Hope and Determination

I came across a recent and interesting interview of Sarah Chayes (author of The Punishment of Virtue) by Bill Moyers. You can view the interview or read the transcript here.

Per usual, she pulled no punches and really dug in on NATO and the U.S., the Afghan government, and Pakistan’s (and indirectly, the U.S.’s) formation and backing of the Taliban, to mention a few. She is amazingly articulate, brash to an extreme, but oh so caring for the people of Afghanistan. They truly have a “rafik” (i.e., freind) in Sarah Chayes.

However, I have to say I have to disagree with some of her closing comment, "I don't think that hope is relevant. I think determination is all that counts. You just have to try. It doesn't matter if you hope you're going succeed or not. You have to keep trying." I know what she is saying, but I truly believe that it is hope that fuels determination to a great extent. Even false hope can charge the heart to endure – to be determined, as it were. Isn’t that what many Afghans do already? Perhaps she was referring more to the international community “hoping” that things will work out in Afghanistan if we just keep pouring money into the corrupt black hole that exists?

Although my experience is extremely limited here in Afghanistan and truly not out in the community like Sarah's, I have noticed at NMAA that the Afghans I come into contact with really are lacking in hope and really don’t have much faith in their government (as she also mentioned in the interview). Hmm, isn’t having faith, having hope? And, why should they hold out for any hope in their futures, they’ve had three decades of terrible war in their country and as I hear over and over, “we have had to rebuild again from nothing.” It’s strange because on one hand they really want to live peacefully, to have and give respect, to prosper; but on the other hand, they really do lack the determination that she alludes to as being so essential to achieve that.


There is a puppy outside the gates of NMAA every morning waiting for us to drive through because he hopes that we will feed him. He wags his tail at the sight of our vehicles and runs around excitedly, but crouches down so low and submissively if approached by anyone. I can’t help but to think that this dog and its behavior are a reflection of the Afghan people. Dogs have it rough here and this dog has never had anything to look forward to until a couple of months ago when it stumbled upon these dog-loving Americans. It’s adjusting, but it is terribly difficult for that dog to trust, and perhaps hope that we’ll be driving in the next day.

One of the more frustrating things I’ve encountered here is the Afghan ability and tendency to be completely non-committal to schedules or planning. Assuredly because of the attitude of “what’s the sense of planning anything when it could all be gone or they could all be dead tomorrow?” Things will get done – “Enshala” (by Allah's will)! I came here to try and accomplish some things, and of course have had to curb that way back because of the reality of the situation. But, I have made headway in several areas – small victories, that would not have come about at all if it weren’t for me pushing my Afghan team of instructors to try thinking in a different way. And, they aren’t victories for me, they are victories for them and most of those stem from them just working as a team, standing up for just few basic rights, and making changes – not for the sake of change – but because that change is what will help them, help themselves.

I think a big part of my job here is to help them think in a different way, to help them realize that it is o.k. to have hope and that determination can pay off. I think I’m here to carry that hope for them to some extent and by doing so, it provides fuel for their own determination. Whether it’s me acting goofy in the classroom, or “lowering myself” by willing to grab a mop to get our new storage room ready, or being overly determined in practicing a new Dari phrase on them every day, I think they can sense that I have hope for them and for Afghanistan. Of course, Sarah is right - I can have all the hope in the world, but determination is really what will get things done here, but really, the hope through compassion has to come first. In my opinion, that’s exactly what Sarah Chayes has done herself.

So, what do you think? Is hope irrelevant and determination for the sake of survival all that matters? Is Sarah Chayes hardened from her experiences in Afghanistan and living by determination arising from the frustrations of dealing with a corrupt government and a hopeless society? Are the people of Afghanistan just truly an exceptionally "yahastan" (ungovernable) people as Sarah Chayes has referred to them before? Start blogging ...

DISCLAIMER: Per GO-1A, Paragraph 2i, the NMAA military personnel have not adopted this or any other animal or living creature as a "mascot" which may hinder them from performing their duties. If you are a dog-loving American that would consider helping the stray animals of Afghanistan, check out the Afghan Stray Animal League and this story about soldiers and their prohibited pets.