Meet Misbuhulhag, 14, Afghanistan

	Misbuhulhag (right) and Greg Smith

Misbuhulhag is this young man's full name. In Afghanistan, his interpreter explained, many people have only one name.

He was appointed by the new Minister of Justice in Afghanistan to attend the UN Special Session on Children. His main concern is child labor.

"In my country, millions of young children ages 7 to 18 work all day," he said through an interpreter. "They have to work. They have to help feed their family. If you are working, you cannot go to school."

Misbuhulhag lives in an orphanage and goes to a school where he is taught to weave carpets as part of the curriculum. He does not want to spend his live weaving rugs, however.

"I want to be an engineer and help rebuild my country," he says. "I want to go to university and learn to repair the parts of Afghanistan that have been destroyed by war."

He addressed adult representatives of a UN panel on child labor.

"My question to you is, what can you do to help the families of these children so they can go to school and learn and become something in the future?" he asked. "When are you going to replace the guns with pens and books?"

During the panel, a young American, Greg Smith, 12, of Charlottesville, Virginia, came up to Misbuhulhag and handed him a card.

"I heard your story and I want to know how to help," Greg said. The young boy from Afghanistan took the card and nodded his head. The serious expression on his face never changed, whether talking to reporters, addressing the panel, or meeting a colleague from another country. He remained solemn throughout the proceedings.

When asked what he hoped to accomplish at the session, he spoke earnestly and forcefully through the interpreter.

"I want to take with me the promise that Afghanistan is going to be helped," he said. "The promise must come from all the countries."

Photo: Suzanne Freeman