12/13/03
Greg Mortenson is not a politician. He did not go to school to major inpolitical science, nor did he graduate with a humanities degree and pursue acareer in antiterrorism or peace keeping or political office. He graduated from the University of South Dakota with a nursing degree and moved to the Bay Area of California after a brief tour of duty in the U.S. Army. However, the cultural knowledge he gained through the past fifteen years has given him what no university could, a true, honest understanding of another culture, the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Three Cups of Tea is the story of Mortenson told through his friend and biographer David Oliver Relin. It tells the story of “One man’s mission to fight terrorism and build nations*one school at a time.” After reading this book, the reader is left to feel that perhaps Mortenson is, indeed, a politician, or at the very least, what one should be. Together, his political and educational skills along with his determination to change negative views one society has of another have impacted two vastly different cultures more positively than all the seminars, governmental studies, or politically driven campaigns have accomplished as of late. He has taken this natural ability to understand other cultures and educated thousands, not just in Pakistan and Afghanistan, but in the rest of the world too. He has proven that one person can change the world for the better and the best avenue for this change is education. Mortenson spent his first few years living in Africa with his missionaryparents. He developed a respect for all people and cultures as well as ahealthy appetite for mountain climbing. After losing his younger sister,Christa, to a severe epileptic seizure from meningitis, Mortenson decided todedicate her memory to his next mountain climb, K2. While rescuing a colleague from certain death, he became lost on the mountain and stumbled into the village of Korphe barely alive. The villagers had never seen an American before, but instead of treating him with hostility and fear because he was different they welcomed him into their homes and nursed him back to health. Though Mortenson failed at his attempt to conquer K2, he accomplished much more than he ever realized possible at the time. Not only would his life be forever altered, but the lives of thousands of the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan would be impacted. Relin writes of Mortenson’s life changing event: One evening, he went to bed by a yak dung fire a mountaineer who’d lost his way, and one morning, by the time he’d shared a pot of butter tea with his hosts and laced up his boots, he’d become a humanitarian who’d found a meaningful path to follow for the rest of his life (2). During his recovery, Mortenson learned a great deal from the people of Korphe. He learned their language, customs and lifestyle. He enjoyed visiting the people and developed a strong bond with his host, Haji Ali. He also learned of the poverty and disease the people endured, that the nearest doctor was a week away, and that one in three children died before reaching their first birthday (30). What he learned next would not only shock him but would set him on his path to change the world, one school at a time. One day Mortenson asked to see the school in Korphe. When he arrived at thelocation where the students received their education, “He was appalled to see eighty-two children, seventy-eight boys, and the four girls who had the pluck to join them, kneeling on the frosty ground, in the open” (31). The Pakistan‘s government did not provide a teacher, and at one-dollar a day the village could only afford to share a teacher with another village, Munjung. Mortenson was so moved by the dedication of the students to educate themselves that he vowed to return and build a school for them. It would take him well over a year to raise enough funds to begin fulfilling his promise. Mortenson dedicated the next few years to opening just this one school inKorphe. He slept in his car to save money and cut all costs he could. Hecontacted everyone he could to help fund his dream, sometimes being sofrustrated that he wanted to quit. But he remembered his promise to Haji Aliand his dedication to his sister’s memory and would not give up. Eventually he returned to Korphe with enough supplies and money to build a school, but instead of starting to work right away on the building, the elders first said he had to build a bridge for the town so that the building materials could be transported through the rough and dangerous countryside. Frustrated but humbled, Mortenson learned the value of listening to another cultures needs and viewpoints and, again, set out to raise money to help his friends. With help from a wealthy donor and philanthropist, Dr. Jean Hoerni, the Central Asia Institute was formed. This enabled Mortenson to have a salary for himself and to build several schools in Pakistan. As word of his work spread through Pakistan, Mortenson became a local hero to the people. It would be easy to fill pages about his work and charity, but the focus of this essay is not about how many schools he opened and the other charitable work he has done, but the cultural bridges he built and the education that he not only learned but taught to the people of America. The events of September 11th, 2001 drastically changed the life of Mortenson, as well as the rest of the world. In a chapter entitled, “A Village Called New York,” the story of that tragic day is told from the perspective of the Muslim people. It now became the mission of Mortenson to not only educate the children of Pakistan and Afghanistan, but to educate the people of the rest of the world that the entire Muslim world did not share the same mentality as the Taliban demonstrated. On September 14, 2001, while a school in Kuardu was being inaugurated, Syed Abbas, supreme leader of northern Pakistan‘s Shia, spoke: Those who have committed this evil act against the innocent, the women and children, to create thousands of widows and orphans do not do so in the name of Islam. By the grace of Allah the Almighty, may justice be served upon them (257). One can barely keep from feeling deep emotion as the chapter continues: After the ceremony, Kuardu’s many widows lined up to offer Mortenson and McCown their condolences. They pressed eggs into the Americans’ hands, begging them to carry these tokens of grief to the faraway sisters they longed to comfort themselves, the widows of New York village (258). Mortenson then begins to educate the rest of the world about his experienceswith these people, to tell the true story of the Islamic faith and to show that the majority of the people in that area of the world want the same things that the rest of the world does: a better life for their children. It was an uphill battle, for many Americans did not understand Mortenson’s beliefs that the people he was trying to help were not the same people who turned the world on its ear one fateful morning. He received an abundance of hate mail and threats and could not comprehend the mentality of the senders. Not until the nationally distributed Parade magazine issued a story on Mortenson’s achievements did he begin to see his efforts pay off. Then, armed with nearly a million dollars of donations and the support of the American people, Mortenson went back to the Middle East to continue his efforts. He states his opinion of the inevitable war coming as: If we try to resolve terrorism with military might and nothing else, then we will be no safer than we were before 9/11. If we truly want a legacy of peace for our children, we need to understand that this is a war that will ultimately be won with books, not with bombs (301). The rest of the book is filled with Mortenson’s attempts to bring down thecultural barriers between America and the Middle East with the goal that byeducating people, there will be peace. He says of Afghanistan: The only way we can defeat terrorism is if the people in this country whereterrorists exist learn to respect and love Americans, and if we can respect and love these people here. What’s the difference between them becoming a productive local citizen or a terrorist? I think the key is education (268). After reading this book, the reader is not only left emotionally exhausted, but also inspired and educated about the Muslim world. Hopefully, commonstereotypes about the Islamic faith have been dissolved, and a true understanding about the people of the Middle East has been reached. It is the general theme of this book that education can bridge any gap betweenindividuals, cultures, and countries. By eliminating all political agendas from his quest, Mortenson was able to accomplish what many people, mostlypoliticians, have not been able to for years, a peaceful understanding between two commonly misunderstood peoples. A typical American reader comes with not just an education about people in a far away country, but can actually empathize with the difficulties many of the families in Pakistan and Afghanistan face. American families want the same things that Pakistan and Afghanistan families want, to be able to provide for and protect their family and community and to educate their children. There are no political differences to negotiate, no religious differences to consider, and no cultural barriers to break through to comprehend the simple fact that it is the dream of all parents of the world that their children have a better life than they did. Therefore, it is easy for any typical American parent to understand the desires of the parents of a tiny village in Pakistan. Through the centuries, some cultures have become more advanced economically than others due to war, geographic advantage, and resource exploitation, and thus, many barriers have developed that inevitably must come down for the world to advance as a whole. During these many centuries, the leaders of some of these countries selfishly promoted their own lifestyles and interests at the expense of the general public, and the entire political system has become corrupted. Hate has become the dominant emotion towards cultures different than one’s own, though without real cause or justification. The only cure for this unfounded hate is through education. By educating the average citizens of a society about cultures unlike their own, the common person will learn that the core needs of their own society–food, shelter, family, companionship, and spiritual beliefs–are exactly the core needs of the society tha
t they are warring against! Therefore it is not logical for societies to despise and try to destroy each other when they are so much alike fundamentally. The challenge, however, lies in how to educate the common public in these truths without allowing corrupt politicians and governments to interject. So far, this has only been a possibility on a small scale, as demonstrated in Three Cups of Tea. Fortunately, as globalization progresses, people and cultures are able toeducate themselves, and through the work of humanitarians such as Mortenson and the CAI, educated citizens can pressure their governments to implement much needed changes and break down the hatred of one culture to another. If these hopes do become a reality, then the people of the world can look forward to a life without poverty, starvation, and disease, a life for their children that is truly better than their own. Once again, the first and most crucial step is education. Greg Mortenson did not start his journey on September 2, 1993 with the intention of changing the world. Three Cups of Tea is an emotional account of one man trying and succeeding to make a difference and to better humanity. Through the course of fate, a strong determination of spirit, and a belief in the goodness of humankind, he accomplished much more than climbing a mountain, for he has taught thousands of people that through education all things are possible. No political or ambassadorial position was ever given to Mortenson; however, his study of the culture of the Pakistan and Afghanistan people is one that should be studied by all governmental officials. He has built cultural bridges where governmental leaders have failed, educated people when it was not economically or politically advantageous to do so, and brought hope and understanding to thousands of people on both sides of a cultural war that was once feared to be destined for disaster. “Three Cups of Tea” is not just an account of a man with big dreams of world peace; it is a manual for humanity that needs to be shared with the world in the hopes that through education there can and will be peace among all people, regardless of their culture, beliefs, or place in society. (c) 2006 Jennifer Canale (City College San Francisco). All Rights Reserved
