Poster board tombstones with facts about social and political conditions in Afghanistan lay on the grass in front of Janss Steps on Monday as part of the “Field of Forgotten Facts.”
The display opened up Afghanistan Awareness Week, featuring daily events to teach students about the nation.
Many Afghanis do not have access to health care, food and education, said Sabrina Noorzay, a fifth-year psychology student and president of the United Afghan Club at UCLA, which organized the awareness week. The United Nations classifies Afghanistan as a country with one of the lowest levels of human development in the world, according to the Human Development Index. The index, compiled by the United Nations Development Programme, evaluates countries’ levels of human development based on health, knowledge and income.
“We are … trying to shed light onto the current situation in Afghanistan, Afghanistan’s history as it’s not portrayed in the media, and the culture of Afghanistan,” Noorzay said.
Tahmina Mohammad, a third-year political science student and member of the United Afghan Club, helped create the tombstones for Monday’s event.
Mohammad said she became interested in playing a more active role in improving social conditions in Afghanistan after her father created a charitable organization that provides resources for Afghan women and children.
The organization, called the Afghan Association for Women and Children, was the beneficiary of last year’s charity banquet put on by the United Afghan Club. AAFWAC runs two orphanages in Afghanistan that double as schools.
Mohammad said educating others about the country is an important part of bringing aid to those affected by conflict.
“I think people don’t really realize how severe problems are in Afghanistan, so I think events like this help catch people’s attention,” Mohammad said.
On Tuesday, the group held a teach-in where students ate traditional Afghan food and listened to a presentation about Afghan history.
The “teach-in” focused on the impact of more than 30 years of war, Noorzay said.
Amaury Bannier, a graduate student in aerospace engineering and a native of France, took a military internship in Afghanistan for several months as part of his French undergraduate curriculum at the École Polytechnique in Palaiseau, France.
Bannier said he attended Tuesday’s teach-in to reconnect with Afghanistan and its history.
“I was curious … to have the American point of view about the Afghanistan issue,” said Bannier.
On Wednesday, the group held a movie screening of “Osama,” a film about Afghanistan during the Taliban regime. The film followed a girl as she struggled with losing her father and becoming her family’s provider.
In order to support her family, she disguised herself as a boy to navigate what the film portrays as oppressive male-dominated society.
“This movie really depicted the truth,” Noorzay said. “(Attendees) really liked the movie. They were touched.”
The awareness week ended with a cultural celebration in Bruin Plaza on Thursday that featured kite flying, traditional Afghan dancing and egg fighting ““ a traditional Afghan game.