The purpose of this paper is to relate anything that we have learned in class so far this current semester to any particular items in the book that we (each student) chose to read. Personally, I chose to read "Friend By Day, Enemy By Night" by Lincoln Keiser. This book was very interesting to me based on the violence that happened basically everyday while Mr. Keiser was in Thull doing his research. What would make a community act like this? This is just one of the many questions that Mr. Keiser had while staying in Thull.
First, I am going to discuss the location of Thull. Thull is a Kohistani tribal community in the Hindu-Kush Mountains of Pakistan. There is really only one road into Dir Kohistan, but it eventually turns into a mountain track. Thull is also a very remote community. I guess you can say that the people of this region don't get to travel much!.
Now, I am going to discuss the agricultural scene. "The people of Thull make their living by a mix of farming and herding" (Keiser, pg. 4). The women of Thull basically bear the responsibility of farming, while the men herd goats, cattle, water buffalo, and sheep. But to support their mar dushmani (death enmity) the men soon switched to cash crops to make more money. Their main cash crop was potatoes. This is possible due to the fact that Thull lies along some 40 kilometers of river valley. This way, they could sell their product and return a profit to buy more guns and ammunition. .
The topic of women was very interesting to me also. The fact that women literally had no lives was astonishing. I remember the video that we watched on the 6th of November (I cannot remember the title though) and how women were treated. They were basically treated like second-class citizens. It seemed as if in the book that women were only good for having children, sex, and doing work! Other than that, they were not to be heard or seen. In Thull especially, women had to keep their faces covered when out or around other men.
