is a victim/survivor of a/an
Additional information
Date of birth:
Mar 11, 1995
Village/Town of birth:
Unknown
Province of birth:
Gender:
Male
Ethnicity:
Hazara
Education:
Master
Date of the main incident:
23 July 2016
Place of the main incident:
Dehmazang, Kabul City
Incident description
On July 23, 2016, two suicide bombers denoted their explosives among the protesters at Dehmazang Square in Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan. The protesters, who were primarily Hazaras, were part of the Enlightenment Movement. They were protesting against the diversion of the TUTAP mega power project which would cause the project to bypass Hazara-dominated areas. At least 84 protesters lost their lives and 260-400 others were injured. The Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP), the regional branch of ISIS, took credit for the attack. However, ISKP later refuted their involvement in the attack.
The Enlightenment Movement, also known as Junbesh-e Roshnayie, was a grassroots civil disobedience movement started by Hazaras in Afghanistan in response to a change in the Fichtner GmbH & Co. KG proposed Energy Supply Improvement Investment Program, unofficially called TUTAP project plans. The change in the project plans would cause it to bypass Hazara regions. The move was seen as perpetuating long-standing anti-Hazara discrimination. Throughout 2016 and 2017, the Enlightenment Movement coordinated large-scale demonstrations against discrimination both domestically in Afghanistan and abroad.
AHRDO Archive
Alleged type of harm
Alleged type of crimes
Province:
Kabul: Kabul
Latitude:
34.5168788437339
Longitude:
69.1499999975304
Latitude: 34.5168788437339
Longitude: 69.1499999975304
I Will Stay and Serve in Afghanistan as Long as I Am Alive
Narrator: Abdul Wahid (brother)
Victim: Abdul Aziz Rahimi
Date of the incident: 23 July 2016
Location of the incident: Dehmazang, Kabul City
I am going to share the story of my martyred brother with you. He was born on the 11th of March in 1990. In 1996, he was enrolled in school in Islam Qala in Pol-e Khomri. We lived in Baghlan Province for almost ten years, after which we moved to the centre of Bamiyan, where he completed his studies in under three years.
When he took the university entrance exam, he was admitted into the Faculty of Literature of Kabul University. He began his studies in the Spanish department. He graduated from university in 2012. After graduating from university, he spent two years trying to find a job. By late 2010, the Spanish forces asked the faculty to introduce to them a few students who knew the Spanish language in order to serve in the national army. The program, led by the faculty professors, lasted for six months. During this time, my brother served in provinces such as Kandahar, Farah, and Herat. By late 2011, he returned to the university to continue his studies. He graduated from the university in 2012.
Before he graduated from university, the Spanish Embassy suggested to ten individuals, including my brother, that they could take them to Spain, give them permanent residence, and pay their expenses for six months. A month later, I asked him what had happened to that process. I told him Spain would take him there for free, so he could improve his life there. He told me: “I have studied and worked hard for 16 years while my compatriots have served us. It is not fair to abandon our people and our country to work for other countries. I will stay and serve in Afghanistan as long as I am alive”.
They had given them some money. I asked him to give us some of it to buy tires for the truck we had and to service the vehicle. He said, "I'm sorry, I can't give you even one Afghani because I am planning to get my master's degree.” In 2016, he was close to completing his master's. His thesis was focused on the environment. His work has remained incomplete and is on his computer. He wanted to publish it as a book, but death did not give him time. He was martyred in the heartbreaking attack on July 23rd, 2016.
