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Naveed
“From the winter of war comes the spring of hope”
By JOHN HEFFERNAN
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“You can cut down the flowers, but nothing can stop the coming of Spring” Fourteen year-old Naveed has only ever known war. Born into it, living it every day, he’s had to grow up quickly to be man-of-the-house for his widowed mother and little sister. Life is one long battle for him as he struggles to pay rent, put food on the table, and just stay out of harm’s way. But Naveed dares to dream. He’s sick of war – of the Taliban and the war lords and the drug barons and the foreign powers that together have torn his country apart. He dares to dream of peace, of a day when Afghans will say no to hate and revenge, when they will take charge of their own future and begin re-building their country. In one boy’s dream lie the seeds of a nation’s future. From the winter of war comes the spring of hope |
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“Naveed represents a confluence of two paths in my life as a writer.
Years ago I wrote a picture book called My Dog about the 1990s war in Bosnia. The story is told by young Alija, who searches for his family across a war-ravaged landscape with a small blotchy dog as companion. In researching the book, I developed an abiding interest in war as part of the human condition, especially its impact on children. Years ago I also spent time travelling through Afghanistan. The journey left an indelible impression on me, and since then I’ve followed the nation’s demise over more than three decades of war. Now, as the West prepares to leave, it is tempting to see only a bleak future for this beautiful country and its proud people. And yet in the many personal stories I read as research for this book I found real seeds of hope. Naveed is my story of one boy’s fight for the future of his country.” |
To see a trailer of "Naveed" go to: Naveed: Through My Eyes by John Heffernan – book trailer
For more about Allen & Unwin’s Through My Eyes Series go to: Through My Eyes – a powerful and moving fiction series about children living in contemporary conflict zones.
The New England Writers' Centre is assisted by the NSW Government through Arts NSW.