Little Kabul comes to San Francisco!

2:00 pm – “Secrets of Little Kabul:
The Inside Scoop on Afghans in America”
A panel discussion with journalist Fariba Nawa,
memoirist Atta Arghandiwal and poet/fiction writer Nahid Fattahi.

4:30 pm – A concert of music by
Afghan-American vocalist Abu Sofyan
with tabla accompaniment
performing modern and traditional music

Journalist Fariba Nawa

Fariba Nawa is a journalist, speaker and author. She reports on various issues, including immigrant communities, women’s rights and the global drug trade. Her work has been published in numerous publications, including The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, the Daily Beast, the Sunday Times Magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle and Mother Jones. She is an expert on Afghanistan and has been interviewed by prominent news organizations from MTV to NBC to FOX. Her book Opium Nation: Child Brides, Drug Lords and One Woman’s Journey through Afghanistan (HarperCollins, 2011) is a mix of memoir and reportage focused on women’s roles in the world’s biggest narcotics business.  Her article following up on that book, entitled “In Afghanistan, Fathers Barter Daughters to Settle Drug Debts“, appears in the most recent issue of The Atlantic magazine, and can be read by clicking here.

Atta Arghandiwal was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, but has spent over half his life in the West.  Arghandiwal left his home country in August of 1980 and became a refugee; he immigrated to US in December 1981.  He is a financial services professional.  With deep passion and pride in his heritage, Arghandiwal has written an award winning memoir Lost Decency (Lost Decency Press, 2012) in order to increase awareness about his country’s political upheaval and the innocent people who have been caught in the chaos.