Letters - 14 September 2012
From the armed forces to Quaker poets
The armed forces
I have often wondered why anyone would choose to join the armed forces. Colin Powell’s Thought for the Week (17 August) brought home the anguish which he, and many more families and friends, are living with on a day-to-day basis. I too have asked the question: what is the point, what are our troops doing there?
I have recently come across a book by an American mountaineer, Greg Mortenson, entitled Three Cups of Tea. In it he tells the remarkable story of his encounter with the residents of a remote village in Pakistan. He had become separated from his team during an attempt to climb K2. The kindness of the residents led him to promise to build them a school. Since that time (1993) he, with the help of many others, have established fifty-five schools in remote villages of Pakistan and Afghanistan in an effort to promote his vision ‘to promote peace… one school at a time.’
He gained intimate contact with Islamic clerics, militia commanders and tribal leaders. The book opened my eyes to the suffering of the Afghan people at the hands of outside forces and their own brutal countrymen. It also helped me see the important role the military are playing.
As Colin’s son says, ‘the Afghan people are just like us.’ Colin can feel proud that his son and many others like him are willing to risk their lives to help them live in peace after decades of suffering and fear.
Margaret Wilson
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