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This powerful memoir follows Enjeela's journey as she escapes Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion in the 1980s. Through her family's incredible journey across the mountains, students will learn about Afghan culture, the impact of war on families, and the strength of human determination.

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Understanding the Soviet-Afghan War (1979-1989) is crucial for comprehending this story. This conflict led to millions of Afghans fleeing their homeland, creating one of the largest refugee crises of that time.

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Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, invasion of Afghanistan in late December 1979 by troops from the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union intervened in support of the Afghan communist government in its conflict with anti-communist Muslim guerrillas during the Afghan War (1978-92) and remained in Afghanistan until mid-February 1989.

In April 1978 Afghanistan's centrist government, headed by Pres. Mohammad Daud Khan, was overthrown by left-wing military officers led by Nur Mohammad Taraki. Power was thereafter shared by two Marxist-Leninist political groups, the People's (Khalq) Party and the Banner (Parcham) Party-which had earlier emerged from a single organization, the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan-and had reunited in an uneasy coalition shortly before the coup. The new government, which had little popular support, forged close ties with the Soviet Union, launched ruthless purges of all domestic opposition, and began extensive land and social reforms that were bitterly resented by the devoutly Muslim and largely anti-communist population. Insurgencies arose against the government among both tribal and urban groups, and all of these-known collectively as the mujahideen (Arabic mujāhidūn, "those who engage in jihad")-were Islamic in orientation.

These uprisings, along with internal fighting and coups within the government between the People's and Banner factions, prompted the Soviets to invade the country on the night of December 24, 1979, sending in some 30,000 troops and toppling the short-lived presidency of People's leader Hafizullah Amin. The aim of the Soviet operation was to prop up their new but faltering client state, now headed by Banner leader Babrak Karmal, but Karmal was unable to attain significant popular support. Backed by the United States, the mujahideen rebellion grew, spreading to all parts of the country. The Soviets initially left the suppression of the rebellion to the Afghan army, but the latter was beset by mass desertions and remained largely ineffective throughout the war.

The Afghan War quickly settled down into a stalemate, with more than 100,000 Soviet troops controlling the cities, larger towns, and major garrisons and the mujahideen moving with relative freedom throughout the countryside. Soviet troops tried to crush the insurgency by various tactics, but the guerrillas generally eluded their attacks. The Soviets then attempted to eliminate the mujahideen's civilian support by bombing and depopulating the rural areas. These tactics sparked a massive flight from the countryside; by 1982 some 2.8 million Afghans had sought asylum in Pakistan, and another 1.5 million had fled to Iran. The mujahideen were eventually able to neutralize Soviet air power through the use of shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles supplied by the Soviet Union's Cold War adversary, the United States.

The mujahideen were fragmented politically into a handful of independent groups, and their military efforts remained uncoordinated throughout the war. The quality of their arms and combat organization gradually improved, however, owing to experience and to the large quantity of arms and other war matériel shipped to the rebels, via Pakistan, by the United States and other countries and by sympathetic Muslims from throughout the world. In addition, an indeterminate number of Muslim volunteers-popularly termed "Afghan-Arabs," regardless of their ethnicity-traveled from all parts of the world to join the opposition.

The war in Afghanistan became a quagmire for what by the late 1980s was a disintegrating Soviet Union. (The Soviets suffered some 15,000 dead and many more injured.) Despite having failed to implement a sympathetic regime in Afghanistan, in 1988 the Soviet Union signed an accord with the United States, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and agreed to withdraw its troops. The Soviet withdrawal was completed on February 15, 1989, and Afghanistan returned to nonaligned status.

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Soviet invasion of Afghanistan | Summary & Facts

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Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, military action carried out in late December 1979 by Soviet troops. The Soviet Union intervened in support of the Afghan communist government in its conflict with anti-communist Muslim guerrillas during the Afghan War (1978-92) and remained in Afghanistan until mid-February 1989.

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This book tells the extraordinary true story of Doaa Al Zamel, a Syrian refugee who survived a harrowing journey across the Mediterranean Sea. Her story represents the experiences of millions of Syrian refugees and raises important questions about the global refugee crisis.

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To fully appreciate Doaa's story, students should understand the Syrian Civil War that began in 2011 and its devastating impact on civilians. This conflict has created one of the largest humanitarian crises in recent history.

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Understanding the Refugee Crisis in Europe, Syria, and around the World

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Sandra's memoir recounts her survival of the Gatumba massacre in Burundi and her journey to the United States as a refugee. Her story provides insight into the conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the challenges of adapting to life in America.

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This book explores powerful themes of identity, belonging, and cultural adaptation. Sandra's experience as a refugee in America raises important discussions about integration and maintaining cultural identity in a new country.

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Malala's story is one of incredible courage as she stood up for girls' education in Pakistan despite Taliban threats. Her journey from Swat Valley to becoming the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner inspires discussions about education rights and gender equality.

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Understanding the Taliban's control of the Swat Valley and their opposition to girls' education provides crucial context for Malala's activism and the risks she faced in standing up for what she believed in.

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Malala Yousafzai on How Life Changed in The Swat Valley || From Tourism to Terrorism

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Ishmael Beah's memoir provides a firsthand account of being a child soldier in Sierra Leone's civil war. His story raises important discussions about war, childhood trauma, and rehabilitation.

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The Sierra Leone Civil War (1991-2002) forms the backdrop of this powerful memoir. Understanding this conflict helps students grasp the complex issues of child soldiers and the impact of war on youth.

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Education in Sierra Leone is legally required for all children for six years at primary level and three years in junior secondary education, but a shortage of schools and teachers has made implementation impossible. The Sierra Leone Civil War resulted in the destruction of 1,270 primary schools and in 2001 67 percent of all school-age children were out of school. The situation has improved considerably since then with primary school enrollment doubling between 2001 and 2005 and the reconstruction of many schools since the end of the war. However, there is still a long ways to go. In 2004, Junior secondary school enrollment was only 17% of primary school enrollment, and senior secondary school enrollment was only 8% of primary school education.

During the nineteenth century, Sierra Leone was a pioneer of western-style education in sub-Saharan Africa. Fourah Bay College, affiliated with Durham University in the United Kingdom, was founded in 1827 as the first tertiary educational institute in the region. The first boys school, Sierra Leone Grammar School, and the first girls school, Annie Walsh Memorial School, were founded in 1845 and 1849 respectively. The country was an important centre in training teachers, doctors and administrators for whole of West Africa in the first half of the nineteenth century.

The education system that developed in Sierra Leone during the nineteenth and twentieth century was styled on the British education system. It was elitist in nature aimed at urban middle class and focused on the academically gifted who would go on to tertiary education before taking up positions as civil servants in the government. During this period the majority of the population were not formally educated or only a couple of years of primary education. When Sierra Leone declared independence in 1961, under 15% of children aged five to eleven and only five percent of 12- to 16-year-olds attended school.

After independence there was pressure to change the education system, but it wasn't until the 1990s that this grew to the level that led to changes in the system. Reforms were proposed so that the education system would serve the social economic needs of the country more closely, centering on increasing access to education, particularly primary education and placing more emphasis on technical and vocational education. In 1993 the government adopted a four-stage approach to education and created the National Commission for Basic Education.

During the 1990s the Sierra Leone Civil War set these goals back destroying much of the country's infrastructure including schools; for example, 1,270 primary schools were destroyed. This created a shortage in schools which was compounded by a shortage in teachers and so made the legal requirement of universal basic education for all children difficult to obtain. At the end of the war in 2001 67 percent of school-age children were out of school.

The generation of child soldiers that came out of the Sierra Leone Civil War also set these goals back, as they had to be reintegrated into their community. There are thousands of former soldiers in Sierra Leone that have a hard time reintegrating into their communities after experiencing the atrocities of war. Almost 7,000 child soldiers were demobilized during the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL). At the end of the war, disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration programs (DDR) were introduced to the country. These programs aim to socialize the children in a way that prepares them to return to their communities. The Complementary Rapid Education for Primary Schools (CREPS) program serves children age 16 and older, and at its peak, served 11,663 children from 2002-2003. Another DDR program, the Rapid Response Education Program (RREP), ended in 2002 after providing for 7,115 children at its peak from 2001-2002. Although the DDR programs in Sierra Leone work towards the reintegration of the generation of child soldiers, there is little evidence to date that long-term reintegration has occurred as a direct result from them.

Sierra Leone's education system is divided into four stages; primary education lasting six years, junior secondary education of three years, three years of either senior secondary education or technical vocational education and four years of university or other tertiary education.

The 2004 Education act abolished school fees for all children at primary school and at junior secondary school for girls in the northern and eastern areas. Fees were also abolished for the National Primary School Examination (NPSE) that is taken at the end of primary school which, along with the increase in school enrollment, led to 78,000 students taking the exam in 2005 compared with 26,000 in 2001. The NPSE is designed by the West African Examination Council and has to be passed in order to progress to secondary education.

Primary education

The number of children receiving primary education has greatly increased since the end of the civil war. However, in 2007, there were still more than 240,000 children, about 25%-30% of the population of this age group, not receiving education. The rate of completion of primary education is also low with only 64% of children completing their primary education during 2004/05. The educational attainment of girls is below this level partly due to cultural beliefs in some areas of Sierra Leone that do not support the education of girls.

Secondary education

Secondary school examinations in government-funded schools (and many private schools) are coordinated by the West African Examinations Council. This council implements the Basic Education Certificate Examination and the West African Senior School Certificate Examination.

Tertiary education

There are two universities in Sierra Leone: the University of Sierra Leone, founded as Fourah Bay College in 1827; and Njala University which was established as the Njala Agricultural Experimental Station in 1910 and became a university in 2005.

In addition, The Evangelical College of Theology, founded in 1964, is accredited by the University of Sierra Leone and the Tertiary Education Committee for both the Diploma and Bachelor level.

Sierra Leone has a low level of literacy among adults with only 37.1% of adults literate in 2006, the level of literacy is higher among 15- to 24-year-old who have a literacy rate of 52.2%. For both groups literacy among women is much lower than that for men. Attendance within the education system is also low among adults with men averaging 4 years of formal education and women 2 years.

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Education in Sierra Leone is legally required for all children for six years at primary level and three years in junior secondary education, but a shortage of schools and teachers has made implementation impossible. The Sierra Leone Civil War resulted in the destruction of 1,270 primary schools and in 2001 67 percent of all school-age children were out of school.

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These five books share powerful themes of resilience, survival, and hope in the face of adversity. They all deal with displacement, war, and the search for safety and belonging. Use these connections to facilitate meaningful classroom discussions about global issues.

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Consider using discussion circles, reflection journals, and map activities to help students engage with these powerful stories. Encourage students to make connections between the different narratives and to current global events.