In the fore­word of “The Bread­win­ner,” author Deb­o­rah Ellis reflects on the long his­to­ry of con­flict in Afghanistan, span­ning thir­ty-six years since the Sovi­et Union’s inva­sion. This time includes the civ­il war that erupt­ed after their depar­ture, the rise of the Tal­iban, and the con­se­quen­tial events fol­low­ing Sep­tem­ber 11. Ellis express­es her con­cern regard­ing the impact of war, high­light­ing how deci­sions made by those in safe­ty lead to dev­as­tat­ing con­se­quences for the inno­cent peo­ple of Afghanistan.

She empha­sizes that wars are often fueled by indi­vid­u­als who prof­it from weapon man­u­fac­tur­ing and who fail to seek peace­ful res­o­lu­tions, instead opt­ing for vio­lence. Through her expe­ri­ences, Ellis por­trays the stark real­i­ties of war: the destruc­tion of fam­i­lies, loss of infra­struc­ture, and the per­va­sive suf­fer­ing of refugees who await basic neces­si­ties like food and shel­ter.

Amidst the chaos, Ellis iden­ti­fies extra­or­di­nary indi­vid­u­als who embody hope and resilience. She recounts encoun­ters with teach­ers, librar­i­ans, health work­ers, and every­day heroes who strive to nur­ture child­hood, build com­mu­ni­ties, and offer care despite over­whelm­ing obsta­cles. These acts of kind­ness serve as a pow­er­ful reminder of human decen­cy in the face of adver­si­ty.

Ellis illus­trates the trag­ic sta­tis­tic that civil­ian casu­al­ties con­sti­tute nine­ty-five per­cent of war-relat­ed deaths, urg­ing read­ers to rec­og­nize the human­i­ty in those whom war affects. These indi­vid­u­als share our lives in fun­da­men­tal ways, expe­ri­enc­ing the same joys and strug­gles, such as pon­der­ing dai­ly meals and car­ing for their loved ones.

Books become a vital tool for fos­ter­ing empa­thy and under­stand­ing human con­nec­tions, some­thing Ellis strives to achieve in her writ­ing. In the fif­teenth anniver­sary edi­tion of “The Bread­win­ner,” she express­es deep grat­i­tude towards read­ers who have embraced the jour­ney of Par­vana and her com­pan­ions. She acknowl­edges the role of edu­ca­tors and care­givers in shar­ing the sto­ry and con­veys heart­felt appre­ci­a­tion to the peo­ple of Afghanistan, empha­siz­ing their right to peace.

Deb­o­rah Ellis’ words res­onate deeply as she invites read­ers to reflect on shared human expe­ri­ences amidst the despair of war, reaf­firm­ing the endur­ing spir­it of kind­ness and com­pas­sion.