Survival of the fittest, a theory which deals with integration and assimilation, comes to mind when referring to Afghans in the West. A society, when confronted with a bigger and more established one, must accept and/or take on certain aspects of the newer one in order to survive. With respect to the older generation of Afghans, it has been a tremendous struggle for them to assimilate due to the amazing differences in culture and religion and to an extent, due to their resistance to accept western lifestyle as their own. Similarly, many Afghans of the older generation firmly believe in the idea that Afghanistan will once again be a free nation, clearing the way for them to resume the lifestyles they once led before the horrendous war.

The younger generation, on the other hand, has no choice but to assimilate or integrate. For them this is detrimental for survival and this is where the problem lies. They don't really remember the lifestyle they might have once led in Afghanistan. For the most part, they have bits and pieces of memories, which is usually in the form of a dream. They don't have a firm grip on experiences they might have had in Afghanistan, which may aid in building the moral backbone of their upbringing in the West.

Similarly, the younger generation of Afghans in the West are more involved in the day to day fiber of Western society: i.e. school, college, university, teenage hang-out places, sports, night clubs, the mall, hanging out with friends, and so forth. School is a world of it's own. Going through elementary, junior high, high school, university, and so forth, their young minds go through a reconstruction process. What little is taught at home is not enough, especially with the parents’ lack of time or understanding of western society. As a result, what is learned is what is seen on television or observed on a daily basis. Observation is a strong tool in teaching. The phrase "monkey see monkey do" comes to mind when referring to the learning process of the majority of young people in society. Along the path from elementary school to the university level, the youth become exposed to an amazing spectrum of experiences. In the West, it is incredibly difficult to survive adolescence and reach the university level, trying to gain the imperative skills necessary for becoming a successful individual in society. A successful individual meaning respecting oneself as well as others, understanding one's culture, religion, history. It also means having a sense of pride in one's background, understanding that education is a key to the betterment of a society; wanting to take part in the building of one's community and making one's mark for future generations. This becomes a greater ordeal when one is not from this society and does not know how to "play the game."

The older generation of Afghans, for the most part, have great difficulty in understanding western society. This is naturally not their fault. They have gone through many ordeals to get away from death and torture in Afghanistan. Now they are in an alien world trying to do their best to feed their families and hold on to the shreds of dignity left behind after the derailment of their souls. In all reality, they cannot be held responsible for the situation the Afghan youth are in, full of confusion, chaos, hurt and anger. It is not the fault of the youth because they really didn't ask to be here and now they come to find themselves in an unfamiliar cage. So whose fault is it? Well, if we spend all day looking for faults, we will still not be able to pinpoint it.

Again, the idea of integration and assimilation comes to mind. Those who are fortunate and aware of their surroundings will integrate aspects of western societies and combine it with the good parts of their own culture and way of life. Those who lack a real identity and have little pride or are ignorant of their own background will tend to assimilate. It is imperative to do one or the other. It is a matter of education and choice.

As far as the Afghan youth in Bay Area, California are concerned, there is definitely a variety of unique and intelligent individuals. Over the past thirteen years, I have seen the Afghan community flourish in the Bay Area. I believe there is close to thirty thousand Afghans in Northern California, the majority of them being in the Bay Area. The Afghans of the Bay Area have a real sense of community. As a result, the Afghan culture and the Muslim religion have been preserved as best as can be. Of course, there are very strong elements of American culture, which have clearly seeped their way through and have affected the younger generation tremendously. For example, the fact that many dance clubs are being frequented by Afghans, drugs have reared their ugly heads into the Afghan community and have seriously destroyed lives, gangsters and the fact that a few Afghans have been imprisoned due to their involvement with gangs, and the idea of having a girlfriend or boyfriend, all of these have become a reality with the Afghan youth.

However, there are many extremely positive and wonderful aspects of the Afghan youth community of the Bay Area. For example, there is a sense of brotherhood; many talented sports teams have been set up and compete many times a year; a lot more Afghans are attending colleges and universities than before; many young Afghans attend the mosques and make an effort to learn their religion; students have formed very closely knit Afghan clubs and Muslim Student Associations; Afghan students in universities and colleges participate in outreach programs for the younger Afghans in high schools; a newspaper by the name of "Afghan Monthly" has recently been established for the youth; a television program called "Dunya-e Jawanan" has been established and is run by the youth for the youth. Many more wonderful and positive efforts are being made within the Afghan community, especially with respect to the youth.

It is reality that millions of Afghans lost their lives in order to preserve the beautiful religion of Islam, culture of the Afghans and homeland of Afghanistan for us and for future generations. It is true that the Afghan youth have been dealt a bad hand. But why not take that hand and turn it around, making something exceptional out of it?