Quotessence
Home / Topics / Kabul Quotes

Kabul Quotes

Browse 50 quotes about Kabul.

Related topics

AfghanistanTalibanCountry

Kabul Quotes

“war. Or, rather, wars. Not one, not two, but many wars, both big and small, just and unjust, wars with shifting casts of supposed heroes and villains, each new hero making one increasingly nostalgic for the old villain. The names changed, as did the faces, and I spit on them equally for all the petty feuds, the snipers, the land mines, bombing raids, the rockets, the looting and raping and killing.”

WarJusticeAfghanistanHeroesKabul
Book:And the Mountains Echoed
Create image

“Furthermore, I refuse to wear a burqa. Of all the burdens they've put on us, that's the most degrading. The Shirt of Nessus woudn't do as much damage to my dignity as that wretched getup. It cancels my face and takes away my identity and turns me into an object. Here, at least, I'm me Zunaira, Mohsen Ramat's wife, age thirty-two, former magistrate, dismissed by obscurantists without a hearing and without compensation, but with enough self-respect left to brush my hair every day and pay attention to my clothes. If I put that damned veil on, I'm neither a human being nor an animal, I'm just an affront, a disgrace, a blemish that has to be hidden. That's too hard to deal with. Especially for someone who was a lawyer, who worked for women's rights. Please, I don't want you to think for a minute that I'm putting on some sort of act. I'd like to, you know, but unfortunately my heart's not in it anymore. Don't ask me to give up my name, my features, the color of my eyes, and the shape of my lips so I can take a walk through squalor and desolation. Don't ask me to become something less than a shadow, an anonymus thing rustling around in a hostile place.”

IdentitySadKabulBurqaFanatism
Book:Swallows of Kabul
Create image

“On August 10, 1984, my plane landed in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. There were no skyscrapers here. The blue domes of the mosques and the faded mountains were the only things rising above the adobe duvals (the houses). The mosques came alive in the evening with multivoiced wailing: the mullahs were calling the faithful to evening prayer. It was such an unusual spectacle that, in the beginning, I used to leave the barracks to listen – the same way that, in Russia, on spring nights, people go outside to listen to the nightingales sing. For me, a nineteen-year-old boy who had lived his whole life in Leningrad, everything about Kabul was exotic: enormous skies – uncommonly starry – occasionally punctured by the blazing lines of tracers. And spread out before you, the mysterious Asian capital where strange people were bustling about like ants on an anthill: bearded men, faces darkend by the sun, in solid-colored wide cotton trousers and long shirts. Their modern jackets, worn over those outfits, looked completely unnatural. And women, hidden under plain dull garments that covered them from head to toe: only their hands visible, holding bulging shopping bags, and their feet, in worn-out shoes or sneakers, sticking out from under the hems. And somewhere between this odd city and the deep black southern sky, the wailing, beautifully incomprehensible songs of the mullahs. The sounds didn't contradict each other, but rather, in a polyphonic echo, melted away among the narrow streets. The only thing missing was Scheherazade with her tales of A Thousand and One Arabian Nights ... A few days later I saw my first missile attack on Kabul. This country was at war.”

IslamAfghanistanKabulAfghanistan WarMuslim Life
Book:Afghanistan: A Russian Soldier's Story
Create image

“… babam bir canavardı ve çocukluğumuz boyunca kardeşlerimle birlikte bizi dehşete düşürürdü. Ama sonunda, anılarımı olduğu gibi bırakmaya ve hiçbirini silmemeye karar verdim. Çektiğim tüm o berbat istismara rağmen, hayal bile edemeyeceğim bir başarıya ulaştım. Bir yerlerde, bir şekilde, büyük bir dayanıklılık ve beceri geliştirdim. Bu, babama rağmen mi oldu? Yoksa onun sayesinde mi?” Bu hayal, geçmişe dair bakışında büyük bir değişimin ilk adımıydı. Bu, babasını affetme meselesinden çok, geçmişin değiştirilemezliğiyle yüzleşme meselesiydi. Ona, er ya da geç daha iyi bir geçmiş umudundan vazgeçmek zorunda kalacağını söylediğimde sarsıldı. Evde karşılaştığı zorluklar tarafından şekillenmiş ve sertleşmişti; bu zorluklarla başa çıkmayı öğrenmiş ve yaşamı boyunca kendisine çok faydası dokunan yaratıcı stratejiler geliştirmişti.”

KabulGeçmişPsikolojiDeğişimçOcuklukGüneşe BakmakAileBüyümeTravmaDayanıklılık
Author:Irvin Yalom (Author)
Create image

“The warlords took part in atrocities during the civil war in Afghanistan. They looted, they raped, they killed. They have become incredibly empowered and entrenched. They live in mansions, they have jobs in the government, and they're incredibly powerful. In Kabul, people don't want to speak about it too publicly, because these people are essentially like Tony Soprano.”

PeopleWantWarGovernmentJobsSpeakPowerfulCivil WarAfghanistanEmpoweredAtrocitiesMansionsSopranosKabulWarlordsDuring The Civil War
Author:Khaled Hosseini
Create image

“Americans have eliminated Iran's worst enemies, the Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddam [Hussein]. I occasionally threatened my Iranian counterpart in Kabul that one day I would send him a big bill for what we did. But, seriously, Iran is pursuing a dual strategy in Iraq. On the one hand, the Iranians, after decades of hostility, are now interested in good relations. On the other hand, they want to keep the country weak and dominate the region.”

WantCountryHandsBigsEnemyWorstOne DayWeakRelationBillsStrategyIraqDecadesRegionsIranAfghanistanThreatenedSaddamHusseinHostilityTalibanIranianWorst EnemyCounterpartsKabul
Author:Zalmay Khalilzad
Create image

“My memories of Kabul are vastly different than the way it is when I go there now. My memories are of the final years before everything changed. When I grew up in Kabul, it couldn't be mistaken for Beirut or Tehran, as it was still in a country that's essentially religious and conservative, but it was suprisingly progressive and liberal.”

WayYearsStillsDifferentCountryReligiousMemoriesChangedGrewGrew UpFinalsConservativeProgressiveMistakenTehranBeirutKabul
Author:Khaled Hosseini
Create image

“After the war in Afghanistan, Anna [Wintour, editor of Vogue], deciding to save the world one hair-roller at a time, thought the best way to help the women in this beleaguered country was to start a small beauty school in Kabul, where aid workers could get their roots done. Vanity Fair, edited by Bush-basher Graydon Carter, cheered her great humanitarian effort.”

WorldWayWarCountryDoneHelpingSchoolEffortHairFairsRootsWorkersHumanitarianAidsBest WayVanityEditorsAfghanistanCarterSave The WorldAnnaVogueEditedVanity FairKabulBashersGreat Humanitarian
Author:Myrna Blyth
Create image

“The U.S. is telling the Northern Alliance to kill Taliban prisoners. It's totally a breach of all the known conventions of war. Western television networks aren't showing this, but Arab networks are showing how prisoners are being killed and what's being done to them. Instead, we're shown scenes that are deliberately created for the Western media: a few women without the veil, a woman reading the news on Kabul television, and 150 people cheering.”

PeopleWarDoneReadingKnownMediaTelevisionSceneNewsWesternPrisonerCheerConventionsVeilsAlliancesTalibanBeing DoneBreachKabulWestern Media
Author:Tariq Ali
Create image

“In early 1999, I was watching TV, when I came across a story on Afghanistan. It was a story about the Taliban and the restrictions they were imposing on the Afghan people, most notably women. At some point in the story, there was a casual reference to them having banned the game of kite fighting. This detail struck a personal chord with me, as I had grown up in Kabul flying kite with my friends.”

PeopleStoriesFightingGamesTvsMy FriendsDetailsFlyingAfghanistanChordsRestrictionCasualTalibanImposingBannedKitesAfghanWatching TvKabul
Author:Khaled Hosseini
Create image

“I came from an educated, upper middle-class family. My mother was a Persian and history teacher at a large high school for girls. Many of the women in my extended family and in our circle of friends were professionals. In those days, women were a vital part of the economy in Kabul. They worked as lawyers, physicians, college professors, etc., which makes the tragedy of how they were treated by the Taliban that much more painful.”

SchoolMotherGirlClassEconomyTeacherMiddleCollegeHigh SchoolTragedyPainfulLawyerCirclesTreatedEducatedEtcMiddle ClassProfessorsPhysiciansTalibanPersianExtended FamilyCircle Of FriendsMiddle Class FamilyKabulUpper Middle ClassCollege ProfessorsHistory Teacher
Author:Khaled Hosseini
Create image

“I returned to Kabul after a 27-year absence. I came away with some optimism but not as much as I had hoped for. The two major issues in Afghanistan are a lack of security outside Kabul (particularly in the south and east) and the powerful warlords ruling over the provinces with little or no allegiance to the central government. The other rapidly rising concern is the narcotic trade which, if not dealt with, may turn Afghanistan into another Bolivia or Colombia.”

IfsYearsMayLittlesTwoGovernmentTurnsPowerfulIssuesSecurityMajorsConcernOptimismTradeSouthEastAbsenceRisingAfghanistanRulingAllegianceProvincesColombiaNarcoticsBoliviaKabulCentral GovernmentWarlords
Author:Khaled Hosseini
Create image

“The Pashtuns feel discriminated against by the Americans because they supported the Taliban and the war is still going on in their region with continued U.S. bombing. They are also disgruntled at the overwhelming power of their ethnic rivals the Tajiks, who dominate the security forces in Kabul and control the key levers of political power. Although Karzai is a Pashtun also, many Pashtuns consider him a hostage to the Tajiks and Americans.”

FeelsStillsWarPoliticalForceSecurityKeysRegionsOverwhelmingRivalsBombingTalibanPolitical PowerHostageLeversKabulDisgruntledSecurity ForcesPashtuns
Author:Ahmed Rashid
Create image

“There was a time when the women of Afghanistan - at least in Kabul - were out there. They were allowed to study, they were doctors and surgeons, walking free, wearing what they wanted. That was when it was under Soviet occupation. Then the United States starts funding the mujahideen. Reagan called them Afghanistan's "founding fathers." It reincarnates the idea of "jehad," virtually creates the Taliban.”

IdeasStatesWantedFatherUnitedUnited StatesStudyWalkingDoctorsOccupationAfghanistanSovietFoundingFundingSurgeonsTalibanKabulMujahideen
Author:Arundhati Roy
Create image

“In 2001, we were told that the war in Afghanistan was a feminist mission. The marines were liberating Afghan women from the Taliban. Can you really bomb feminism into a country? And now, after 25 years of brutal war - 10 years against the Soviet occupation, 15 years of US occupation - the Taliban is riding back to Kabul and will soon be back to doing business with the United States.”

YearsWarCountryStatesUnitedUnited StatesFeminismFeministMissionsBombsOccupationAfghanistanSovietRidingBrutalMarineLiberatingTalibanAfghanKabul
Author:Arundhati Roy
Create image

“I wanted to tell them that, in Kabul, we snapped a tree branch and used it as a credit card. Hassan and I would take the wooden stick to the bread maker. He'd carve notches on our stick with his knife, one notch for each loaf of naan he'd pull for us from the tandoor's roaring flames. At the end of the month, my father paid him for the number of notches on the stick. That was it. No questions. No ID.”

EndsWantedUsedFatherNumbersTreeMonthsPaidSticksCreditBreadCardsFlamesBranchesMakersKnivesCredit CardRoaringNotchesKabulTree BranchesHassan
Book:The Kite Runner
Create image

“According to the official version of history, CIA aid to the Mujahideen began during 1980, that is to say, after the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan, 24 Dec 1979. But the reality, secretly guarded until now, is completely otherwise. Indeed, it was July 3, 1979 that President Carter signed the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul. And that very day, I wrote a note to the president in which I explained to him that in my opinion this aid was going to induce a Soviet military intervention.”

FirstsRealityPresidentSecretOpinionMilitaryArmyNotesAidsVersionsOpponentsOfficialsAfghanistanSovietRegimesInterventionJulyCiaCarterGuardedKabulMilitary InterventionPresident CarterMujahideen
Author:Zbigniew Brzezinski
Create image

“Deborah Rodriguez went to Afghanistan to transform her own life and ended up revolutionizing the lives of many of her Afghan sisters. This book made me feel like I was right there in the beauty salon, sharing in the tears and laughter as, outside my door, an entire country changed. KABUL BEAUTY SCHOOL is inspiring, exciting, and not to be missed.”

FeelsMadeBookCountrySchoolDoorsChangedTearsLaughterExcitingAfghanistanAfghanSalonsKabulBeauty Salon
Author:Masha Hamilton
Create image

“People don't dream all their lives of escaping the hellish countries they live in and pay their life savings to underworld types for the privilege of being locked up in a freezing, filthy, stinking container ship and hauled like cargo for weeks until they finally arrive in Moscow or Beijing or Baghdad or Kabul. People risk their lives to come here---to New York. The greatest city in the world, where dreams become reality.”

PeopleWorldCountryDreamRealityPayCitiesRiskWeekNew YorkTypePrivilegeShipsSavingLockedSavingsEscapingFilthyMoscowBaghdadLocked UpUnderworldFreezingContainersBeijingCities In The WorldCargoLife SavingKabul
Book:Let Freedom Ring: Winning the War of Liberty over Liberalism
Create image

“Since the 1950s (until the early 1990s), girls in Kabul and other cities attended schools. Half of university students were women, and women made up 40 percent of Afghanistan’s doctors, 70 percent of its teachers and 30 percent of its civil servants. A small number of women even held important political posts as members of Parliament and judges. Most women did not wear the burqa.”

MadeImportantSchoolPoliticalGirlNumbersCitiesHalfTeacherStudentsJudgingMembersPercentMen And WomenDoctorsUniversityPostsServantAfghanistanParliamentSmall NumbersCivil ServantsKabulBurqaMembers Of ParliamentUniversity Students
Author:Eleanor Smeal
Create image

“He was an Afghan Hound name Kabul. Since him I have had other Afghan Hounds.... Perhaps I am looking for his ghost. He is the only one that I sometimes think about. Often, if he comes in to my mind when I am working, it alters what I do. The nose on the face I am drawing gets longer and sharper. The hair of the woman I am sketching gets longer and fluffy, resting against her cheeks like his ears rested against his head.”

IfsThinkingMindSometimesFacesNamesDogHairEarsDrawingGhostNosesWorking ItCheeksHoundsAfghanSketchingFluffyKabul
Author:Pablo Picasso
Create image