A Voice For the Voiceless

MISSION

The Advocacy Project seeks to help community-based advocates produce, disseminate and use information, and so become more effective advocates for human rights and social justice

Fire at Godah School

JUNE 2005

In early June, arsonists set fire to the Godah school, destroying two tents and school equipment. The tents have since been replaced, with a donation from the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children. Staff from the Commission raised $2,149 at a private fundraiser. The U.S. Afghan Reconstruction Council (USARC) has also paid for the replacement of desks and chairs. Report by Shirin Sahani.

On June 2, 2005, one of OMID's schools in the Wardak province, located in the eastern region of Afghanistan, was set on fire. The fire is estimated to have occurred at midnight and destroyed two out of the four tents housing the school structure and much of the school equipment. The cause of the fire remains unknown but an investigation is underway. As a result of the fire, the students now conduct their education in the open without shelter from heat or dust. In an area that sees temperatures up to 38 degrees Celsius in the summer, the lack of shelter is an extreme hardship for the students and could impede the progress that OMID and the community have made towards girl's education. The fire also underscores the immediacy of building concrete school structures to avoid such vandalism and to provide permanency and stability for girl's education.

Located in the village of Godah and the Chack district of Wardak, the girl's school is one of OMID's first educational projects and was started in conjunction with the support of local community members in 2002 after the fall of Taliban. The first of its kind in the history of Godah, the school serves students from 1,200 families in the surrounding 18 villages who walk more than an hour each way to get an education. The school comprises first through third grades, has four male teachers and one male principal, and 107 girls and eight boys, enrolled for the first time, attend the school.



An area where a school tent used to stand for holding classes for the girls.

Due to the extremely mountainous nature of the province, the only suitable location for the school is on a piece of farmland, a little distance away from the main village. The fire was undetected as a result of the distance and the fact that many villagers keep early hours. The guard on the premises was unable to identify an exact time of the fire or the number of culprits involved in the incident. But he estimates that there were two culprits based on the noise of their footsteps while running. The guard was awoken by the smell of petrol and burning but by the time he got out of the tent that he occupied at night, the other two were already on fire. He was able to save two tents and some chairs but, as he was alone, the other two tents and much of the school equipment was destroyed.

The fire came as a surprise to both the community members and Sadiqa Basiri, the executive director of OMID. When Ms. Basiri visited Godah to follow-up on the incident and the cause of the fire, she was advised that it could be a backlash against females running in the upcoming parliamentary elections, a first for the country. She was also advised that it could be the continuing influence of Taliban in Afghanistan's provinces and a reflection of their stance against girl's education. Anti-American sentiments fueled by news of the desecration of the Koran by American soldiers and the association of reconstruction with American aid was also given as a reason for the fire by the villagers. Under pressure from OMID, the police and district councilors in charge of security have promised to finish their investigation within a month and to take serious action against the culprits. 



Teachers observe the charred remains of Godah school after the fire.

During Ms Basiri's visit, the villagers vowed to be more responsible for the security of the school and the students promised to continue their education. Latifa Naseem, a nine year-old grade-three student, said, "The Taliban could be against girl's education but we want to study." Another girl, Parvin Shehzadeh, a 10 year-old grade-three student, said "Only give us a rug to sit on even if it is in the sun so that we can study. Those responsible for the fire are the enemy of knowledge and education." Despite the fire, the students continue to come to school and conduct their studies in the shade or sun. Their parents continue to send them to school demonstrating the value they place in the school and girl's education despite the fear of reprisals.

The lack of shelter in the increasingly hot summer months is of great concern to OMID as it could become an impediment to the willingness of girl's to come to school and prove to be a setback to the strides that the community and OMID have made towards recognizing the importance of female education. OMID is currently seeking funds to replace the damaged tents and school equipment to support the dedication of the students and community members. OMID is also seeking partners to build permanent school structures for all four of its schools in the provinces of Wardak and Nangrahar to avoid such obstructions and create a more stable educational environment.