Saturday, August 11, 2018 Vol. 2, No. 91 Star Educational Society Weekly

Interstellar (adjective): situated or occurring between the stars; conducted, or existing between two or more stars

My mother is a great role model for success

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Why female suicide in Afghanistan is so prevalent

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A Solution or the Beginning of an Ethnic

Crisis in the Afghan Parliamentary Elections?

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Using Technology for Decent Services

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A message from Rajab Ali Ahmadi, Star Teacher Training Instructor

Teaching, in relative to hu-man life, has always been a vital factor in human de-

velopment. Teaching has led us to modernity, a must-have neces-sity of human beings. For example, people in the past used to live in the coasts and didn’t know how to live, how to save their leftover food, and how to even communicate with each other. It was then when everyone thought of a solution for this disaster. The solution to save them was teaching. Teach-ing, known as a great support, was the way to push human beings forward and save them out of a bleak situation to a lighter direc-tion and of course paved the way for further success in human lives. In addition, teaching has given us self-confidence, which in turn has disciplined human beings life and has peopled our mindset with the ability to think and change. Added to this, teaching has directly im-pacted on our social behavior and fluent communication.

As our part to humanitar-ian contribution, Star Institute of World Languages holds Teacher Training Classes every semester, in which the qualified students will learn about different topics like: productive and receptive skills, class management skills, how to teach grammar skills, how to com-municate effectively, accurately and fluently skills, and so many other skills. Similarly, students in this class will be taught how to engage students in various inter-class activities to better demon-strate their abilities. To add more, Star always looks forward to find-ing new talents, creative people

and geniuses to fight against all challenges ahead of our genera-tion.

Furthermore, Star Educational Society will hire and recruit exu-berant and newly graduated stu-dents from Teacher Training Class, which will benefit them as follow.

Firstly, as Star is a well reputed institute in Kabul, it is a dream and a privilege for newly hired teach-ers to experience their educational journey with Star family, which, of course, provides them with some kinds of mental refreshments and a better social status.

Secondly, Star will give them hope for a better future. Once they join Star and become a member

of it, they will definitely find it supportive and life changing not only because of its competitive environment but also because of its hardworking and painstaking teachers, who put all their efforts, compared to other centers around, by giving them a helping hand to prosper.

Thirdly, Star has already proved that its merit-based test is the only guarantee to join Star either as a teacher or student, including ad-ministrative procedures. More-over, teachers who currently teach at Star are well educated and are insightful which can help students to easily approach them and dis-cuss their problems with no fear of

teacher-student relationship. To give an end, having well edu-

cated and quality instructors, and well-tempered mentors, Star has always made its way to success, and paved the way to Fulbright and other prestigious scholarships. In addition, changing the direction of a society replete with traditional thoughts and beliefs towards suc-cess has always been difficult; however, Star with its outstanding methodology and qualified teach-ers has made it inevitable. There-fore, teaching plays a vital role in human development, facilitates life, brings a stroke of fortune, and gives human a big push towards a splendid future.

The Role of Teaching in Human Development

Inside

2. Short Story3. Essays5. News6. Star related7. Literary8. Interview

See Inside Quote of the Week “There is power in under-standing the journey of oth-ers to help create your own.”

Kobe Bryant

Vol.2, No. 91

August 11th, 2018

Short Story

Like other Afghan mothers, my mother had also a lot of hard-ships while she inhabited Jag-

hori. As she tells us her story of her life, she sacrificed her life for raising her 8 children. She has mentioned about not being any school for girls and women. Moreover, people were ashamed of girls’ presence at schools.

When Taliban attacked Afghani-stan, we migrated to Pakistan, where fortunately my mother could attend a literacy center to get education. She was very interested in reading and writing. For sure, my father has had his role in her success. So my mother attended her study for a

short time because we were attend-ing school as well and at home there were a lot of responsibilities like: housekeeping, washing clothes, dishes, etc. She was doing all house work and task alone in order to let us be free to study.

We lived for 13 years in Pakistan and after that we came back to Af-ghanistan and Kabul. Last year, my mother began her studies again. She really succeeded because she reached her goals. Now she can read and write a bit. As she has been asked," what is your aim of study-ing?" She has responded, "I want to write letter, I want to read and write and I want to make calls without

anyone’s help.”Mom! You are great because

weeks ago I read your letter and it was awesome. I really enjoyed read-ing it. Words of your letter come to my mind and now I have a picture of a champion mother of the world in my soul and mind.

Mom, you give hope not only to your children but also to everyone. You have a serious problem and pain in your waist but you never surrendered. I am always impressed when I watch you lie down and read your book because you would feel pain in your waist if you sit for long time.

Mom, you teach us to live like a

hero, to have goals in life, to make a significant life by setting goals.

If I write about your life story, it would be a book, so I want to just mention some important points about your life and about your hard-work.

Mom, when you open your book to read, it makes me think big and be strong or when you go somewhere, you start to read boards which gives me hope. Mom, certainly, you make mistakes with your reading and writing but day by day you are get-ting better. Therefore, my mother is a great role model for success.

My mother is a great role model for success

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A short story

Gulchaman Moghul

Instructor: Murtaza FarjadCourse Timing: 07:00- 08:00AM, 04:00- 05:00PM( S a t u r d a y T h r o u g h W e d n e s d a y )Course Duration: 2 months

Vol.2, No. 91

August 11th, 2018

Essays

Jamila is 18 - and her family ar-ranged her engagement when she was just 12. She was taken to a hos-

pital in Herat by her mother and treat-ed for poisoning last month.

Jamila is one of thousands of Af-ghan women who try to kill them-selves every year.

About 3,000 Afghans attempt to take their own lives every year, ac-cording to the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC). Herat province accounts for more than half of all cases nationwide.

According to health officials in Her-at, 1,800 people tried to kill themselves in 2017 alone, of whom 1,400 were women - and 35 succeeded in taking their own lives.

The figure is almost twice as high as the year before, when some 1,000 sui-cide attempts were recorded.

Globally, there are more male sui-cides than female suicides - but in Af-ghanistan it is estimated that 80% of suicide attempts are made by women.

The AIHRC warns the number of attempted suicides could be even higher, "as many people in Afghani-stan do not report suicide to authori-ties for a variety of reasons".

Many people in religious rural ar-eas keep suicide attempts within their families to themselves, as taking one's life is stigmatised and considered un-Islamic. There does not seem to be one single reason for Afghanistan's high female attempted suicide rate.

Hawa Alam Nuristani of the AI-HRC suggests reasons could "range from mental health problems and do-mestic violence, to forced marriages and many other social pressures that women are increasingly facing".

Hawa Alam Nuristani of the AI-HRC suggests reasons could "range from mental health problems and do-mestic violence, to forced marriages and many other social pressures that women are increasingly facing".

Forced marriages are also often quoted as a reason why women in dis-tress seek suicide as an escape.

"One cause of female suicide is abuse, most of it starts in the family - for example forced marriages, [wom-en] not being listened to and being stopped from continuing their educa-tion", says Ms Nuristani.

According to a Unicef report, a third of Afghan girls are married before their 18th birthday.

Poverty and lack of job opportu-nities are also reported by women as some of their biggest concerns, as stat-ed in the Survey of the Afghan People, released by the Asia Foundation in 2017.

Dangerous substancesThe WHO has also made a link be-

tween easy access to poison and in-creased suicide rates.

And in Afghanistan, one problem is that poisonous substances are easily accessible.

"In the past few years, it has be-come easier for people to get hold of medicines and other substances," Mo-hammad Rafiq Shirazi, spokesman for Herat's main hospital, told the BBC Afghan Service.

"Last year, we asked relevant or-ganisations to take action to prevent dangerous substances from being readily available."

Medics in Herat say suicide rates will not slow down until there is a

proper strategy for suicide prevention in place.

Some, like Dr Nabil Faqiryar, be-lieve there is a need for a "nationwide plan to acknowledge the motives and causes behind women's suicides", so that the mental health crisis can be ef-fectively tackled.

Afghan health officials in Kabul say they have outlined a national preven-tion plan which includes giving access to therapy centres to those suffering from mental health problems.

The Ministry of Public Health says it is gathering data to design an action plan.

The next task for the country's hu-man rights commission, according to Ms Nuristani, is to "expand aware-ness campaigns to rural parts of the country, so that people know how and where to get help".

She adds: "We need to make peo-ple aware that there are ways to tackle those abuses that may push women to suicide. Most of such abuses take place in far-off, remote areas where there is a lack of awareness about the law, so people don't know that if they abuse the female members of the fam-ily then the law might punish them.

"In order to tackle this suicide cri-sis, or at least reduce its rate, we all need to work together."

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Why female suicide in Afghanistan is so prevalent

By Sana Safi| BBC Afghan Service| https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44370711

Jamila (not her real name) attempted suicide after she felt abandoned and betrayed by her fiancé - who decided, after a six-year-engagement, that he no longer wanted to marry her because she was "not a young woman any more".

Sana Safi

Vol.2, No. 91

August 11th, 2018

News

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Bomb Rattles an Afghan Minority So Small ‘No One Is a Stranger’

by: By Mujib Mashal and Fatima Faizi Source: The New York Timesnewspaper

KABUL, Afghanistan — In down-town Kabul, from a large mural painted on blast walls at the

end of a busy shopping street, the piercing eyes of Komal Singh, now a fourth grader, peer out at the narrow junction.

For the past couple of years, the mural has carried an anticorruption message: “Bribetakers are not hidden from the eyes of God and the people.” Now, that mural carries a further, un-written reminder: Another Afghan child is deprived of a father.

On Monday, Komal traveled to the eastern city of Jalalabad with her mother, Preeti, sister Pari and brother Prince to cremate her father, Rawail Singh, who was among the 19 people killed this weekend in a bombing out-side a compound where President Ashraf Ghani was holding meetings.

Fourteen of the victims, including Mr. Singh, were Sikhs — members of a tiny religious minority in the coun-try — who were just arriving for an audience with the president when a suicide bomber ripped through the crowd.

The death of Mr. Singh, who, as part of an activist group of artists had beautified many of the ugly blast walls that have turned Kabul into a maze, devastated friends and activists in the city, where he lived.

But the blow was much larger to Afghanistan’s shrinking Sikh popula-tion.

Years ago, before the country sank into a four-decade war, there were as many as 65,000 Sikh families across Afghanistan, community elders es-timated in the absence of official numbers. But decades of war and persecution have shrunk their num-

bers to about 800 people, according to Charan Singh, a member of the cen-tral Sikh temple in Kabul.

“No one is a stranger — everyone is a cousin or a distant relative,” Mr. Singh said.

Of the 14 Sikh victims of the blast on Sunday, a dozen were cremated in Jalalabad, including Rawail Singh, a native of the city. All either lived in the city or had roots there.

Two bodies — those of the only Sikh candidate for the Afghan Parlia-ment, and of a shopkeeper who sold herbal medicine — were taken to Ka-bul. They were mourned by a couple of hundred people gathered at a tem-ple, a nondescript two-story building in the north of the city, before the bod-ies were taken to be cremated.

Rawail Singh, who was in his late 40s, worked at a media company in Kabul and was an active member of the civil society scene. He was also in-volved in organizing a music festival in Bamian Province, west of Kabul, to promote understanding and empa-thy.

“A couple of years ago, Mr. Singh and I lost a friend who was a doctor in the attack on the 400-bed hospital,” recalled Omaid Sharifi, who leads Art-Lords, the group of activist artists. “Mr. Singh said: ‘Omaid, do you know when would be our turn? Today we lost this friend; tomorrow or the day after it would be one of us. Who knows?’”

Mr. Singh had recently enrolled Komal in the prestigious Afghanistan National Institute of Music, where she learned to paint and play music in addition to regular fourth-grade sub-jects. She had just been accepted into a sitar class, a notable achievement for a student of her age.

“I was thinking of calling her fa-ther and giving him the good news,” Ahmad Sarmast, the school’s director, said wistfully.

Mr. Sarmast, who has lost students in other attacks, said the school was at a loss for how to console Komal. “We don’t know what to tell her,” he said.

The parliamentary candidate who was killed, Avtar Singh Khalsa, had long established his credentials as a community leader. Mr. Ghani’s prede-cessor, Hamid Karzai, even appointed Mr. Khalsa as a senator. But now the candidate wanted to try his luck at gaining a seat in Parliament through a popular vote.

In interviews after announcing his candidacy, Mr. Khalsa had empha-sized how proud he was of not leaving Afghanistan during some of its dark-est days — including the early 1990s, when a rocket killed eight members of his family in Gardez, the city where he lived before moving to Kabul.

The shopkeeper, Raju Singh, a ho-meopath, was 27 and married when he was still a teenager. He had four children, the oldest an 8-year-old boy.

His father-in-law, Gulbeer Singh, received the call with news of his death on Sunday evening, and rushed to Kabul from the city of Ghazni.

“My daughter is so young, I don’t know how to talk to her,” Gulbeer Singh said at the temple. “I am sick, but still I am alive,” added Mr. Singh, 50, who has diabetes. “My son-in-law is gone. It is not fair at all.”

When the two corpses arrived from

Jalalabad, they were briefly unloaded in the temple so that loved ones could say their goodbyes.

The funeral procession then made its way through afternoon traffic to-ward an old corner of the city called Qalacha. The Army ambulances car-rying the bodies, and three mini-buses carrying the mourners, passed through the Baharistan area, where Raju Singh had his herbal medicine shop.

The bodies arrived at a large com-pound that is used as the crematory, its garden lined with hollyhock flow-ers. There, final prayers were read — some from memory, others from iPhone screens — and the bodies were scented with rose water and placed on stacked logs.

The mourners waited to start the cremation until Mr. Khalsa’s oldest son, Narendar Singh Khalsa, had ar-rived from Jalalabad, his left hand in a sling, his white clothes covered in blood. He had been wounded in the suicide bombing.

“We are ruined, we are ruined,” he said, smacking his face after his final goodbyes with his father. His friends tried to hold him back.

The cremation logs were lit, the wind fanned the fire. The crowd slowly dispersed.

Mr. Khalsa’s sons exited the cre-matory barefoot. They walked up the pebbled alley that led to the main road, passing a small mosque where a chorus of children repeated their late-afternoon studies.

Afghan Sikhs carried the coffin containing the remains of the parliamentary candidate Avtar Singh Khalsa to a cremation site in Kabul on Monday.CreditJim Huylebroek for The New York Times

Vol.2, No. 91

August 11th, 2018

News

Page 5

A Solution or the Beginning of an Ethnic Crisis in the Afghan Parliamentary Elections?

By Bismellah Alizada Source: The Diplomat

The decision to divide Ghazni into three constituencies could deepen ethnic tensions in the province.

After more than two months of electoral crisis in Ghazni prov-ince, Afghanistan’s Indepen-

dent Elections Commission (IEC) an-nounced on June 25 that the province has been divided into three constitu-encies, a decision that spurred sharp criticism from Ghazni residents, civil society, and their representatives in parliament. Rather than an end to the electoral stalemate in Ghazni, the decision looks to be the beginning of a new crisis tied very much into the ethnic agenda to increase Pashtun representation in the legislature.

Voter registration for the 2018 par-liamentary and districts council elec-tions was launched across Afghani-stan on April 14, first in the capital and provincial centers, followed by district centers and villages. Candi-date registration for the two elections began on May 26 for a period of 12 days.

Ghazni was the only province where voter and candidate registra-tion was suspended, thus only a limit-ed number of voters registered while no candidates could register to run for parliament or the district council. A debate on the issue during a session in the parliament broke into physical fight.

According to the IEC’s decision, Ghazni will be divided into three smaller constituencies, placing pock-ets of ethnic minorities in each con-stituency, a fact that has the potential to instigate ethnic conflict. According to the decision, one constituency is Hazara-dominated with small pock-ets of Pashtun minorities, while the other two are Pashtun-dominated with pockets of Hazara and Tajik mi-norities. This leaves Hazaras with a weak chance of getting even four seats out of the 11 reserved for the province, while they arguably make

come the newly appointed shadow governor and police chief or prepare for war. This comes after the Taliban announced shadow governors for Jag-hori, Malistan, and Nahor districts, all of which fall in the Hazara-dominat-ed controversial electoral constitu-ency. The local perception holds that the ultimatum was declared in tan-dem with the government decision to implement the three-constituency decision.

As the opposition to the decision gradually gathers momentum, the debate around the issue sharpens, identifying the recent discriminatory decision as symptomatic of deeper inequalities and ethnic disparities in the province. Some have pointed to the unwritten law that no Hazaras can become governor or police chief of the province that speaks of a deep-rooted institutional bias against an ethnic group that arguably comprises close to half of the population in the province.

One remedy proposed is a two-province solution that is argued to be both a legal and fair end to the present crisis. The idea has been in circulation since at least the 2009 presidential election, in which the promise to give the Hazaras of Ghaz-ni a separate province was bartered in exchange for their votes. The same card was played by current President

up half of the population. There have also been concerns raised over wom-en’s representation as the current di-vision has allocated a three-seat quo-ta for the female demographic.

As representatives of Ghazni in the parliament have highlighted in a statement, in addition to being unconstitutional, the decision is a breach of articles 35, 36, and 71 of the current elections law, and therefore lacks a legal basis. Article 36, among other things, clearly stipulates that “The boundaries of electoral constit-uencies shall be determined at least 180 days before the election day.” In fact, the government rejected a plan to reduce electoral constituencies — which would have divided all prov-inces into constituencies on the basis of the population — in late May on the same legal basis.

The decision to reduce Ghazni alone could be the match that sets powder keg of ethnic conflict alight, sowing division in the province and beyond, dividing the people along ethnic lines ahead of the October parliamentary and 2019 presidential elections. The Hazaras of Qarabagh district in the Ghazni have lived with the fear of an ethnic conflict for the past few weeks. Meanwhile, and in a surprise move, the Taliban declared an ultimatum for Jaghori district to either submit to the group and wel-

Ashraf Ghani during the 2014 presi-dential campaign. A seducing cam-paign promise in the 2009 and 2014 presidential elections, the issue of a separate province has once again sur-faced in the recent debates following the IEC decision.

Dividing Ghazni into smaller elec-toral constituencies seems to be a first step for smaller constituencies that are modeled on the historical formula of dividing ethnic groups as minority pockets in Pashtun provinces to keep the Pashtuns a dominant majority across the country. For the electoral constituencies to be engineered in the same vein, Ghazni was among the most difficult provinces of all given its ethnic composition. Thus, the recent decision seems to be a pilot program for the hotly controversial plan of di-viding all big provinces into smaller constituencies.

The IEC’s decision is in no way an end to the election crisis in Ghazni province; rather it is the beginning of a problem rooted in pre-existing eth-nic divides that have the potential to tear apart the already poorly woven social fabric in Ghazni and across the country. If there is only one way for Afghanistan to gain political stability and social peace, it is a fair democrat-ic process that accommodates the legitimate demands and rights of all ethnic groups.

Supporters of Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah, listen to his speech during a campaign rally in Jaghuri district in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, Thursday, May 29, 2014.

Bismellah Alizada is deputy director at the Kabul-based Organization for Policy Research and Development Studies (DROPS). The views expressed here are his own and do not necessar-ily reflect those of DROPS.

Vol.2, No. 91

August 11th, 2018

B-U Semester at Star Institute of World Languages, Pole SorkhThis page is prepared by Najeebullah Rezayee and his Advance students at different Star branches. This week it is specifically designed to reflect the content and

students of Academic Writing Class at Star Institute of World Languages, known as Star Institute. Students of other advance classes in different branches are encocuraged to take part and help improve the content of this page

Star Educational Society is intro-ducing a great opportunity to enhance your Academic English

skills and focusing on advanced writ-ing and reading skills.

The Advanced English classes at Star introduce several interesting and indispensable writing and read-ing practices which will enable our students to major their essay writing and reading techniques. If you are an academic, the chances are that your career development is defined by what you write.

We teach Advance A, Advance B and Academic Writing classes at Star

Institute of World Languages. Our concentration on writing in Advance A, Advance B and Academic Writing classes is a step toward mastering some of the fundamental elements of university success. These classes help prepare our students to develop their English skills so as to continue their education abroad.

In addition, many students want to learn it for business purposes; they want to write better letters, CVs, reports and proposals. A number of advanced students want to conduct research and write them in English. Whether you study academic writ-

ing for professional purposes or fun, the skills you gain will help enhance your talent to express yourself and be better organized in your writing ap-proach.

In Academic Writing, you will be taught Outlining, Planning, Writing essays, Features of Academic Writ-ing, Bibliography, Referencing, MLA referencing rules, APA referencing, Chicago style, Harvard style, Tura-bian style, Citations, Summarizing, Paraphrasing, Direct quotation and avoiding Plagiarism.

After completing these three in-tensive advanced classes, students

will be granted their Diplomas, which will enable them to register for Star’s popular Teacher Training class and TOEFL preparation class. If students desire to be a future teacher at Star Educational Society or elsewhere, they can join a two month Teacher Training course at Star.

To sum up, if you wish that your wishes would come true, join Star to learn English academically and professionally. Furthermore, if you dream of studying here or abroad, join Star Educational Society and join us for a difference to master lan-guages with eagerness and vigor.

Star related

Page 6

About the author: This is Fatima Bakhshi a current student of Aca-demic Writing course at Star Educational Society C Branch, which is source of Academic Language over all in Kabul with more than a decade experience.

I was born in Iran and studied primary school there. When I came to Afghanistan, our former president named Hamid Karzai was newly selected. I was not accustomed to Afghan

traditions and everything was strange for me. However, I found the best school named “Marefat” High School and continued my education till 9th grade. Studying was very enjoyable and interesting for me there.

Besides going to school, I started learning English in different centers, but finally I came to Star and everything was different from other centers like sys-tem and discipline and teachers for me. I started studying from level three. Then our family decided to leave for Pakistan. After going there, I continued my education in a private Afghan school and graduated from school. I joined some computer centers and English centers there and taught some classes.

In 2017, we came back to our own country and I continued learning English at Star Educational Society from level three at B Branch. I tried a lot to reach this class and worked hard. Furthermore, I had a part time job as a receptionist in an organization.

Nowadays I am studying at Ibne Sina University majoring Economic and Management. I don’t have any duty and job yet, but I hope one day I will be a member of Star. That’s why learning English at Star is my enthusiasm and interest. I have many wishes and aims too. I hope to develop my education and be an independent person in the future. Moreover, I have a great plan for development of my country. I work hard and try a lot to reach that position and put my plans into action.

The big goal in my heart is to make a better situation of economy of Af-ghanistan and provide job for everyone who is jobless and increase the level of economy in the world.

About the author: My name is Zohra and my last name is Danish. I am from Qarabagh, Ghazni and I was born there. Ghazni province has 16 districts one of which is Qarbaqh. Qarbaqh is a green place where 50% of the citizens are Hazara and 50% of them are Pash-tun. It has a small Bazaar named Bazar-e-Qarbaqh. It has some schools which do not have facilities for students.

I was enrolled in school in Qarbaqh and graduated from Helmand in 1396. From first up to third grade, we didn’t have school and studied under the canopy. From third up to sixth grade, I studied in a school named Mahmood Tarzi High

School, which was called Maktab-e-Sarkari before. When I was in sixth grade, my family moved to Helmand. And we started new life in Lashkarga, Helmand.

Helmand is one of the largest provinces of Afghanistan. It has 14 districts with lots of historical places. It has a river named Helmand and lots of small lakes. Most of the citizens are Pashtuns. The people of Helmand are kind, friendly, and religious. In Helmand girls and boys schools are separate. It’s a custom among people that women and girls must have long veils.

I continued the rest of my lessons in Malaly Girls High School. In addition, I had gone to courses like computer, English, sewing and needle work. Living in Helmand was amazing, but unfortunately, it was insecure sometimes. For that we left Helmand and immigrated to Kabul. When we came to Kabul, I decided to go to university and I joined Ibne-e- Sina University located in Kart-e-3. I studied political science for few months there. Unfortunately, I left university which made me sad.

After that I began studying English at Star Educational Society. I have been studying at Star since 2016 and currently I am studying Academic Writing class; it gives me hopes to continue my lesson. It is natural that everyone has lots of wishes, like others. It is my wish to study and have achievements for myself and my family. I loved to be a politician to help my people and change the political situation of my country. We know it is hard but not impossible. If I were a presi-dent, I would upgrade the facilities of studying, making orphanages, insurance system, and tax and so on. I am interested in exercising fitness and taekwondo.

Vol.2, No. 91

August 11th, 2018

Featured Poem: The Builders by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

A week on, I’m still finding that I’m utterly riv-eted by the fantastic Poetry Tags project; ini-

tially striking me as a somewhat unusual (I don’t think that weird or strange is the accurate way in which to describe it) way to display and dis-seminate poetry to the masses, but after a short amount of time realising that it actually makes complete sense – given the personal nature and ability to make impact that both fashion and po-etry hold – and is not just a fad, but something very wonderful and inspiring indeed. Just after first reading about the project, I came across The Builders by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and was especially struck by the opening stanza: ‘All are architects of Fate, Working in these walls of time/Some with massive deeds and great, Some with ornaments of rhyme.’ I deemed this really quite apt for describing it, mainly for the phrase ‘ornaments of rhyme’ – demonstrating the deco-rative quality of clothing and also being an elo-quent way of labelling (excuse the pun) poetry; although of course it is to be absorbed rather than just looked at, as pretty as it can be. But also because these lines emphasise how any act that is undertaken by anyone – especially those that have the effect of giving something more that is on the surface – be they small or wide-scale, are each and every one of the utmost importance.Though projects like Poetry Tags might be con-ceived as mainly ornamental, the size of the deed is perhaps deceptive. Though it may make much of ‘showing off’ poetry, there is a strong and significant message stitched into the seams. As a stand-alone project, and viewed from the spectrum of statement of art rather than liter-ary advancement, it doesn’t seem like a feat that will make a lot of difference. But that’s where the contradiction lies. Building a widespread appreciation and appreciation for poetry takes considerable time, and each apparently minor task is vital to creating a solid construction. We’re aware that creating a reading revolution is a gradual process and you have to work from the ground up with what materials you have. You may not be so handy with a needle and thread, you don’t even have to go to great lengths dreaming up your own unique and quirky proj-ect; a difference can be made by the little deeds we can all achieve, like sharing a story or reading a poem to someone (or a few people). And such a message is what is at the heart of this particu-lar poem; something to remember when you feel that your actions, whatever they relate to, are in-significant and matter little in the grand scheme of things: it actually stands that nothing should be underestimated. From the roughest sketches and shakiest foundations can come the greatest of things…(and also, the ‘building’ of a love for literature is far less intrusive and disruptive than that of actual physical labour.)It’s little surprise something so inspirational, something that calls for each of us to make the most of ourselves and contribute our own indi-vidual talents to the world comes from Longfel-low, who had a long career as a teacher as well as being a poet, and keenly displayed a consid-erable amount of ambition: statements such as “The fact is, I most eagerly aspire after future eminence in literature, my whole soul burns most ardently after it, and every earthly thought centres in it” demonstrating it clearly. While per-taining slightly to his didactic style of writing, it’s hard not to feel uplifted and reassured by the no-tion that good deeds, even if not especially ‘mas-sive’ ones, will not go unseen and instead stead-fastly support those that are more substantial.A week on, I’m still finding that I’m utterly riv-eted by the fantastic Poetry Tags project; initially striking me as a somewhat unusual (I don’t think that weird or strange is the accurate way in which to describe it) way to display and disseminate poetry to the masses, but after a short amount

of time realising that it actually makes complete sense – given the personal na-ture and ability to make impact that both fash-ion and poetry hold – and is not just a fad, but something very wonderful and inspiring indeed. Just after first reading about the project, I came across The Builders by Henry Wad-sworth Longfellow, and was especially struck by the opening stanza: ‘All are architects of Fate, Working in these walls of time/Some with massive deeds and great, Some with ornaments of rhyme.’ I deemed this really quite apt for describing it, mainly for the phrase ‘ornaments of rhyme’ – demonstrating the decorative quality of clothing and also being an eloquent way of labelling (excuse the pun) poetry; although of course it is to be absorbed rather than just looked at, as pretty as it can be. But also because these lines emphasise how any act that is undertak-en by anyone – especially those that have the effect of giving something more that is on the surface – be they small or wide-scale, are each and every one of the utmost importance.Though projects like Poetry Tags might be conceived as mainly ornamental, the size of the deed is perhaps deceptive. Though it may make much of ‘showing off’ poetry, there is a strong and significant message stitched into the seams. As a stand-alone project, and viewed from the spectrum of statement of art rather than literary advancement, it doesn’t seem like a feat that will make a lot of difference. But that’s where the contradiction lies. Building a widespread appreciation and appreciation for poetry takes con-siderable time, and each apparently minor task is vital to creating a solid construction. We’re aware that creating a reading revolution is a gradual pro-cess and you have to work from the ground up with what materials you have. You may not be so handy with a needle and thread, you don’t even have to go to great lengths dreaming up your own unique and quirky project; a difference can be made by the little deeds we can all achieve, like sharing a story or read-ing a poem to someone (or a few people). And such a message is what is at the heart of this particular poem; something to remember when you feel that your actions, whatever they relate to, are insignifi-cant and matter little in the grand scheme of things: it actually stands that nothing should be underes-timated. From the roughest sketches and shakiest foundations can come the greatest of things…(and also, the ‘building’ of a love for literature is far less intrusive and disruptive than that of actual physical labour.)It’s little surprise something so inspirational, some-thing that calls for each of us to make the most of ourselves and contribute our own individual talents to the world comes from Longfellow, who had a long career as a teacher as well as being a poet, and keenly displayed a considerable amount of ambi-tion: statements such as “The fact is, I most eagerly aspire after future eminence in literature, my whole soul burns most ardently after it, and every earthly thought centres in it” demonstrating it clearly. While pertaining slightly to his didactic style of writing, it’s hard not to feel uplifted and reassured by the no-tion that good deeds, even if not especially ‘massive’ ones, will not go unseen and instead steadfastly sup-port those that are more substantial.

The Builders

Literary

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)https://blog.thereader.org.uk/2011/07/25/featured-poem-the-builders-by-henry-wadsworth-longfellow/

All are architects of Fate,Working in these walls of Time;Some with massive deeds and great,Some with ornaments of rhyme.

Nothing useless is, or low;Each thing in its place is best;And what seems but idle showStrengthens and supports the rest.

For the structure that we raise,Time is with materials filled;Our to-days and yesterdaysAre the blocks with which we build.

Truly shape and fashion these;Leave no yawning gaps between;Think not, because no man sees,Such things will remain unseen.

In the elder days of Art,Builders wrought with greatest careEach minute and unseen part;For the Gods see everywhere.

Let us do our work as well,Both the unseen and the seen;Make the house, where Gods may dwell,Beautiful, entire, and clean.

Else our lives are incomplete,Standing in these walls of Time,Broken stairways, where the feetStumble as they seek to climb.

Build to-day, then, strong and sure,With a firm and ample base;And ascending and secureShall to-morrow find its place.

Thus alone can we attainTo those turrets, where the eyeSees the world as one vast plain,And one boundless reach of sky.

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national and international levels. More-over, we offer ICT (Information and Communication Technology) services. For instance, we configure and install CCTV Cameras, Network Cabling, Net-work maintenance and configurations, etc.As we all know, there are a lot of ISPs (Internet Service Providers) who claim they provide high quality inter-net services, which key features does GEC have that other ISPs do not?

Actually, most of ISPs who claim they provide high quality internet ser-vices, are not registered in Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. In Addition, they offer poor services. Most of these ISPs are resellers who take the services from other ISPs and offer them to their cus-tomers. We have some ISPs who offer high quality internet services like GEC which is registered in Ministry of Com-munication and Information Tech-nology. GEC has many routes, and we guarantee that our services do not have any down-time. To be honest, we offer 24/7 internet services. Please tell us which organizations are using your services.

In fact, GEC offers high quality inter-net services. It has been long time that GEC offers internet services to many NGOs, embassies, ministries, travel agencies, universities, etc.If an organization wants to use your internet services, which equipment could be used for providing the ser-vices?

GEC has always been trying to offer best services with low prices. When an organization wants us to provide inter-net services, we offer our equipment like Wire, Cable Stands, Point to Point Devices, and Multipoint Devices for free based on contracts between GEC officials and clients. Please clarify that how internet ser-vices can be accessed by end-users in Afghanistan.

Actually, internet doesn’t have any specific source. Internet is a collec-tion of computer networks which are connected with each other for shar-

Saturday, August 11, 2018 Vol. 2, No. 91

ing information. We can easily say that internet is network of networks. But generally, we can divide ISPs( Internet Service Providers) into three categories; the first category of ISPs are operating around the continents who are huge enough in size, the second rank of ISPs are operating around a specific country, and the third rank of ISPs are operating throughout the cities who are com-monly small enough in services and size. Therefore, in Afghanistan, we have the second rank of ISPs as well as the third rank. We take the internet links from our neighbor countries through fiber optic gateways. Afghan Telecom distributes the internet links to all ISPs, and ISPs provide internet connections for end-users.One of the concerns that internet us-ers have, is the security of their data. Which actions should be taken by ISPs for maintaining data security?

Most of ISPs are using fiber-optic internet connections. Therefore, an ISP should maintain the security of their clients by configuring some specific protocols. These protocols are VPN, NAT, Diffie-Helman Key Exchange Al-gorithm, using firewall, etc. For more security clearance, ISPs can configure VSAT which is a little bit expensive. Where do you see yourself in five years?

Where I can see myself in five years depends on what I do. I will do my best to be a professional IT expert in five years. I want to pursue my MA in Data Security in the future.And finally, what is your message to Interstellar Bulletin readers?

First of all I want to thank all con-tributors of Interstellar Bulletin for or-ganizing such a decent weekly. I was a student at Star Educational Society. I am sure that Star has the best English learning system. English Language plays a key role in our academic and professional lives. Most of high paid jobs require English Language profi-ciency. So, if you want to master your English Language proficiency, select Star Educational Society as I did.

for making a call to our comrades, we have almost the same number in the computer networks for communicat-ing with other clients. This number is called IP (Internet Protocol) address. Generally, we have two versions of IP address; IPv4 and IPv6. They function the same job. But the gap is in their versions. IPV4 has less addresses avail-able than IPV6. For instance, we can have 232 addresses in IPV4 which are not adequate for all devices around the globe. But IPv6 can provide us 2128 ad-dresses which are huge amount of ad-dresses. (102.168.1.2) is an example of IPV4, and (FEDC:BA98:7654:3210:FEDC:BA98:7654:3210) is an example of IPV6. There are still some reasons why we use IPV4 instead of IPV6.Please tell us about your work experi-ence.

I have taught English Language in one of Educational Centers in Ka-bul for two years. And down the line, I had taught blind students English and Computer using Braille Alphabet at Surf NGO. Before long I was hired as IT Technician Officer at GEC (Global En-tourage Company). Please tell us about GEC services.This company offers basic services in

Could you please introduce yourself briefly?

I am Rahman Mohammadi, 25 years old. I have a BA in Computer Science, and I have worked as instructor of blind students for five years. In addition, I am working as IT Officer in a private orga-nization. Please tell us about your Education and achievements.

I graduated from Abdul Rahim Sha-hid High School in 2013. Passing Kan-kor Exam successfully, I got accepted in Computer Science Faculty at Shahid Prof. Rabbani Education University. During studying at university, I had the pleasure of managing Students Asso-ciation. Furthermore, I had delivered an official presentation regarding IPV6 in presence of chancellor and other professors at Shahid Prof. Rabbani Ed-ucation University. I also participated in short-term courses held by USWDP (University Support and Workforce De-velopment Program) Field Office. Fi-nally, I graduated from Computer Sci-ence Faculty in 2017. You delivered a presentation about IPV6, Could you please give us infor-mation about IPV6?

As we have telephone numbers

Using Technology for Decent Services

Website: http://www.star.edu.af Email: interstellarbulletin@gmail.com

Editor-in-Chief: Ali Reza YasaEditorial support: ROYA Online Writing Center and Jonathan GreenburgDesigner: Hamid QablanyDistribution: Najibullah Malikpoor 0785103920

C Branch: Mahdi Akbari 0731978331B Branch: Abdul Rahman 0744046052 Bamyan: Essa Omid 0773609598Daikundi: Hamid Naderi 0771991057Ghazni: Essa Jamal 0787126362Institute: Zahra Wahidy 0783356637

Add: Star Avenue, Sabiqa Stop, Dehburi, KabulA Branch Phone: +93 (0) 785 10 39 20 / +93 (0) 744 56 37 55

An interview with Rahman Mohammadi, IT Officer at GEC (Global Entourage Company)

About the interviewer: Fakher Ahmad Amirzad is current English instructor at Star’s A Branch. He earned a BA in Computer Science from Shahid Prof. Rab-bani Education Univer-sity. He plans to study his Master’s degree in Software Engineering abroad.