Shippensburg students and faculty gathered in Orndorff Theatre to listen to Ali Sina Sharifi share his experiences as a child growing up in U.S.-occupied Afghanistan, a presenter on Afghanistan television and as a student at Shippensburg on Tuesday, Oct. 3, at 4 p.m.

Sharifi began his talk by introducing “buzkashi,” the national sport of Afghanistan in which players ride on horses as they beat each other with sticks and toss around a dead goat. The sport was chaotic, brutal and lethal. Sharifi joked that it was a perfect representation of politics in Afghanistan. 

In 2001, when the U.S. entered Afghanistan, the country had been ravaged by various wars and terrorist groups. Two-thirds of the capital city, Kabul, was demolished. Sharifi shared pictures of the devastation, emphasizing to the audience how important reconstruction was during U.S. occupation. 

Reconstruction brought opportunity in many different forms to Afghanistan. Communication, career and education opportunities became available for men and women alike. Sharifi noted that young people were especially affected by the vast changes that occurred during years of reconstruction. 

“Millions of girls were going to school for the first time,” Sharifi said. For young people in Afghanistan, it was “revolutionary” to hear girls’ opinions in co-educational settings, and for many of the girls, it was the first time their thoughts were deemed valuable.

Alongside efforts toward reconstruction, however, terrorist groups still plagued the country. Sharifi recalled a mob that attacked his school in 2009 in response to the protests of female students. He explained that terrorist groups like the Taliban and ISIS specifically targeted schools, mosques and other civilian gatherings. 

Terrorist groups also targeted people with connections to the United States, especially journalists and other media personalities. Sharifi’s role on Sound of Afghanistan Television, a network program meant to attract people toward social change and democracy, put him in danger. 

When Sharifi fled his country, he was placed with a family in Carlisle who was familiar with and active in the situation in Afghanistan. He is now enrolled as a sophomore in Shippensburg University majoring in political science. 

Ultimately, Sharifi’s experiences have taught him to be resilient and devoted to social change, and his story inspired students to do the same. 

“We’re going to be deciding what the world is going to look like in 20 years,” Sharifi said. He hopes that his generation can inspire enough change to create a peaceful future. 

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