During his recuperation in Korphe, Mortenson had frequently heard villagers complain about the Punjabi-dominated Pakistani government, which they considered a foreign, lowland power. The common refrain was how a combination of corruption and neglect siphoned off what little money from Islamabad, the capital, to these distant mountain valleys. They found it ironic that the Islamabad government would fight so hard to pry away this piece of what had once been Kashmir from India, while doing so little for the people" (Relin 32)
This was when Mortenson was shown a local school, which wasn't really a school at all. There were about forty kids on the ground outside doing work, without a teacher. The man told him that the teacher only comes once a week, the rest of the time they have to attempt ton teach each other. What's ironic of this, is that the girl is thanking her country for all it provides, even though while saying this she is without basic tools for the school she is attending. After seeing this he swore to that mountain village that he will build a proper school from the ground up so all the children can get an education with more than one teacher, and all come daily to teach their students.
No comments:
Post a Comment