The last thousand

"There, a few thousand students are learning not just to read and write and add, but to question, criticize, make provocative art. To sing, poke fun at one another, to protest. The Teacher named the school "Marefat" because it means "knowledge" but also all its derivatives: "wisdom;" "education;" "intellect;" "awareness." Under the protection of foreign forces, a special place has flourished in Afghanistan. The Marefat School is an award-winning institution in the Western slums of Kabul, built by one of the country's most vulnerable minority groups, the Hazara. Marefat educates both girls and…