On January 13, 2009 the New York Times reported on an incident occurring in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on November 12, 2008 in which men sprayed the faces of several young girls attending a school with acid, disfiguring at least one girl seriously. Some of the men were arrested, but no tie to any organization was established. The article speculated that the Taliban was behind it. All the girls have since returned to school.
Not one of the girls
Eyed by the boys
Sitting by the wall
Fingering my veil
Trying to follow
Where is Brazil? . . .
Why was I there
At that instant
A moment earlier
A moment later
Grabbing and twisting
Then flash of pain
Purple-etched in my face
Forever . . .
Not a leaflet dropped
In the dead of night
Nor a placard waved
By an angry crowd
Just a girl walking
Down a rutted road
On the way to school
Preston Tsao
Thank you Preston for these words that awaken us to the injustices of the world. I remember when we had coffee and you told me about this article and how it affected you. You honor that girl with this poem and we honor you for writing and sharing it.....
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