The fall of the Wall: to celebrate a far event

- Today is a symbolic day, the end of the old world and the beginning of the new in which you are part - says Michel Duray, Head of the NATO Public Diplomacy Division to the young people of the NATO-Afghan Students Forum.

There are participants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and other countries of the region: what does the 9th November to them? And which are the symbolic walls in their countries? Let’s give them the floor.

- People of my country have no clear opinion about the Berlin Wall - says Syed Ahmad Raza Zaidi from Pakistan.

The war in Afghanistan has had consequences for his country, more than the end of the cold war.

- Did the Rwanda genocide – a true catastrophe – affect Europe? - asks Zaidi in a provocative way.

In either case he has a profound interest in Germany.

- I studied its history by my own - explains Zaide - you can find so many ups and downs, and despite Hitler and a complete destruction it was able to get out of the tunnel - This, to Zaide, offers a sense of hope, especially in these days, where Pakistan has to deal with India for the dispute in Kashmir, a truly symbolic wall to overcome.

- In some way the fall of the wall affected the history in Afghanistan - says Nasria Pashtun, an Afghan girl that wasn’t afraid to ask uncomfortable questions about the ‘side effects’ of the NATO operations – the death of civilians – to the officials.

However she admits that her fellow citizens don’t know this story. - Education is our wall - says Nasria: 89% of the women and the 69% of the men are illiterate in her country. - And ethnicity - she adds - is another symbolic wall that should be downed in Afghanistan.

- The wall was the symbol of the separation of the human being itself - says Alyas Hameed Munib, one of the speakers of a panel, during which the students presented the audience with data about Afghanistan history. In his opinion the end of the divided Germany affected his country in a cultural way . - It teaches us that the separation of a community has negative consequences - says Munib recalling the problem of tribalism, also stressed by Nasria. - One of the main problems of our society is the opinion of women that uneducated people hold - resolves Munib.

In his opinion, an improved educational system could be a way of overcoming this barrier.

by Marco Riciputi