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is a victim/survivor of a/an
Additional information
Date of birth:
Unknown
Village/Town of birth:
Unknown
Province of birth:
Gender:
Male
Ethnicity:
Pashtun
Education:
Illiterate
Date of the main incident:
1981-1989
Place of the main incident:
Kabul city
Related incident:
Incident description
Our life was relatively good when Aziz Gul was still alive. It was during the time of the Soviet invasion that my son was killed. We were at home when our neighbor informed us about his murder. He had gone outside to water the field when a rocket struck. His father, brother, and sisters started to cry immediately as we went to see his dead body lying on a wheelbarrow.
AHRDO Archive
Alleged type of harm
Alleged type of crimes
Province:
Latitude:
34.5168788437339
Longitude:
69.1499999975304
Latitude: 34.5168788437339
Longitude: 69.1499999975304
One Fateful Day
Narrator: Pashtun
Victim: Aziz Gul
Date of the incident: 1981-1989
Location of the incident: Kabul City
The story of Aziz Gul’s death is neither unique nor exclusive. Totally unexpected deaths like his have ruined the lives of countless families in Afghanistan. Stories like his have been told in each corner of the country, though the sad truth is that people like Aziz Gul are never remembered by those who benefit from the existence of war. It is them who do not care about the suffering that war inflicts on its victims. These men enjoy igniting the fire of war and playing with it. They have chosen war as their way of life. The death of Aziz Gul was an absolute tragedy. For his family whose wishes and hopes for the future were inseparably linked with the fate of Aziz Gul, his sudden death meant the end of the world for them. When Aziz Gul died, all their dreams melted and the hell of misery and desolation opened its mouth to devour them.
Aziz Gul was 15-years-old and already helped his aging father in his work. His father was happy that he would eventually become the main breadwinner in the family. One day, Aziz was watering his father’s field in Shamali, North of Kabul when a rocket struck and killed him. His father never came to terms with the death of his son and after years of struggling with the tragedy and its repercussions, finally died too.
This in turn marked the beginning of the end for his mother, Pashtun, who was left behind with three children. In order to provide for them, she cleaned and washed other peoples' clothes. Sometimes, in order to put food on the table, she collected leftovers from wastebaskets. Other times, she and her children spent their days without eating at all. Until today, Pashtun cannot find words to describe her miserable fate.
The Story of Pashtun
Our life was relatively good when Aziz Gul was still alive. It was during the time of the Soviet invasion that my son was killed. We were at home when our neighbour informed us about his murder. He had gone outside to water the field when a rocket struck. His father, brother, and sisters started to cry immediately as we went to see his dead body lying on a wheelbarrow.
Later on, my husband could not cope with his son’s death and eventually stopped working. He died five years later. After his death, our lives got even worse. We lived in an abandoned house. At times, we even ate leftovers from the wastebaskets of others. I worked as a cleaner. Later on, my younger son started to work in the streets. Our survival was dependent on his income. When the Taliban burned my house in Shamali, we moved to Kabul. I still work as cleaner today.
My life is as bad as it was before. Consequently, I have psychological problems. I’ll never forget those days of being abandoned by everyone and left without food. Whenever food rations were distributed, I went and took them home. Those were the only times we could eat properly. Today, I am very sick, but cannot afford to go and see a doctor. My son is twenty-years-old, but thin and weak. We now live in a rental house. I will never forget Aziz Gul. It is very strange because he was my step-son. His mother had left him. Aziz Gul suffered a lot and finally died at a young age.
Latitude: 34.5168788437339
Longitude: 69.1499999975304
Our life was relatively good when Aziz Gul was still alive. It was during the time of the Soviet invasion that my son was killed. We were at home when our neighbor informed us about his murder. He had gone outside to water the field when a rocket struck. His father, brother, and sisters started to cry immediately as we went to see his dead body lying on a wheelbarrow.
One Fateful Day
Narrator: Pashtun
Victim: Aziz Gul
Date of the incident: 1981-1989
Location of the incident: Kabul City
The story of Aziz Gul’s death is neither unique nor exclusive. Totally unexpected deaths like his have ruined the lives of countless families in Afghanistan. Stories like his have been told in each corner of the country, though the sad truth is that people like Aziz Gul are never remembered by those who benefit from the existence of war. It is them who do not care about the suffering that war inflicts on its victims. These men enjoy igniting the fire of war and playing with it. They have chosen war as their way of life. The death of Aziz Gul was an absolute tragedy. For his family whose wishes and hopes for the future were inseparably linked with the fate of Aziz Gul, his sudden death meant the end of the world for them. When Aziz Gul died, all their dreams melted and the hell of misery and desolation opened its mouth to devour them.
Aziz Gul was 15-years-old and already helped his aging father in his work. His father was happy that he would eventually become the main breadwinner in the family. One day, Aziz was watering his father’s field in Shamali, North of Kabul when a rocket struck and killed him. His father never came to terms with the death of his son and after years of struggling with the tragedy and its repercussions, finally died too.
This in turn marked the beginning of the end for his mother, Pashtun, who was left behind with three children. In order to provide for them, she cleaned and washed other peoples' clothes. Sometimes, in order to put food on the table, she collected leftovers from wastebaskets. Other times, she and her children spent their days without eating at all. Until today, Pashtun cannot find words to describe her miserable fate.
The Story of Pashtun
Our life was relatively good when Aziz Gul was still alive. It was during the time of the Soviet invasion that my son was killed. We were at home when our neighbour informed us about his murder. He had gone outside to water the field when a rocket struck. His father, brother, and sisters started to cry immediately as we went to see his dead body lying on a wheelbarrow.
Later on, my husband could not cope with his son’s death and eventually stopped working. He died five years later. After his death, our lives got even worse. We lived in an abandoned house. At times, we even ate leftovers from the wastebaskets of others. I worked as a cleaner. Later on, my younger son started to work in the streets. Our survival was dependent on his income. When the Taliban burned my house in Shamali, we moved to Kabul. I still work as cleaner today.
My life is as bad as it was before. Consequently, I have psychological problems. I’ll never forget those days of being abandoned by everyone and left without food. Whenever food rations were distributed, I went and took them home. Those were the only times we could eat properly. Today, I am very sick, but cannot afford to go and see a doctor. My son is twenty-years-old, but thin and weak. We now live in a rental house. I will never forget Aziz Gul. It is very strange because he was my step-son. His mother had left him. Aziz Gul suffered a lot and finally died at a young age.
AHRDO Archive
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