[For three days in the Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall, where an African-American woman was once denied the right to sing before an integrated audience in the 1930s, the Afghan girls in head scarves were stars on an international stage, with cameras, lights and whispers trailing them from practice to competition.]
By
Emily Cochrane
 |
The Afghan team at the opening ceremony of the First Global
robotics competition in
Owen/Associated Press
|
But
then the teenager, Kawsar Roshan, paused, tilting the screen to show a picture
of a square piece of United States
“This
is my visa,” the 15-year-old said with a broad smile. “It’s a memory.”
It
took an international outcry and intervention from President Trump and other
officials to allow her and five other girls from an Afghan robotics team to
receive visas after two rejections, letting them travel to the United States
For
three days in the Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall, where
an African-American woman was once denied the right to sing before an
integrated audience in the 1930s, the Afghan girls in head scarves were stars
on an international stage, with cameras, lights and whispers trailing them from
practice to competition.
“Inspiring,
isn’t it?” said Mark Benschop, 44, a parent with the Guyana team, snapping
photographs of the Afghan girls making final adjustments to their robot on
Monday.
Wai
Yan Htun, an 18-year-old member of the Myanmar Myanmar
Colleen
Elizabeth Johnson, 18, one of three teenagers representing the United States
Before
their first match Tuesday morning, the six Afghan teenagers were paired with
the United
States
She
shook hands with the teenagers and posed for pictures before she left and the
rounds continued.
Competition
takes place in arenas built in the center area of Constitution Hall, where
teams of three, equipped with kits that includes wheels, gears and two video
game controllers, chase down blue and orange balls, which represent clean and
contaminated water. In two-and-a-half-minute rounds, teams guide the robots to
sweep the balls into openings based on their color.
“It’s
way more fun, way more exciting than bouncing a ball,” said Dean Kamen, one of
the organization’s founders and inventor of the Segway. “That’s not a
competition out there. That’s a celebration.”
It
was certainly a celebration for Roya Mahboob, a renowned Afghan technology
entrepreneur who interpreted for the teenagers and came on behalf of her
company, Digital Citizen Fund, a women’s empowerment nonprofit that sponsored
the Afghan team for the competition.
The
six students were chosen from an initial pool of 150 applicants. They built
their robot in two weeks, compared with the four months some of their
competitors had, because their kit’s shipment was delayed.
“I’m
just proud that we show the talent of the women,” Ms. Mahboob said. “We see
that there is change.”
The
Afghan robot, named Better Idea of Afghan Girls, lurched across the terrain for
the first round and skirted out of bounds, but 15-year-old Lida Azizi, a teal-colored
fishtail braid dangling from underneath her white head scarf, flashed her
teammates a thumbs-up as they cheered in Dari and applauded. As the competition
progressed, they continued to make adjustments as they got used to driving
their robot, an Afghan flag carefully attached. (The team has jumped to 69th
place from 115th, out of about 160 teams.)
Alireza
Mehraban, an Afghan software engineer who is the team’s mentor, said this was
an opportunity to change perceptions about the girls’ country. “We’re not
terrorists,” he said. “We’re simple people with ideas. We need a chance to make
our world better. This is our chance.”
Yet
with more than 150 countries represented in the competition, the Afghan
teenagers were not the only students who overcame bureaucratic and logistical
challenges to showcase their ingenuity. Visa applications were initially denied
for at least 60 of the participating teams, Mr. Kamen said.
On
Monday, with the news media swarming the Afghan girls, a team from Africa —
five Moroccan students who also got their visas two days before the competition
— huddled in a downstairs corner to repair their robot, which had been
disassembled for last-minute shipment. An American high school built a robot on
behalf of the Iranian team when sanctions on technology exports stopped the
shipment of their materials kit. And on Sunday, the Estonian team built a new
robot in four hours before the opening ceremony, the original lost in transit
somewhere between Paris Amsterdam
But
it was the Afghan team and Team Hope, which consists of three Syrian refugee
students, that ensnared the attention of the competitors, the judges and
supporters.
The
high school students exchanged buttons and signed shirts, hats and flags draped
around their shoulders. The Australian team passed out pineapple-shaped candy
and patriotic stuffed koalas to clip on lanyards, while the Chilean team
offered bags with regional candy inside.
“God
made this planet for something like this, all the people coming together as
friends,” said Alineza Khalili Katoulaei, 18, the captain of the Iranian team, gesturing
to the Iraqi and Israeli teams standing nearby. “Politics cannot stop science
competitions like this.”
After
an award ceremony Tuesday night, the Afghan team is scheduled to attend a
reception while some of the teams are slated to spend a couple of days
exploring Washington Herat Afghanistan
“I
want to be the young leader of robotic technology in my country and show the
talent of Afghans, be an example for Afghan women,” Rodaba Noori, 16, said.
She
said she would remember the sisterhood she had formed with her teammates, the
safety in the United States
“We
want to take the best examples of humanity back,” she said.
