September 6, 2009, 10 AM. Walk a new labyrinth in Chico, potluck brunch, and fundraiser to bring an outstanding Pakistani girl to CSUC. When you read her story, you'll want to be part of creating a scholarship for her. The event is at Gayle Kimball's home. Email her for Sahar's story and directions. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . If you can't attend and want to contribute, send a check made out to EarthHaven.
[Photo is a train in Mirpur Khas]

Sahar's Story

I was born in a small city if Mirpur Khas in Pakistan, in the province of Sindh, in the house of Muhammad Zahid and Shaheen Zahid [17 years ago. Both were totally uneducated and couldn't go to school in their childhood because of lack of money. I was the third to the family after my eldest sister and an elder brother. Since I was born I realized the double standard of people in between girls and boys in my country, in my region, in my family, in my school, except for one place, which was my home. My home was always a paradise for me because in this brutal world--especially for girls--my father kept me and my sister as princesses. I got a younger brother after me and whenever we went out with my father we felt how differently people treated me from my brother. They open shops and businesses on their son's names but never in their daughter's. And they gave the sane advice all the time to my father even my own uncle and aunts.
My father realized the importance of education and worked day and night to get all of us siblings good education. My father realized the talent in me and encouraged me more and more and got me admission in the most expensive and big school of the city so that I can utilize myself. Again everyone was against it and thought that it's useless to spend so much money on a girl's education, but my father shut everyone's mouth and kept encouraging me. This all from the really beginning gave me a spirit to do something great, to do something different, to set an example for other parents to open a way for other girls coming after me. I worked harder and harder in school. And I always stood first in my class in my school. And my dad always came to my result ceremony to watch me on the stage, always getting first price and the look on his face from the stage was all I wanted as reward for my hard work. I promise the world and humanity that one day I will be source of removing a lot of tears from people's face and screams from kids' hearts all over the world. One day you will read about me in news no matter which country you belong to
I made everyone proud of myself [as a high school exchange student in Oregon] and believe that my father was right. But it is really hard to continue the same stuff in here. All big personalities and people try to suppress my voice and me. They don't even want a person to speak truth here. I can't even go out of the house without a male relative. Over here people suppress youth and that's what happening to me. But I will still not shut my mouth and be scared of them. I believe in my self and my power of youth and my power of being a girl. My father is considering sending me again to US for higher studies so that I can work on my dreams. I want to do majors in international affairs but that subject is not in focus here in our colleges. That's another reason that I want to come to US for college.
And I give the message to the world to be united in the war against terrorism. There are a lot of people suffering in this part of the world and right now please don't think yourself as a Pakistani or American or Muslim or Christian. Terrorists are never Muslims neither Christians nor Hindus. No religion in the world asks to kill innocent people. And terrorism is just a crime against humanity and neither Muslim countries nor America today is out of their target range. This exam now is a big challenge for us and needs us to be together as humans for the war against humanity.

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