Åsne Seierstad

Be yourself!_ said Gro. __o one will hear any of you otherwise, still less trust you. That__ the most important thing of all. If you__e not yourself you just can__ sustain it in the long term.

Under a bad leadership Serbs are capable of committing the most terrible atrocities; under good leaders we can do great deeds. It's like a field - if it's not cared for, the weeds will take over. But if you tend it, water and feed the seeds, you will read a bountiful harvest. Serbs are lazy, we lack discipline and have no capacity for self-criticism." With Their Backs to the World

In Afghanistan a woman__ longing for love is taboo. It is forbidden by the tribes_ notion of honor and by the mullahs. Young people have no right to meet, to love, or to choose. Love has little to do with romance; on the contrary, love can be interpreted as committing a serious crime, punishable by death.