Against all odds, Afghans survive with good humor, hospitality

Published: 2006-03-30

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Despite living in a country ravaged by more than two decades of war and invasion, with harsh conditions and seemingly incurable poverty, the Afghan people are good-humored survivors, said church aid workers. "The story that should be told more often is their resilience," said Paul Hicks, head of programs for Catholic Relief Services in Afghanistan. An outsider will see Afghans who are "incredibly inhospitable -- then you see how they survive. ... They are incredibly warm people with rich traditions," Hicks told Catholic News Service March 29. Afghanistan is "a developing country that is so receptive and interested in progress," he added. Hicks was in Washington with other CRS/Afghanistan workers, Nafi Olomi and Shannon Oliver, to meet staffers of the U.S. bishops' Office of International Justice and Peace. CRS is the international development agency sponsored by the U.S. bishops.

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