Afghan Skate School: Skateistan
January 28, 2009 – 12:10 am PT by MikeTags: Afghan Skate School, Afghan Whigs, New York Times, Skateistan, Taliban —
What are the first things you think of when you hear about the country Afghanistan? For one, I think of the TALIBAN. They are the gangsters/rulers of Kabul and the surrounding areas. They are also the gangsters (not yet the Taliban) that the United States befriended in the early 1980’s during the Afghan Russian War. It was a great friendship. So much so, the US equipped them with a nice supply of weapons and artillery to help fight off communist Russia. Those were the days, and they still kind of are (i.e. Northern Alliance). The other thing I think of is the AFGHAN WHIGS. They were really a great band in the 90’s dubbed the next big thing. Not sure what went wrong though.
One thing I definitely don’t think of though is skateboarding. With one of the most jagged terrains on earth, I wouldn’t expect there would be any skateboarding anywhere in Afghanistan, except for maybe Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.
But believe it or not, skating has reached Afghanistan and they have a great area where skateboarders rule: SKATEISTAN. Skateistan is a school where urban Afghan children come to learn how to skate. This school in my opinion really is the best thing the United States has contributed to Afghan society. Now let’s hope that Obama won’t go in and destroy it.
Check out this great article over at the New York Times. Let’s hope the NY Times won’t go out of business.
