oliviatamccue

It is not everyday scene to see an 18-year old teenager getting a standing ovation in a late night show.  She is the youngest-ever Nobel peace prize laureate.

‘I am Malala” covers her fifteen years of life in Pakistan, her families, her childhood, her schools and the global terrorism before she was almost shot to death.

Her father is not a traditional man.  He fell in love with his future wife and got married; in a culture which did not celebrate the arrival of a girl, he gave her whole heart to his daughter Malala when she was born.   Her father is a man with a dream to educate children. His dream led the family to Mingora, Swat Valley, to build schools.  There were years of hardship around building schools in Pakistan, not to mention that the schools were for both boys and girls.   Yet, through the eyes of Malala, there is the positivity and the belief in overcoming obstacles.

As her family “financial” situation improved and the school was established, the political situation in Pakistan deteriorated as Taliban started to penetrate to the Swat valley. It started with propaganda over radio which influenced minds and provided a platform to attack non-conformist.  As the influences increased, it spread terror through physical attack and increasingly powerful militants.  The commitment and competence of Pakistan regime to protect the territory from falling to Taliban were both questionable; for years, Malala’s family has been living through wars between the Taliban and the Pakistan military; and schools were being bombed often.   As the town went from bad to worse, her family became internally displaced, like refugees.

Through the turmoil, Malala lives through her childhood, with tons of family love, friends, and her fair share of teenager worries.   Like many children, she loves learning, she is concerned about grades, she loves to be the top student in her class; she has friends, and occasional arguments with friends; she is a typical elder sister with sibling rivalries.   She has concern about her height and wish diligence could get herself an inch taller.

What is inspirational is her love of learning and her belief of education against terrorism.  Malala has pursued her education at risk of her personal safety; she relentlessly advocates for education through her blog, her speech and her bravery.  When her family became internally displaced, the thing she missed the most was her books.  When she recovered in the hospital, she wanted her books, and she missed the school examinations.  Malala’s love of learning and school is a lesson for all the kids in many countries, where education is taken for granted.

This is a story of a girl, a family and a country through the eyes of Malala, with unusual clarity of thought, passion and strength; yet without the sophistication of premature adulthood.