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GHAZNI PROVINCE, Afghanistan – In celebration of Nowruz, Afghanistan’s new year holiday, Ghazni Gov. Musa Khan Ahmadzai held an event at his compound in Ghazni City March 22.
Held on the astronomical vernal equinox, Nowruz traditionally celebrates new beginnings as Afghans plant trees, make new clothing, gather families together and forgive past mistakes. Nowruz fell on March 21 this year and thousands of people throughout the country celebrated.
More than 400 people, including line directors, provincial council members, district sub-governors, elders and local religious leaders, and representatives from Combined Joint Task Force 101 attended the official provincial Nowruz celebration.
After a recitation from the Quran, Khan welcomed guests, spoke of the importance of education and asked the elders and parents to send their children to school.
“Illiteracy is one of the enemies of which we’ve been fighting,” he said. “If we educate our generation, then we divide the enemy and reduce its strength.”
Posters displayed on the walls surrounding the governor carried the same message from an Islamic perspective, “If a person claims that Islam is against mathematics and physics, in fact that person is the enemy of Islam.”
Musni Mubarak Azizi, Ghazni’s director of education, also addressed the crowd and said, “The enemy cannot be defeated by heavy weapons but by education.”
Azizi reported on the success of Ghazni schools and said 6,300 students from Ghazni Province attending universities throughout Afghanistan. He added the Ghazni Education Directorate will have 20,000 new students in unsecured areas for this year increasing the total to 58,000.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. John F. Campbell, commander of Combined Joint Task Force-101 and Regional Command-East, said Afghans the new year promises new horizons.
“Nowruz marks the beginning of the year and stands as hope and new light for Afghanistan,” Campbell said. “It is a celebration of extraordinary blessings and an opportunity to look forward to the promise of a new day.
“The Afghan people have suffered too long from the oppression of the Taliban,” he continued. “The insurgents will carry out a campaign of terror against the nation, against the people and against the children to keep them from going to school. The Taliban do not offer a new light. With the Taliban there is no new beginning. The Taliban only offer a dark future for the Afghan people.”
But the support of the governor, the provincial council and the Afghan National Security Forces, he said, “offer hope and renewal for a better future.”
Polish Army Brig. Gen. Andrzej Reudowicz, Task Force White Eagle commander, offered his congratulations and best wishes for the new year.
“Please be sure that coalition forces working together with Afghan National Security Forces will continue their efforts to provide a better, peaceful future for you and your families,” said Reudowicz.
Ghazni Director of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock Sultan Hussein and several distinguished guests concluded the event by planting trees at the compound.
Hussein distributed more than 28,000 trees to Ghazni farmers in 14 districts within Ghazni Province. Texas ADT-IV facilitated the purchase of the trees so the district sub-governors could host tree distribution ceremonies.
According to the Texas Army National Guard Ghazni Agribusiness Development Team-IV, events like this are a positive example of the increasing capacity of governmental officials such as the DAIL and his staff. These tree distributions are also a significant first step in Hussein’s initiative to plant more than 1 million trees in Ghazni Province over the next two years.
”This event and the 14 events hosted by the District Governors and the Agriculture Extension Agents truly demonstrate the growing capacity of the Afghan government and show great potential for the future of Afghanistan,” said Texas Army National Guard Ghazni Agribusiness Development Team-IV Commander U.S. Army Lt. Col. Brian P. Stevens from Leander, Texas.
| Date Taken: | 03.26.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 03.25.2011 16:20 |
| Story ID: | 67743 |
| Location: | GHAZNI PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 192 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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