Tuesday, November 19, 2002
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Muhammad Ali capped his three-day goodwill visit to Afghanistan today with a ride through war-battered western Kabul and a visit to the destroyed palace of the country's former king.
Ali met the former king, Mohammad Zaher Shah, Monday night and was shown the rocket-blasted palace -- nearly leveled during the 1992-96 civil war -- by Shah's grandson, Duran Zaher.
The former heavyweight champion arrived in Afghanistan on Sunday in his role as a "U.N. Messenger of Peace," hoping to focus international attention on the poverty-stricken nation as it emerges from more than two decades of war.
His words
"My life and my success were built upon the preparation that I practiced when I was a young person growing up in a poor place in America. And just like myself, I know that you will succeed," the 60-year-old Ali said in a statement directed at Afghanistan's youth.
"I want to thank you ... for showing me how strong you are in spite of the hardships your country still faces," he said. "You must keep that strength. You must continue to hope for a brighter tomorrow."
Ali, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, walked slowly and with help throughout much of his visit. His own spoken words, too faint to be heard clearly, were repeated by aides.
During the trip, Ali met President Hamid Karzai, visited a U.N.-sponsored girl's school and ate bread at a U.N.-funded women's bakery.
Women were banned from most jobs and girls banned from going to school during the former Taliban government's five-year rule, which ended in a U.S.-led war last year.
Ali also visited a boxing club and stepped into the ring to spar with two young Afghan boxers.