from taliban oppression to a war-torn country to taco bell

this afternoon i was bitter because i had already driven 2/3 up the canyon to go snowboarding before i realized i forgot my gloves at home.

my life is so easy.



"what is your favorite thing about america?"

"my ballroom dance class."

tonight i introduced my friend najib to taco bell, american malls, and american music. he loved the music (especially you jeff), the mall taught him what america was all about, and i'm not sure if his stomach was ready for the steak grilled stuffed burrito.


while eating my own chicken baja chalupa, i listened as najib told me of life under taliban oppression - witnessing neighbors shot point blank by taliban officials responding to uninvestigated accusations. men dragged through the rocky streets until they were dead. blood dripping from hands recently severed from an alleged thief. to top it off, as najib put it, "life was boring. there was no music."

after the u.s. overthrew the taliban government, the land broke out into tribal warfare. he never traveled without armed friends for protection. while assisting a u.s. journalist, najib found himself in a bloody cross fire between 475 fighting tribesman. he hid beneath a swarm of bullets and watched men just feet away from him blown to pieces by an rpg. when the firing ceased, only 75 of those fighters survived.

because he assisted this journalist, najib soon found himself as the target of an angry warlord who wished him dead. with the help of this journalist and some uvsc professors, najib was able to secure himself a visa and come here for an education.

to top all of that off, najib is the funniest afghani i have ever met (ok, he's the only afghani i have ever met).

to learn more about his fascinating life, you can meet and listen to najib tell his story tomorrow (friday) night at the ken sanders bookstore in salt lake city at 7pm.

you can also read this great article about him in the recent salt lake city weekly, as well as this ksl story (where you can see my desk in the background), and this deseret news article.