05/12/2024
The Light of Our Sandali by DHY
"One snowy night, my mother, three sisters, and I gathered around the Sandali to keep warm. The Sandali is a kerosene heater with a short-legged table placed above it and a thick blanket covering the whole. The power was gone, and the coldness of Mazar's dry snow would freeze our toes if they weren't under the Sandali. My three sisters and I sat in a circle, placed our legs under the blanket for warmth, and listened to my mother's story.
My mom was one among millions of Afghan women who were forced to leave her education when the Taliban took over Afghanistan for the first time in 1996. She was studying civil engineering with many dreams but had to leave the university and marry for her safety. There were no jobs for her, and she could never finish her education.
As my mother shared with us about her unreached dreams, her eyes shone in the darkness, reflecting the light of our little battery-powered lamp on the Sandali. There was pain there, tucked away in the corners of her eyes like the empty room in our basement where she goes when she feels sad. My sisters and I were lost in her story, silently hiding our tears from each other in the dark. At the time, we didn’t know that one day, history would repeat itself, and the cruel rules of the Taliban would also place a barrier to our education and dreams.
In 2021, my sisters and I were forced to stop going to school like my mom 25 years ago. Despite this, my mother still had hope. She called the family together and we made a hard decision. My elder sister and I said goodbye to our parents and two younger sisters to escape Afghanistan for Bangladesh to continue our education. My mother’s last words at the airport were, “Never give up on your dreams. Maybe I couldn’t get my diploma, but I brought up daughters who can.”
In my little room in Bangladesh, I sketched a picture of myself going to college next to a photo of my mom standing beside my dad. It reminded me that one day, my mother’s words will come true, and she will be proud. One spring morning, at dawn, I opened my Cornell University portal and found out that I had gotten into my dream school. My mother’s dream, my dream, had come true.
My mother represents to me and my sisters the light on our Sandali brightening in our dark room. She did not give up on her passion for knowledge because of the dark situation for women in Afghanistan. Sharing her light with us taught us that we are capable of rewriting our own story and preventing history from repeating itself.
Happy Mother's Day to my beautiful, strong mom. I feel sad that I cannot celebrate this special day with you, Mom, but I promise wherever life takes me, I will never let anything dim the light you ignited in my heart that snowy night. "
