Is it possible for one man to move mountains? Is it possible for any individual with the right amount of determination and love to accomplish anything they set their mind to? Greg Mortenson was such a person, and his passion for bringing freedom and education to one of the world’s most volatile and impoverished areas is a remarkable display of the humanitarian spirit. Throughout his adventures in the Karakoram, Mortenson frequently proves that freedom cannot exist where there is no education, and education cannot exist where there is no love. The sacrifices that villagers like Haji Ali made for their children’s education had a bigger impact than any American bomb ever would. Mortenson’s schools were built solely on love for the children, and the education received from these schools set the Pakistani youth free in ways they could have never dreamed of.
It is true that Greg Mortenson was the idealist and leader of the CAI’s movement, however, nothing would have been accomplished without love and support from the Pakistanis. Village elders were willing to do anything and everything in order for their children to receive education. “I can’t read anything. This is the greatest sadness in my life. I’ll do anything so the children of my village never have to know this feeling. I’ll pay any price so they have the education they deserve” (153). Haji Ali loved the children of Korphe to a point where he would sacrifice everything he had for them. If he had to defend an American infidel against the attacks of his peers, so be it. However, Ali was not alone in his passionate love for the children of Pakistan, almost every adult in the Karakoram branched out and supported Mortenson in his quest for education. Even Sher Tahki, the religious leader in Korphe who was never supposed to labor alongside the other villagers, helped carry roof beams eighteen miles up to Korphe after landslides blocked the main road. The love poured into these projects set up a path to freedom for...