by Amanda Torie
At times it can be hard to see past the conflict in the Middle East. It can be even harder to try and relate with the people being as it is they live in a region that most of us never have, nor ever will visit. Most of the information we hear about this particular region is in the form of bad news, but for the first time in a long time, I heard something encouraging.
Three Cups of Tea is the real life story of one man who has made it his life’s work to combat these stereotypes and reduce violence by cutting away its roots. In the mind of Greg Mortenson, author and narrator, the way to prevent violence and terrorism is to give children an alternative. He theorizes, with a great deal of experiential proof, that terrorism is a machine fed by youth. In countries such as Afghanistan, where this book is based, a great deal of the children in rural areas grow up without ever stepping foot inside a class room.
Greg himself traveled to Pakistan to climb the famous K2 Mountain and in a very unique way fell in love with this region of the world that seems everything but warm and cozy. What he fell in love with was the potential to change the future by stabilizing the present. Instead of molding a nation, however, he chose to mold minds.
His vision of education as a peacemaker seems a bit shaky at first; after all in a war torn, terror infested country, should we not expend our resources elsewhere? Why not drop bombs, hunt terrorists and take out existing violence?
This book presents an incredible argument for this new form of combat, one that we as a country and as a world community should perhaps pay a good deal more attention to. The goal of his operation and vision in the Middle East is to build schools and give kids an alternative to joining the ranks of soldiers and terrorists.
In a way, the author is enamored with the quasi romantic notion of reforming a society to a state where education is assumed. In our American lives, education is an assumption; kids go to school. There are no two ways about it. It’s the law and beyond that it’s what we as a society have deemed the proper path, arguably the only path for youth. In the author’s mind this sort of societal consensus is what has created a well guided, well informed population of young and old alike who choose to take routes in their lives based on contributing. Someone who misses out on basic education is beginning life with, in essence, a crack in their foundation.
Greg’s mission is to make sure that children of the Middle East have the same solid foundations that we as Americans so take for granted. But what’s the point? What’s in it for us? We have a great education system comparatively, why should we work for this same state in rural Pakistan? Well, as the author clearly illustrates through his various, shall I say hostile encounters with various Islamic extremist groups, this region is a great threat to the world. In many ways, these groups are winning. When children have no schools, they look elsewhere for education, for morals and ideals, and these are the groups that are filling in. As is in any country, kids seek mentors. It’s the American equivalent of gangs, Pakistani children are turning to terrorist groups for a sense of belonging and value.
This book is a full vision; that is the schools aren’t just being built to prevent terrorism by keeping busy the youth. The schools are built by members of villages, it is a project that communities can take pride in and be united by. The schools are a way to show this region that Americans are more than the metal birds flying over head and dropping bombs. The schools are something that sort of manifests moral values. The author makes clear, however, that what these communities need isn’t western values, but rather a place in which to pass on their own values.
To me this was by far the most profound aspect of the book and operation. At no point in the book does the author try and create “American” schools. At no point does he make the process about westernization or Christianity or American values. What shocked me was that through out all of this, Greg has tried to embrace aspects of the Pakistani lifestyle. You can see through his relationships with various Pakistanis throughout the book that he has a great amount of respect for their culture and their differences. The whole mindset of the book is a man trying to understand a culture so that he can better help it. That to me is something warranting a massive amount of respect. The fact that this man is giving up his life and sacrificing time with his family to work for the betterment of a culture to which he does not belong is mind blowing to me. The emotional connection he feels to his cause can be felt on every page. That to me is what made this book not just a good read but also a truly good experience. When reading you can truly feel the love that the author has for this region and the passion with which he is working to help it.
This is a must read. Very few people have succeeded in bringing to paper the passion they have for change in this region of the world. Greg Mortenson is one of the select visionaries who have been able to bring to the reader such a strong emotional connection, spiritual experience, and inevitable passion for their cause. After you read this book education begins to stand in a new light, not only in terms of knowledge but also as a cornerstone of community. In addition, you get a different view of what it means to be a part of a community. Finally, and most importantly, the reader is exposed to the Pakistani people, not the terrorists and the politicians, but rather the people and the honor and love that through such hard times have maintained as markers of their culture, their business, and their operation as a people.
