The Politics of Literacy

Chapter 14 is my favorite so far- there is just SO much that takes place in a few pages! The Mortenson's welcome their daughter Amira Eliana, born at home. Would we expect anything less? Then, Jean Hoerni calls and basically demands Greg leave his newborn and return to Korphe to take a picture of that school. Jean has recently given months to live and wishes to see the school before he dies. No pressure right? Back in Korphe, Mortenson saves the life of Rhokia and her infant daughter, the wife of Ibrahim, who was helping build the school. Talk about impressing the village! Feisty Jean Hoerni finally got to see the picture he so desperately desired, the completed school he helped bring to fruition. Sadly, not long after, Mortenson gave Jean Hoerni’s eulogy.
Mortenson was obsessed and dedicated to his role leading the CAI. It paid off when the CAI successfully built three schools in three months- wow! Because Greg continued to stay connected and listened to the needs of the people, the Women’s Vocational Center and Karakoram Porter Training & Environmental Institute were born!
Mortenson and his schools were investigated. He was given, “permission, blessings, and prayers” for the awesome work he was doing. I thought Aslam’s story was quite touching. Together they built a tremendous school in northern Pakistan that stood as a symbol of, “the hope Aslam convinced his village to invest in its children.” Pretty powerful I must say! Others thought so too and Mortenson was getting oodles of attention and praise from everyone everywhere. His status and reputation as a hero/deity is in full swing now!

I enjoyed reading the text. Chapters 14-16 seemed to tie Greg's life all together. As I was reading I felt that he had connected the pieces of his life together and it was all making sense. Greg's kidnapping in chapter 13 seemed to be the end of his struggle.
In Chapter 14 titled Equilibrium seemed to be very appropriate to me. Greg had experienced a terrifying ordeal with his kidnapping and had survived. He was now home with his wife that he had longing for and was ready to welcome his daughter into the world. All of the pieces of Greg’s life were slowly coming together. In this chapter you could see the progress that he was making with the school in Korphe. You could also see how the people and elders of Korphe trusted Greg because he showed great respect and honor to the people of Korphe. On December 10, 1996 the school was completed. Greg had accomplished his life long dream to honor his sister and help the people of Korphe to begin to educate their children! Greg was also able to show Hoerni that he had accomplished his goal and he was able to die in piece.
Chapter 15 and 16 was full of progress and Motion! I was amazed with how fast CAI was able to build three more schools. Mortenson was in Motion. I was moved by the connection that Bergman had to the school and the fact that she was a librarian, it seemed to be fate! The committee that Mortenson created for the CAI was an amazing group of people. I loved the quote on page 189 “The British policy was ‘divide and conquer.’ But I say ‘unite and conquer.” These chapters also connected Mortenson work in Pakistan to his life in the United States. The Red Velvet Box was Mortenson’s sign that his schools would be supported and he had the blessing and permission to continue his mission to educate the children of Pakistan.

I enjoyed reading the text. Chapters 14-16 seemed to tie Greg's life all together. As I was reading I felt that he had connected the pieces of his life together and it was all making sense. Greg's kidnapping in chapter 13 seemed to be the end of his struggle.
In Chapter 14 titled Equilibrium seemed to be very appropriate to me. Greg had experienced a terrifying ordeal with his kidnapping and had survived. He was now home with his wife that he had longing for and was ready to welcome his daughter into the world. All of the pieces of Greg’s life were slowly coming together. In this chapter you could see the progress that he was making with the school in Korphe. You could also see how the people and elders of Korphe trusted Greg because he showed great respect and honor to the people of Korphe. On December 10, 1996 the school was completed. Greg had accomplished his life long dream to honor his sister and help the people of Korphe to begin to educate their children! Greg was also able to show Hoerni that he had accomplished his goal and he was able to die in piece.
Chapter 15 and 16 was full of progress and Motion! I was amazed with how fast CAI was able to build three more schools. Mortenson was in Motion. I was moved by the connection that Bergman had to the school and the fact that she was a librarian, it seemed to be fate! The committee that Mortenson created for the CAI was an amazing group of people. I loved the quote on page 189 “The British policy was ‘divide and conquer.’ But I say ‘unite and conquer.” These chapters also connected Mortenson work in Pakistan to his life in the United States. The Red Velvet Box was Mortenson’s sign that his schools would be supported and he had the blessing and permission to continue his mission to educate the children of Pakistan.

As Chapter 13 opened, the scene with the boy with no legs in the bazaar, I saw evidence of the resourcefulness and the toughness of the Pakistani people. It amazed me that this child was able to sense danger and move quickly enough to get out of the way of the truck, considering his handicap. At the same time, seeing scenes like this everywhere he looked, it seemed, I couldn’t believe that Greg Mortenson – with a new wife and the birth of his child imminent – was going out into the dangerous area of Waziristan! Knowing that it was quite dangerous, Haji Ali had warned him “Don’t go any place alone. Find a host you trust, a village chief would be best, and wait until he invites you to his home to drink tea. Only in this way will you be safe.” So what does Mortenson do? He makes plans to go out to Ladha with a guide whom he met in his hotel lobby the previous evening who APPEARED to be respectable! Then the guide does not even go with him, but rather, sends a substitute driver! This sent shivers up and down my spine – it seemed to me like something bad was surely going to happen. I was not surprised to read that he had been kidnapped at that point. As he had been throughout this book, though, his resourcefulness and his great respect and knowledge of the Pakistani culture guided him through the “detainment” as he called it, and brought him safely home to his wife. I think he was most certainly lucky to have a wife who understood him so well, because I don’t think I would have been happy at all for my new husband to not only be in Pakistan, but to put himself into such a dangerous situation, especially since he had been warned by Haji Ali…and with our child just weeks from being born!

In the chapter entitled “Equilibrium” Mortenson was a very busy man! His daughter Amira Eliana was born on September 13. Her birth, and their life in Montana provided a great contrast to the situation he had just been a part of in Pakistan. However, Greg had made the promise to Hoerni to bring him a picture of the school which Hoerni had funded, the school in Korphe…and Hoerni was dying with cancer. Faithful to his promise, Greg left his young family and went back to Korphe to make sure that the school was finished and that he could get his photograph. After Haji Ali made Greg promise to never go anywhere else in Pakistan alone, he gave more advice about how best to build his next school. Haji Ali asked him to let the elders guide his planning, and to build on relationships already built – good advice from a wise man. While he was there he was able to save the life of a woman who had just had a baby but had not discharged the placenta. That Ibrahim trusted him to help his wife in the manner this ailment required was indicative of Mortenson’s standing to the people of Korphe. At any rate, the school was finished in the nick of time, and Mortenson got his photograph. When he arrived back in the states he learned that Hoerni was in the hospital so he drove his family through a blizzard to deliver the photograph. Greg took care of Hoerni for the last few weeks of his life – but he had to go to Seattle to do so. Again, I though his wife was incredibly understanding to support his being there instead of with her and the new baby! Mortenson was a lucky man in many ways!

The final two chapters seemed to flow together in my mind. Mortenson’s mission seemed to be growing in support in the United States, and the help he needed seemed to come along at just the crucial times. He was able to bring his new family to Korphe and Skardu to see his adopted homeland. A fatwa was declared against him, but because of his standing with the people of Pakistan, the Council of Mullahs gave Greg their permission, their blessings, and their prayers, documented on a parchment scroll stored in a red velvet box. His work – and his reputation – were growing!

I agree with you Ruth Ann it seems that chapter 14 ties all of the pieces of his life together. He has finally made progress with the school and now to build three schools in three months was amazing. I think that it also shows that the people of Pakistan began to trust Mortenson and knew that he was there to help them and he had a good heart. After he had the backing of the people he seemed to progress very quickly.

Marlee,
I agree that Greg was a very lucky man. Not many new mothers would give there blessing for him to return to Pakistan to continue his work. I believe this shows Tara dedication and love for Greg. She knew that this was of great importance to him and wanted to seen him succed.

Greg should have listened to Haji Ali. He was a very wise man that knew what he is talking about. It seems like Greg trust people to easily. I can not believe that Greg stayed so clam while he was kidnapped. “Something elemental told him sleep was a better option than pacing the room, worrying about what was to come.” Page 164 I am not sure I could have slept. My mind would have been going everywhere. I am still not sure why the Time magazine was placed next to his mat. I am sure there was some reason Greg’s kidnappers gave it to him. It was interesting that he found comfort from advertisements. When I read a magazine, that is the last thing I want to read. I don’t remember reading while they kidnapped Greg in the first place. It seems like they did a 180 when they realized that Greg really was a good person and wanted to do good things in their country. Everything seemed to change in Greg’s life in chapter 14 (for the good.) There was the birth of their first child. The school in Korphe was finally finished. He save the lives of two people in the village of Korphe, which made him even more of a hero than he already was. He was finally able to bring the picture of the Korphe school to Jean Hoerni. It was a very eventful time of his life. And it was nice to see that things were finally coming together in Greg’s life. As I read the end of chapter 14, I found myself to respect Jean Hoerni. In the beginning of the book, I thought Jean was a mean old man. But as we got to know him in chapter 14, I really started to like him. If someone made him mad, he just crossed them off his will. He was a straight forward man. Greg was finally able to find a job he loved in chapter 15. He was a nurse just to make money and get by, but being in charge of the CAI is the ideal job for him. He finally gets to do something he loves. I was really happy to read the part when Tara and their daughter was able to go see what Greg was doing while away from them. She must have been so proud of her husband for all that he had done.

Greg should have listened to Haji Ali. He was a very wise man that knew what he is talking about. It seems like Greg trust people to easily. I can not believe that Greg stayed so clam while he was kidnapped. “Something elemental told him sleep was a better option than pacing the room, worrying about what was to come.” Page 164 I am not sure I could have slept. My mind would have been going everywhere. I am still not sure why the Time magazine was placed next to his mat. I am sure there was some reason Greg’s kidnappers gave it to him. It was interesting that he found comfort from advertisements. When I read a magazine, that is the last thing I want to read. I don’t remember reading while they kidnapped Greg in the first place. It seems like they did a 180 when they realized that Greg really was a good person and wanted to do good things in their country. Everything seemed to change in Greg’s life in chapter 14 (for the good.) There was the birth of their first child. The school in Korphe was finally finished. He save the lives of two people in the village of Korphe, which made him even more of a hero than he already was. He was finally able to bring the picture of the Korphe school to Jean Hoerni. It was a very eventful time of his life. And it was nice to see that things were finally coming together in Greg’s life. As I read the end of chapter 14, I found myself to respect Jean Hoerni. In the beginning of the book, I thought Jean was a mean old man. But as we got to know him in chapter 14, I really started to like him. If someone made him mad, he just crossed them off his will. He was a straight forward man. Greg was finally able to find a job he loved in chapter 15. He was a nurse just to make money and get by, but being in charge of the CAI is the ideal job for him. He finally gets to do something he loves. I was really happy to read the part when Tara and their daughter was able to go see what Greg was doing while away from them. She must have been so proud of her husband for all that he had done.

Ruth Ann,
I agree that chapter 14 was one of the best chapters. I am glad Greg made it home in time to be there for the birth of his first child. The completion of the Korphe school had also been a wonderful moment in Greg's life. And to be able to see the joy in Jean Hoerni's eyes when he was able to show him the picture of the completed school would have been priceless regardless where they were when he gave it to him.

Angie,
As we read more and more, I can tell how much respect the people of Korphe have for Greg. Not any American can go into a middle eastern village and have the same respect as Greg does. For him to be able to help Rhokia the way he did, was a huge deal.

Marlee,
You have brought some many things that make Greg an incredibility strong man. The strength to survive being kidnapped…The strength to leave his wife and new child…The strength to build a school in a foreign land…The strength to save two people lives…The strength to help a dying man through his finally days is something most people can not do.

I thought it was kind of special that the snow began falling just as they pounded the final nail into the school building, just as Haji Ali had prayed! And I agree with you, Ruth Ann, it was truly amazing that Mortenson was able to get THREE schools build in three months when it had taken about three years – from 1993 to 1996 – to build the first one! I was impressed by the fact that the villages where the schools were built really valued the opportunities the school would provide for their children. One village demolished a 2-story stone house to build the school in the middle of the town, and in another village many of the men did not take jobs as expedition porters until the school was built. In that particular village a local contractor actually turned down a job doing construction for the army and, instead, built the school!

I liked that quote, too, Angie. It seems to me that there is a lot of wisdom in the portion that said “Unite and conquer.” Sometimes it seems like we, as a nation, don’t remember the “unite” part – we just rush to the "conquer" part. If we could just listen to the wisdom of people like Haji Ali, as Greg Mortenson did, we all might just learn something important...and just maybe we would all be calmer, happier, and healthier!

Angie-
I agree with your thoughts about Greg's kidnapping. It was an awful time for him, but when it was over great things really started to happen. Also, Equilibrium is the perfect title for chapter 14. Many things fell into place for Greg. He saw hard work pay off and goals acheived. I maybe thought it was a little too easy for him to leave his growing family, but that school was his 1st love right?

Marlee-
Greg & Tara are a perfect match. There is no way I would have let him leave me and our brand new daughter to go so far away & in such an unstable environment. However, he was an amazing friend to Hoerni at a time when he needed him most! I loved that Greg's whole family was finally able to see and experience Korphe, the place that started it all!

Melissa,
I was also amazed with how calm Greg was during his kidnapping. I know that I would have been frantic. He seemed to just be able to handle extreme situations. This ability helped him in all circumstances in his life. Greg is truely and amazing person someone that anyone would be proudto know.

I also thought it was remarkable that Mortenson stayed so calm in the kidnapping situation. I think that in nearly every situation in which we have seen him so far he tries to think of the culture where he is guest, so to speak, and to understand the motivations of the people he encounters within the context of their culture. This seems to help him understand the situations in which he finds himself, and I believe that being deeply aware of their perspective helped him to deal with what was happening to him. He didn’t even seem to feel any anger toward his captors – I can’t imagine how he kept from being angry!

Melissa-
His kidnapping did seem to come out of the blue and I agree he handled it much better than I would have. Probably better than most people for that matter. I also agree that it was nice to see his family come together, share, and see for themselves what he is so passionate about. All his hard work paid off!