There are more than 2.2 million refugees from Afghanistan in the world. This year something really scary to me, a 10 year old girl, happened in Afghanistan. I had read a book by Malala, a woman who escaped Afghanistan, and it really touched me, but I didn’t know it was still happening. How terrible the Taliban is being to women and children was really hard for me to understand. 

After I read the book by Malala, I knew a little about the situation, but I heard a lot about it from my parents. They both know that I am very sensitive and that something this horrible could really shake me, but they told me anyway. I am very glad they did because while it is very overwhelming and saddening, I can’t hide from unfairness. A couple weeks later, I saw some more about it on the news. The story wasn’t very in depth, but some online articles were. I was able to get more information from a magazine and online articles with pictures. Recently my social studies teacher also gave us a lesson on what was happening in Afghanistan. At first I just thought that it was a really bad thing that was happening but I couldn’t do anything that would make a difference. I donated some money but I was still doubtful at how helpful it would be. The very next day my social studies teacher told us that the US military had left Afghanistan and that the Taliban had taken over. She also said that the US was going to try to get some Afghan citizens that had helped them to safety in America. I was shocked at how many people needed shelter, food, and water. I was very happy to learn that I could help in a more direct way. My family donated money and our old toys. We also donated some backpacks and blankets to families most in need. Sadly this crisis isn’t over yet. I hope that we can all learn and this will never happen again. 

There are many things you can do to help with this tragedy. They include donating money, to help them buy food and a shelter. One more thing you can do is volunteer and make them feel welcome here. I learned that I really feel strongly about helping people that have been treated unfairly. I learned that even though there will always be unfairness in the world, there will also always be people to help. My advice is to ask for that help. You don’t have to do it alone. Sometimes it is really hard to ask for help even for the people who need it most, but if you can get the courage to, you will be greatly rewarded. Having even one person can change everything in a time of need. “There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” ― Elie Wiesel 

 — Madelyn G. 

Have you ever been bullied before? Well in 3rd grade I was bullied for 5 months. I was at St. Andrews school in P.E, and my classmates and I were playing indoor tennis. We were playing 2v2’s, and I was playing against the bully. But I hadn’t known he was a bully yet. As the ball came to me, I steadied my hand and took a swing at the ball. I hit it, and it bounced on the other side of what we called, “a court” and went out of bounds. “Yes!” I said as I high fived my teammate. “That wasn’t in!” a person on the other team yelled at us. He said that I was cheating and lying. After we argued, he told the teacher what had happened but said I was cheating and lying again. I was forced to apologize to him, and that’s how he started to bully me.

A couple months later, he had still been bullying me so I had been trying to stay away from him. For good reason too because every time I’d go near him, he’d make fun of me or say something mean. But that didn’t stop me from doing what I wanted to do, like play soccer. Unfortunately, though, the bully played soccer too. I had hated school ever since he started to bully me so playing soccer was the only fun part of my day. I was playing soccer again at recess again, when the bully came up to me and trucked me. I felt a surge of anger rushing through me and… it exploded. I stood up, pulled the bully down to the ground, and punched him in the nose. “Apologize Logan!” another student said as I walked away. I felt a sense of guilt in my chest, even though I was proud of myself for standing up to him.

About 1 month later, I was in quarantine like everybody else. I was sitting in my workspace at home, and I looked at my iPad screen in shock. I did this because the bully was acting like nothing had happened. He was acting nice to me! Next year, after Covid-19 quarantine, the bully and I actually became friends! But I never forgot that year where he bullied me. So treat everybody the same way because I know how it feels to be treated unfairly, and let me tell you, it does not feel good. And think to yourself: would I want to be treated that way? Because I guarantee you, you wouldn’t want to be treated unfairly.

— Logan J.