A California teen returns to his Afghan homeland.

A Tale of Two Countries

Said Hyder Akbar was living a pretty ordinary suburban California teenage life when the U.S. invaded Afghanistan in 2001. But when newly installed president Hamid Karzai beseeched Hyder’s dad, Said Fazel Akbar, to give up running a hip-hop clothing store in Oakland and help him run Afghanistan, the then-17-year-old Hyder decided that he, too, would return to the country he hadn’t seen since he was an infant. As it happened, radio producer Susan Burton had recently interviewed Hyder and his father about the assassination of Abdul Haq, a legendary warrior who was the rough equivalent of Hyder’s godfather. Burton gave Hyder quick lessons in what makes good radio, and over two years they collaborated to make two “This American Life” documentaries and now a book, Come Back to Afghanistan: A California Teenager’s Story. Because his father served as Karzai’s spokesman and later as the governor of Kunar province, Hyder had unbelievable access: a front-row seat to assassination attempts, prisoner abuse cases, and Afghanistan’s slide into what he calls a “narco-mafia” state. Through Hyder’s teen sensibility—he likens seeing the loya jirga to having an all-access pass to Lollapalooza—and his ability to navigate between two worlds, Afghanistan’s tribal rivalries and customs are made comprehensible, while American habits and military mores are revealed to be bizarre. —Clara Jeffery >>>>cont