11-25-2005, 09:11 AM
Said Hyder Akbar has told his story on “This American Life” on National Public Radio. He told part of it on “Morning Edition”, this morning. He is an American teen of Afghan parents. His father, Said Fazel Akbar, was given a high job with the new Afghan government, while his son was still a teenager. Hyder Akbar spent three summers there with a tape recorder.
He has written a book with a ghostwriter. At the end of yesterday’s interview, Renee Montagne, she asked him about something he wrote at the end of the book. An Afghan proverb tells of some villagers who came upon a sleeping lion. One fellow said he would ride on its back. He did so, but the lion woke up, and now the fellow must hang on because if he gets down he will be torn to pieces. He said that Hamid Karzai, the USA and NATO were “riding the lion”.
I would suggest that the Iraqi lion is at least as fierce a beast as the Afghani lion.
The following link will take you to the story, and to a couple of other links for more information. The audio is available now.
http//www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5023863
He has written a book with a ghostwriter. At the end of yesterday’s interview, Renee Montagne, she asked him about something he wrote at the end of the book. An Afghan proverb tells of some villagers who came upon a sleeping lion. One fellow said he would ride on its back. He did so, but the lion woke up, and now the fellow must hang on because if he gets down he will be torn to pieces. He said that Hamid Karzai, the USA and NATO were “riding the lion”.
I would suggest that the Iraqi lion is at least as fierce a beast as the Afghani lion.
The following link will take you to the story, and to a couple of other links for more information. The audio is available now.
http//www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5023863