How Green was the Valley…. Of Swat
Utror Valley near Kalam http://laf.ee/wp
As a young child I remember going to Swat on summer vacation twice. It was an enchanting place with beautiful landscapes so unfamiliar to one who lived in the plains.
Swat Valley http://3.bp.blogspot.com
Saidu Sharif, Kalam, the names of the town’s were like from fairy tales. I still have those wonderful images of my childhood whenever I hear the name Swat.
Kalam www.swatvalley.com
Swat used to be different from the other regions in the north frontier of Pakistan. They used to not have the rigid view of life and religion.
Bahrain Swat racismandnationalconsciousnessnews
My wife tells me of her visit to Swat long ago (before we had met), with her family, and how they met the family of the Wali-e-Swat (the then ruler of Swat) and the love she saw among the people. She especially remembers at mealtime how all the women of the Wali’s household, servants and ladies, sat together to eat, just like in old Muslim stories where ruler and subjects were equals as people.
Swat in winter farm1.static.flickr.com
Sometimes the heart cannot reconcile what the mind understands. What has engulfed all of Pakistan is the result of decades of corruption and tremendous social and economic injustice, coupled with an exploding population that has doubled to 150 million in about 30 years.
Father and Daughter in Swat
The news from Swat is not good. What has happened to this land of enchantment, with its beautiful sceneries and its gentle people? Will it ever be the same again?
Khalid Shah, 50, is an American Muslim who came to the U.S. 32 years ago. He and his wife have lived in the St. Louis area since 1990, and have been active in a variety of interfaith activities as well as in the local Muslim communities. They have both spoken about Islam at a variety of houses of worship. After working as an engineer for most of his career, he is currently a small business owner. 
Thomas Wolfe, an American author, wrote a book entitled “You Can’t Go Home Again”. The book is fiction but it is about George Webber who writes about his old home town. This makes some of the people in the town upset, making it impossible for him to go home again. Will Khalid Shah, with his American experience, be acceptable in Swat today? One thing seems sure. Swat will never be the same.
It is difficult to go home. I was born in United States. I am the lucky one. I can only imagine what my grandfather’s home town would look like. He left there in 1915, long before WWII. After WWII his village ceased to exist. Does each generation have to experience war before we stop?