PULLMAN – A chart of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is indispensable. Things often are not what they seem. And good food is plentiful for soldiers, but they still lose weight.
Three veterans of the war in Afghanistan who are studying and working at WSU gave these and other brief insights to students, faculty, staff and friends during a Common Reading Program presentation Tuesday night.
WSU Pullman’s common reading for 2010-2011 is Greg Mortenson’s book, “Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan.” In it, Mortensen argues for the transformative power of education.
At Tuesday’s presentation, Capt. William Cooper, WSU Army ROTC; Kristel Hallsson, former sergeant in the U.S. Air Force; and Stephen James, political science graduate student and lieutenant in the Royal Irish Regiment, referred only obliquely to “Stones into Schools,” a follow-up to Mortenson’s acclaimed “Three Cups of Tea.” But, through photographs and stories, they suggested that building peace in Afghanistan might be more complicated than Mortenson believes.
Projecting a chart of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs on the large screen at 226 Fulmer, James said, “That was the biggest thing on our bulletin board. It’s what we referred to every time we planned an operation.”
According to Maslow, there is a hierarchy of needs ranging from the need for food and water to the need for self-actualization, and people must satisfy the most fundamental needs before they can begin to meet the higher level needs. In Afghanistan, James said, they are still working to meet the most basic needs, including adequate food, clean water, safe housing, steady employment and basic security.
“After we do that we can worry about raising their standard of living and the rest,” he said.
Matt Seiber, 18, a freshman from Spokane, said he enjoyed the presentation.
“It was more military based,” he said, in contrast to many of the common reading presentations that have been focused on humanitarian work or discussions of cultural differences.
Seiber, a mechanical engineering major, said he’s from a military family and supports the war in Afghanistan and the work the military is trying to do there.
Hallsson, who enlisted in the Air Force in 1999 and was honorably discharged in 2010, is majoring in Chinese and taking pre-med courses. Her work in Afghanistan involved determining the force necessary to destroy specific military targets while also identifying protected locations such as health clinics, schools, mosques and cemeteries.
In a country where most structures are simple huts of mud and stones, she said – while showing an aerial view of a village where every structure looked basically the same – “How do you tell the difference?”
Like the other speakers, Hallsson avoided discussing the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan or whether the war is winnable or not. But, also like the others, she expressed empathy for the people of Afghanistan and the difficulty of their lives.
During the 20th century, she said, 14 different wars were fought in Afghanistan.
“It’s a pretty desperate situation for a lot of people there,” she said. The infant mortality rate is 151 deaths per 1,000 live births (in the U.S. it’s 6.1 deaths); average life expectancy is 44 years (in the U.S. it’s 78 years); and average annual income is $426.
Speaking of the fighting, she said: “They just want it to be over with, just like we do.”
Cooper, who was deployed to Afghanistan in 2006 and was one of the first combat advisers in Helmand Province, asked all of the ROTC cadets in the audience to stand.
When he had enlisted in the Army in 1998, Cooper said, the United States was not at war and 9/11 was several years away.
“All those people who stood up volunteered to serve their country in a time of war,” he said.
The Common Reading Program spans two semesters and features lectures by WSU faculty, staff and guests – typically on Tuesdays – on topics pertaining to this year’s selection, “Stones into Schools.”
On Nov. 16, engineering professor Dan Dolan and students involved in Engineers without Borders will discuss their work with Bridges to Prosperity. The panel is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Todd 216.
In its fourth year, the Common Reading Program is part of the WSU University College. For more information, visit http://CommonReading.wsu.edu or http://facebook.com/CommonReading.