I recently put out a video that connects the Central Asian place name suffix -stan to its etymological cousins—English words like "stay" and "stand," our own place name suffix "-ste(a)d," and even the word "state." That's right. The United States is a -stan too. Indeed, the entire idea of the state, of status and stability—the whole establishment—comes from the same root, a word found in the Rig Veda and in inscriptions of Xerxes, Greek and Roman literature, a word that is central to the legal foundations of our societies. It is a word that unites "East" and "West" and should not be exoticized, despite its connotations of foreignness and conflict.
Of course, these connotations don't come from not knowing etymology. It's xenophobia about a place that isn't foreign (are any humans truly foreign?), Islamophobia about a word that isn't Islamic (it first spread as a place name with Zoroastrian and Christian states), and even some residual fears and antagonism from the Cold War and the Great Game. However, my hope is that knowing more history will help someone see more and feel more connected.
The USA is country engaged in various levels of war and non-war in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Kurdistan. TV networks produce shows like Homeland that misrepresent Pakistan, and USA Network's forthcoming Stanistan, apparently a dramedy about a US diplomatic compound in the fictional country. Our failure to care about the portrayal of Pakistan on TV, or the real life people of Afghanistan, or to truly connect to the struggle of Kurds in Rojava, are failures of empathy. Empathy requires connection.
Here's the video, if you'd like to watch:
is here