From Afghanistan to Orem, Utah

A Fundraiser for Najibullah Niazi

Ken Sanders Rare Books is hosting a fundraiser for Najibullah Niazi, a young Afghan protégé of NPR Correspondent and This American Life contributor, Scott Carrier.

Venue
How To Donate
Press Release
A Message From Scott Carrier
More Info

Venue:

Friday January 26th, 2007 at 7:00 pm

Ken Sanders Rare Books
268 South 200 East
Salt Lake City, Utah 84111

(801) 521-3819
books@dreamgarden.com

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How To Donate:

Donations to help Najib may be sent to the bookstore or to this address:

Business Office
Utah Valley State College
800 West University Parkway/ M.S. 109
Orem, Utah 84058

Checks should be made payable to "Utah Valley State College" or simply "U.V.S.C.", and should include a memo such as:

Please accept the enclosed donation for the Trust Account for Najibullah Niazi.

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Press Release:

Ken Sanders Rare Books is hosting a fundraiser Najibullah Niazi, a young Afghan protg of NPR Correspondent and This American Life contributor, Scott Carrier. Scott Carrier, along with Professors Scott Abbott and Alex Caldiero have arranged for Najibs Visa and for him to get enrolled this semester at Utah Valley State College. But approximately $5,000 is required to ensure that Najibs housing and schooling costs will be met, until ongoing grant monies can be raised that will enable Najib to eventually graduate from UVSC. Please read Scott Carriers missive below and help us out if you can. The bookshop will be happy to accept cash, check or credit card donations on Najibs behalf. Even paypal if you wish! 100% of the funds donated will be used entirely for Najibs behalf. Please make checks out to Utah Valley State College-Najibullah Niazi #10506391. The bookshop is hosting this event and will be donating all expenses related to the cost of this fundraiser. And I would like to point out that in the ten year history of Ken Sanders Rare Books in downtown Salt Lake City, and the hundreds of events that we have hosted here, this is the first time we have ever asked for funds for anything. I believe that this is an opportunity for Utahns to actually make a cultural difference in the world and foster peace and understanding between two obviously very different cultures. Young people like Najib will likely play an enormous part in 21st century relations between Muslim and Christian cultures.

Please join us for a fascinating evening and learn what its like to be a young Muslim man in America for the first time. Scott Carrier will be joining Najib to help tell this story and we will have Scott Carriers amazing photographs from Afghanistan and elsewhere in the middle east on display and for sale as well. In addition to hosting and underwriting the events on January 25th, the bookshop will also donate 25% of all sales that evening to Najibs fundraiser. Scott and Najib will share the stage and Scott Carrier will present a brief slide show on Afghanistan.

A Message From Scott Carrier:

Dear friends and friends of friends,

I've recently become responsible for the education of a young man from Afghanistan--Najibullah Niazi, age 22, a Pashtun from Mazar-i-Sharif. He was my translator when I was there working on a story for Harper's magazine in the fall of 2001 (see website below). Najib called me from Kabul about six months ago and said he needed to get out of the country because his life was in danger. Some of the things I'd written in the article had caused some problems with the war/drug lord in his area, and these problems had not gone away over the years. When he told me this it struck a sore spot, as it's an all too common experience for people who help you in war torn areas to end up suffering for it after you leave or even while you are there. These stories are not often reported in the media, but many foreign correspondents have seen it happen. So, after Najib called me I called Scott Abbott, a professor at UVSC in Orem, and asked if he could help get Najib accepted at his school. To make this part of the story short, Scott pulled some magic strings and Najib is now in Orem attending classes. Scott Abbott is watching over Najib's class work and has hired him as the office assistant in the Integrated Studies Department. Alex Caldiero, another UVSC professor, has taken Najib under his wing, so to speak. My task is to raise some money to pay his tuition for two semesters. We need approximately $5000.

The plan is that after two semesters, given that Najib can demostrate that he can do the class work, we can apply for a international student scholarship that will cover tuition until he graduates. I'm confident that Najib will become a star student at UVSC. He brings real life experiences that other students have never imagined. For instance, he lived through the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and the civil war that followed their withdrawal. He saw Mazar-i-Sharif become occupied by Taliban forces, and then watched their defeat under the forces of General Dostum's militia, only to see the Taliban re-take the city a few years later. Through most of these years Najib was working on the streets as a bus driver's assistant and managing a small store by himself, the only bread winner in a family of ten people. When I arrived in 2001 he was 17 years old, head shaved, wearing a hard rock cafe tee shirt and polyester bell bottoms, ready for duty. After I left he got a job with the United Nations Development Program where he rose to become an assistant manager for reconstruction projects. I asked him what he did in this job, and he said, "Well, for instance, they sent me to Iran to handle the paper work involved in bringing 120 new Land Cruisers over the border." I think his biggest problem at UVSC will be finding ways not to be bored. I plan to teach him as much as I can about writing, so then if he wants to he can tell these stories himself, in print.

I believe that what we have in Najib is a chance to actually help Afghanistan. Using military force against religious fundamentalists only produces more religious fundamentalists. What we should be doing is using our money and time to provide education and jobs for the Afghan people. I've told all this to Najib. He knows I and others expect a lot from him while he is here in school, and he's ready and capable to meet the challenge.

Please come to a fundraising event next Friday, January 26th, 7:00 pm at Ken Sander's Rare Books, 268 South 200 East, Salt Lake City. Najib and I will speak for about 30 minutes and then take questions. Also there will be wine and food, and maybe live music.

Thanks,

Scott Carrier

More Info:

For more information, please read The Harper's story, as posted by hearingvoices.com.