About AHRDO The Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organization (AHRDO) is an independent, non-governmental and not-for-profit organization established in early 2009 by a number of Afghan Human Rights and Civil Society activists with a strong commitment to work with the most marginalized sectors of society. This booklet would not have been possible without the generosity of the family members of those who lost their lives during the last few decades of violent conflict in Afghanistan. It is them who provided the stories and remaining objects of their deceased loved ones. It is them who are the protagonists of the pages that follow. AHRDO is committed to the promotion of participatory democracy, a culture of non-violence and the respect for human rights in Afghanistan and the region, principally through employing a variety of arts and theatre-based programs that create spaces for dialogue, peace-building, social justice, public participation and consequently societal transformation from the grassroots up. In terms of the creation of the booklet, Mohammad Aslam Jawadi articulated, structured and analyzed the victims’ stories. Hadi Marifat translated the book from Dari into English, and Hjalmar Joffre-Eichhorn took on the challenging task of editing the book. Salim Rajabi, Dr. Sharif and Zaman Khoshnam contributed to the identification of the victims and the implementation of the Memory Box workshops. Zahara Yagana conducted the individual interviews and collected most of the victims’ objects and personal belongings for the Memory Boxes. Finally, the AHRDO regional office in Mazar-e- Sharif and the AHRDO administrative staff in Kabul played a crucial role in providing logistical and other support. Besides, AHRDO aims to complement the ongoing external democratizing efforts with activities that are rooted and informed by local cultural traditions and values, exploring unique ways that support the people of Afghanistan to create their own visions of the future and provide opportunities for them to transform fear into friendship, disappointment into hope, knowledge into understanding, hesitation into action and individual strivings into collective efforts for the purpose of building a peaceful, just and democratic society. Since its inception, AHRDO has undertaken a large number of innovative initiatives including Afghanistan’s first Legislative Theatre project focusing on Women’s Rights, the establishment of a Network of Afghan Young Women Leaders, a number of Shura Councils for Widows as well as the promotion of a human rights culture through encouraging Afghan writers to produce literary works with human rights-related content. In addition, working with Members of Parliament and other high-level authorities, AHRDO has been involved in the promotion of national and international policy via the writing of in-depth policy reports on Women’s Rights and Transitional Justice in Afghanistan. AHRDO would like to thank the aforementioned individuals for their efforts under a very stressful timeframe and a very challenging security environment. Needless to say, the publication of this book would not have been possible without the altruism and self-sacrifice that each and every member of the AHRDO family demonstrated over the course of creating this booklet. AHRDO would also like to express its deep appreciation to Afghan civil society, human rights and youth organizations, the Ministry of Information and Culture, Kabul Public Library and the Kabul Municipality for their valuable assistance. Finally, the senior leadership of the Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organization would like to thank the Embassy of Canada in Afghanistan for its generous financial aid throughout this initiative. Khodadad Bisharat Executive Director Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organization (AHRDO) March 2013 The Memory Box Initiative: Seeking to Break the Cycle of Violence and Tragedy in Afghanistan The Memory Box Initiative: Seeking to Break the Cycle of Violence and Tragedy in Afghanistan i Acknowledgement ii