Here's an interesting read from Indian culture blog, Sepia Mutiny, on the instruction of landmines through puppetry in a culturally sensitive film. The puppets are apart of a mission from the No Strings organization to save lives and teach Afghan children about the dangers of landmines. Apparently some 60 Afghans are killed or injured a month by mines and unexploded ordnance around the country. Sad, sad, sad. They go much more into detail at Sepia Mutiny than I'll venture here, but I should say that the idea, while clever, is also bone-chilling to me. I'm trying to imagine the days when I would listen to a puppet over an adult and then I try to imagine if that puppet were telling me about landmines and minefields and how to go about avoiding them. (Shudders.) However, the kids seem to like the films, as one 11-year-old girl, who watched the first screening in Kabul said, "...I learned that you should stay away from fields that have red stones. There are mines there. I didn't know that before."

What a world we live in...

Filed under: Activism, Arts and Culture, Learning, Blogs, Afghanistan