"a thousand splendid suns" (my reflections)

reading husseini, conjures up so much of the struggle for liberation that was a part of our lives in south africa. the loss of liberty, is so striking, in the lives of mariam and laila,....it echoes the lives of so many south africans,men and women, who's blood fertilizes this fledgling democracy. in our story , there was always the "hope" the unwavering belief that war would end and peace would come to pass.

i have the same sense of hope, when reading husseini,...afghanistan can be hopeful of an end to war, the restructuring of society and in this case the entire country is a long arduous process, but none the less and achievable goal.

memory,...is a powerful tool,..that links us to the past and gives us hope,of a triumphant return from "the lands of "exile".afghanistan is a country ravaged by war and occupation by both foreign and domestic power's,yet amongst her people remains the belief in freedom.religion plays such a central part of the psyche of the nation and her people,...(the country referred to in the feminine), plays out in the lives of the central characters, miriam and laila, triumphant against all invasions,of mind, body and spirit. yet believers in taking back the right to liberation. the use of religion as a tool of oppression, is also evident,...and that is a human failing,..a weapon brandished by those in power to subjugate and control those who are weaker.played out in rasheed's "control" over mariam and laila. is he ever in control? witness laila's daughter aziza, born out of wedlock,"harami".yet the source of liberation for both miriam and laila.aziza awakens the forces of resistance, in both these characters. those in power have utilised a contorted version of islam to cement their power bases, but the human mind is not that easily controlled, there will always be those amongst us who seek knowledge and enlightenment,through education of our mother's,sisters,daughters and this will become a powerful force, through which change can be effected.

there is the voice of moderation,babi and tariq,...babi who takes laila on a journey to visit the Buddhist caves,...know destroyed by religious zealots.the beauty of human endeavour spread out in panoramic views,...there is hope that islam can live side by side with bhuda in harmony. it is the people of afghanistan, returning exiles who's memories hold the key to a new and brighter future.tolerance here becomes a powerful tool.to forgive those who created war but never to forget, so that we do not recreate the sins of those who have gone before.

the use of poetry and literature becomes an effective tool in resistance, like africa, afghanistan has suffered,so that it's fruit may gradually acquire the bitter taste of liberty.afghanistan does not wish to appear always and only as the victim of it's own tragedy. husseini's novel abounds with images of filial piety, friendship,ironic mockery of pretension,laments both of exile and of return.

husseini,laments tragic and irrevocable loss, but identifies the points of growth and renewal in the world of his characters, (afghanistan).
this reminds me of a poem by south african poet,KEORAPETSE KGOSITSILE
THE AIR I HEAR
THE AIR,I HEAR
FROZE TO THE SOUND
SEARCHING,AND MY MEMORY
PRESENT AND FUTURE TICKLES
THE WOMB LIKE THE PULSE
OF THIS NAKED AIR
IN THE EYE OF A TEAR
DROP. THE DEAD CANNOT
REMEMBER EVEN THE MEMORY
OF DEATH'S LAUGHTER. BUT MEMORY
DEFIANT LIKE THE SOUND OF PAIN
RIDES THE WAVE AT DAWN
IN THE MARROW OF THE DESERT
PALM:STANDS LOOKING STILL
AND THE BITTER SHAPE
OF YESTERDAYS WEAVES
TIMELESS TOMORROWS
IN THE LEAVES
OF LAUGHTER LARGER THAN
SINGULAR BIRTH.....

loss of liberty,of life, of hope runs through south african poetry of this time,written at the time of anti-colonial wars,apartheid.africa has seen the rise of brutal dictatorships,some still flourishing;the imprisonment of many of africa's most passionate and eloquent writers, how can the note of loss not predominate,where so much has been lost?and yet it is strongly challenged here, by the assertions of love,aspiration,anger,hope and rediscovery.

much like hussein's novel, the effect is not one of unmixed sadness or despair. there is still,a sense of youth,of new beginnings and untried possibilities, even while there is an equal insistence upon continuity and tradition.upon what is immemorial in the afghan experience and has survived all the ravages of recent centuries. husseini obviously feels it is his task to lament tragic and often irrevocable loss, but to identify the points of growth and renewal in his world.the world of "a thousand splendid suns"