Story 2: Peace IS possible

 .[A true story]

In 2018 a local [ محلی ] peace plan ended a long conflict [ درگیری ] in Laghman. The peace plan showed how communities
[ جامعه ] can change their future by working together, even when there is still fighting in other parts of the country.
    For 4 years, clans [ قبیله ] had been fighting each other in the hills of the Hindu Kush. Schools were closed and waterlines destroyed [ نابود کردن ] by the fighting [ مبارزه کردن ]. When the snow began to melt [ ذوب کردن ] in the spring, people thought more fighting would start again. But then something surprising happened: everyone agreed [موافقت کردن] to talk.
     The result [ نتيجه ] was peace. Afghan women were a part of the peace talks and helped them succeed
[ موفق باش ].
     To help the two fighting clans find peace, officials [ مقامات ] from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) met with the clans.  Local elders [ بزرگان ] helped them. After many months of talks, the 2 clans agreed to hold a loya jirga.
     “What happened in Laghman was inspiring [ الهام بخش ] because it showed us that we can do more for peace than we thought we could. It also showed us the role of women in peace talks,” said a worker for the United Nations. “We hope that others in eastern Afghanistan will follow this example.”
     When the clans were working on an agreement
[ توافق ] for peace, people who did not live in the area were asked to not interfere [ مداخله کردن ] and to let the local people make their own peace. In the end, everyone respected [ توجه ] this request [ درخواست ].
      The three-day loya jirga resulted in a peace agreement [ توافق ] and a ceasefire [ آتش بس ]. United Nations officials praised [ ستودن ] local mediators
[ واسطه ] and called the peace agreement an example of how local peace building can create [ ساختن ] areas of peace that cannot be changed by others.
     Another strong step of progress was that women from both clans participated [ شرکت کردن ] in the three-day jirga. They also had their own meetings. The women worked with each other to find real solutions [ راه حل ] to fighting and war. 
     One woman said, “I did not leave my village for 45 years, or leave my home for the last 4 years.  Going to this peace meeting opened my eyes. I’ve been inspired [ الهام گرفته ] by conversations [ گفتگو ] with other women on how to make a better world for our children.”
    The peace agreement helped nearly 20 local villages and let hundreds of children go to school again.  This peace agreement was a sign of hope for all of Afghanistan.