Long walk to freedom*

Muhammad Jasim was born in Afghanistan and grew up in Pakistan. He expierenced the social hardships of an archaic society as his own story early in life. Nelson Mandela became his major role model and inner companion.

While he was working on drawings for an installation, which will be shown as a part of the ongoing exhibiton in Quartiersmanagement Spandau-Neustadt, he starts talking about his big dream.

"My personal dream is... you know, every man wants a good house, money.... but my dream is : I want to make house for my parents and for me also and don't need big money, i need little money. I don't want to ask friends to give me money. I need money for myself, not much and not very little. I want to build a house and also I want better future for my children, for my wife - and I want to make a project in my village, where I got lot of problems. I don't want in future the community in my village people has a lot of problems. i want to solve the problems such as electricity, education... my dream is... the big dream is... I want to make a big university in my village. Because we are ten villages and my village is in the center. I gave my own land for a higher secondary school and now there is a womens school for the first to twelfth class. Now 400 girls go to school ever day but after the twelfth class they all finish education because they don't have enough money for university and it is 30 km away in Peshawar city.

My dream is I want to make university for the girls of my villages.

For man it is possible to go every day to university and to come back, but for girls it is not possible … because when they go to university then they need another person, brother or father or husband and nobody will go … you know... No man in our country will let a women go alone a long way to university. Hence will make in our village. In the village it will be possible because every girl can come by feet . All villages are in a area of ten kilometers, very near, one kilometer, two kilometer, very near. This is my dream, the big dream. I will find money and will make the university and maybe, I hope, if I will make the university on myself they government will give me teachers.... but - it is a big dream"

^{* Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela,}^{published 1995 by Little Brown & Co}

Drawings and bedstead: Muhammad Jasim and a part of his installation

Nelson Mandela: pen drawing by Muhammad Jasim, fixed at the wall of his room