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Heartfelt Opus From Afghan Native Nouri

The biggest smile of the night spread across the face of City Club Vice President John Morris at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday evening as he escorted keynote speaker Hasan Nouri into the Huntington Middle School cafeteria. Nouri, an engineer, would later explain that a customer in Riverside had peppered him with questions, rendering his arrival tardy to the point where the board members were probably scurrying for a last-minute replacement.

Unfazed by the proceedings, Nouri spoke from the heart about a subject that has occupied his past twenty-five years: the mercurial political and social situation in his native Afghanistan.

Nouri actually co-founded an international medical corporation in his war-torn homeland by tossing $3,000 in a $10,000 pot that opened the doors of an institution that now sports fifty-one clinics and is valued in the tens of millions of dollars. Before delving into the emotional underbelly of his subject matter, Nouri paused for a moment of humor.

"I was once discussing the differences between America and Afghanistan with a native and I told him that Afghan women walk three steps behind their men while American women walk twenty yards ahead," Nouri said. "It was then he told me that during times of war, Afghan women walk twenty yards ahead too."

The sobering topic of a nation under siege followed, and Nouri related the motivation for his quarter century of service in the hospitals and orphanages of his homeland.

"During the Soviet occupation we witnessed bombing in a nearby valley," Nouri said. "When we went to see if there were any survivors, we saw that an older man and two children were still alive. The three-year-old was feeding the one-year-old using the breast of their dead mother. Whenever I want to quit I think of that moment."

Nouri updated the City Club audience on the tenuous political climate in Afghanistan, saying that a series of warlords in the countryside still hold a large amount of political clout. He further explained that a puppet government "will not work."

"No government with allegiance to a foreign country will ever work in Afghanistan." Nouri said. "England tried for 75 years and it didn’t work. The United States was offering $100 million to turn in members of Al Quaeda while they were receiving more money from Arab sheiks. Until these warlords are abolished, there will be no democratic government in Afghanistan."

Nouri placed part of the blame for the current political situation in that region squarely on the shoulders of the United States.

"America contributed to the power of the Taliban and abandoned Afghanistan when the Soviets pulled out in 1987. Clinton bombed Afghanistan looking for bin Laden. Had we supported Afghanistan, Sept. 11 never would have happened. It’s unbelievable how much we have learned about our past mistakes in foreign policy since Sept 11, and I applaud Bush’s efforts to develop a free government in Afghanistan."

During the question and answer session, Nouri told the crowd that he believed Osama bin Laden was probably killed during earlier bombing raids. "I strongly believe he has been killed. It’s probably 70/30 that he is dead"- but allowed that if he is still alive, "he will show up just before the election."

In response to a brilliant question asking why America is hated in other parts of the world, Nouri said it was the most important task to accomplish.

"Until we answer this question . . . why do they hate us so much. We must find an answer to this question."

In other business, the City Club presented a check for $500 to Library Trustee John Harris - the first part of a $2,500 pledge. Harris announced a town hall meeting to be held at the library on Saturday, March 13 from 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

The club also plugged their President’s Party (March 6 at San Gabriel Country Club) and annual ‘Day at the Races’ excursion (March 21 at Santa Anita).