Articles by: Dr Hakim Young

A Call From Afghanistan for Greta Thunberg…

A Call From Afghanistan for Greta Thunberg…

 …to highlight our interconnected need for renewable energy, a fairer economic system and the abolition of war. An annual youth peace conference organized by the Afghan Peace Volunteers last year. BEYOND HEALTHCARE Hakim spent two years in Quetta before moving to Afghanistan’s Bamiyan province as a medical specialist with an international NGO. But as he visited and lived in remote[Read More…]

by 13/03/2020 Comments are Disabled World
From Kabul: Youth on the Road to Peace

From Kabul: Youth on the Road to Peace

In September 2019, facing everyday dangers of the war and under constant pressure to view those from other tribes as enemies, young people from each of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces gathered for a three day “On the Road to Peace” conference in Kabul. 30th September 2019 / 8th Mezan 1398 Despite the violent crises which we human beings have created for[Read More…]

by 06/10/2019 Comments are Disabled World
In Afghanistan, We Have Three Dreams

In Afghanistan, We Have Three Dreams

By Dr Hakim Young and the Afghan Peace Volunteers Dear fellow human beings, Some of us have wondered, “Are people today too disconnected and frantic to calm down, in order to solve global challenges together? Are we so polarized and self-absorbed that we cannot stop judging one another or insisting on our partisan ways?” In Kabul, our thoughts and feelings[Read More…]

by 05/07/2019 Comments are Disabled World
Love Letter From Kabul to Okinawa, the Outrageous Abolition of War

Love Letter From Kabul to Okinawa, the Outrageous Abolition of War

Inaam (left), Habib (right) and I (photographer) sharing a good laugh at the Borderfree Nonviolence Community Centre in Kabul I decided to write this ninth love letter specially to Inaam, the 21st century generations of the world and the people of Okinawa because of threepersonal reasons. I miss having the wonderful energies of 15-year-old Inaam at the Borderfree Nonviolence Community[Read More…]

by 24/03/2019 Comments are Disabled World
There is a new Peacemaker in town!

Love Letter from Smoky Kabul: Nonviolent Versus Violent Peace in Afghanistan and the World

Dear friends, “Salam (peace)!” is how Afghans greet one another, some of them simultaneously placing a hand over their hearts. But, while everyone including Afghans wants peace, the Afghan Peace Volunteers and I have observed thatthe human species appears to be stuck onviolent peace. We think that this is because most of us are reared as armed doves, like the[Read More…]

by 15/03/2019 Comments are Disabled World
Nonviolent Afghans Bring a Breath of Fresh Air

Nonviolent Afghans Bring a Breath of Fresh Air

Grade 12th Afghan student Jamila Omary asked, “Do you have any plans to arm yourselves, because of the threats and dangers you have faced?” Iqbal Khyber answered, “No. Though it is easy to buy weapons today, arming ourselves will worsen the war. Weapons will make us less secure.” What a breath of fresh air in the stench of war-as-usual! Iqbal[Read More…]

by 17/10/2018 1 comment World
The APVs, the PPM and the people want an end to war. Photo by Dr Hakim

In Afghanistan, our need to rethink the institution of war

It’s frustrating that whereas all human beings wish to live meaningful lives, we seem helpless in the face of a few individuals waging wars and exploiting our world. But we can each do something about this insensible status quo, as ordinary folk of the People’s Peace Movement ( PPM )show us by taking one barefoot-step at a time, traveling to[Read More…]

by 21/08/2018 1 comment World
Can Afghans convince us that the method of war isn’t effective?

Can Afghans convince us that the method of war isn’t effective?

Can Afghans convince us that the method of war doesn’t work? If we’re still quietly hoping that wars would end and people all over the world would get along peacefully, the dreams and demands of the Helmand Peace Convoy would give us courage and evidence. When Amanullah Khateb joined the Convoy, now called the People’s Peace Movement (PPM), he didn’t[Read More…]

by 07/08/2018 2 comments Imperialism
Where on earth is the just economy that works for all, including Afghan children?

Where on earth is the just economy that works for all, including Afghan children?

  Political and business leaders have refined the art and science of lying about the economy. From their suites, chauffeur-driven limousines, private yachts and jets, they aren’t too concerned about whether the economy works for everyone, except in speeches and elections. As they tuck into their next fine dining experience, they know that it’s easier and more profitable to mummify[Read More…]

by 15/04/2018 Comments are Disabled World
An Escalating Afghan Crisis Of ‘Profit’ Over ‘Life’

An Escalating Afghan Crisis Of ‘Profit’ Over ‘Life’

Surkh Gul with her daughter. Photo by Dr Hakim “My family’s water well has dried up,” 18-year-old Surkh Gul said. “Ours too,” echoed 13-year-old Inaam. A distressed Surkh Gul lamented, “We have to fetch water from the public well along the main road, but that water is muddy, not fit for drinking. I get bottled water for my two-year-old daughter.[Read More…]

by 14/11/2017 1 comment World
Inaam, whose brother, Rahman, signed up to be a soldier as there were no other viable jobs

Damn, I Don’t Want Rahman To End Up Being Killed

Sultan, Ali’s brother, was killed in August 2016. Hussein, Bismillah’s uncle, was killed in April 2017. I don’t want Rahman, Inaam’s brother, to end up being killed. Rahman is now training to be a soldier. Both Sultan and Hussein were Afghan soldiers in their twenties. They joined the army because there were no other viable jobs available. Their families needed[Read More…]

by 04/10/2017 1 comment World
How Life Got Intolerable For Ghulam’s Mother And His Afghan Family

How Life Got Intolerable For Ghulam’s Mother And His Afghan Family

    Ghulam ( second from left ) working on our community’s greenhouse, together with Zek, Khamad and Ali Ali, Zekerullah, Khamad and I miss Ghulam and his family. We feel sad that life in Afghanistan had finally become too burdensome for them. They are now Afghan refugees in Iran. We have known Ghulam for many years, Ali and Ghulam[Read More…]

by 23/08/2017 1 comment World
From Afghanistan To My #Mother!, And The Child In Everyone

From Afghanistan To My #Mother!, And The Child In Everyone

Dear mom and fellow members of the human family, I love my 77-year-old frugal, hardworking, self-sacrificial Han Chinese Singaporean mother, so when Trump’s military/government dropped what they nicknamed the ‘Mother of All Bombs’ ( MOAB ) on Achin District in Afghanistan, I knew I had to do something about this psycho-social disease of ‘war’. I mean, my mom is nothing[Read More…]

by 25/05/2017 1 comment World