When I returned back to Afghanistan in 2005, I started taking English classes at Star Education-al Society. Upon learn-

ing English, my life changed immensely. I graduated from Star`s advance class in December 2008. In 2009, I got my first English tutoring class. It was an elementa-ry class with around 25 students. Teaching school kids learn something new every day, I felt proud making a difference. Later on, in 2012, I moved to the third branch of Star Educational society for two main reasons. Firstly, the branch was closer to my home, taking only 10 to 12 minutes to walk. Secondly, making a difference in the neighborhood where I lived was a goal I used to dream about those days.

Teaching at Star for almost five years, I learnt many things from my fellow workmates, students and staff. Some of the values I learnt are friendship, honesty, generosity and a sense of helping others in need. Star has evolved so much since those days when I was a simple student. Many people have found their desired jobs, others moved to their favorite countries or took scholarships in the country of their choice. Star is way different than other

language centers. Starians have made efforts to stay different than others. Most other language tutoring centers have had one goal of running a business of offering language learning courses to the people. Star, however, has not been merely doing business.

Hundreds of people found jobs studying at Star and later on became a teacher. So many people started their jobs as translators with coalition forces as soon as they have finished learning English at Star. Lots of other individuals benefited from the scholarships provided by foreign countries such as India and the U.S.

Keeping these facts in mind, I can say these are not the most fundamental changes Star and other language tutoring centers have brought about. Far beyond these positive changes, Starians have made efforts to change the destiny of my generation and the coming generations. Twenty-two years ago, when rockets were hitting different parts of west Kabul, hundreds died, many were disabled and thousands lost their houses, yet no one or very few people around the world got the chance to know what was going on in the west of Kabul. The reason for that was very clear, No one or very few

people could speak English to share their generations pains and sorrows with the world. There was no one to raise their voice and communicate the pain and sorrow we felt with the world. Today, however, those who learnt English at Star and other English tutoring centers in west of Kabul share their needs, feelings and sorrows with the world.

The smile revolution movement took place in the winter of 2015. Thousands of justice seekers marched on streets of Kabul to ask the government a simple question,” How can you be indifferent to the slaughter of a child?” The march did not shake just Arg, but the whole world because the new generation had the ability to communicate with the world. The Kabul smile revolution lead into demonstrations around the world. We can`t ignore the power of social media for this, but we can`t ignore the power of shared languages for those who wrote their status in English on Facebook and tweeted in twitter to make the world know what they wanted.

In July 2016, the same people created the enlightenment movement. They demanded that the power line be routed through central parts of Afghanistan, an

area which has been neglected by the government for the past thirteen years. The demonstration which was initially started in Kabul, continued in countries around the world. After the tragic Dehmazang event on black Saturday, two weeks later the enlightenment movement came up with the idea of a Twitter storm with #enlightenment hashtag. The main purpose of the Twitter storm was to let the world know what happened on black Saturday in Dehmazang, Kabul. Most of the tweets were in English to make the efforts more successful. We could not share our thoughts, needs and feelings with the world if we did not have one tool in hand. That is the English language.

A Chinese proverb says, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” That is what Star has been doing for the past few years. Starians have strived to equip the nation with the tool to capture better opportunities, defend their rights and communicate with the world. I cherish this value very much. If you want to be equipped with the tool to communicate with the world, join us. We have proved that we are different.

Sunday, August 21, 2016 Vol. 2, No. 49

2. Personal Essays3. Opinion4-5. News

6. Star Related7. Literary8. Interview

See Inside Quote of the Week"A goal without a plan is just a wish."

- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Star Educational Society Weekly

Interstellar (adjective): situated or occurring between the stars; conducted, or existing between two or more stars

Message from Zakaria Bahaduri, Star Senior Instructor

Starians changing the destiny of a generation

Endure the storm to rel-ish the rainbowSometimes, I discern several things when sitting at my computer in a serene and tranquil room. I reflect on my hard times and figure out where ... Page 2

The former child bride who is using her story to liberate Afghan Womanhen Zahra Yaganah was a child, her mother beat her three times. Once for dropping a tray of glasses. Twice for allowing the food to burn because she was so ... Page 3

Brazil breeze into final, Neymar makes historyBrazil progressed to the final of the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament Rio 2016 after a comfortable 6-0 win ... Page 5

Best Students of the semester at Star Educational Society

Mr. Assadullah Shayan, a current level five student at Star Educational Society A branch. Mr. Assadullah has newly graduated

from ... Page 6

August 21st, 2016

Vol.2, No. 49 Personal Essays

Page 2

About the author: Mahram Ali Ahmadi is currently an English instructor at Star Educational Society. He began teaching at Star in 2013. He studies Computer Science at Gharjistan University.

It is not a secret that English is the official language of 53 countries in the world. It is spoken by approximately half a billion people as their first language. Nowadays, almost everyone believes that English is the most important language everywhere in the world because it is the language of international business, science and technology and opportunities. There are many reasons why students in Afghanistan should learn English language, some are mentioned here.

Firstly, English is an international language because it is spoken in many countries and is most commonly used among foreign language speakers. To communicate with speakers of different languages, we mostly rely on English as a medium to express ourselves and establish relationships. For example, if you want to do a business in another

country, you will most probably need to know English to identify where and in what you want to invest, and who you want to do business with. Without this language skill, you will have to rely on translation and interpretation services of others, which can be expensive and perhaps not as effective in making good business deals. Likewise, if you are looking for a job, knowing English makes you more employable both in Afghanistan and abroad.

Secondly, English is the language of science and technology. To excel in science and to be able to use technology well, you need to know English. In 2012, then President Hamid Karzai recommended that colleges of engineering and medicine teach in English so as to improve Afghan students’ international prospects, and to help students gain access to more learning resources. The ex-president cited examples of India and Pakistan as countries that have made huge progress in these fields because they provide tuition in English. English opens up a whole world of print and digital resources for students to benefit from. Students in Afghanistan can similarly benefit from the huge advances in science and technology by becoming proficient in English.

Lastly, for those of you interested in pursuing your higher education abroad, English is the language to learning. For most scholarships available for Afghan students, students must take an English proficiency exam, like TOEFL or IELTS. There are hundreds of Starians who have become proficient in English and have benefited from opportunities to continue their studies abroad. If you wish to do so too, you should make it your goal to master English language. Once you have, you should be sure that you have opened many doors of opportunities to yourself.

About the interviewer: Adela Khurrami began teaching at Star in 2012 after studying English Literature and Accounting at Iqra College in Karachi, Pakistan and teaching English in Quetta.

Life is a series of beginnings that bring us closer to the realization of our dreams, and I wish all of your beginnings be showered by sunbeams and may all of your dreams sense the warmth of success. If we beat our brains out, will we catch on to that?

Yes, of course life is never to be forgot-ten memories for all. Needless to say, life is a complete story; life has ups and downs, sometimes happiness and joy, then some-times sorrow and grief. So, we must not strug-gle to be alive in this world, we must struggle to live in this world. Life always needs a mem-ory hunter.

Likewise, the moments spent at educa-tional institutes are so good in life that we can never forget these experiences. When some-one opens their eyes in this world and grows up, henceforth they have aims and hopes, they want to pursue their educa-tion and be a successful person in the long run. Let me talk about my own experience that I have from Star Educational Society. I started learning the English language from Star Educational Society in 2003 from the beginning junior lev-el. Then ustad Jawad was my teacher, really a good teacher; the class was perfect and had a kind teacher. I was very hardworking and a talkative student in the class.

Level one and level two were good enough as far as I remember; but it is unlikely that I can exactly recall anything from them. The level which was boring for me was level three because I had failed in in first test. On the other hand, at the same level the thing that aroused my interest was that the title of speech contest was given to us to give our-selves time to prepare until the middle of next

semester when the con-test was held.. I can-not exactly remember the title, but the only thing I know is that I liked standing behind the podium and talking in public. So, because of this new found happiness I passed level three. The level that I’ll never forget was level four, where again my good and kind teacher was ustad Jawad. He was a great teacher. Humm… at that level I had an extraordinary boost in my English language knowledge

skills, writing compositions, stories, letters, statements, translation and many other skills. This level was very interesting for me and also I was chosen as a speaker in a speech contest and got second position and successfully passed level four.

Let me go to level five and level six, where I thought I was in hot water. The best and most industrious teacher was ustad Nabi Atiq, the former Chairman of Star Educa-tional Society. Level five was the level where besides subordinate clauses, vocabu-lary, re-ported speech, passive voice (to name some) my knowledge of idioms and proverbs was

reinforced. It was time when it dawned at me that I truly can learn English.

Level six was again great. Needless to say, I could now learn things easily and every-thing was going well for me. I was sitting at the back of class, I was not able to see the board because I was little fairy girl! When I had ques-tions I had to stand and present my question to my teacher. These were the unforgettable and rather embarrassing experiences I had in these two levels.

Time came to Advanced levels. We were warned that being a part of Advanced levels we had to know many things from lower lev-els lest we faced problems getting our Diplo-mas.

In Advanced “A” and “B” once again the great and best instructor of Star was my teacher ustad Jawad. Advanced levels were really great, absolutely unforgettable memo-ries I have as my classmates were highly tal-ented and I was blessed with an experienced and industrious instructor like Ustad Jawad.

Successfully I got my diploma in 2005. Then with a gap of eight years I joined Star Educational Society as an English instruc-tor in Kabul. Ustad Ali Reza Yasa happily ac-cepted me as a family member of Star.

From 2012 until now I am a successful and lucky teacher at Star Educational Society. Not only am I a teacher at Star, but also I am also involved in our weekly programs and ac-tivities.

I love my job! Let’s stay on this path and strive for more success and great achieve-ments.

Star is always one!

The Importance of

English Language

About the author: Maisum Iltaf Arbab is a former student of Star Educational Society in Quetta, Pakistan. He is currently a writer and EFL instructor.

Sometimes, I discern several things when sitting at my computer in a serene and tranquil room. I reflect on my hard times and figure out where I am standing now. Sometimes, I look at myself in my full-length mirror and complain about why I am so feeble and defenseless to fight rigors and adversities of life. Then I recall my grandma who once said, “Life’s adversities and challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, but help you discover who you are, my son! Life is beautiful, but not always easy, and it has several problems. The challenge lies in fac-ing them with fortitude, letting the beauty of life act like a balm, which makes the pain bear-able and provides hope during trying times.”

Needless to say, life is fetching and won-drous – a celebration of being alive, but one ought to stay ready to face the challenges. An individual who has not encountered difficul-ties in life can rarely find success. Hardship keeps us stout and bold to face life rigors with equanimity. Difficulties test our courage, mox-ie, patience and perseverance. Likewise, there can be no gain without pain, it is only when

one toils and sweats that success is nourished and sustained.

Moreover, life is not just a bed of roses; thorns are also a part of it and we should ac-cept them just as we accept the beautiful side of life. The thorns remind us of how success and felicity can be evasive and that we should not feel woeful and disheartened. Instead, we should remember that the pain of thorns is short-lived, and the beauty of life would in-stantly surmount and overcome the pricks of thorns.

Those, who are under the impression that life is a bed of roses are disillusioned soon and become victims of depression and disappoint-ment. Those who face difficulties with courage and accept success without letting it go to their head are the ones who experience peace and contentment in their lives.

Those, who assume that good times last forever, easily succumb to the pressure while facing difficulties. They don’t put in the re-quired effort because they quit too easily. A student, who burns the midnight oil, makes sacrifices and resists temptation so that he can perform well is a good example. Similarly, a businessman has to face the ups and downs of life, keeping in mind that life is a mix of suc-cess and failure, joy and sorrow and so forth. Espousing the philosophy that hard work will generate better consequences is needed.

If someone despairs during arduous times, he wouldn’t reach the big time and would be surpassed by others. Even the fierc-est and strongest Kings and Emperors have had their cup of woes. Here, life has not been a bed of roses for them. The adage “uneasy lays the head that wears the crown” has been rightly used for people who are enjoying their ascendancy and authority.

To sum up, life is as beautiful as roses but has challenges approximating those of thorns. Needless to say, they have to be faced. Those who accept these challenges and succeed, are the ones who know how to live life in its true sense. Thus, enjoy life but also be prepared to bear the pricks of pain. After all, success is far from guaranteed!

Endure the storm to relishthe rainbow

My journey with Star

“Star dwells in my thoughts and my mind Despite the set of hard and fast rules The teachers are flexible, logical and kind…”

Vol.2, No. 49Opinion

Page 3August 21st, 2016

About the author: Jawad Jahid is a former teacher from Star’s Quetta, Pakistan Branch. He is currently studying his Master’s in Interna-tional Business from the Universi-ty of Wollongong, Sydney Business School offered at INTI Internation-al University & Colleges, Malaysia. You can follow his blog here: http://realbamyan.blogspot.my/

George Kohlrieser—an international leadership professor, consultant, and veteran hostage negotiator—explains that it is only by openly facing conflict that we can truly progress through the

most difficult business challenges. In this provocative book, he reveals how the proven techniques and psychological insights used in hostage negotiation can be applied successfully to any personal or business relationship. Step by step, he outlines the seven key factors that anyone can use to remove the blocks that stand in the way of resolving tough problems and shows how business leaders, in particular, can develop and access the skills they need to create trust and a positive mind-set in their companies.

Hostage at the Table

How Leaders Can Overcome Conflict, Influence Others, and Raise Performance

When Zahra Yaganah was a child, her mother beat her three times. Once for dropping a tray of glasses. Twice for

allowing the food to burn because she was so absorbed reading Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables.

Yaganah was 11, and already bookish. Growing up as an Afghan refugee in Iran, she learned from her mother how to cook, a skill befitting hardworking women. But her real love was the printed page. Later, when her life had become a purgatory of violence and abuse, both cooking and literature helped save her.

In what has become one of the fastest-selling books in Afghanistan, Yaganah chronicles her traumatic life. Light of Ashes, released in March, is part fiction, part gut-wrenching memoir tainted by the oppression she says almost all Afghan women suffer.

The book, she hopes, will help women break free. “It is impossible for Afghan women to read this book and not find an issue that reflects their life story,” she says. “Women can find their path, despite all the problems they have.”

To help break the oppression, Yaganah breaks taboos. She writes explicitly about topics such as marital rape, menstruation and the lifelong damage caused by child marriages.

Two people appear in the book with real names. One is Zahra, the teenage protagonist based on the author who was married at 13 to a man twice her age.

The character’s husband beats her violently – as Yaganah’s did in real

life – and takes the salary she earns at a brick kiln to sustain his drug habit. It is in telling the story of her marriage that Yaganah’s writing is most disturbing, and groundbreaking.

Yaganah’s own wedding night was a tremendously painful ordeal. “I thought I had to serve my husband like a king,” she says. Barely a teenager, she had no concept of what penetrative sex meant. The morning after, she woke up in hospital.

In the book, she writes: “I hated marriage, the wedding night, the concept of husband and wife and all things that ended with pain. Hate was a dress that fit snug around my body. At night when we were brought to the bedroom, without any exchange of words between us, I found Sultan by my side. Immediately afterwards a severe pain pierced my body. I could not remember anything after it. When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a hospital bed.”

To Yaganah, female empowerment is inextricably tied to the sexual enlightenment of both sexes. Marital sex in Afghanistan is often tantamount to rape, and is something many women suffer, she says.

In a country where men are largely ignorant of the inner lives of women, Light of Ashes seems to have gripped not just female but male readers too.

“One of my friends is careful with every step he takes now because he doesn’t want to look like those violent men. His wife says he has become so kind after reading the book,” she says, laughing: “Now he even helps wash the

dishes.”The novel’s other character who

appears with her real name is Narges, Zahra’s daughter.

Due to her mother’s young age – 14 when she was born – the baby developed a disorder that affected her growth. She died when she was four.

Yaganah began writing three years ago. After writing and reliving Narges’ death, she had to stop for three months. The loss resonated with readers, too.

“I still feel very emotional,” said Mohammad Hossein Saramat, the head of Marifat high school in Kabul and a fan of Yaganah’s. “Even talking to you now I am very emotional.”

In late 2007, after moving to Herat in western Afghanistan from Iran, Yaganah was forced to make a choice. One night, after she had not brought her husband any money for drugs, she and her two surviving children woke up surrounded by burning clothes. The door was locked and

the windows were barred. Fortunately, neighbours rescued them.

Yaganah filed for divorce, a radical choice in Afghanistan, and fled to Kabul with her children. There, she worked odd jobs until a friend helped her get a job as a TV chef, using the cooking skills she learned as a child. She rebuilt her life, and later acted in theatre and got involved in women’s rights.

She now lives with her children in her own home. Her publisher said her book was the fastest-selling he had seen in a decade in the industry: the first 1,000 copies nearly sold out within three months.

In the yard is a red Daewoo Matiz she uses to take the children for picnics on weekends. Her daughter is the same age as she was when she got married, while her son is a few years younger.

Yaganah’s husband disappeared after the divorce. He resurfaced in Iran, was arrested for drug smuggling and sentenced to eight years in prison but is now free. She assumes he is too poor to travel anywhere, but says he still manages to unnerve the family – recently, for the first time in 10 years, he called his daughter from Iran.

But Yaganah, 32, will no longer allow herself to be intimidated, even if Afghan society seems to expect her to be.

“When you talk as a woman, you will face challenges from men here,” she says. “You will be accused of speaking against men. They will always try to stop you from speaking on behalf of women.”

Zahra Yaganah was married off to a violent man at 13. Now an author, her book is shining a light on abuse in Afghanistan

Book Review

who is using her story to liberate Afghan WomanThe former child bride

Page 4 August 21st, 2016

Vol.2, No. 49 News

In a time when everyday patriotism seems to be on the decline, it’s amazing what a simple show of respect can do to enliven and revive the hearts and minds of a generation. Our latest wakeup call came not from a politician or national hero… but from Jamaican national and gold medal olympian, Usain Bolt.

During an interview with a reporter after a race, Bolt stopped the dialogue the instant he heard the faint strains of the US national anthem playing in the stadium.

It took a moment for the reporter to realize why Bolt stopped the interview process, but the moment she realized she

followed suit. The gold medal athlete and reporter both turned to face the flag of a country not their own… and the moment was altogether eye opening.

As an American, I can attest to the fact that we are often less than grateful for the hard won freedoms we’ve been given. Usain Bolt reminded a nation of others like me how important mutual respect is, even in the spirit of competition.

You may have seen this video already, but watch it again and remember… regardless of nationality, race, or creed we are all brothers and sisters. Let’s show some love!

Ashraf Ghani, the President, and Abdullah Abdullah, the Executive Chief director, appeared in a meeting in ARG on Thursday morning. The orators of this meeting were Ghani and Abdullah. It is said that both lunched together and everything was going well till Thursday noon. However, at 4 pm Abdullah started criticizing Ghani’s poor performances. It is said that Abdullah had not told any of his advisors about his last speech. Abdullah’s words were as unexpected to ARG as it was to his own supporters.

Abdullah’s Position in National Unity Government:

The National Unity Government was established as a result of a challenging election that had no background in the history of the neighboring countries. Abdullah Abdullah entered the National Unity Government based on a political agreement signed in 2014. Abdullah has been a support to Ghani in the Cabinet meetings, the Security Council and so on. These sources state that Abdullah has never been against Ghani’s decisions and opinions. These sources also state that sometimes two to three joint meetings would be held with the presence of Ghani and Abdullah. Although other officials sometimes criticize the National Unity Government’s policies, Abdullah has been in full support to Ghani’s measures. Ghani’s policies have frequently been criticized by General Dostom, Mohammad Mohaqeq, Sarwar Danish, and some other officials. However, Abdullah has continually been a support to the president. This is what irritates Abdullah’s fans. Political officials in Balkh, Kabul, Parwan, Panjsher, Takhar, and Badakhshan have constantly complained

about Abdullah’s position and role in the political structure of the government.

Who are desperately waiting for the National Unity Government to

collapse?Taliban and other terrorist groups will

not be convinced even if the government collapses. War is currently in progress in some parts of the country. It is said that the Ministry of Defense is fighting against the terrorists in 17 provinces. Taliban and other terrorist groups are believed to be the worst enemies of the National Unity Government. Any kind of negligence could be followed by undesirable consequences.

Ghani and Abdullah and the last chance:

Ghani and Abdullah are experiencing a golden chance. The people have realized that Taliban could no more be a proper option to control the government. In the current situation, both Ghani and Abdullah are surrounded by dissatisfaction. Political parties outside the government are also trying to create some gaps between the National Unity Government leaders. These parties know very well that they can make their way into the government using these gaps between the leaders. These leaders need to be capable of solving theirs issues inside ARG. These issues must not spread everywhere, especially to the media. People are expecting Ghani and Abdullah to put an end to insecurity, poverty and so on. People have suffered enough and they can not tolerate it anymore. If these tensions continue to exist, it is going to be more and more annoying and nobody will be the winner of this horrific game.

Game with no winner

Usain Bolt Was Frustrated With Lack Of Respect, Turns Abruptly To Honor

US National Anthem

Translate by: Khalil BahaSource: 8 Sobh

Source: http://www.inspiremore.com/usain-bolt-turns-abruptly-to-honor-us-national-anthem/?utm_campaign=IM&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social

Civil Society Institution held the annual partnering summit for public good for the second time on Wednes-day in Kabul. The summit in which media, government officials, academ-ic organizations and civil society ac-tivists attended discussed ways to de-velop Afghanistan. In the first summit held last year, participants from ten provinces determined a task based on which every sector could add new and efficient plans to their work schedule.

The second summit was also held for the purpose of creating coordina-tion and cooperation among govern-ment, private sector, media, academic organizations and international or-ganizations.

Maiwand Rahyab, the director of civil society institution said, " Al-though we do not have many achieve-ments from the first summit which was held last year, we witness a few chang-es which are heartening." He said that the high national drug control admin-istration and legislation to ban women harassment were the achievements of one and a half year of constant work. And he also specified, "Although the civil society institutions did not play any role in obtaining these achieve-ments, we a few significant changes which have been made to develop Af-ghanistan’s society."

In addition, Basir Ahmad Baheer, the assistant of technician organiza-tion talked more about bringing IT (in-formation technology) and its impor-tance in government affairs. He said, "Bringing information technology in government affairs is more effica-cious and in order for the government to develop its management system, it should use advanced IT system."

The summit ended with agree-ment of participants in the following cases:

1. Government’s support and commitment to promote partnership among sectors.

2. Access to data and creating mechanisms in developing policies and projects.

3. Mobilizing financial, manage-rial, and technical resources of private and governmental sectors.

4. Attempts to reform managerial policies, legal systems and procedures, creating formal mechanism in order to strengthen partnership manage-ment among sectors and public sec-tor capacity building for the purpose of applying partnership among sectors throughout the country. Besides, sup-port to immigrants in foreign coun-tries and support to security forces were two more things which were also added to the stated cases.

The Second Annual Partnering Summit for Public Good Held in Kabul

Translated by: Najib BaratiSource: 8 Sobh

“A meeting between President Ashraf Ghani and the Chief Excusive Officer, Abdullah Abdullah to discuss NUG’s political agreement has been postponed for unknown reason", said Abdullah Abdullah’s press office on Saturday.

Hashmat Datfar, Excusive Media Advisor, has written on his Facebook that the meeting between National Unity Government leaders had been postponed. In addition, some other resources have stated that President had been busy in Helman’s war so he had denied the meeting earlier that week.

On the other hand, Mujebulrahman Rahimi, Abdullah’s spokesman, said that negotiation about recent issues were still

open. "We don’t accept the legitimacy of Ghani's presidency without reconsidering the terms of agreement."

On Saturday, Abdullah met his allies including a delegation of Jamiat Party and the participants announced their support for him over his recent remarks against the president and called for the swift and unconditional implementation of the political agreement terms. In addition, Abdullah called president Ghani an an "intolerant person" and ARG showed its disagreement with Abdullah’s speech.

The Ambassador of the United States has met Abdullah to resolve recent escalating issues between the two NUG leaders.

Ghani – Abdullah meeting postponedTranslated by: Shaista LangariSource: 8 Sobh

Vol.2, No. 49News

Page 5August 21st, 2016

Brazil progressed to the final of the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament Rio 2016 after a comfortable 6-0 win against Honduras in Rio de Janeiro.

Neymar fired the hosts in front on 15 seconds with the fastest goal in Olympic history, before a first-half brace from Gabriel Jesus ensured Brazil enjoyed a three-goal advantage going into the break. Marquinhos added Brazil's fourth six minutes into the second half, while Luan's 79th-minute goal and an injury-time penalty from Neymar capped off a commanding performance.

Brazil’s semi-final victory means they will face the winner of Nigeria-Germany in the gold medal match at the Maracana on Saturday.

An incredible start from Brazil saw Neymar open the scoring after just 15 seconds. The Barcelona star intercepted Johnny Palacios on the edge of the penalty box before colliding with Luis Lopez, but managed to see the ball past the Honduras shot-stopper and send the home crowd into the raptures.

Brazil came close to doubling their

lead on nine minutes when Luan's close-range effort was denied by Lopez, but Rogerio Micale’s men eventually recorded their second on 26 minutes when Gabriel Jesus latched on to Luan’s splendid through-ball and coolly slotted home.

Gabriel Jesus grabbed Brazil’s third on 35 minutes after receiving a superbly-timed pass from Neymar, before racing past defender Marcelo Pereira and finding the top corner with a powerful finish.

After the break, Brazil continued to pile on the pressure, with Brayan Garcia producing a last-minute challenge to dispossess Gabriel Barbosa in front of goal, before Luan went close moments later. They were rewarded once again for their sheer pressure on 51 minutes when Marquinhos, unmarked in the centre of the box, converted Neymar's corner with an easy finish to notch Brazil's fourth.

Lopez produced a fine save to deny Neymar's free-kick from creeping into the bottom corner on 64 minutes but he was unable to prevent Luan from

recording Brazil's fifth on 79 minutes, who converted Felipe Anderson's low delivery from close range.

Brazil capped off a commanding

performance with an injury-time penalty from Neymar, who found the bottom corner with a cool finish to record their sixth of the day.

Brazil breeze into final, Neymar makes history

Source: fifa.com

No Country Gold Silver Bronze Total

1 United State 30 32 31 93

2 England 19 19 12 50

3 China 19 15 20 54

4 Russia 12 14 15 41

5 Germany 12 8 9 29

6 Japan 10 5 18 33

7 France 8 11 12 31

8 Italy 8 9 6 23

9 Netherland 8 4 3 15

10 Astralia 7 8 4 24

11 South Korea 7 3 6 16

12 Hungary 6 3 4 13

13 Kenya 4 3 0 7

14 Spain 4 1 2 7

15 Jamaica 4 0 2 6

16 New Zeland 3 6 1 10

17 Brazil 3 5 4 12

18 Kazakhstan 3 3 6 12

19 Canada 3 2 9 14

20 Croatia 3 2 0 5

21 North Korea 2 3 2 7

22 Cuba 2 2 4 8

23 Poland 2 2 3 7

24 Tiland 2 2 2 6

25 Columbia 2 2 0 4

26 Uzbakistan 2 1 4 7

27 Switzerland 2 1 2 5

28 Belgium 2 1 2 5

29 Greece 2 1 1 4

30 Argentina 2 1 0 3

The top 30 scoring countries in

Rio Olympics 2016Source: Varzesh3.com As of: 10:26 am August 18, 2016

Page 6 August 21st, 2016

Vol.2, No. 49 Star Related

Sabera Daqiq graduated from Georgetown College in Kentucky, U.S. with her bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and a minor in psychology.

Qamar Nisa graduated from St Margaret’s School in Virginia. She will be attending Wagner College in New York in the fall and majoring in pre-health.

Muhammad Jalal just graduated from the International University of Japan with his Master’s in International Development

Mahsheed Mahjor, a student at Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania, U.S., recently received the Carol Emhardt Kuntzleman Memorial Award and the President’s Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement and Promise for a Post Graduate Study by a Junior.

Congratulations to Starians around the world on their great achievements!

Star Educational Society

Best Students of the Semester at

Mr. Assadullah Shayan, a current level five student at Star Educational Society A branch. Mr. Assadullah has newly grad-uated from faculty of Economics, department of BBA from Kateb University and he works at NEPA. Star has found him much different from the other students since he joined Star, therefore, he’s picked as the best student of the semester at A branch. Mr. Assadullah is a well-disciplined, well-tempered and more active at Star. He is very good at language skills as, writing, speaking and reading. He always tries his best to gain well enough whatever is taught in the class. One of his best characters is this that he always follows the rules and regula-tion of Star. He respects his instructors and as well his class-mates. He struggles a lot to improve his English as much as possible; therefore, he always memorizes vocabulary. Every-body knows him as the most intelligent and formal student in the class. He likes reading. As he himself said reading became part of his life. “To become a good student, you should always take time to read,” he says. He reads certain and good top-ics in the class. He is well prepared for his lecture and every-body loves to listen to him. Star wishes him more success and achievements.

To be honest, Ms. Nagis Azizi deserves more than being chosen as the best student of the semester. Since she has joined the SES, she has proved her abilities and talents and has held the first position in many different levels including level two and level three. In addition, she is an incredibly hard working and regular student and her performance has really been impres-sive. She not only tries her best to learn English, but she is also preparing herself for Kankor examination. She started from level two. She got first position in that level. Then she again got first position in level three. Currently she studies level four and she is working really hard in level four and planning to get the first position in this level, too. She says that when she heard that she had been chosen as the best student of the semester she couldn’t believe it. Moreover, she is a confident girl. She said, “I want to be an artist. It’s my favorite major. I want to depict my dreams and the problems of my country, especially women’s problems. Then my dreams will come true.” She says as soon as she passes Kankor examination, I’ll start working on my favorite field. Af-terward I’ll be following my plans. She also said, “The only way I can serve my country is through my profession, which is being an artist. Last but not least, she is always on time, good listener, charming, and brilliant.

Best student of A Branch Sar-e-Kariz, Sabeqa Stop, Dehbori, KabulStudent of level Five, B-G semster Instructor: Mohammad Hassan Taha

Best student of C Branch Mazari Square, Barchi Road, Pol-e-Khoshk near to Resalat street, KabulStudent of level Three, B-F semster Instructor: Khalil Baha

Mustafa is currently studying Level Five at B branch of Star Educational Society. He was elected as the Best Student of B-G semester by directing board for his re-markable performance in class and distinct character. At age of 14, he possesses strong communication skills, mature demeanor and ambitions to be and cause a change in community. He is in 8th grade in Abdur Ra-him Shaheed high school and wants to be leader in fu-ture. He expresses his gratitude to Star instructors for pushing him to great achievements and academic suc-ceeded.

Best student of B BranchMazarri Square, Barchi Road, Naqash bus stop, Kabul,Student of level Five, B-G semster Instructor: Rahmatullah Iqbalzada

English Language Academy - since 1998

Page 7August 21st, 2016

Vol.2, No. 49Literary

StoriesMy Grandmother

Told Me

56

About the author: Hadi Zaher was the first graduate of Quetta's branch of Star Educational Society in the year 1999. He has an MA from the University of Wollongong in Australia and is currently a post-graduate student at the University of New South Wales.

They brought the dead bodies home late in the evening, in the house of the Punjabis in Nechari. Aatay Rohullah’s lifeless body was brought upstairs amid wails and screams. The body of the other man was left downstairs.

We had thought Aatay Rohallah was staying at the community library, along with the other men from the party and their relatives. Unbeknown to us, he had travelled to the coal-mines in Mach to look for work like other thousands of Haz-aras. Somewhere in the holes in those mountains he had touched a live-wire and had been electrocuted. Another man, also from Watan, had approached to pull him away from the electric wires. He too, had been caught by the wires and killed there.

He had been family. He had stood with your father during his most difficult days. He had been in the war. He was with us when we fled, with us on the terrifying journey to Pakistan, and with us in our first years in Quetta. Every Friday he came home to us in the overcrowded room we had rented from the Punjabis in Nechari. He was one of us. He was family, and after all that, he was no more.

Weeks after his death, funeral and burial, his oldest brother Mamdulla came from Watan. We heard about it and we

made food and arrangements to welcome him. Aatay-Wahida and your uncle went to receive him. They returned empty handed and said Mamdulla had gone to Doctor Nader instead of us, and had had the Fateha there. I scolded them and send them back to bring him home as we were family. They returned and and got him to come over. He was upset. I argued with him:

His death isn’t our fault. I did not kill him. Mamoor did not kill him. He did not tell us where he was going. He went to the mines of his own will, without even tell-ing us.

He appeared not to care. That was neither fair, nor true. I continued:

If you cared so much, you should not have let him come. But you did. You were there when we fled and circumstances in which we did. His back was hurt; you guys, his own brothers did that to him. He told me about it. He could not even do physical work, you should have stopped him.

He told me how you lot locked him up in the toilet and took turns to beat him up in twos. He told me you kept hitting un-til he could no longer move and his back was injured. He told me how you beat him for being a member of the party, to force him to stop being with the party.

The Little Prince went to look at the roses again.“You’re not at all like my rose. You’re nothing at

all yet,” he told them. “No one has tamed you and you haven’t tamed anyone. You’re the way my fox was. He was just a fox like a hundred thousand others. But I’ve made him my friend, and now he’s the only fox in all the world.”

And the roses were humbled.You’re lovely, but you’re empty,” he went on. One

couldn’t die for you. Of course, an ordinary passerby would think my rose looked just like you. But my rose, all on her own, is more important than all of you to-gether, since she’s the one I’ve watered. Since she’s the one I put under glass. Since she’s the one I sheltered behind a screen. Since she’s the one for whom I killed the caterpillars (except the two or three for butterflies). Since she’s the one I listened to when she complained, or when she boasted, or even sometimes when she said nothing at all. Since she’s my rose.”

And he went back to the fox.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (29 June 1900 - 31 July 1944) was a French writer, poet, aristocrat, journalist, and pioneering aviator. He became a laureate of several of France's highest literary awards and also won the U.S. National Book Award. He is best remembered for his novella The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince) and for his lyrical aviation writings, including Wind, Sand and Stars and Night Flight. Saint-Exupéry was a successful commercial pilot before World War II and joined the French Air Force in 1940. He disappeared over the Mediterranean on a reconnaissance mission in July 1944, and is believed to have died at that time.

Excerpt from the book, The Little Prince, by Antoine De Saint-Exupery

“Good-bye,” he said.“Goodbye,” said the fox. Here is my secret. It’s

quite simple: One sees clearly only with the heart. Any-thing essential is invisible to the eyes.”

“Anything essential is invisible to the eyes,” the lit-tle prince repeated, in order to remember.

“It’s the time you spend on your rose that makes your rose so important.”

“It’s the time I spent on my rose…,” the little prince repeated, in order to remember.

“People have forgotten this truth,” the fox said. “But you mustn’t forget it. You become responsible forever for what you’ve tamed. You’re responsible for your rose…”

“I’m responsible for my rose…,” the little prince re-peated, in order to remember.

You beat him up until your mother inter-vened, begged you and even took out her breasts to shame you for the milk she had fed you all, to stop you from killing your own brother.

He tried to find a way out of it.He fell off a roof and hurt his back.I stopped him there:Say all you want but you know that it

is true. He was more at home with us than

with you lot. And today, you dare think that we would wish him harm.

He hung his head down, and did not speak a word.

Years later, we still had a photo of Aa-tay Rohullah on our shelf, and his grave lay in a country far away from his home, his wife and children.

*Watan = Homeland*Fateha = Prayer service

Antoine De Saint-Exupery

Please, introduce yourself. I’m Dawood Mirzai from Afghanistan. I have a sacred interest in Physics. Although I qualified to major in all engineering faculties, I selected Physics regardless of the employment issues.

What was your motivation to pursue nuclear physics? When I was doing my masters, I was highly motivated to pursue nuclear physics. It’s because I declared many articles about Physics perspectives as in: Atom Molecule Physics, Solid features of Physics, Corpuscles Physics, and plasma Physics. Among all these, I had a special interest to study nuclear physics. I was actually looking for the studies which were identical. Therefore, I received my Master’s degree and Ph.D. degree in nuclear physics.

Whom do you attribute your success to? I attribute my success to my parents including my cooperative older brother who has highly incited me to earn my Ph.D. degree. They have been so cooperative and helpful to me. I owe my success to every one of them. Where did you begin your education? What did you begin with? I passed

all my education degrees in Iran. I studied my education degrees and successfully defended my Ph.D. degree in Ferdowsy Mashhad University which is the best university in Iran for nuclear physics. I started my studies with science and particularly physics then I turned to concentrate in nuclear physics.

How was the behavior of Iranian people and official authorities with you? As everyone knows, studying nuclear is illegal and not permissible for the foreigners in Iran and all around the world but I could do it with the strong support and cooperation of my instructors at university. Though the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology opposed it and brought various excuses in that case.

Did you experience any discrimination during your studies or work in Iran? Yeah, sure. I

experienced terrible discrimination during my studies in Iran. In fact, we were Afghan refugees who had fled our own country and were forced to live in a foreign land. It was actually not bearable for all Afghan refugees. I was not given the chance and, of course, the right to study nuclear. I felt clear discrimination.

How has your experience been since returning to Afghanistan? Has the government of Afghanistan supported you? I returned to Afghanistan with hands full of achievements and hope. I strongly believed that I could serve Afghanistan well and contribute to progress in technology and industry. However, the nuclear faculty is special and incomparable. We can rarely find nuclear specialist in great Afghanistan.

The government of Afghanistan hasn’t offered me the opportunity of service and neither has Kabul Uni-versity. As a matter of fact, I under-stood that there is still nepotism and discrimination against people like me. The government of Afghanistan

hasn’t supported me, in fact. I worked on some of the major national proj-ects of Afghanistan very hard but there was no one to hear my strug-gles, even Mr. Vice President, who was well-informed of my full work details. I asked to meet Mr. President but I couldn’t succeed. I have had a very sad experience since returning to Afghanistan.

What is the importance of your job? And what changes would you have brought to Afghanistan if you had been supported? Nuclear physics is so significant to the world. My job is

incomparable and, of course, special. The world competes and is balanced through nuclear power. Nuclear physics can certainly cure cancer in a nuclear manner and can be used for agricultural purposes too. We need to publicize the importance of it to Afghanistan.

I worked on designing a Protein Center for almost a year so that I could make a center for curing can-cer using the technical nuclear way which didn’t exist in the Middle East at all. I wanted to improve Afghani-stan’s reputation with this initiative. I asked the Nuclear Center for Af-ghanistan and the officials but no one agreed.

Why did you travel to Europe? I traveled to Europe for the purpose of gaining international experiences and doing scientific research. I very much love my homeland and want to serve Afghan students during my future services to Afghanistan.

What are your future plans? I would like to train specialists in the specific field of my study. To be honest, service to my own land is a great pleasure for me. What I suggest to Mr. President is to support Afghan Specialists. He has to understand us and help us to rebuild Afghanistan. We are the treasury of this country. We shouldn’t let the others use us to develop their own lands.

What is your message to the young generation of Afghanistan? I encourage my people to enhance the level of their education and capacity. They must be useful and significant to the future generations of Afghanistan. We are a thousand years behind now. The others have been much abusing us. What I want from Afghan students is to work hard and change the features of Afghanistan. We live in a very backward country but I strongly believe that no one changes our country unless we try to.

Sunday, August 21, 2016 Vol. 2, No. 49 Website: http://www.star.edu.af/interstellar Email: interstellarbulletin@gmail.com

Editor-in-Chief: Ali Reza YasaEditors: Jonathan Greenburg, Murtaza Qasemi, Murtaza FarjadDesigner: Reza Kajabi 0744111518Distribution: Najibullah Malikpoor 0785103920

B & C Branches: Abdullah Ahmadi 0783117460Bamyan: Essa Omid 0773609598Daikundi: Hamid Naderi 0767961513Ghazni: Essa Jamal 0787126362

Add: Star Avenue, Sabiqa Stop, Dehburi, Kabul.A Branch Phone: +93-785 10 39 20 / +93-744 56 37 55

What I want from Afghan students is to work hard and change the features of Afghanistan. We live in a very backward country but I strongly believe that

no one changes our country unless we try to.

About the interviewer: Sajed Abrar is a Star alumnus and has been teaching at Star for over five years. He has worked at many NGOs in the past and is currently majoring in Sociology at Gharjistan Univer-sity.