Discussion #8

Although much of Rory Stewart's passages concerning the Taliban always deals with negativity, he is only relating information to the reader about the villagers and the cruelty that the Taliban had evoked on the people. He was providing the reader with a realistic and truthful viewpoint, as with everything else along his journey and throughout the book. For example, on page 253, Stewart writes,
"'There was no electricity or television in the village. These men had never visited an Afghan city or met a journalist. I wondered why they immediately explained to me what the Taliban had done and why they focused on this Koran rather than on their families and their villages.'
'Can you read the Koran? I asked.'
'No we cannot read or write.'
'Did the Taliban take it out and burn it?'
'No. It was lying in one of the houses that the Taliban burned when they attacked the village.'
'So it was accidental.'
'Yes. You see what kind of people the Taliban are. He meant I imagined they were infidels.'
'How many people did the Taliban kill in this village? I asked.'
'Five...'"