Squeaky Weal Lecture Series: Tom Negovan’s "Assignment Afghanistan"

By Ifeanyi Onwumah

Squeaky Weal Lecture Series: Tom Negovan’s “Assignment Afghanistan”

We can hardly turn on the news today without hearing something about the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Most of what we hear concerns the politics and policies behind the wars, and we hardly hear anything about how the men and women who are actively engaged in this war feel about it or how it affects them on a daily basis.

This is what Tom Negovan sought to rectify when he took a chance and went to Afghanistan to report on the lives of the Illinois National Guard in Kabul, Afghanistan and what it was like for them to try and befriend the Afghan people and what their perceptions of the war is like.

Tom Negovan, a reporter from Chicago’s WGN-TV came to SXU on Thursday Feb. 11 to share his amazing story with us and to invoke our reactions to the things he experienced on his trip. He first made sure that the mood and atmosphere in the Butler Reception Room was light and easy because of the nature and intensity of the issue he was covering. Mr. Negovan proceeded to tell us about what inspired him to go overseas and cover this amazing story. This inspiration was being that there is an unusually large amount of Illinois National Guard soldiers stationed in Kabul and people rarely get a chance to see and hear the stories of Afghanistan from the soldiers’ perspectives and he wanted to make this happen. Tom was so passionate about this that he volunteered to go by himself if that was what it took to get this story out.

Tom immediately started interacting with the people of Afghanistan and the U.S. soldiers trying to establish order in the country. Soldiers included Chicago firemen and school teachers that gave up their comfortable lives at home in the U.S. to serve their countries and the integrity of humanity. A very vibrant and touching aspect of Tom’s story was his visit to a local school where he witnessed the generational difference in attitudes towards the war and the presence of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. Tom noticed that the younger kids were very friendly towards the soldiers and were enthusiastic about their education. This resonated through their eagerness to use the books that were donated to them by the people of the United States. The teenagers and adults on the other hand, weren’t too happy to see the soldiers and expressed their displeasure with the U.S. presence by burning the donated school supplies and constantly insulting the soldiers.

Tom also showed us that the soldiers honestly believe that what they are doing is worthwhile and they are slowly but surely reaping the fruits of their labor. Back at home, we fail to see any of this because we are too caught up in the politics surrounding the wars. We tend to forget that while we are debating the justifications of these wars, there are soldiers out there who might be our neighbors, coworkers, and family members who are putting their lives on the line for us every day so that humanity may prosper. Tom also stressed how humbled he was by his experience and that there is nothing he would love more than to go back because there is still so much more to be told.

At the end of his presentation, Tom was presented with a Saint Xavier challenge coin as a reward for his dedication to the soldiers and veterans of this country. Other veterans in the audience and SXU students who have also served were honored for their exceptional sacrifices and service to this country. For me, this was the most humbling part of the night.

Ifeanyi Onwumah is a sophomore philosophy major from South Holland. He participates in several campus clubs. Consideration for the student bloggers is provided by Saint Xavier University.