Mosquitoes Hibernation

 Written by: Abdul Sabour Janbaz

Yalda goes to the castle with her brother, Jamshid. Yalda complains about cold weather and she prefers summer but Jamshid prefers winter because there is no mosquito in this season to bother him.

Yalda asks Jamshid where the mosquitoes go in the winter. Jamshid replies that he doesn’t know about them. Then they share the issue with Lalo Mama.

 Lalo Mama takes them inside the castle and he opens a window about this issue.

Window:

In the window, Najia and her brother, Farid are watching the animals’ channel on TV. The spokesman is talking about mosquitos’ life. The spokesman says, “Mosquitoes are cold-blooded insects, they do not like cold weather. When the temperature starts staying consistently below 10 degrees Celsius, mosquitoes start to go dormant in preparation for winter. They will often find holes to hide away in until warmer weather returns.

Male mosquitoes have a much shorter lifespan than female mosquitoes, and they die in the fall anyway.

Female mosquitoes, however, can survive the winter. They go into hibernation. Female mosquitoes hide in tree trunks or crevices in the ground during the fall. When there is no cold weather, they can hibernate for up to 6 months. These insects usually delay their growth for several months and they only wake up in hibernation when there is enough water or heat for their needs.

These insects lay their eggs in deep water or soil so that the eggs do not freeze in cold weather. As long as the eggs are protected from the cold in these conditions, they can hatch at the beginning of spring.”

Lalo Mama closes the window.

Jamshid says that as they get so much information in the castle, it would be better if Lalo Mama grants the citizenship of the castle to them.

Yalda asks Jamshid about citizenship. Jamshid says that he has just heard this word from the radio but he doesn’t know about the meaning of it.

Yalda asks Lalo Mama about citizenship.

Lalo Mama turns on his mobile phone tape recorder.

A boy, Iraj says, “Citizenship is called to the people of a country as we are the citizens of Afghanistan.”

Bilal says, “I am subordinate of my parents and whatever they say I accept and this is called a citizenship but I don’t know the exact meaning of it.”

Yalda and Jamshid say to Lalo Mama that they do not understand what the boys said about citizenship.

Lalo Mama takes them to the library of the castle and there, the guests ask Hakim Baba about citizenship.

Hakim Baba says, “Citizenship is a term used to refer to some kind of political, spiritual, or legal relationship between a person, and a particular nation or state.

There is no consensus on the definition of citizenship, and international law scholars have debated the definition of citizenship in detail. Some of the definitions of citizenship are as follows:

The relationship is a link that justifies the individual dependence of human beings on a particular nation.

 Citizenship is a link that connects a person to a certain nation.

 Personal legal dependence on the population constituting the government.

Citizenship is a relationship between an individual and the government that entitles a citizen to support his/ her government in return for citizenship. Such a relationship assures the citizen that in his treatment and trade with foreign countries and foreign nationals, he will enjoy, if necessary, the political support of his government, which is recognized by international law.

Citizenship is a political, legal, and spiritual relationship that binds an individual to a particular state.”

Jamshid and Yalda thank Hakim Baba for the information about citizenship. Then Lalo Mama opens the widow of the listeners.

Window:

In the window, Salahudin has left a voice message, “When I was a 6th-grade student, my family forced me to go to school, and I did not have a good manner with my teachers. Now I am a student of 11th-grade and I know the importance of education and respect my teachers.”