19 February 2004
1st prize - "Unanimity"
Life in unanimity becomes beautiful
Drops in solidarity become a river
Love changes the stone to jewel,
Understanding changes love to trust
Life springs out of interaction between us
It becomes a poem, a song, it comes alive,
Roll up your sleeves, get ready
Awaken your sleeping friends
Let’s rebuild our homeland
Let’s restore our honor in the world
Our country is beautiful, let us build it
Let’s free it from ancient calamity
Let’s enlighten the dark alleys of the mind
Let’s make the thorny deserts fertile
Man and woman must work in unison
Until this homeland flowers again
Hey, you befuddled, use your brains
They will help you reach our lofty goals
Tajik and Pashtun, Hazara and Turkmen
Are toiling together to build the homeland
Old and young take each others’ hands
Bring your pens along with the shovels!
I love you my homeland,
I love you like my mother.
-Mohammed Firoz Khawar (Mazar-i Sharif). Mr. Firoz Khawar is a shopkeeper in Mazar-i Sharif (translated from Dari)
2nd prize - "National Unity"
Whether we are Hazara, Pashtun or Tajik
Baluch, Turkmen or Uzbek
We will sacrifice ourselves for national unity
Our history is one, our nation is one
We will build this country, this is our commitment
Whether we are Hazara, Pashtun or Tajik
The nation gets its strength from diversity
As the garden’s beauty depends on the harmony between its flowers
We are all beautiful; our color is of no relevance
Truly, for centuries we have lived together
We are the followers of one Islam and one Quran
Whether we are Hazara, Pashtun or Tajik
A Pashtun will sacrifice for a Hazara
And shows love for his Tajik and Uzbek brothers
Baluch are the friends of Turkmen
Our ancestors are one, our blood is one
We are moving under the same flag
Whether we are Hazara, Pashtun or Tajik
Whether it is Pashto, Uzbek or Dari
Pashai, Turkmen or Baluch,
We all have our own languages
Which are all equal in literary value
We enjoy a great culture and beautiful languages
Whether we are Hazara, Pashtun or Tajik
The slogan of national unity is chanted in schools
In all religions mutual respect is mandatory
Our Sunnites and Shiites are equal
The chosen creatures of God, and from the same source
Pure Adam is our father; we are his children,
Whether we are Hazara, Pashtun or Tajik
-Amanullah Husa (Kabul). Mr. Husa works with the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (translated from Pashtu)
3rd prize: "The Hands of Unity (qasida style)"
Let’s expel the darkness and enlighten our homeland - let us purify our hearts
Let’s join hands and embrace each other - let us purify our hearts
Let’s build our homeland, spread the message of brotherhood - get rid of this bad reputation
Let’s rally around the principles of love, honesty and unity - let us purify our hearts
How long will ruins reign – and illiteracy spell the law? Autumn in our homeland never seems to end
Let’s bring the spring of love to our hearts, and freely sacrifice for each other - let us purify our hearts
Let’s improve ourselves, and turn our homeland into a rosary - let us remove the roots of discord
Let’s establish the law, to gain respect among brother nations - let us purify our hearts
Let’s unite – let’s regain our prestige - let us extend our hands to acquire knowledge
Let’s spread knowledge to every corner of our homeland - let us purify our hearts
Whether we are Pashtun or Hazara; Tajik, Uzbek or Turkmen, we speak with one voice
Thus let’s decide to bring light back to our country – let us purify our hearts
-Abdul Bari Ghairat (Wardak). Mr. Bari Ghairat is a mullah in Wardak province (translated from Pashtu)