#parwana

Parwana - The Breadwinner

Welcome to Episode 139 of Let’s Get Haunted! This episode we are joined by esteemed anthropologist and professor Homayun Sidky to delve into Afghanistan’s rich folklore and culture. In particular, today we are discussing two prevalent paranormal entities: Jinn and giants. Born in the U.S. to Afghan parents working at the United Nations, Dr. Sidky credits his fascination with religious and supernatural beliefs to his exposure as a child to many different cultures. Dr. Sidky hopes that through this episode, our listeners will come to view Afghanistan as so much more than the product of wars waged within its borders by foreign influences. Also on this episode, we are joined by Parwana aka Par, who hails from Afghanistan by way of Pakistan, eventually arriving in Canada as a refugee with her family during the 1980s. Par is a fascinating woman who has overcome generational trauma and is now finding healing through spiritual enlightenment. Par hopes that through this episode, our listeners will come to find their own spiritual empowerment. We are so honored to be joined by two people who represent seemingly opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of how they view the paranormal. We hope that the diversity of discussion found in this episode will serve as a mirror to the diversity and beauty found within Afghanistan itself. As with all of our cultural folklore episodes, the end goal of these interviews and discussions is to shine a spotlight on the vibrant, diverse, and lively culture of this fascinating country.

In today’s feature we want to give space to the voice of a young girl from Afghanistan who speaks about her experiences. Parwana Amiri lived in Moria after reaching Lesbos in September 2019 together with her family. In the camp she had been writing about her experiences, often at night, when the other eight people she was sharing a tent with were asleep. Alarmphone has now published her first book. Moria might have burned down, but a new camp has been erected. So far there has been no change in European policy. As long as this is the case, the voices of brave people like Parwana need to be heard. “Put yourself in our shoes! We are not safe in Moria. We didn’t escape from our homelands to stay hidden and trapped. We didn’t pass the borders and risk our lives to live in fear and danger. Put yourself in our shoes! Can you live in a place, that you cannot walk alone even when you just want to go to the toilet. Can you live in a place, where there are hundreds of unaccompanied minors that no one can stop from attempting suicide. That no one can stop from drinking. […] In this situation the first thing that comes to my mind to tell you is, we didn’t come here to Europe for money, and we did not come to be European citizens. It was just to breathe a day in peace. Instead, hundreds of minors here became drug addicts, but no one cares. Five human beings burned, but no one cares. Thousands of children don’t have their vaccinations, but no one cares. I am writing to you to share and I am hoping for change…” In her letters, Parwana puts herself in the shoes of different people living in the camp: a young teenage girl like herself, living in a crowded space together with strange men; an old woman who is fighting for her sick husband; a transgender person; a young unaccompanied minor; a mother and wife of a paralyzed man. With endless empathy, Parwana speaks about the everyday suffering, the dreams and beliefs of the people around her. This is a strong testimony from the heart of Europe’s failure, writen by a talented young writer who is not only aware of the emotions of the people around her, but also of the world we live in, which constantly reproduces exclusion and degradation: “Stop lying and pretending that people are safe here. Stop saying Europe is a better place, when it is only better for some and not even accessible for others. My pen won’t break until we end this story of inequality and discrimination among human kind. My words will always break the borders you built.” For the full book, click on the link in the tweet: http://lesvos.w2eu.net/files/2020/04/broshure-Letters-from-Moria-202002-screen.pdf

Bahadur Shah Zafar

Image 01: An artistic illustration of a Jinn (alternative spelling: Jinnd) Image 02: An artistic illustration of a Giant (“afreet” or “dau”), An ifrit named Arghan Div brings the chest of armor to Hamza. The flaming eyes of the ifrit are slightly crossed and his orange skin spotted all over, carrying a chest over the waters on the behalf of Hamza, the uncle of the prophet Muhammad, for unexplained reasons Image 03: Our first guest today, Dr. Homayun Sidky Image 04: Our second guest today, Parwana aka Par aka @SoullyPar Image 05: Gandhara art, style of Buddhist visual art that developed in what is now northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan between the 1st century BCE and the 7th century CE. The style, of Greco-Roman origin, seems to have flourished largely during the Kushan dynasty and was contemporaneous with an important but dissimilar school of Kushan art at Mathura (Uttar Pradesh, India). Image 06: Hadda, a unique excavation site found in Jalalabad which features statues of both Buddha and Hercules (seen here) Image 07: Giant Buddha statue wearing a Greek toga in Central Afghanistan (one of the largest standing buddhist statues in the world, unfortunately destroyed by the Taliban) Image 08: “Religion and the Paranormal” by Homayun Sidky (book mentioned in the interview) Image 09: Map of Afghanistan Image 10: TikTok by Parwana @SoullyPar on Giants in Afghanistan

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