Equally important is the lack of cultivable land for farmers, a profound problem when you take into account that Afghanistan has always largely been an agricultural country, and that even before the wars destroyed lands and irrigation canals, only 5 per cent of the land was cultivable.

I now know that some people feel unhappiness the way others love: privately, intensely, and without recourse.

Must have been quite the culture shock, going there.” “Yes it was.” Idris doesn’t say that the real culture shock has been in coming back.

There [in Afghanistan ] is a tremendous need for selter. So I am focusing most of the efforts of the foundation to building shelters for refugees in northern Afghanistan and we have already begun doing so.

I have been a fan of comic books since childhood.

Marriage can wait, education cannot.

A boy who won't stand up for himself becomes a man who can't stand up to anything.