With such a history, you can see why the people of Swat did not always think it was a good idea to be part of Pakistan. Every few years Pakistan sent us a new deputy commissioner, or DC, to govern Swat, just as the British had done in colonial days. It seemed to us that these bureaucrats came to our province simply to get rich, then went back home. They had no interest in developing Swat. Our people are used to being subservient because under the wali no criticism was tolerated. If anyone offended him, their entire family could be expelled from Swat. So when the DCs came from Pakistan, they were the new kings and no one questioned them. Older people often looked back nostalgically to the days of the last wali. Back then, they said, the mountains were all still covered in trees, there were schools every five kilometres and the wali sahib would visit them in person to resolve problems.

在这种情况下，斯瓦特人不想被列为巴基斯坦的一部分也是情有可原的。每隔几年，巴基斯坦就会派一位代理专员，也就是DC，来管理斯瓦特。在我们看来，这些官僚只是来这里赚大钱而已，赚够了就回家去了。他们根本不想发展斯瓦特。我们的民族已经习惯逆来顺受，因为在瓦利制度下，是不允许批判政权的。如果有任何人冒犯了瓦利准则，那么此人的整个家族都会被赶出斯瓦特。所以当代理专员从伊斯兰堡来时，他们就是新的国王，没有人敢质疑他们。老一辈的人常常会怀念最后一代的瓦利统治时期。他们回忆道，那时候山上还有葱郁的树林覆盖，每隔五公里就会有间学校，瓦利老爷还会亲自拜访他们，解决他们遇到的问题。

After what happened with Safina, I vowed that I would never treat a friend badly again. My father always says it’s important to treat friends well. When he was at college and had no money for food or books many of his friends helped him out and he never forgot that. I have three good friends – Safina from my area, Sumbul from the village and Moniba from school. Moniba had become my best friend in primary school when we lived near each other, and I persuaded her to come to our school. She is a wise girl, though we often fall out, particularly when we go on school trips. She comes from a large family with three sisters and four brothers. I think of her as my big sister even though I am six months older than her. Moniba sets down rules which I try to follow. We don’t have secrets from each other and we don’t share our secrets with anyone else. She doesn’t like me talking to other girls and says we must be careful of associating with people who are badly behaved or have a reputation for trouble. She always says, ‘I have four brothers, and if I do even the slightest thing wrong they can stop me going to school.’

萨芬娜的事情过后，我发誓再也不会对朋友不好了。父亲总是说，对朋友好是很重要的。在他念大学时，没钱吃饭和买书，是几个好朋友伸出援手，帮他渡过难关，他永远铭记在心。我有三个好朋友--萨芬娜、和我同村的桑波，还有与我一起上学的莫妮巴。以前我和莫妮巴住得很近，我们在小学里成为最好的朋友，然后我说服她来我们学校念书。她是个很聪慧的女孩，虽然我们常常吵架--特别是在郊游的时候。她来自一个大家庭，有三个姐妹和四个兄弟。虽然我比她大六个月，但我感觉她是我的大姐姐。莫妮巴会立下规矩，我则试着去遵守。我们之间没有任何秘密，我们是个紧密的小圈子，我们也不与其他人分享我们的秘密。她不喜欢我和其他女孩子说话。她说，我们必须注意自己和什么样的人来往，特别是要小心那些表现不佳的人，或是那些时常闯祸的人。她总是说：“我有四个兄弟，所以即便我犯的错再怎么轻微，都会成为他们不让我继续上学的理由。”

I was so eager not to disappoint my parents that I ran errands for anyone. One day our neighbours asked me to buy some maize for them from the bazaar. On the way a boy on a bicycle crashed into me and my left shoulder hurt so much that my eyes watered. But I still went and bought the maize, took it to my neighbours and then went home. Only then did I cry. Shortly after that I found the perfect way to try to win back the respect of my father. Notices had gone up at school for a public speaking competition and Moniba and I both decided to enter. I remembered the story of my father surprising my grandfather and longed to do the same.

因为不想让父母失望，所以我帮所有人跑腿。有一天，我的邻居要我去市场帮他们买一点玉米。在去市场的路上，有个男孩骑脚踏车撞上我。当时，我的肩膀很痛，泪水在眼眶里打转。但我还是去了市场，买了玉米，送到邻居家后才回家。直到回家后，我才掉下眼泪。在那之后没多久，我发现了一个重新赢回父亲尊重的绝佳方法。学校要举办公开演讲比赛的公告已经贴出来了，我和莫妮巴都决定参加。我记得父亲通过演讲使祖父惊喜的故事，我想要和他做一样的事。

When we got the topic, I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was ‘Honesty is the best policy’.

当我们拿到题目时，我简直不敢相信自己的眼睛。题目是：“诚实为上”。