Building the Fellini School in Kandahar After receiving the Federico Fellini Gold Medal, Mohsen Makhmalbaf addressed the world’s Cultural Ambassadors during the 162nd Congress of the UNESCO Executive Session and stated: Afghanistan is a country, wherein for years, bombs have fallen from the sky on it’s people’s heads and mines have been planted under their feet. Afghanistan is a country in which people get whipped by their government in the street everyday. Afghanistan is a country whose neighbours drive away its shelterless refugees. Afghanistan is a country where natural drought is driving the people to die thirsty and hungry. Although the name of God is mentioned in this country more than anywhere else; it seems that even God has forgotten it. Before the Sep 11th incident in America, Afghanistan was a forgotten land and even now that attention is drawn to Afghanistan it is not for humanitarian reasons. If during the last 25 years the powers had poured books on these people’s heads instead of bombs no place would be left for ignorance, tribal affinities and terrorism. And if they had planted wheat under their feet instead of mines millions of Afghans would not have been forced towards death and refuge. In such conditions dedicating the Federico Fellini medal to a film about Afghanistan is a sign of hope. But I wish that this award were a piece of bread so that I could share it among the hungry people of Afghanistan. I wish that this award were rain so that it could pour on the dry lands of Afghanistan. And I wish that this award is the breeze of freedom so that it could blow towards the veils of Afghan women. But since this award is not bread, nor rain or the breeze of freedom and it is only a sign of hope, I hold this sign of hope in trust for the tortured people of Afghanistan. In the presence of the cultural ambassadors of the world, I promise to build a school in Kandahar in the name of Fellini, after the freedom of Afghanistan, and I will dedicate it to all the students of that school.