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 1990. In 1996, he was enrolled in school in Islam Qala in Pul-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 the 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 the 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. He was working on his thesis 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 incident of 23rd July 2016.