BSC congratulates Year 10 student, Zahra Qalandari, who was chosen as a finalist of the PYT Fairfield poetry competition, A Love Letter to our Watan, for her poem "I am Afghan". Her heartfelt poem highlights the beauty of Afghanistan amid the enduring suffering and despair the country has experienced recently.

She was chosen out of many applicants to recite her poem in support of Afghanistan during an online poetry evening.

Read Zahra's emotive poem below:

I am Afghan

I treasure my rich country

honourable and deserving of respect

devotion to my country never fades

remains in my health eternally

Though my feet have not touched your soil

I dream of the day I breathe under your bright sky

along the map of my mind

I wander from Kandahar to Kunduz

I see your fertile landscape with closed eyes

I taste your crystal mountain water

as pure as heaven

your morning’s horizon gives life to fragrant flowers

night witnesses the silence of sweeping valleys

the world wonders at your colour and beauty

My beloved homeland

gifted with white snowy mountains and golden valleys

you whisper your language in my heart

ancient customs and traditions are my way

each generation gladly follows

tied by a string that will never break

 I cry out to the universe

words of praise from my lips

for you are mine

standing by your side with a strong heart and spirit

My beloved home

you are unique and brave

like a warrior I protect you and keep you safe

you stay forever in our hearts

Precious Afghanistan