"However tall the mountain, there's always a road" - Afghan proverb
I recently read However Tall The Mountain by Awista Ayub. It is subtitled "A Dream, Eight Girls, and a Journey Home". It is an account of an Afghanistan born American who had a vision to reach out to girls in her homeland and bring them to America to teach them soccer. The soccer team members come from backgrounds of heartache and disappointment, since they all lived through the Taliban regime. Most have not been allowed to play sports and especially not soccer. They come to America where they are the center of attention in their own little world of competition and then return home to their former lives as they reconcile the two. Their mentor has a homecoming of her own as she travels two years later to her native land and reconciles her own identity.
I have always been interested in Afghanistan, although I don't know much about it. I know little about the Taliban except its horrors, but thankfully I haven't had to live through anything like that or even the Soviet occupation before that. I am not really big on sports and I've never actually watched a soccer game.
But I am a woman. I can feel the pain of not being allowed to do get an education, the loneliness of not being able to socialize, the fear of knowing that at any moment for almost no reason my family could be shot, my body violated, my home destroyed. I can imagine the sheer claustrophobia of being forced to hide in a burqa and veil when it's not my choosing to wear the clothing.
I am a girl. I know the joy of friendship, the excitement of shared secrets, the satisfaction that comes from being able to finish your friends' sentences. I know the pain of betrayal when a friend turns away and the happiness that's felt when a friendship has passed the tests of time and trial.
I have an inner athlete. I like to compete and win. I want to push myself to my best. I love knowing that I've come a long way in some area. I think medals are cool.
I am a reader. And this reader has traveled to Afghanistan thanks to this book. I can relate to so much of this story and I rejoice for the victories, small as they are, in rebuilding self-esteem.
I think of the precious people of Afghanistan and often say a prayer for them. Now I feel like I know them a little better too.
You can read more about this book or order it online: