Andrea,


> The book was written for an American audience

> radicalized by our  

> administration's actions in the mideast,  They are

> hungry for something  

> to do that they can feel proud of as Americans. <<


Yes, and pardon my tongue in cheekness, but everyone
loves an American hero, saving the world. For every
one of those, there are so many more in the country,
whose lives and sacrifices one never hears about. Wish
someone would tell their stories.


> This is not guess  

> work, people had to be turned away from the very

> large hall where the  

> talk was held, and this also happened in Mem. Hall

> in Cambridge.  I did  

> my usual bit of ethonographic interviewing.<<


Well done him, and I am  glad he managed to bring the
cause of the Pathans to a larger audience, and also
the beauty of their culture and region to them. 
 

> The woman who wrote the Bookseller was eager for an

> expose, completely  

> culturally blind, I also think.<<


She just had a point to prove and was determined to do
it any way she could. Reminded me of old school
anthropologists. She has now written a book on Iraq.
Makes me worried for the people of Iraq -already
demonised- now that she has made them the subject of
her book. I wonder how anyone would feel if someone
came into their homes and 'studied them' and went back
and wrote rubbish about them, to fit her own
preconceived notions? Wait what am I saying, V.S.
Naipaul did that in his book on India, written a few
years back. His hosts in India were to put it mildly,
horrified!

Cheers
Ujwala



> 

> Andrea

> 

> On Apr 29, 2008, at 10:53 AM, Ujwala Samant wrote:

> 

> > I work for an NGO where that is what we do. We

> have 75

> > schools in the NWFP region of Pakistan, all owned

> and

> > run by villagers. And aside from us, there are

> plenty

> > of local people who have done this, in the face of

> > serious opposition. But they have not had

> millionaire

> > godparents, nor bestsellers written about their

> work.

> > They just get on with what they see as necessary

> and

> > crucial for development. I am not undermining what

> > Mortenson did. But there are others, local unsung

> > people such as the founder of KHOJ, Ms Nasira

> Habib

> > who have done this  despite regular threats from

> local

> > landlords, thugs in highly traditional Pakistani

> > society. Now that, is radical! And the education

> her

> > communities receive, I wish my own son had. Her

> first

> > two graduates (women) stood for local elections

> amidst

> > much opposition. Real education, not just

> information

> > and skills development, now that is what I call

> > radical, and there are precious few who actually

> have

> > the courage to do it.

> >

> > Cheers,

> > Ujwala

> >

> >

> > --- Katherine <kgotthardt at comcast.net> wrote:

> >

> >> So you ladies don't think there is ANYTHING

> >> revolutionary about going back

> >> and opening a school?  That's pretty radical in

> my

> >> mind.  It's out of the

> >> ordinary.  It's EXTRAORDINARY in fact.

> >>

> >> Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt

> >> www.luxuriouschoices.net

> >> ----- Original Message -----

> >> From: "Andrea Wilder" <andreawilder at comcast.net>

> >> To: "The Poverty, Race,Women and Literacy

> Discussion

> >> List"

> >> <povertyracewomen at nifl.gov>

> >> Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 8:51 AM

> >> Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 2124] Re: Mastery

> >>

> >>

> >>> Ujwala--

> >>>

> >>> Yes, he was extremely lucky.  As I recall, the

> >> porter who rescued him

> >>> had knowledge of western ways, so Mortenson was

> >> somewhat understood, as

> >>> a person and as an acceptable member of his

> >> western group--he was not

> >>> an oddball.  There were  other factors specific

> to

> >> Mortenson that

> >>> enabled him to do what he did--beyond luck, and

> >> having to do with his

> >>> background.

> >>>

> >>>  He was also captured and (briefly) imprisoned

> >> when he did NOT follow

> >>> the rules.  He got out of imprisonment when he

> DID

> >> follow the rules.

> >>>

> >>> Read the book.

> >>>

> >>> Andrea

> >>>

> >>> On Apr 29, 2008, at 2:29 AM, Ujwala Samant

> wrote:

> >>>

> >>>> Andrea,

> >>>>

> >>>> That's the book I am struggling to read, to get

> >> into.

> >>>> I give him full marks for adapting, that must

> >> have

> >>>> been extremely hard; given the mountains, the

> >> culture

> >>>> and the language. I also think he was extremely

> >> lucky

> >>>> to have found the welcome he received, given

> >> those

> >>>> areas.

> >>>>

> >>>> Cheers

> >>>> Ujwala

> >>>>

> >>>>

> >>>> --- Andrea Wilder <andreawilder at comcast.net>

> >> wrote:

> >>>>

> >>>>> Ujwala--

> >>>>>

> >>>>> Greg Mortenson of "Three Cups of Tea"

> succeeded

> >>>>> because he was able to

> >>>>> learn the rules, I think his story is pretty

> >>>>> dramatic;  shows what can

> >>>>> be accomplished when some one has the

> diligence

> >> and

> >>>>> desire to learn how

> >>>>> to behave properly in order to get a job done.

> >>>>>

> >>>>> Andrea

> >>>>>

> >>>>>

> >>>>> On Apr 28, 2008, at 6:18 PM, Ujwala Samant

> >> wrote:

> >>>>>

> >>>>>> Just noted a typo my post. It should read,

> "We

> >>>>> call

> >>>>>> people by their first names." Or, "It's

> normal

> >> to

> >>>>> call

> >>>>>> people by their first names."

> >>>>>> Ujwala

> >>>>>> --- Daniel Rizik-Baer <drizikbaer at gmail.com>

> >>>>> wrote:

> >>>>>>

> >>>>>>> Ujwala-

> >>>>>>>

> >>>>>>> "> I think everyone knows the hidden rules,

> >> they

> >>>>> are

> >>>>>>>> just not in plain site.

> >>>>>>>> Knowing that they are there is a big step

> >>>>> towards

> >>>>>>>> understanding.<<

> >>>>>>>

> >>>>>>> I think there is a huge leap of faith in the

> >>>>> first

> >>>>>>> statement. Rules are learned, through

> >>>>> observation,

> >>>>>>> education and interaction. How many of our

> >>>>> learners

> >>>>>>> have positive, direct, educational

> interaction

> >>>>> upon

> >>>>>>> arrival? "We don't ask someone their age or

> >>>>> income."

> >>>>>>> comes to mind. "We don't call everyone by

> >> their

> >>>>>>> first

> >>>>>>> name." When asked "How're you doing?" it is

> >> not

> >>>>> an

> >>>>>>> invitation to discuss your state of mind or

> >>>>> being. I

> >>>>>>> could go on..... I think there are things to

> >> be

> >>>>>>> learned through interaction, and some

> through

> >>>>>>> teaching."

> >>>>>>>

> >>>>>>>

> >>>>>>> What I meant is much closer to what you

> >>>>> described.

> >>>>>>>

> >>>>>>> What I mean is that people know the hidden

> >> rules,

> 

=== message truncated ===



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