Cigarette Soup Page #8

Come on, zarmina,

you can do this.

I remember when the Taliban

came to my school

and forced the girls out.

As they were pushing us out,

one of my best friends

fell to the ground.

They shot her in the back.

She died right there.

I have never experienced

what it is like to have rights.

Do you know any members

of the Taliban personally?

Yes.

Two cousins,

and I love them dearly.

How? I'm sorry,

how is it possible

that you have two of your own

flesh and blood

belong to such

an evil organization

and yet you

still love them?

Some men believe

that the only way

to provide for their family

is by joining the Taliban.

They would rather be known

as terrorists,

then see their wife

and children die

of starvation.

Holy sh*t!

I'm about to introduce you

to our traditional

Afghan dinner.

So the first thing that we do

is we take off our shoes.

Okay.

Oh! Maybe we should

keep the shoes on.

No! No!

You never eat

with your left hand.

Your left hand is used

for your personal hygiene.

You don't want to mix

the two, now do you?

Thank you

for your hospitality.

Hospitality

is an essential part

of Afghan culture.

This is probably the best meal

I've had in a long time.

Thank you.

You come across as a very

independent woman.

I'm sure you had

dreams as a kid.

I still do have dreams.

Tell me about them.

Well...

I always wanted

to be a journalist,

much like yourself.

I think that's great.

What made you want

to become a journalist?

I think civilians

have the right to know

what is going on

in the world.

It's their world,

their home.

Our home.

Our country.

What is it that instilled

this belief in you?

When I was 17

the Taliban kidnapped

my father.

My father

had his own business.

He was a Baker.

And when the Taliban

found out

that he was having my mother

bake from our home,

they took him away from us.

And for seven months,

we didn't know

what happened to him.

And then we found out

that they were using my father

to test explosives.

But that's not

the worst part.

The first time they threw him

out into the field,

only part of the bomb

detonated.

But he was still alive,

so they set him on fire.

My father dying

the way he did was...

Horrific.

Being a woman

in Afghanistan is hard,

but being a widowed mother

is even harder.

How can you provide

for your family

if you're not

allowed to work?

My mother tells me that

Afghanistan used to be

a beautiful place to live.

Women used to have freedom.

They could get an education,

have a successful career,

much like my mother.

She's the one

who educated me

and taught me English.

And then the saur revolution,

and everything changed.

Why didn't you just leave

the country like most women?

Would you leave your country

if things got bad?

It's your home.

Why should you leave

your home?

No one should be forced

to leave their own home.

So that is my story.

Are you guys hanging in there?

Okay.

What about you, monti?

I'm doing all right, butch.

How about Julian?

You hanging in there?

You know it.

You guys,

i just want to say,

after all the bullshit

we've been through,

my libido is still

f***ing cracking

and I would f***

every single one of you guys.

Especially you, lennie,

that's looking good for real.

Hey, you keep

sweet talking about that, boy,

I will come right over there

and f*** your balls.

That's, oh,

that's so gross.

Yeah, when you say that

it just sounds disgusting.

F***ing gross.

-Hey, crook?

-Yo.

What you missing

about home, man?

Oh, man, watching

good old fashioned war movies

with my brothers.

Yeah, you know,

f***ing classics.

Yeah, well,

for me, to be hanging out

on my front porch

with my buddies,

shooting squirrels.

Just bullshitting.

I'd say definitely

my wife's p*ssy right now.

Yeah, me, too, guys,

put me down for that.

Sounds good.

You should feel it.

No, man, for real,

i just miss my wife.

My kid I haven't even met yet,

man, that's all.

What about you, monti?

Nothing, man.

This is pretty f***ing cool

right here.

Hey.

To your left!

Left, left, left!

Stay on him! Stay on him!

Now it is your turn.

You feel uncomfortable

about it, right?

Okay.

Tell me how

your childhood was.

I don't like this.

Come on!

This could be

your chance to tell us

what the Americans

are really like.

So tell me,

what was your childhood like?

My childhood was good.

My mom raised me.

She was only 19

when she had me.

I know it was difficult

for my mother.

You know, I didn't have

a father growing up

and I tried,

i tried as best

i could to help out,

but, you know, as a kid,

you can only do so much, right?

She's such a cool lady.

What made you want

to be a journalist?

Well, I've always just had

this really strong desire

to get to know people

and then to tell their stories.

I want to tell the truth.

Being a reporter is a lot

like being a good friend.

You have to care

about your subjects,

you need to be thoughtful,

and you have to listen.

I mean, those other things

that make people open up

about themselves--

am I right?

You're right.

I mean, there's an answer

for everything.

But the difficult part is

when there's an answer

behind an answer, and it's

my job, as a journalist,

to find out what

those answers are.

What made you want

to cover the war?

My dad.

You said you didn't have

a father growing up.

Well, growing up I didn't.

My dad was in the army.

My mom tells me

that he was a very

patriotic man.

She says that's where

i get it from.

In 1983, when U.S. troops

invaded Grenada...

He was killed by a group

of Grenadian soldiers.

I'm sorry.

Has covering the war changed

the way you feel about it?

Definitely.

I mean, I have a new found

respect for these soldiers.

These guys they choose

to go out there during war,

risking their lives so that

i could stay here and be safe.

I mean, that's something

that not many people

would do for anyone.

Those guys...

My friends...

Are out there

risking their lives for us.

For me.

And what am I doing?

Sitting here?

Doing nothing about it?

Sam, they ordered you

to stay here.

I heard them myself.

They were just doing

their job.

I mean, don't you think

that you would be scared

shitless out there?

I know I would be.

I gotta--

what? Sam!

No, what are you doing?

Sam!

Sam.

-Sam, no you can't.

-Zarmina, please.

Sam, you will die.

It's not a matter of if,

it's a matter of when.

But you will die out there.

I'm sorry, Sam,

you are not a soldier.

Can you just--

can you just give me

a minute, please?

Okay.

Hurry!

All right!

I'll do what I can!

F*** you!

On your knees! Now!

Get on your knees now!

I have a good deal for these

to f*** us over.

But the virgin mother,

dude, f***.

The last few--

-Where has my messenger been?

-I don't know.

F*** that f***ing

piece of sh*t.

Hey, f*** you!

You f***ing p*ssy!

Where are they?

I said I don't f***ing know!

I don't know, goddamn it,

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