OCCASIONALLY, in the midst of tremendous deprivation and cruelty, a story comes to light that gives us faith in the human spirit. We will no doubt learn of the heroics of common men and women once the hellfire of Gaza subsides but there is a story from Afghanistan that will undoubtedly bring a tear to many an eye when people learn of it. Two months ago, a group of girls were heading to school in Kandahar when a man approached them on a motorcyle. “Are you going to school?” he asked. When the girls said they were, he pulled one girl's burqa from her head and sprayed her face with burning acid. Thirteen others were attacked, as well. The attack was no doubt meant to terrorize the girls into staying at home, foregoing their right to an education. The attack, then, was an utter failure. Not only are the 14 girls who were attacked back at school but some 1300 girls who attend the school in the deeply conservative community have returned to school, as well. Certainly, these young women deserve to get an education and the cruelly violent actions of unhinged fanatics should not be a basis for relinquishing that education. But fear is a powerful agent for changing human behavior and unfortunately it would be perfectly understandable if these girls and their parents were to give in to the threat of physical harm and discontinue their education. But these girls and their families have resolved, and rightly so, that getting an education is a right and a necessity that must not be abandoned to the forces of ignorance. It is rare, far too rare, that we look to the courage of the common people for our inspiration, but this is an instance in which there is much to gain from doing just that. A group of young women, teenagers and young adults, in an isolated part of the world, wracked by warfare, have a lot to teach us. __
