Neil Grant - From Kinglake to Kabul

In an extraordinary journey across cultural boundaries,
these teenage writers emerge out of tragedy and trauma
with stories of great beauty, power and empathy.
Their work provides a model for writing projects that reach
out for mutual understanding in a divided world.

Arnold Zable

From

KINGLAKE

to KABUL

Edited by Neil Grant
& David Williams

First published in 2011

Copyright in this collection Neil Grant and David Williams 2011
Copyright in individual stories remains with the authors 2011
Copyright in individual photographs remains with the photographers 2011

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or ten per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act.

Allen & Unwin
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Crows Nest NSW 2065
Australia
Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100
Fax: (61 2) 9906 2218
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A Cataloguing-in-Publication entry is available
from the National Library of Australia
www.trove.nla.gov.au

ISBN 978 174237 5304

Teachers notes available from www.allenandunwin.com

Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and to obtain their permission for the use of copyright material. The publisher apologises for any errors or omissions and would be grateful if notified of any corrections that should be incorporated in future reprints or editions of this book.

Cover and text design by Sandra Nobes
Typeset by Tou-can Design Pty Ltd
Front cover images: top, Amanda Turnbull; bottom, Sabrina Omar
Back cover image: Amanda Turnbull

Printed in Australia by Ligare Pty Ltd, Sydney

The book has been printed on 90gsm Ligare Offset certified by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). PEFC is committed to sustainable forest management through third party forest certification of responsibly managed forests.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For the courageous young people
of Kinglake and Kabul

Contents

David Williams

Neil Grant

Hameed Abawi

Liam Padget

David Williams

Neil Grant

Neil Grant

Neil Grant

Tess Pollock

Neelo Hashim

Georgia Bebbington

Jahangir Said

Ferozuddin Alizada

Hannah Larkin

Maddie Arrowsmith

Lina Muradi

Kath Stewart

My and Thuy Nguyen

Timur Kahromonov

Chelsea Steve

Shane Stephens

Stephanie Antonucci

Jun Woo Kwon

Sharon Wettstone

Tony Grey

Tamika Dean

Shanae Smeath

Laila Gharzai

Matt Cormack

Shaheer Hashim

Olivia Shearman

Sabrina Omar

Rosie Pavlovic

Paige Dwyer

Ayaz Rahyab

Stephanie Wilkinson

Nargis

Allie Patton

Celeste Wahlberg

Maddy Wahlberg

Tahlia Kennedy

Farishta Rahimi

Anthony Paul

Francis Jagers

Ikaylia Kilgour

Neil Grant

Emily Dunnel

Lily Pavlovic

Malcolm Hackett

Scott Barr

This book is the result of a community project we called 1000 Pencils: from Kinglake to Kabul.

It started in a classroom at a small secondary school near Kinglake in 2009. Author Neil Grant was a writer-in-residence in our writing class. We wanted my students to appreciate their own country and how lucky they are to be able to exercise their right to an education. Its a right most of the children in Afghanistan can only dream of. If my class came to understand this then perhaps they would also be able to see their place as global citizens, and their education and access to resources as a gift and an opportunity.

The day after Black Saturday, these aims seemed senseless, even insensitive. How could we ask the students to care for others when so many of us had lost so much? We took our time and as we started writing we came to see that exchanging stories with students in Afghanistan was cathartic for both groups of students.

We developed a connection with the International School of Kabul. From our classrooms we then reached out and included people in our communities and our friends and families. A small classroom project began to mean something to people everywhere.

Then in winter 2010 we welcomed some of the teachers and students from Kabul who we had been writing to throughout this project: students Sabrina Omar, Laila Gharzai and Maddy Wahlberg and teachers Amanda Turnbull and Celeste Wahlberg. Wed hoped more students would come, but its almost impossible for Afghans to obtain a visa to visit Australia. Those who did make the trip had come to share the stage at the Melbourne Writers Festival. Together we would present our stories to an enthusiastic festival audience.

On our way from Melbourne airport to Kinglake we stopped at a restaurant. My student, Eliane Gordon, later reflected, As we all got out of the cars in our small town, Amanda Turnbull asked a question: Is it safe to walk around here? Tess and I looked at each other and shrugged. Yeah, I guess so, I said. I never really thought about it, said Tess. Amanda spoke of how she and her students had to be alert at all times when walking the streets of Kabul.

Given these differences, given what people growing up in Kabul are faced with every day, it was wonderful to see Australians and Afghans forming strong friendships. It was a pleasure to see the Kabulis laughing and enjoying, at least for a short time, the freedom to wander the streets of Melbourne and play in our parks.