He Died From Gunshots

Narrator: Hussaindad Tabish (victim’s nephew)

Victim: Mohammad Alidad

Date of incident: 2000

Place of incident: Sauf Valley Market, Samangan Province

My uncle’s name is Alidad and he did not have any surname. I do not remember his birth year but the year he died. He died twenty years ago, in the year 2000. He was born in Bamiyan and he was a farmer in Bamiyan’s center called Dehzardak Shaidan Town. He also used to live there. There were no schools back then but he had studied a bit under a cleric. He knew just enough to be able to read.

He had not married and was single. He became a martyr in 2000 at 20-years-old, but the exact date is not known. I was a kid back then and at that time [time of incident], I was not there. It was during the Taliban regime. We are originally from Shahidan. But when the Taliban came to Shahidan, they looted and took everything. All our possessions and our cows, everything we had, they took it all.

The men fled Bamiyan Province. I do not remember these incidents, but these stories are what I have heard from my father and grandfather. When the Taliban came, they took all our property and possessions. Other than that, our people fled the area towards mountains and deserts. After they [the Taliban] left, the people came back and took their belongings to migrate towards Khakdu, Zardakao, and Sauf Valley. After coming to Sauf Valley, we resided there for a while. My uncle went out to the market to buy groceries but he was killed on his way.

The Taliban were responsible, yes! It was almost in the afternoon. My uncle was alone when they shot him. A bullet struck his shoulder. I think he fled to the jungle to hide among the trees but he was sprayed with bullets and died from the gunshots. The place of the incident was the market itself, Sauf Valley market.

The Sauf Valley market was completely under the control of the Taliban. It was under their total control. Although I do not have precise information, it was surely taken [by the Taliban]. They must have controlled all of the market or a large portion of it. For instance, the Taliban went to and from that area. At that time, my uncle went to the market and even got bread or something similar, but he was killed on his way back. At that time, all of our family was in Samangan.

A person named Aziz Rahimi broke the news of his death. At that time, Aziz Rahimi was a commander or something of the same effect, I think. He almost had a sort of kinship with my uncle and he broke the news of his death to us. Unfortunately, I do not remember the name of the area we lived in. All I know is that it was in the surrounding areas of the Sauf Valley market. We got the news at night. Aziz Rahimi had not brought his body, he was only informed that Alidad had been killed. They took the body directly to the mosque and from there, to the cemetery. So my father, Aziz Rahimi, and some other local people went to the place of the incident. Without a doubt, the death of a person, whether they were young or old, is painful. Especially, for Alidad – though I do not remember and this is what my family says – who was a calm, kind, well-mannered, and good young man. While at home, he always treated everyone well, like his mother, grandmother, my father, and other family members. When my grandmother heard the news, she collapsed. She fainted several times and from then on, she has become ill. There has never been once (since the incident) when she has been well and healthy; she could not regain her health. She is always unwell and there is always someone who helps her get up and go around. She is not able to get up on her own. She always thinks about my martyred uncle. She says if only Alidad had a son, or wishes that he had been older, but they lost him when he was so young.

[Alidad’s death was difficult] for the rest of the family members. For my father, it was very difficult because after we lost our uncle, my grandfather also passed away and he was left in all the hardships of life alone. This was also when we had nothing left. The Taliban had looted all our property and cattle. They took everything we had. We could only save ourselves from that place. Other than that, we did not have anything we could use for charity and other commemorative ceremonies after the funeral for my uncle and grandfather. We could not afford that. Those times were truly difficult for my father. When you think about it, it was like he would leave his bed and go out several times at night just to cry. My uncle provided for the family, along with my father, as farmers. He would work actively as a breadwinner.

There was no fighting when we were in Samangan, but before this incident, there used to be fighting. It was around afternoon when my uncle had left toward the market to buy bread or something similar. Possibly, the Taliban were in those areas. After he went to the market, got the bread, and was coming back, they spotted him and fired at him. There was no fighting there. There were no intense fights, but those areas were under the control of the Taliban. The fighting had just stopped but it did not make a difference to the Taliban whether the person outside is a civilian or not, because no one left their homes out of fear. He had only gone out to get food so that we do not starve to death. His grave is still there in Samangan but sadly, it is too far from us. It is really far from our place. My grandmother always wishes we were closer so that she could visit his grave one more time.

My grandmother is still alive but she is very weak. She could not recover from my uncle’s death, although she is not very old. My grandmother only had two sons: only Alidad, my uncle, and the other is my father. After my uncle died, she said that her life became incomplete. Since then, she has been bedridden and sick. She is still alive but she is very weak; extremely weak.

I have [paternal] aunts, yes! I have four aunts. All of them are married. At that time, we were around eight members in our family when my father and uncle worked. We have our own home in Bamiyan. When the Taliban came to our areas, they pillaged, plundered, and set fire to everything. They took our possessions and cattle with them. After that, we left that place and came here. We did not know anything here. The houses which we lived in, no one has told me whether they were rented or not, so I do not have any details on that matter.

A very long time ago, I am not sure when but long ago, my grandfather used to assemble people for fighting. In one of those fights, my grandfather was injured and lost one leg. After that, he was unable to provide for the family so all the responsibility as the guardian fell on my father’s shoulders.

As far as I can remember, my grandmother has a handkerchief. She had gotten my uncle that handkerchief when he used to work somewhere. He had bunched up the handkerchief into the shape of a ball and used to play with it as a ball with us and anyone else that was at home. When he would come back home, we used play with the ball-shaped handkerchief. That handkerchief is still with my grandmother back home. My uncle also used to love to read and write. I have some of his notebooks and similar things with me. It has been many years that we have preserved them with us. They are very dear to us. Very much dear to all of us. But if the place (War Victim Museum: Center for Dialogue and Memory in Afghanistan) is safe, we will surely send it [to you]. We would definitely give them to you as a way to commemorate him but if it gets lost or misplaced, for example, then we cannot give them to you unfortunately.

There has not been any instance when they tell stories about my uncle to us because after every time there is a mention of him, everyone becomes absolutely silent at our home. But yes, the things that are mentioned very, very, very much are his good behavior and manners toward others. They say he had a lot of respect for elders. At home, he was always good to his mother. He always treated his mother, father, brother, and sister-in-law very well. One other thing that they mention is that he had a keen liking to me. Whenever he would come back home, he would hold my hands and lift me to play with me, whether I was asleep or awake. Also, he would lift me from where I was sleeping to wake me up to spend time with me.

God bless and thank you for your program. It is a very interesting and good program. Truly, no family wants to be away from the memory of their lost loved one. Their good manners and behaviors, and all of their characteristics are always remembered. They are always remembered by the family and after I heard about your program, I became really happy. I thought that this program will commemorate the victims for centuries, and we can see all of the things that occurred many years ago. It is possible that everything that he left behind, his pictures or pieces of writings, could be lost, torn, or misplaced at home, but here it will be preserved. I am happy with your program. Thank you and best of luck.