm curious know how Afghans back home view us: the lucky ones who got out and had opportunities in America while they suffered through two decades of war and the Taliban. What has your experience been?

Masuda Sultan: Salaam. I've found that the people of Afghanistan actually understand that anyone that could leave the horror and war there would. In fact, many of them are still trying to get out.

West Chester, Ohio: Has anyone compiled the actual number of dead as a result of the U.S. bombing? Is the U.S. acknowledging this?

Masuda Sultan: Professor March Herold of Univ. of New Hamphire has put out a report citing close to 4000 innocent civilian deaths. Other reports cite less. The range seems to be 1000 to 4000. We just don’t know. This is why investigations are so important.

New York: What is your assessment of Hamid Karzai, the interim leader of Afghanistan? Have you communicated with him?

Masuda Sultan: Hamid Karzai has impressed Afghans around the world. We respect him and he is our hope for a new Afghanistan. I met with him in DC, while lobbying with Global Exchange and families of victims of 9/11 for a fund to be created for innocent victims of the US bombing campaign in Afghanistan. Mr. Karzai expressed support this fund.

Falls Church, Va.: Does your family support your efforts. Aren't they worried about you being in harms way in Afghanistan?

Masuda Sultan: My family was very worried about my desire to go into the country they fled in 1983. They left due to the Soviet war--and then they hear their daughter wants to go back into the war zone. It was difficult for them but in the end they felt that these stories needed to be heard and they support me. They always wanted me to work for the good and justice in this world. NOw they've gotta deal with my taking them seriously.

Washington, D.C.: How close were you to your family members in Afghanistan, and are there any remaining living relatives there? If so, are you in contact? Helping them in any way?

Masuda Sultan: Well, they are my cousins and the in-law family. Everyone in Kandahar seems to either be related in a distant way or know each other--that was so amusing to see.

I dont have direct contact, but can get to them through other family that has a phone. We have been helping family in Afghanistan ever since we got out. My family and friends help out as much as they can. I personally cant help much financially, but have dedicated my time and energy to them and this cause. I hope this is the best way to do so.

Washington, D.C.: You're in a really unique situation. Do you consider yourself an American first or an Afghan first? I mean, where does your national allegience lie?

Masuda Sultan: I consider myself a citizen of the world. My allegiance lies with what is right. I probably feel as much American, if not more than I do Afghan. My friends will tell you I'm very American--the Afghans will say I'm very Afghan. The both are core components of my identity. What I really am is a New Yorker, and I love this city more than any in the world.

Bethesda, Md.: How did going through an arranged marriage and subsequent divorce affect you? Did it make you feel differently toward one culture or another? Is divorce common in Islam?

Masuda Sultan: My marriage and divorce was at the heart of the biggest struggle of my life. I was really a "good girl" and ultimately wanted to please my parents--like many of us. After my divorce I threw myself into American culture--something I felt I was held back from before. I still have an appreciation for Afghan culture--some traditions are precious and beautiful. But the danger is that culture is sometimes used as an excuse for mistreatment of women or denial of human rights--and thats where we need to draw the line.

Eau Claire, Wis.: Hi Masuda,

My wife and I lived in Jalalabad in 1968-69 as members of the Peace Corps. My feelings for my family in New York City and for America are so deep and so are my feelings for Aghanistan.

I read this poem a few weeks after Sept. 11. It captured so many of my feelings. You may already know it:

DUCKS

We thought of ourselves as people of culture.
How long will it be till others see us that way again?
Iraqi friend

In her first home each book had a light around it.
The voices of different countries
floated in through open windows,
entering her soup and her mirror.
They slept with her in the same thick bed.

Someday she would go there.
Her voice, among all those voices.
In Iraq a book never had one owner -- it had ten.
Lucky books, to be held often
and gently, by so many hands.

Later in American libraries she felt sad
for books no one ever checked out.

She lived in a country house beside a pond
and kept ducks, two male, one female.
She worried over the difficult relations
of triangles. One of the ducks
often seemed depressed.
But not the same one.

During the war between her two countries
she watched the ducks more than usual.
She stayed quiet with the ducks.
Some days they hudled among reeds
or floated together.

She could not call her family in Basra
which had grown farther away than ever
nor could they call her. For nearly a year
she would not know who was alive,
who was dead.

The ducks were building a nest.

Poem by
NAOMI SHIHAB NYE
from her book Fuel

Best wishes,
Mark Morse

Masuda Sultan: Thank you for sharing your poem. I hope that you can help in the reconstruction of the country you once served. Poeple like you are a rare and precious resource for Afghanistan.

Arlington, Va.: Have you ever considered moving back to Afghanistan? To help rebuild, raise a family, etc?

Masuda Sultan: I have thought about going back to help rebuild--maybe for months at a time. But ultimately, "I'm in a New York state of Mind"-I love Billy Joel.

Arlington, Va.: Please pardon my ignorance, but should one refer to the people of Afghanistan as "Afghanis" or "Afghans?" I have seen both in the media, but "Afghans" seems to be more common. I had thought "Afghan" was used only to refer to hounds and rugs, and I don't like to think we are being offensive when we use it.

Masuda Sultan:
Afghani is the currency. The correct term is Afghan. I hope someone does a public service announcement about that one ;)
By the way if you had invested in the Afghani before the fall of the Taliban your money would have quadrupled by now.

Washington, D.C.: What do you think of the interim government now in place and long-term efforts at nation building in Afghanistan? Is it the U.S.'s place to do so? Afghanistan hasn't known peace in so long -- how profoundly will it change the landscape of the people and their beliefs?

Masuda Sultan: There has been some criticism of the interim government and how it was formed but my feeling is this is the best shot Afghanistan has had at peace for as long as I've been alive. They offer everyone a new hope. The majority of Afghans I spoke with wanted the US to be involved in rebuilding and keeping the peace in Afghanistan. They said that it wouldnt work with us there. The US probably has a strong interest in keeping peace in Afghanistan, especially if we want to build a pipeline through there. There are also other strategic reasons to be there, which the experts know better than I.

Arlington, Va.: How did you feel about going back to Afghanistan to make your film? Obviously, the story is a very personal one.

Masuda Sultan: People told me I was crazy--to go to Kandahar while bombs were still being dropped, with landmines and oh, the bandits. In my gut I felt I had to do it, and left those issues to G-d.

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