At Afghan orphanage, friends from different sides of the war

[rug]

By Kevin Sieff, Published: August 10

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Hamidullah, 12, and Rahmatullah, 10, have nearly everything in common. They have the same haircuts, the same blue uniforms, the same jokes, the same notebooks with sailboats and convertibles on the cover.

They sleep next to each other in a big room where a ceiling fan stirs warm air. They eat together and play on the same cricket team. When they get older, they want to be neighbors. They arrived here — bunkmates in southern Afghanistan’s largest orphanage — under the same tragic circumstances.

Just one detail separates the best friends. Their fathers were killed fighting on opposite sides of the war.

Rahmatullah’s father was killed by the Taliban.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/at-afghan-orphanage-friends-from-different-sides-of-the-war/2012/08/10/dcbdbf50-dc77-11e1-8ad1-909913931f71_story.html

Slideshow at link.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

1. K&R

[mia]

2. Hope lies within the hearts of the children. It always has.

In this ethnic Pashtun heartland, where vengeance and pride so often dictate action, Rahmatullah and Hamidullah might have been expected to inherit their fathers’ allegiances. Instead, they started fresh, embracing each other.

“No matter what their fathers did, they are friends,” said Sayyid Abdullah Hashemi, the director of Afghanistan’s orphanages. “Our goal for the country is to have the same attitude as the orphans.”