On April 22, 2018, a suicide bomber detonated his explosive device amidst a large gathering of civilians seeking to obtain electronic identification (e-ID) cards in the Mahtab Qala area of Dasht-e-Barchi, located west of Kabul. The explosion resulted in the deaths of at least 69 civilians, with an additional 120 individuals sustaining injuries. According to official reports, among the victims were 22 women, 17 children, and individuals with disabilities. Furthermore, the injured comprised 52 women, 50 men, and 17 children. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant–Khorasan Province (ISIL-KP) claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that they targeted the Hazara-Shia community.

No statement

On May 12, 2020, three attackers wearing Afghan national security forces uniforms and armed with AK-47 rifles and hand grenades conducted an assault on the maternity ward of Dasht-e-Barchi hospital. After shooting and killing a security guard at the hospital entrance, the attackers entered the facility and proceeded directly to the maternity ward, where 28 women were present at the time. The attackers moved systematically from room to room, firing on patients and throwing hand grenades. The attack resulted in twenty-four deaths, including nineteen women, three children, and one female healthcare worker. Twenty-three people were injured, including twelve women, two children, and one newborn. Following the attack on June 15, 2020, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), which operated the maternity ward at Dasht-e-Barchi maternity hospital, announced its decision to end activities and withdraw from the hospital.

No statement

On May 12, 2020, three attackers wearing Afghan national security forces uniforms and armed with AK-47 rifles and hand grenades conducted an assault on the maternity ward of Dasht-e-Barchi hospital. After shooting and killing a security guard at the hospital entrance, the attackers entered the facility and proceeded directly to the maternity ward, where 28 women were present at the time. The attackers moved systematically from room to room, firing on patients and throwing hand grenades. The attack resulted in twenty-four deaths, including nineteen women, three children, and one female healthcare worker. Twenty-three people were injured, including twelve women, two children, and one newborn. Following the attack on June 15, 2020, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), which operated the maternity ward at Dasht-e-Barchi maternity hospital, announced its decision to end activities and withdraw from the hospital.

No statement

On 11 March 2023, an explosive device detonated inside the Tabyan Center, in Mazar-e-Sharif. The blast resulted in the deaths of 2 journalists and injuries to another 18 people. All the victims were civilians, primarily belonging to the Hazara ethnic group. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan Province (ISIL-KP) claimed responsibility for the attack.

No statement

On May 4, 2009, a United States Air Force B-1 Bomber conducted an airstrike on Granai village in Bala Buluk district, Farah Province, resulting in significant civilian casualties. The incident, sometimes referred to as the Granai massacre, became one of the deadliest civilian casualty events involving international military forces in Afghanistan. The exact number of civilian deaths remains a matter of dispute among various investigative bodies. The Afghan government reported approximately 140 civilian fatalities, including 22 adult men and 93 children. Afghanistan's principal human rights organization concluded that 97 civilians were killed, with children comprising the majority of victims. Other estimates place the civilian death toll between 86 and 147 individuals. An initial investigation by the US military assessed that 20-30 civilians were killed alongside 60-65 insurgents. However, these figures were contested by Afghan authorities and international observers. A subsequent, partially released American inquiry acknowledged the limitations of the investigation, stating that a conclusive determination of the civilian casualty count would not be possible. The United States military accepted responsibility for the airstrike and admitted that significant errors occurred in its execution. Official statements acknowledged that the failure to identify the presence of civilians and to minimize collateral damage resulted in unintended civilian casualties.

No statement

On May 4, 2009, a United States Air Force B-1 Bomber conducted an airstrike on Granai village in Bala Buluk district, Farah Province, resulting in significant civilian casualties. The incident, sometimes referred to as the Granai massacre, became one of the deadliest civilian casualty events involving international military forces in Afghanistan. The exact number of civilian deaths remains a matter of dispute among various investigative bodies. The Afghan government reported approximately 140 civilian fatalities, including 22 adult men and 93 children. Afghanistan's principal human rights organization concluded that 97 civilians were killed, with children comprising the majority of victims. Other estimates place the civilian death toll between 86 and 147 individuals. An initial investigation by the US military assessed that 20-30 civilians were killed alongside 60-65 insurgents. However, these figures were contested by Afghan authorities and international observers. A subsequent, partially released American inquiry acknowledged the limitations of the investigation, stating that a conclusive determination of the civilian casualty count would not be possible. The United States military accepted responsibility for the airstrike and admitted that significant errors occurred in its execution. Official statements acknowledged that the failure to identify the presence of civilians and to minimize collateral damage resulted in unintended civilian casualties.

No statement

On May 4, 2009, a United States Air Force B-1 Bomber conducted an airstrike on Granai village in Bala Buluk district, Farah Province, resulting in significant civilian casualties. The incident, sometimes referred to as the Granai massacre, became one of the deadliest civilian casualty events involving international military forces in Afghanistan. The exact number of civilian deaths remains a matter of dispute among various investigative bodies. The Afghan government reported approximately 140 civilian fatalities, including 22 adult men and 93 children. Afghanistan's principal human rights organization concluded that 97 civilians were killed, with children comprising the majority of victims. Other estimates place the civilian death toll between 86 and 147 individuals. An initial investigation by the US military assessed that 20-30 civilians were killed alongside 60-65 insurgents. However, these figures were contested by Afghan authorities and international observers. A subsequent, partially released American inquiry acknowledged the limitations of the investigation, stating that a conclusive determination of the civilian casualty count would not be possible. The United States military accepted responsibility for the airstrike and admitted that significant errors occurred in its execution. Official statements acknowledged that the failure to identify the presence of civilians and to minimize collateral damage resulted in unintended civilian casualties.

No statement

On the evening of October 26, 2023, at approximately 7:35 PM, a powerful explosion occurred at the Mellat Boxing Club located in the Pol-e-Khoshk, Dasht-e-Barchi area of west Kabul. At the time of the incident, twenty-six athletes were training at the facility in preparation for a competition scheduled for the following day. The Barchi area is predominantly inhabited by the Hazara ethnic group, a community that has been frequently targeted in attacks. The explosion resulted in the deaths of six to eight athletes and injuries to five others. Additionally, one of the club's trainers lost his hearing due to the intensity of the blast. The bodies of the victims were identified and released at three different hospitals in Kabul. ISIS Khorasan Province claimed responsibility for the attack.

No statement

She was killed in Pole Merab by shrapnel while fleeing in the plain. They were running towards the Charkent which is above from here. The area is mountainous. We buried her in Pole Merab. When the Taliban came in the first round and took the whole city, they stayed for a few years. It was June or July. The wheat had grown. People were running away to the Charkent out of fear. Many were hiding in the wheat which saved their lives.

His Body was Swollen

Narrator: Azadeh Sadat Hussaini (Daughter)

Victim: Fatima

Time of the incident: 08 August 1999

Place of the accident: Mazar-e-Sharif, Pole Merab Type of accident: Hit by shrapnel

My name is Azadeh. My mother was married several years after my father. Now my ID card is in my stepfather's name. I am Azadeh Seyyed Salman in the ID and my real father's name is Seyed Shah Mohammad. His surname is Sadat Hosseini. The victim is my mother, her name is Fatima. Fatima Seyed Nasro, her name on her NID. Surname? No, she did not have a surname.

She was killed in Pole Merab by shrapnel while fleeing in the plain. They were running towards the Charkent which is above from here. The area is mountainous. We buried her in Pole Merab. When the Taliban came in the first round and took the whole city, they stayed for a few years. It was June or July. The wheat had grown. People were running away to the Charkent out of fear. Many were hiding in the wheat which saved their lives.

Shima: There was no wheat on our side. I remember a day when the weather was very hot, many people died when they fled to the mountains.

Azadeh: What exactly happened, what happened? I don't remember much. I was married. People said that she had so many splinters in her armpit that she never recovered. My mother was 55-years-old. When she came home, she could not speak. Later, she told the story that she was running away: "While I was riding a donkey, I suddenly got some sharp objects in my body. I didn't understand where they came from. My body only felt burning and blood flowed. If I wasn't riding that donkey, maybe the shrapnel wouldn't have hit me." The iron pieces had not gone deep. Some were pulled out by hand. But there was no doctor in the Charkent. The wounds became infected and after four months, she was brought to Mazar City. We took her to a doctor, but it didn't work at all. She was scared.

We live in Pole Merab. When the Taliban came, most of the people of the city fled. But we didn't go. My husband did not go. Everyone fled to Charkent. The city was empty. People stayed there for a while until the city calmed down. Some came early, those who had problems came early, those who didn't have problems stayed even for a year. When it was completely calm, everyone returned to their homes and lives.

Mentally, one feels a lot of pain and suffering. When my mother passed away, her house and life fell apart. My father left one way, my sister went her way, she was single, but she got married unintentionally. We don't know where she is anymore. My poor father was sick, often he came to my house. I had no place for him and I was pregnant. What did I do? I found a wife for him. Yes, now he has gone back to his house and has a wife. He has many children from this wife. Well, that's how it happened, no one of us... no one left of my family. I have a sister, she was in Iran. It's been a few years since she has come. She was also not there. It was really hard for me, I was completely alone...

Taliban took [my husband], took him from the market, took him away, we were completely disappointed. Because when Talib took anyone, he never came back. But God helped, of course he had to live for a while in this world. He came back. When he came, I couldn't recognize him at all. His body was totally black; he didn't have a single white spot because he was beaten. His body was swollen. He was sleeping in front of the window and everyone who saw him was afraid. I sat one night until the morning. I dressed his severely injured body. I gave him medicine. He was moaning and could not sleep. This situation continued for several days. But when the Taliban were defeated, our neighbours said that he should not sit there like that. If the Taliban came again and saw him in that state, they would question what he did to be beaten so badly.

After that, they took him to the village. For a month, I was with my daughter, the same daughter who is here. I was alone in the house with a woman who was a neighbour. We have seen many bad days, no expenses, nothing... To survive, I had to sell the houseware to buy food items. Nothing was left for us, nothing. My poor husband became disabled. He can't work. Heavy work hurts his back. Many of us have seen bad days. It was very difficult for me. My poor husband had never used a weapon. He was a laborer and ordinary citizen. The people who had guns, power, and money went away way before Taliban came. We the poor were trampled.

I don't remember anything. He came home late at night on the same day they took him. He used to say that he couldn't come home on my foot; he walked from the city to the house like a child using his hands and knees. His knees were swollen. He said that Taliban made me sleep, one of them stood on his feet, one of them put his foot on his back, and one of them put his foot on his neck. They hit him three times with a big cable with three locks tied at the end of it. They said to give them weapons. He said he doesn't have a weapon. They said to give them a weapon soon. Helpless, he is now disabled and can no longer work.

If he finds light work, he will do it, but he cannot do heavy work. He was beaten savagely. Taliban's takeover ended up very difficult for ordinary people. No one has good memories of that time, they all have bad memories.

In the winter of 1979, Haji Abdul Ali was arrested by local police and intelligence officials affiliated with the Communist regime of the People's Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. The arrest was made under the charge of hanging guns at Haji Abdul Ali's home. The next day, the authorities returned and arrested six more men from the same family. All seven men were taken to Kabul, but they never returned. When they entered the house, they said, "Haji, what weapon do you have at home?" My father said, “Tow hunting guns, a big and small one. Both are hanging on the wall of the house." The officers took the guns and said, "Haji, we will take you to the police station and then we will return you early morning." They took my father that night and we waited until morning for him to return, but he did not return.

On the day of Eid, all the family members, relatives, and friends gathered together to celebrate Eid as we waited for my father's return. It was time for lunch when the armed men came to our house again. They did not bring my father. We were very worried. This time, they took 6 other members of my family with them: Qurban Ali (my uncle), Sultan Hussain (son of my father's uncle), Mohammad Hasan (grandson of my father's uncle), and Mohammad Nabi (son of my uncle), as well as Ghulam Abbas and Ali Ahmad (grandsons of my uncle).

Even If a Hundred Years Pass, You Will Not Be Forgotten

Narrator: Ali Shaheer

Victims: Haji Abdul Ali, son of Paiwand Ali (father), Haji Rajab Ali, son of Piwand Ali (elder uncle), Qurban Ali, son of Piwand Ali (younger uncle), Sultan Hussain (son of father's uncle) Mohammad Hasan (grandson of father's uncle)

Time of the incident: 1979

The place of the accident: Pol-e Charkhi Polygon, Kabul

I was a primary school student at that time. It was the night of Eid al-Adha, during the reign of Hafizullah Amin. I was not able to sleep that night because of the joy of Eid and wearing new clothes. Few families had TV at that time. We did not have a TV at home. But my uncle - who was living with his family in same house as us - whose young son owned a houseware store, brought a black and white TV for Eid nights. Their house was separated from our house by a partition. On Eid night, we went to my uncle's room to watch TV. That night, on the occasion of Eid, a movie called "Nawi da yaw Oshpe" (Bride for One Night), in Pashto language, was broadcast on TV.

At the insistence of my uncle and my uncle’s son, my father sat next to us and we watched the movie together, although he was not interested in watching TV or movies. My father knew Pashto and understood the story of the movie well. He was impressed by the scenes of kindness and chivalry in the movie and watched the movie till the end. That night, my siblings and I were eagerly waiting for the movie to end and for my father to henna our hands. After the movie, my father hennaed our hands.

It was late at night and my father was about to sleep when someone knocked on our door. At the same time as the door was knocked on, someone shouted loudly, "Who is Haji Abdul Ali? Come out of your room and open the gate." Some armed people were surrounding the gate. The voice shouted two or three times and wanted my father. Annoyed by their screams in the middle of the night, my father told them, “Keep your voices down. What's going on in the middle of the night? So much screaming! You know that everyone is sleeping! I am Abdul Ali. Now I will open the gate. What do you want me to do?"

When they entered the house, they said, "Haji, what weapon do you have at home?" My father said, “Tow hunting guns, a big and small one." Both are hanging on the wall of the house." The officers took the guns and said, "Haji, we will take you to the police station and then we will return you early morning." They took my father that night and we waited until morning for him to return, but he did not return that night.

On the day of Eid, all the family members, relatives, and friends gathered together to celebrate Eid as we waited for my father's return. It was time for lunch when the armed men came to our house again. They did not bring my father. We were very worried. This time, they took 6 other members of my family with them: Qurban Ali (my uncle), Sultan Hussain (son of my father's uncle), Mohammad Hasan (grandson of my father's uncle), and Mohammad Nabi (son of my uncle), as well as Ghulam Abbas and Ali Ahmad (grandsons of my uncle).

Fear and worry filled the atmosphere of the house. In the evening of the same day, Haji Rajab Ali, my elder uncle who was older than my father, came to our house and comforted us and said, "Don't worry, by God's hope, they will all come back. Don't worry as long as I am there." He said to my mother, "I will come tomorrow first thing in the morning. I will bring whatever food and other basic necessities you lack at home." It was as if he sensed that my father would not return soon. But the next day, my elder uncle did not come. He was also taken from his house in Chindawol that night.

The nights and days of Eid passed as we waited for my father and uncles to return. During the time of Babrak Karmal's leadership, Muhammad Nabi, Ali Ahmad, and Ghulam Abbas were released in general amnesty. But the others never came back. My brothers, sisters, and my uncle's children and I were nine in total, all small children a year apart in age. We used to ask our mothers every day why my father and uncles didn't come back. In the same way, my elder uncle had two children, a boy and a girl the same age as us. My youngest uncle, who was taken away, still had no children.

Our mothers waited that night, bitter days, and long years for their husbands. They shed tears and prayed for their return until they were old and their hair turned white. This wait lasted 35 years. When the Polygon victim list was released, we found the names of five of our family members on it. The wait was over and our hope had collapsed. All the family members were crying.

One day, we went with a number of friends and one of my uncle's sons to the hill of Polygon’s victims in Pul-e Charkhi. When I was walking on the soil of Polygon, I was busy with the question of what my father and uncles said to each other in those heavy moments before death and what their last words to each other were.

After we learned what had happened to my father and uncles, we honored them, their memories, and other victims by organizing a program with a title written in bold: "Even If a Hundred Years Pass, You Will Not Be Forgotten."

On June 3, 2011, while travelling towards Bamiyan from Kabul, Jawad Zohak was captured by the Taliban in the Sia Gard area in Ghorband District. He had just participated in a conference in Herat which was for all Provincial Council chairs. He was killed on June 7, 2011, after five days in captivity.

Bamiyan Exists in the Government’s Blind Eye

Mohammad Zohak, as explained in the beginning of his speech, has graduated as a sociology major from Bamiyan University. He is a calm man. While talking, he speaks in a calm manner and explains the incident in all its details from memory. He has profound respect for his uncle, Jawad Zohak, and therefore, uses honorific words such as “Eishan” and “Raees Sahib” constantly while talking about him. To avoid repetition, we have omitted these words from the text below, except in few instances. At the time of the incident, all responsibilities fell on Mohammad Zohak's shoulders. Consequently, he has experienced a difficult time. He mentions those incidents and happenings in his life with confidence.

Narrator: Mohammad Zohak (victim’s nephew)

Victim: Jawad Zohak

Date of incident: June 7, 2011

Place of incident: Pul Rangan, Ghorband Valley, Parwan Province

My name is Mohammad and my surname is Zohak. I have a bachelors degree in social sciences and have graduated from Bamiyan University’s sociology major. I was born in Qufqool Village, Yakaolang District of Bamiyan Province. I am married with one child. I am the nephew of martyr Jawad Zohak. When he passed away, he was 44-years-old. He was also born in Bamiyan’s Yakaolang District in Qufqool Village, which is part of Sia Dara. Sia Dara is a zone and Qufqool is a village.

He was the chair of the Provincial Council and the people’s representative. Jawad Zohak had studied until twelfth grade. He had participated in the night-time Kankor Examination but did not succeed, unfortunately. His place of study was in Dasurkh High School in Yakaolang District. He was married and had three children: two sons and one daughter. His eldest child was his daughter and at that time, she was around 14-years-old. His two sons were 12 and 10-years-old. His daughter’s name is Freshta, his eldest son is called Farhad, and the last child is named Milad. At the time of the incident, all three were students at the center of Bamiyan. Their residence at that time was in Bamiyan, Zargaran area of the Safa Shahrak. We were there together.

On June 3, 2011, while travelling towards Bamiyan from Kabul, Jawad Zohak was captured by the Taliban in the Sia Gard area in Ghorband District. He had just participated in a conference in Herat which was for all Provincial Council chairs. He was killed on June 7, 2011, after five days in captivity.

He left Kabul around four in the morning or even earlier. Around six thirty, he was stopped in that area by the Taliban. He was with other passengers.

It was a Friday that day. It was June 3, 2011, when he was passing by Pul Rangan. They took him to the other side in Qumchaq Village. When the vehicle he was originally traveling in reached Shaikh Ali area, then since the people knew him, they informed the Provincial Council that the chair of the council was taken by the Taliban. We were informed around seven o’clock. Half an hour. Only with a half an hour delay. They had taken him to Qumchaq Village. He was kept there until his last living days.

I was informed later since there was no network where I was. The passengers and the driver he was with informed the Provincial Council. Then, the council informed our family. In just an hour or an hour and a half, even the television networks were informed. Tolo News had a news ticker that the Bamiyan Provincial Council chair was taken by the Taliban. Some news outlets had released a short news segment about the incident. Almost all of the family and relatives got to know about the incident through TV news channels.

No, they had not taken anyone. They had not taken anyone else but him. They had stopped just the car that the Provincial Council chair was in and let all the other cars go. When I got network connection, I was informed that my uncle had been captured in Pul Rangan in Ghorband. Unfortunately, I could not take any action. Naturally, in a state where a person like him is captured – that too by a brutal, terror group – it is difficult to manage yourself normally. It is difficult to manage yourself in those circumstances. Even now that I am talking about it, explaining it is difficult for me. Later, the local people, Bamiyan Provincial Council, other influential figures in Bamiyan, and some friends gathered in a mosque and decided that a team should go negotiate with the people in Sai Gard of Ghorband District about the reason why a people’s representative was taken and what they want from him. He is neither part of the military nor the government, he is a civilian. He is the representative of the people. If they [the captors] are against the government, then he, too, as a civil activist (despite people saying all kinds of things about him) has criticized the government and called it incompetent as part of his civil activities. So... what is it that you want?

In the end, six people were selected and they negotiated for around three or four days. At first, we would get good news. The negotiating team did not hear from him [Jawad] on the first day. Until the team found the elders of their community and got in touch with them to get [my uncle] released on the second day. I remember precisely that it was seven in the morning when they said that they would return the chair of the Provincial Council. We prepared to go to welcome him back. Well, we prepared around four o’clock to go to Ghorband and bring raees sahib. However, they called to inform us that his release was delayed and it might happen tomorrow instead. The people from the team of representative that were selected by the people to negotiate my uncle’s release called, which caused our family to wait until tomorrow in hopelessness. The next day, we were told that around nine, nine-thirty, or ten o’clock, raees sahib would be released. However, just like the previous day, his release was cancelled. On the fourth day, we did not hear any news about his release. There were rumors that Zohak was not even alive and that they were lying about releasing him. He had already been killed.

The members of the negotiating team and other influential figures who left Bamiyan were assured that the chair of the Provincial Council was still alive. They once again contacted to ask what the captors wanted from them and whether it was money that they wanted. They shall give them the money. If this person [referring to the victim] has harmed you in anyway, we shall compensate the harm. This continued on until the last day, when they said they would release him. He was supposed to be released at seven in the morning but then it got cancelled to eleven o’clock. And then, it was cancelled again. They said he would be released at seven in the evening.

It was around 11:30 PM. Around that time, the news outlets announced that the Taliban killed Bamiyan’s Provincial Council chair. The next day, they had thrown his body by the side of the road and sadly, planted land mines around him. Until that time, we still had a bit of hope because we wanted to wait until the body was identified and his death could be confirmed. There were land mines around his body so no one could get close until an expert team of bomb diffusers came to Shaikh Ali area from Parwan’s military unit. The people had zoomed on his face with their camera but they said his face could not be seen so it was not clear whether it was Zohak or someone else. After the team came and diffused the land mines, they identified the body as the chair of the Provincial Council. After that, we took the body to Parwan. From there, it was transported to Bamiyan via a helicopter. It was around four in the afternoon when we brought the martyr’s body to Bamiyan.

No, they did not ask for any ransom or anything like that. Like I mentioned previously, there were days when they would say he was going to be released. Some days, they said this two times and on the last day, they said it three times. From seven in the morning, to eleven in morning, and seven in the evening, they were saying he would be released. [They said] now that the people and influential figures came from Bamiyan, we will let him go. They were killing time like this until, unfortunately, we lost him.

One of the people who negotiated with the Taliban directly – I do not remember his name – was the focal person between the people of Bamiyan and the Taliban. He would deliver their word to us and ours to the Taliban. That person used to say that the Taliban will release raees sahib. After everything was over and raees sahib became a martyr, we were told that the Taliban had asked their elders – who were either part of the Quetta Shura or something, or were inside Afghanistan - whether to release him. But they decided that he would not be freed.

The negotiating team did not meet with Zohak at all. The Taliban did not even allow the team to talk with the victim on the phone. Also, even when one person from the family agreed to go there and see the victim just once to be sure he was alive, that was not allowed. No such thing happened. They took his life in a short span of time. If they had told this beforehand, more effort could have been taken at that time. Unfortunately, as I mentioned previously, you cannot manage yourself normally in such a situation because it is very difficult. We are a big family of around 18 to 20 people living together in a house. Trying to calm his family and children and other members of the family was a difficult task.

Under those circumstances, each relative gives a certain advice and one says to do this while the other says to do that, which puts you in a crossroad. At that time, we were not able to manage the situation as we should have or would have. As a result, they [the captors] also came to the conclusion that if this situation gets dragged longer, they might get calls from the higher ups and be forced to release him. Since he was the chair of the Provincial Council and had spent admirable years during the Jihad, he also knew many politicians, be it from Tajiks, Pashtuns, or Hazaras. He had met and interviewed many politicians up the ladder in the government. He had served as the people’s representative for two terms in Bamiyan. All in all, he was well known, so that is why the captors decided to finish the job quickly.

Unfortunately, there were many injuries on his body which indicated torture. It is very difficult for me to say this. His skull bone had become completely soft. His whole body was covered in bruises and injury; he was tortured. There was bullet wound and traces of torture. His bones were broken. The majority of his face was not recognizable. He did not have any kind of animosity with the Taliban. He was the people’s representative, not police or the army. He always traveled through land between Kabul and Bamiyan, although air travel was not available at that time. The airport in Bamiyan was not like it is today and the runway was unpaved. The airlines operating in Bamiyan today did not operate at that time. There was one airline called ‘Pactech’ but everyone preferred land travel over traveling on their airplane. I also have a memory of it. I came to Kabul on that airplane. As though it was going over the land like a car. Air travel was not available at that time as it is today, except for UNAMA which had a helicopter that came to Bamiyan sometimes. The heads of provincial offices, members of the provincial councils, and parliament members travelled with the help of their colleagues in UNAMA. Other than that, there were no airline companies which had scheduled flights during the week. In general, Jawad travelled on land. In addition, there were no such incidents on the Kabul-Bamiyan, Ghorband, and Maidan Wardak routes. You could say that it was completely unprecedented and such thing had happened for the very first time. Other than that, it is not known who had reported him as everyone said something. Certainly, the Taliban have people in all the paths between one province to the other. The other passengers with him and the car which came to deliver his bag to us said that only their car was stopped to pull raees sahib out, and the rest were told to leave. They said the captors came directly towards Zohak while he was in the passenger seat. As they spotted raees sahib in the car, they pulled him out of the car and told everyone else to leave. From what the driver said, it is evident that his whereabouts were reported. It was not an accident.

[Mohamamd Zohak stays silent in response to the question about the condition of Zohak’s wife and children upon receiving his body] Well, it was a difficult time. Although death is inevitable, the sudden death of a loved one who had traveled and you were waiting for his return, is difficult. The fact that the loved one’s body is returned to you is difficult. Although I was not at home at that time, I got a call from Parwan. From what I remember, Parwan’s governor had called the family that the body of raees sahib was transported to the airport in Parwan. He had informed the family that two helicopters will bring his body to Bamiyan. After that, deputy of the minister of defense, General Jawhari – he was a deputy back then – also called that he will reach Bamiyan in an hour. We were busy with these things back then. The airport that you saw, at that time, was unpaved and a helicopter landed. From there, the people accompanied the victim’s corpse to Rahbar Shaheed mosque inside the market area. Yes, on foot... Then, it was decided to not bury him on that day. The elders of Bamiyan and the council made the decision to bury him the next day because many government officials were coming from Kabul. The president’s representative and the provincial council representatives were to come the next day. After a small ceremony, we took the body to the hospital and kept it in the mortuary fridge. By the time we got back home, it was around 7:30-8:00 in the night. It was dark outside when we reached home. The situation in our house was unimaginable and uncontrollable. I was not very old or mature when Zohak died and I became the caretaker of the family. I am around 30-34 years old and this incident took place about 8 or 9 years ago. Managing the household was difficult. His wife, sons and daughter, and my sister and mother, all of us were part of the same household. Although he was a boss and the chair of a provincial council, with his family and extended relatives, he was always like a friend. Without him, we are around 7-8 brothers. With our sisters and other family members, he was always very nice. But when this incident took place, everyone was shocked. It is hard to describe how the situation was at that time.

Still, with whatever little ability we had, we managed ourselves. That night was a very difficult night. By the next day, when the representatives of the provincial council were supposed to come, a number of representatives from Herat, Mazar, and Bamiyan came for the funeral. The next day, we were busy with the funeral and burial of our martyr. As the head of the family, in a way, all of the responsibility for the funeral and burial was on my shoulders. We had funeral ceremonies one after the other. There were ceremonies here and in Yakaolang. After the ceremony in Yakaolang, we had another funeral ceremony in Kabul. I was responsible for the family as well as all the funeral ceremonies. We were busy with those and so was the rest of the family. Well, he was an important and big person. Despite all the difficulties, his death was unbelievable for us. Meaning, it was difficult to bear it. On the other hand, we were obliged to follow the customs and traditions of our society. We were busy with these things until the fortieth day of his passing.

Regarding the reason why this incident happened, he had a saying, if you have heard it, that if the government does not have the money to pave the streets in Bamiyan despite it being an important province and the center of tourism in Afghanistan, then the people will do it themselves. He paved the street in Bamiyan’s market area, all of the streets there. This was a form of civil protest against the government’s neglect. He was protesting for the streets, drinkable water, and issues of electricity. We have a roundabout in Bamiyan called Alakain roundabout. Zohak, along with his other civil activist colleagues, decided to install a lamp so that Bamiyan becomes illuminated. He had a famous saying during Karzai’s term that went like, ‘One eye of the government is blind and unfortunately, Bamiyan exist in the side of that blind eye and that is why they get no attention from the government.’ He was always a critic of the government in a way. However, on his last trip to Herat, two representatives from each provincial council were present. The conference was important in terms of its accountability towards people. Since provincial councils are bodies that observe the government’s actions, even in the conference during his speech, there were some problems and it was about to get cancelled. That was his last engagement with the government. In my opinion, the government was capable – the government has that much power to free the chair of a provincial council from few Taliban members – to save him under those circumstances, as the protection and security of the people is the responsibility of the government. I can say in confidence that the government was negligent. They were so negligent that even the defense deputy minister had posted on his Facebook page that even foreigners were asking for the release of the provincial council chair. They had requested the government for one or two people who could rescue him as foreign nationals were not allowed to use aircrafts and send people to rescue someone who was not their fellow countryman. They had even found the place where raees sahib was held and told [the government] that he was kept in a room with another person. They requested for one or two people to be sent there via a helicopter to rescue Zohak.

The government did not respond to this matter either, unfortunately. I want to say there is a sort of collusion between the government and the Taliban. In all the issues of districts collapsing; the conflict in Kunduz; the conflict in Baghlan; in the assassination of Burhanuddin Rabbani and other assassinations; even Karzai’s brother, who was the head of a provincial council, was assassinated; in all these matters, the government is aware and there is a collusion between them and the Taliban. Those who criticize the government in any way, they are not allowed to succeed and are not tolerated. I am certain that in the assassination of martyr Jawad Zohak, there was some sort of collusion between the government and the Taliban. Both parties cooperate with each other in such matters.

The impact of this incident was that we lost our family [member], he was everyone’s hope and someone we always relied on. I can say that after losing him, our family no longer has been able to be happy in the true sense of it. We sent his wife and children abroad because guaranteeing their safety was beyond my capability, whether they lived in Bamiyan or Kabul. Although I could also go with them through their [asylum] case, I did not leave. I could not go. I could not let go of this place. [His death] definitely left a negative impact on our lives. Especially on his children, who lost their father and their friend at such a young age. The impact will be felt throughout all their lives. It is difficult for all of us, truly difficult. His children and widow do not have any financial or security problems, but we all have mother and fathers and losing such a great father in such a young age is difficult. For us, the loss of such a significant person has left a huge void in our lives.

We took a lot of initiatives, even submitted a petition to the United Nations. We also sent a copy of it to ten other reputable embassies in Kabul. I submitted the petition to the office of the president myself. I delivered the petition to the deceased former vice president, Marshal Fahim, and personally gave another copy to the second vice president, Mohammad Karim Khalili. As for human rights organizations, we sent a copy to the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Organization chaired by Ms. Samar. This was all we were able to do but unfortunately, we have not received any response. In 2017, we submitted a complaint to the International Criminal Court in the Hague through your organization but we have not gotten any result so far. Getting a response for such an incident is difficult in Afghanistan but we will still pursue it. Although I am very disappointed, I will still pursue it. We shall participate in such issues. We hope that we will get a result, although the person we lost cannot come back to life. Still, we hope that all our effort will lead to a possibility of bringing these criminals to the court. We shall participate in that. Inshallah just as such atrocities have happened in other countries like in Europe, Latin American, and even the United States, and after years of the people advocating, the perpetrators were brought to justice. We constantly hear from the media that this dictator or that group has been sentenced to life imprisonment or death. We also hope that these people who have committed such acts shall be dragged to the court and be brought to justice. They shall be asked what right they had to make three children without a father and make a family without their guardian. Who has given you such a right? Certainly, it is not God. We are hopeful that one day they will be brought to justice. Just as you explained before and showed a video, we definitely want a part of his [Jawad's] memories to be there [in the museum] although it is part of our customs that when a person becomes a martyr, their clothes and other items are given to poor people and their personal possessions like wristwatches, rings, pens, mobile phone and such are distributed among the close relatives. The ring is given to this person and the wristwatch is given to that person, like the brother or his children. Just like that, after his passing, everything. We even sent some of his personal belongings to his sister abroad to keep as a memory. However, we have a few of his clothes which can be displayed in the [memory] boxes. We shall place his pictures there which are part of his memories. Aside from that, we have kept his shoes which he wore the very last time. It is still at home and we have not given it to anybody. Yes, we have kept it with us. We are willing to place some of his items with his pictures in the [memory boxes]. How can we not be willing?

Although Jawad Zohak was the youngest child from my grandfather, they were eight brothers in total. Only two of his elder brothers are currently with us but the rest six of them, including Jawad, have passed away. He has two sisters. One of them is here in Bamiyan and the other lives abroad, both of them were elder to Jawad. From among our relatives, only the nephews and nieces are left, two of my aunts and uncles. The country they went to as political refugees provides for their expenses. His children study and his widow is busy taking care of them. They are currently studying. One of his sons is in high school and his daughter, who is also the eldest child, is a first-year college student.

All of us had that one house and we still have it now. My grandfather’s house is in Yakaolang but after the end of the Taliban regime and start of the new government, we came here and built this house.

We remember his behavior almost every evening. He had a busy job as the head of the Provincial Council of a whole province and was occupied with meetings with government officials and the people (part of his responsibility was accountability toward the people). He was very fond of nature and even if he could not do it daily, he still took the whole family out to tour around in Bamiyan valleys whenever he had the time. Sometimes he would tour for only an hour and once time, it was just for half an hour. He was very fond of touring around. One of his best characteristics, besides loving the nature as I explained before, was that he played sports and he would always encourage all of us, one way or the other, to exercise. Although at the end times, because he had sustained an injury, he was not very physically strong and because of that injury, could not do heavy sports. He was very capable in three sports which were Taekwondo, Kung Fu, and gymnastics. In his recent times, when he could not do heavy sports, he was interested in playing tennis. He liked playing tennis but there were not many facilities at that time but there was a table tennis inside a hall in Telecommunications Directorate and he always played there. His other good feature was that he never had any bad intentions toward other people. Whenever I would say that this person is not a good person, all from lack of experience, he would tell me, “No, you might not have the experience or the age to pass a judgement on whether a person is good or bad. This might just be your opinion of that person that they are but in reality, they could be good people.” He would tell me that that person might be good but your impression of them might be bad. It is also possible that the other person also has a negative impression of you but that does not mean that either you or that person is bad. He would also tell me that these all are the judgements that we make about people. In general, he did not like improper judgements of people.

He would advise us that such a characteristic was not good. He would always want the good of the people and even today, if you ask the people of Bamiyan, they would tell you about his good behavior. Issues of language, ethnicity, and identity did not matter to him. He would say that we all are humans and that all of us should find a way to live a life that is worthy for a human being. Definitely, all people were not created in once place and all of us belong to a certain district and area, but such issues like a person’s background did not matter to him. He had good behavior. He was very kind to all family members and most of people. If he wanted someone to realize that they had made a mistake, he would do it with humor and in a joking manner. His humorous nature is well known among the politicians, whether they are in Kabul or Bamiyan.

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.

The Phone Was Burnt in The Incident, but the SIM Card Remains Intact

Narrator: Soghra (wife)

Victim: Mohammad Jawad Alipour

Date of the incident: 23 July 2016

Location of the incident: Dehmazang, Kabul City

My husband was born in Mashhad in Iran. When he was 10, he and his family returned to Afghanistan, to the district of Ghorian, in Herat Province. They started working and studying in a compound with some agricultural lands attached. He lived there until he was 17, but they abandoned their land and moved to Herat during the first period of Taliban rule. At the age of 17, he traveled back to Iran and lived there until the age of 22. His family lived in Herat city, and we were acquaintances who had known each other since childhood. Later, they proposed to me to marry their son. At the age of 22, when he returned to the country, we got married immediately. Eight years have passed since our wedding, and we have three children: two boys and one girl. My eldest son is seven-years-old, my second son is four-years-old, and my daughter is three-months-old. She was born after her father’s martyrdom. In Iran, he operated rebar machinery. When he returned to Afghanistan, he lived with us for almost six months. He then joined the National Army. He served in the National Army for nine months in 2010. He was dispatched to the border with Pakistan and his work there was dangerous. Sometimes, he could not even contact us.

His father suffers from cardiovascular disease, so he was concerned about my husband’s health. Following that period of ten months, he didn’t allow his son to continue serving in the national army. Out of respect for his father, he quit his army job after he left hospital [following an injury]. When he returned home, my eldest son was three months old. Once again, my husband had to go to Iran to look for work. He stayed there almost a year and a half. Following his return from Iran, he partnered with one of his friends and started doing welding jobs, and he was still doing this up the time of his martyrdom. One of his dreams was to invent a device. He would always tell me that he wished he had studied more and that our economic situation was better. Then he would make a device that would be recorded as part of the story of his life. I always encouraged him and said, "God is great, and our living situation will improve one day."

He was very interested in reading and read many religious books. He did not have many friends and spent most of his time on Fridays with us and reading books. After finishing Friday prayer and returning home from the mosque, he would always recite the Holy Quran. He has three brothers, but they are not like my husband. Because of his good morals, his father was very fond of him; he was happy with him. When his son was martyred, he was not in a good state of mind. We even moved from the house where we had lived to a different place. His father used to say, “At the time of the morning Azan [call to prayer], I feel my son calling me for prayer and saying: ‘Dad, I have prepared water for you to do your ablutions.’”

In fact, his dream came true as he always wished to become a martyr. In his diary, he detailed the hardships and problems he faced in his childhood, for example, the difficulties he encountered when he was smuggled abroad, and the bitter times he had weaving carpets as a child. After my son was enrolled in kindergarten, my husband would always help him with his homework, despite being very tired after he came home from work. He would say that he had suffered a lot and would leave no stone unturned to help his children educated. Even though I would help my son with his assignments, he was thrilled when his father encouraged him. He would always tell me to set aside a room for our children so that they could study peacefully and become people of influence later in life. I have decided to be an excellent mother to my children until the very last moments of my life. I even try to fill the void left by their father’s death, so that they never feel unprotected and lonely. His caring nature has influenced my own behavior, and made me decide this. He never spoke to me harshly in the eight years of our married life, not even once. Sometimes it was I who was harsh, but he always stayed calm and encouraged me not to get enraged because it was not worth living a sad life.

At night, when chatting with me, he would say, “Soghra, just think for a moment about the resurrection, the grave, and the other world. This world and life are not worth being greedy for or unhappy about.” I used to tell him, “Do you act as you say?” He would say, “Yes, before I go to sleep, I close my eyes for a moment and think about the Day of Resurrection, about the grave, and about good behavior. Once I gain serenity, I easily fall asleep.” Now that we have lost him, I think of his words before going to sleep. I cry and laugh simultaneously at his simplicity and honesty. When I think about him, I miss him greatly. When I recall his words, I fall asleep despite my sadness. May God bless him. We have no bad or unpleasant memories of him; we have only good memories, a lot of them. He used to take me with him for Friday prayers, and after praying, he would call me not to go home alone. He was waiting for me when I came out of the women’s section. On Muharram nights, he would wait for me and we would walk home together, while some people used to go home individually.

On Fridays, he would take me, especially my children, to the park or special shrines to have fun. Because conditions in Afghanistan, especially in Herat, were not good. He used to advise me not to leave the children unattended in the alleyway. He used to say that the kids should have fun. Sometimes his father would worry about us. My husband would secretly take the children to parks and remote areas when it was nice weather so they would not feel distressed. In the last days of Ramadan, he traveled from Kabul to Herat and stayed at home with us for a week after Eid. A day before he returned to Kabul - I don’t know what he was thinking - he took the motorcycle out early in the morning and gave the kids and me a ride across Herat City. He told us, “I want you to see nice and beautiful places in Herat. Maybe I will never return home this time.” Lately, he talked about death and did not let us have a bad time. Every time I recall his actions and approaches, I feel sad, and my heart breaks.

Some people demonstrated in Herat in support of the mandate of the Enlightenment Movement. He wanted to participate but his father did not allow him to, saying he had a bad feeling about it, and would not let him sacrifice himself. But he told his father, “I must participate. We have to support the Hazaras. If we stay home, other people will also stay home, and then who will be at the demonstration, which is our right?” He had a book he would often read, entitled ‘Hazara History.’ He believed the Hazara should be proud.

When he went to Kabul, he didn’t tell us about the July 23rd demonstration. We did not even know he might take part in it. The only person he told that the was going to the rally was his work partner. After finishing work in Kabul, he bought a return ticket to Herat. A few days earlier, he had hurt his foot at work. At 11 o’clock on the day of the incident, I called him and asked him why he had not been more careful, and asked him how he had hurt his leg. He said: “No, it’s fine. My foot was not hurt badly, it is much better now.” He was working in an industrial zone in Kabul. When I asked him where he was, he said he was going to Dehmazang but did not tell me that he was going there to join in the demonstration. That was our last call. After he said goodbye, we never talked to each other again.

Almost 12 days had passed since we’d seen him before he travelled to Kabul, and his work was not finished yet. His cousins, who were working with him, had already returned to Herat on Friday. But he had booked a ticket to return home on Saturday. His cousins had even urged him to go home with them on Friday, but he refused to go on Friday, saying he would return to Herat on Saturday instead. Mainly, they worked in Herat, and their work included cutting, metals, PEB structural sheds, and welding. He had two cutting machines, one in Kabul and the other in Herat. He had gone to Kabul to install this machine.

Whenever he talked about martyrdom, I would immediately stop him and argue against it, saying, “Don’t yearn for martyrdom because if you die one day, what should I do with two sons and the little girl on the way?” He used to say that a person should not grow old because his sins also increase as he ages. He said my children have God, and he knows how to help them and to help me. He would tell me to think of how much he could help us if he became a martyr. He really believed it was not worthwhile living a long life.

After my husband’s martyrdom, my sons always ask about their father. I teach tailoring. On that day, I was in the classroom teaching students when my mother-in-law called me and asked if I knew about Jawad. I told her I had called him, but his phone was switched off. She asked if I had watched TV, and I said no. In the afternoon, the children sleep, and we don’t turn on the TV until their homework is finished and their grandfather has watched the news. Again, she said, go home and turn on the TV. I went home and turned on the TV. TOLO News was airing live footage from Dehmazang. I felt terrible, and my worries increased. My two sons and I did not know about his martyrdom until three days later, when his body was brought to Herat. We did not have anyone to transfer my husband’s body. His brothers and cousins had departed that night [to get his body] but they did not inform me. When I asked them, they said they had not found him. Of course, they had found him, but they wouldn’t tell me anything because of my condition. I was pregnant with my daughter at the time. I just sat all day on the dirt in the front yard, holding the phone in my hand, unable to do anything else. When I cried, my children frequently brought me water. My eldest son said, “Mom! When you cry, I get thirsty.”

When I recall those moments, my heart is on fire; I just shed tears because of this great sorrow. Once I learned about it, the family said that his children shouldn’t see him because it would impact their mental well-being, but I said that it was wrong because if they don’t see their father, they will always wait for him to come. My husband always called my children at night before they went to bed, spoke with them, and asked them what they wanted him to bring them from Kabul. They told their father to get them a bicycle. That’s why I told them it’s better to show them their father’s face.

My younger son didn’t believe that the body was his father’s. When my eldest son saw his father, he said, “Alas, my father sleeps forever.” When my eldest son completes his homework, he tells his little brother every night that their dad has become a butterfly and gone to the sky. He points to the brightest star in the sky and says it is their dad. If my little son makes noise, his big brother will tell him, “Didn’t daddy say don’t bother your mother? If you annoy my mother and me again, he will not forgive you, but since he has become a spirit, he will not return to us.” Even while eating, he says to my younger son, “Didn’t daddy always tell you that you should sit cross-legged at the table?” He recalls his father all the time, and quotes my husband’s statements to his little brother.

I was teaching tailoring from 3 to 6 pm. I got ready at 2:30 and went to the class. I was in my classroom until 5. There was an hour left when my mother-in-law called me and told me to go home. The moment she said her call [to my husband] did not go through, believe me, my hands and feet started shaking. I told my students that I was going home and left the class. When I got home, I turned on the TV. Seeing the painful scenes of Dehmazang, I was crying and kept calling, hoping that an acquaintance might locate my husband. My husband was missing for two nights. My sister-in-law is studying in Kabul, and she tried to find him through Facebook, but every time I called her, she said she did not find anyone named Jawad Hossaindad, and if she did, they belonged to other provinces. My poor son-in-law went to Kabul from Mazar-e-Sharif and started looking for him. I kept phoning his number, and kept asking him about my husband. The poor guy would sometimes not answer my calls when he started to become frustrated with his fruitless searching.

On the day of the incident, when my husband was martyred, somebody had found his phone, taken out the SIM card from his burnt phone, and put it in his own mobile phone. The only number that had appeared on the SIM card was the number of my husband’s uncle. He had contacted the number and had asked whose phone number it was. My husband’s uncle had said that the number belonged to his nephew. Then, the caller said that the phone was burnt in the incident and only the SIM card was left intact. Hearing the news, my husband’s uncle became disappointed and realized that Jawad had been martyred. After hearing the news, he informed my brother-in-law and my brother-in-law booked a ticket and went to Kabul the same night. But they did not tell me anything. Then they spent two nights in Kabul, and on the third night, they said that Jawad was fine and they would return to Herat. I was so happy. I asked why he didn’t call me or talk to me if he was okay. Why didn’t his phone ring? Whenever he went to Kabul, we had made an arrangement that he would call me at 9 in the morning because I was at home in the morning doing tailoring. Then in the evenings, at 6 o’clock I would wait for his call, and once my eldest son finished his homework, he would talk to his dad.

He was not like some other men who treated kids harshly when they got home. When he got home, he would play hide and seek with his children. Children love a happy father; they were always pleased to play with their father. I frequently told him to show some seriousness, but he would say it would be okay if children were guided to the right path through smiles and happiness since they will never be taught by hitting and cursing. One day before the incident (i.e. on Friday) he called and said he felt extremely sad. He asked his children to read him the poems they had learned in kindergarten and school. I feel despondent when I remember what he did on the Friday. When I heard about my husband’s martyrdom, I didn’t eat or drink anything for two days and two nights. When my sisters saw me, they insisted I ate something and said since I was pregnant, if I didn’t eat food, I could become dehydrated, and the baby would be damaged. I told them I had lost my appetite.

The day they found Jawad, his brother called me and said they had found him, he was injured lightly, and they would bring him to Herat. That morning, I was thrilled. I had breakfast, and it was so luscious that I still remember the taste of it. After having breakfast, as soon as I folded the tablecloth, I noticed two vehicles in front of our gate, and all our close and distant relatives were coming through our gate. When they entered, I asked my mother why they had come. My mother said they were there to visit Jawad. As soon as I had eye contact with my brother, my heart trembled. This brother of mine had been friends with my husband since childhood, and he loved him very much. My brother had cried a lot, and his eyes had turned all red. When I looked at my brother, I immediately realized the truth of what had happened. My brother could not look me in the eye. We ran towards each other when I saw him and we cried a lot. I don’t recall those moments clearly. I didn’t know where I was.

In the afternoon, the body was taken to the mosque. I kept comforting myself, hoping that maybe there had been some mistake and that this body was not Jawad. When I looked at my husband’s face, I told myself it was him, but I still comforted myself and wished it was all a terrible mistake. Even now, I think he has gone to work. I don’t believe he was martyred. I visit his grave on Fridays, talk to him and open my heart. I regularly think about the things he used to do. I comfort myself and say that it was his wish to be martyred, and that it’s good that he got what he wanted. Now God is with us. Every person, male or female, has dreams for his life and for his children. I try to fulfill my husband’s wish to educate my children. I try to provide for them through work and tailoring, until they can stand on their own two feet. So that they don’t feel that void left by their father’s death.

My eldest son is a brilliant and kindhearted child. He always talks about his father but never asks me about him. When his little brother asks me about his father, his older brother advises him that I will get upset and that he should stop talking and asking about their father. My little son asks so many questions! We buried my husband in a shrine campus in Jibra’il District. Because my husband’s grave is far from our house, my younger son kept asking questions and misbehaving. He asked questions like: “Why did you bury my dad? Who told you to put him under the ground? Dad will be spoiled there.” The following day, when we visited my husband’s grave, we found another martyr buried next to him. My younger son walked over to his grave and then jumped on his father’s grave and said, “Dad, why did you sleep under the ground? Why can’t I see your hands and feet?” He kept asking why his father’s shirt was not visible. He yelled and asked to dig up the ground and get his father out. Until Eid al-Adha, he was hopeful that his father would come back home. When my nephew talked to him about his father, my son would also say, “My father, too, will come and bring me a gift from Kabul.”

His grandfather always watches the news on TV. When my son hears news of a suicide attack, he says, “My father, too, was martyred in a suicide attack.” In the month of Muharram, when I was taking him out, he would be afraid of the police and say they killed his father. He would cry and say they had killed his father and he would hide under my chador. I have no other demands to make of the government. I just want them to know that they need to pay attention to the children of martyrs. I ask human rights organizations to assist the martyrs’ families. They should provide educational opportunities for the children of martyrs, because if they don’t have access to work and education, they may end up in adverse situations. Economic conditions are an important issue. If youth have access to employment and education, they will never turn to drugs. We all know that poverty is a crucial reason for delinquency among teenagers and youth. I hope my children can study and have a bright future. Sometimes, when I think about how I lost my husband and a life partner at 27, I comfort myself, believing I am not alone and should stay strong.

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.

He Rebuilt the School Building

Narrator: Amin Dadfar (brother)

Victim: Reza Ebrahimi

Date of the incident: 23 July 2016

Location of the incident: Dehmazang, Kabul City

My brother was 15-years-old when we lost our father. My other brother, Mohammad Juma, was older than Reza Ebrahimi. Mohammed Juma used to live in Iran and was the breadwinner of the family. This elder brother worked in a field in Iran two days per week and did the hard work assigned by the land owner. He worked there for four years to help the family and left for Iran at the age of 18. The journey was arduous and on the way, he was taken hostage by thieves and imprisoned in the Tal-e Siya prison near the Iran-Afghanistan border. He was kept in jail for two months. They held my brother hostage with ten other people but released his friends and told them to send money when they arrived in Iran to buy my brother’s freedom. Two months later, my brother was finally released and managed to go to Iran.

When he arrived in Iran, he was determined that all his younger brothers should attend school and live a comfortable life. He provided us with money and other necessities of life. One of my brothers, younger than Reza, was not that interested in school. But my older brother and I continued going to school. The second thing Mohammed Juma did for us was to repair and renovate our house in our hometown. During his time in Iran, he engaged in sports. Within five years, he became a sports trainer. After five years in Iran, my elder brother returned to Afghanistan and travelled to our hometown. Reza left for Europe. He traveled with five of his friends and was the group leader. During their journey, they suffered a lot. When a smuggler gave them a boat in the Greek [Aegean]sea, he had to take control of it. He was fearless and helped everyone. One of his friends had become seasick, and he encouraged him to carry on. When they had come across a whale, again, he had comforted others, and they managed to cross the sea.

When they had landed on the coast by morning, one of his friends, who had been very tired, had laid down on the beach but the tide washed him away and my brother immediately jumped into the water and saved him. Then he encouraged everyone to move away from the coast, even though they felt weak. They had to tear up the boat they had sailed in, so they were not put on board the same ship and returned if the police arrested them. When the police approached the island, my brother fled and took refuge in a green, densely wooded area.

My brother described his experience: “After the police left the area, I stayed there until the surrounding areas became quiet. Only then I noticed that a giant dog was standing near me. I stayed still; the dog stood there for 20 minutes and then went away. I was exhausted, hungry, and thirsty because I had not eaten anything at night. I was on the run when the police arrested me. They asked me where my friends were. I told them I was alone. They didn’t believe me and said you must have a companion, or maybe you are a smuggler. I was imprisoned for five days. Then, they released me and took me to Athens, the capital of Greece. After a month, I found my friends.”

My brother, Reza, was a very active person. He lived in Greece for two years and worked in agriculture. In the third year, he went to England with his three friends. On a rainy night, my brother and 15 other people, including 8 Pakistanis and 7 Afghans, tried to hide in a stream but the Pakistanis did not allow the Afghans to hide there. Angry at this, my brother threatened to beat some Pakistanis. He was athletic and strong, and when the Pakistanis saw this, they decided not to mess with him. My brother had taken his friends out of the stream and they had hidden somewhere else. Later, they moved to France and stayed there for six months. Their journey was very challenging. He said they had to cling underneath trailer trucks to hide and move from one city to another. They would use their clothes bags as pillows when they slept during the night. They had no idea where the trucks were headed: Africa, Europe, Australia, or even Pakistan. So they arrived at their destination, England. He lived in England for two years but was not accepted because he was an adult. So eventually he returned to Afghanistan. He worked hard and was always popular with people.

Reza got married in our hometown and then was nominated and elected as head of the community council. One of the public works he did for the people was constructing a road that connected our area with a neighbouring region. He also upgraded the elementary school into a high school and renovated its building. He was very good-tempered and treated people with care and respect.

One of my brothers is older than me. He graduated from twelfth grade in the same year. Reza told him to study any field he likes and not to worry about tuition. Taking part in the university entrance exam, my brother was accepted for the two-year electrical engineering course, but in the end, he didn’t enjoy it and said he wanted to work in national security instead. After two years of struggle, he was offered a job in national security and returned to Daikundi. When the incident happened on July 23, I was at the Institute. I kept calling my brother’s number, but he didn’t pick up. I called his friends, but they didn’t give a concrete answer. I left for Kote-Sangi. I then realized I should call the driver of the vehicle in which my brother rides. When I called him, he told me, “Reza Ebrahimi is with me, and I have just come out of Esteqlal hospital and want to go to Wazir Mohammad Akbar Khan hospital.”

I recall him calling me several times a day for the entire year I had been in Kabul. He asked me where I was, what I was doing, and whether I had attended classes. He was very kind. I felt disappointed because he would never have left my calls unanswered, so if he did not answer, he must be in a bad way. When I arrived at Wazir Muhammad Akbar Khan hospital, his condition was critical; one of his legs was broken. I approached his bed. As soon as he saw me, he grabbed my feet. I tried to stay calm and not to cry. I told him he would be fine. Then, we transferred him to the 400-bed hospital. After he regained consciousness, he started cracking jokes with a friend of his who was a policeman, who had also been injured.

Reza asked me how I did my exams. I said I had only one exam left. He wanted me to get an inquiry letter and finish the exam. Following that, he talked to my brother, who worked in national security. He assured Reza not to worry about home. He told me I should not lose patience and stay focused on my studies after he is taken to India for medical treatment. “I have asked our brother to send you money from Daikundi.” He was taken to India with other wounded people on Friday. I was thrilled that he would recover in India. I attended classes on Saturday and Sunday. On Monday, I spoke with him. He sounded sad compared to the first days. A friend of his was with me. They talked a lot and he seemed happier talking to his friend. At 8 p.m., I went to my room; my friends had prepared food. I had dinner and wanted to call my brother Reza. I turned my mobile data on. One of my brothers, who lives in Iran with his family, was online and sent me photos of his sons. He asked me how Reza was doing. I said, “Thank God, he will be fine.”

In the meantime, my brother’s friend Abbas sent me a message asking how I was doing and what updates I had. The guy texted me again and said, “How are you? What is going on at home?” I said I was fine and so was the family. The person who was with my brother, his friend, was called Abbas. I asked him if Reza was fine. He said, “He is fine. Pray for him, and God willing, he will be fine. Make a vow for him.” I said, “I do pray, and now I will pray some more.” Following that call, Abbas’s phone and internet were turned off. Ten minutes later, a person named Hashem called me and said, “Dadfar, can I tell you something?” I said yes, tell me. With a lump in his throat, he said it was God’s wish. God took Reza Ebrahimi from us. I was shocked and immediately asked him what had happened. Hashem said, “Reza had a heart attack, and the doctors could not save him.”

I hung up the phone and informed my elder brother in Iran. He cried a lot over the phone and told me he would leave for Afghanistan the next day. My other brother, who was on duty, said he would go to Daikandi tomorrow. My other brother, who lived in Herat, only knew about Reza’s injury. He was in Iran, too, and arrived in Kabul on Monday. Upon the arrival of Reza’s body from India, we transferred it to the morgue in the 400-bed hospital because the high temperature could have impacted the body. When everyone arrived in Kabul, we moved to Daikundi on Tuesday and laid Reza to rest. He departed this life and left us alone in grief.

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.

His Mother Lost Her Sanity Balance After the Incident

Narrator: Hussain Ali (father)

Victim: Kazim Hakimi

Date of the incident: 23 July 2016

Location of the incident: Dehmazang, Kabul City

My son was born in 1988, in the Varas District. He was five years old when we migrated to the Kerman region, a part of Panjaw District in Bamiyan Province. He was very interested in school and we enrolled him in a local school, which he attended up to grade 7. But due to the lack of facilities and shortage of teachers in his school, he started to lose interest.

Subsequently, he voluntarily went to Iran, where he learned the trade of plastering. At 18, he returned to Afghanistan and married the daughter of one of our relatives. They were married for ten years. Almost a year ago, my son came to Kabul from Panjaw and rented a house in western Kabul. He has four little daughters, but life was not kind to him and his family. On the 23rd of July, he participated in the demonstration and lost his life in a brutal attack by some ungodly people.

After the accident and his martyrdom, his mother lost her sanity, her mental balance. According to the doctors, she has developed a neurological disorder. His wife and four kids live a hard life in the same rented house. I have become old and am also going through financial hardship. He was 28-years-old when he was martyred. Losing a young child breaks a person's back. We have all been downhearted since then.

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.

There Were 18 Bullet Wounds on His Body

Narrator: Parimah (mother)

Victim: Qurban Ali Ahmadi

Date of the incident: 23 July 2016

Location of the incident: Dehmazang, Kabul City

I am the mother of the martyr Qurban Ali. He was a hard-working, decent boy who had laboring jobs. He was almost seven when I first sent him to school. After a while, he said, “Mom, I can't continue going to school because I am the son of a poor family, and I have to provide for our living expenses so our life will get a little better.” One day, he didn't come home on time. I looked everywhere but I couldn't find him.

Back then, we lived in Chindawol. I suddenly saw him sweeping in front of a shop near the Behzad cinema. I went to him and asked him what he was doing there. He said, “I have become an apprentice here.” He worked at the same shop for nine years. The shop owner was from Sheikh Ali. He was a charming and kind person. For almost nine years, he did metalwork in his shop. He had mastered the job, was working in different places, and kept telling me that I should get him a shop so that he could start his own business. But I told him he couldn't run the business alone because the rent on the property was high, we could not afford the payment, and he could lose money. So he worked with his elder brother. It had taken us a lot of effort to arrange my eldest son’s marriage. Life used to be good at that time, to some extent. Then, after being married two years, my eldest son's wife died. A year later, my husband passed away. After that, the problems followed one after the other.

As my eldest son, Qurban Ali, grew older, he became quite successful in his profession. He used to make and sell doors and rails. As a result of all his hard work, our living conditions improved. One day, I told him, “Only God knows how long I will live. So let me get you married!” I continued and asked him, “How long do you think you can live in your brother's house? It may not work out for much longer." He didn't say anything. So I decided to mortgage my land in my hometown, cashed in my savings, and borrowed two hundred thousand Afghanis from the bank. With the total amount, I managed to get him married. For a year, we lived with Qurban Ali. Then I made my sons go and live separately. I distributed the debt between them. One of my sons got a house in Chindawol, and the other lived in a different place. I was living with Qurban Ali. He worked and provided for household expenses and continued paying his debt. He always said, “I wish to pay off my debts and then send my mother to Karbala [pilgrimage] because she has worked hard for me since I was a child. Later I will rent a house so that we can all live comfortably [together].” But now, how sad it is that he has gone before his own mother. He has left me alone. I am grateful to have two more sons, but no one can fill the void he left behind.

On the day of the incident, I wanted to go to my other son Mohammad Ali's house. I told Qurban Ali to go to work, but he said he wanted to go and join the demonstration. I told him, “It is none of your business; go to work.” He told me, “I participated in the first demonstration. Last time, they placed containers on our way. I climbed up on top of one of the containers and took photos of people taking part in the demonstration.” I said, “Have you gone nuts? Why did you climb up on top of a container? How is all this even your business?” No matter how much I insisted, he would not agree. I asked him to call me and update me as soon as he got there. As I left for Barchi, I noticed the road was closed. I turned around and went to Mohammad Ali's house via another road, Chehl Soton Road. There is a mosque near Mohammad Ali's house, where I performed prayer before having lunch.

Mohammad Ali’s wife was cracking almonds, and I helped her by separating out the kernel of the almonds from the cracked shells. We forgot all about the demonstration. Suddenly I remembered that Qurban Ali was supposed to be taking part in the rally, so I picked up the phone and called him. His coworker, a Sunni man, had named him Hasib. I called and asked him, “Where are you, Hasib, my love?” He said, "I am in Dehmazang, don't worry!” and I continued working. I never imagined a suicide bomber would get into the demonstration and that my son would be martyred. In fact, I even asked my eldest son why he was not in the demonstration. He told me, “Mom, the roads are closed, so that's why I am staying home.”

I must have gone insane that day! One of my sons was killed, he was martyred, and there I am encouraging the other to go to the same demonstration! The landlord's son told my other son that there had been an explosion in Dehmezang. For a moment, I felt as if I had fallen to the ground from high in the sky. It was like my heart was being squeezed. I kept calling Qurban, but he did not pick up his phone. I told my eldest son that Qurban was in Dehmezang, and called him again, but again he did not answer the call. My eldest son said: "Mother, you worry too much. A suicide attack has happened in Dehmezang. He must be busy helping the wounded and martyrs because many people have died. Qurban Ali will be fine."

When Mohammad Ali and I called again, neither of us received an answer. I was losing my senses, I was so worried. I told Mohammad Ali that I had to go to Dehmazang myself. I left the house and went to Pol-e Khoshk. When I got there, one of my relatives saw me and asked me where I was going. I explained that Hasib had joined in the demonstration and that after the explosion, he wasn’t answering our calls. My relative told me, “Do not worry. Go back home and I’ll go get him.” He took my phone. I don’t know why, maybe he knew that Hasib had been killed. I came out of the house several times between three and six o'clock. I was standing at Pol-e Khoshk bus station and intended to go to the mosque and pray. Up to that moment, I did not remember that I had to perform prayer. I was just wandering around full of anxiety. A mother would prefer to be buried herself than to see her young child die before her.

At that exact moment, I saw another relative, named Ismail, passing by. I ran after him but could not catch up with him. He went into mosque and I entered the mosque but could not see anyone inside. I came out and noticed three relatives approaching me. One of them, named Sarwar, was not feeling well. I asked what had happened to him. He said he had been slightly injured. I asked him if he knew where Hasib was. He said he was coming with Muhammad Ali.

Women have no other resort. That's why I started crying. I was slapping myself and crying. They took me home. When I opened the gate of the house, I saw my niece clapping hands and saying, “What are we going to say to Hasib's mother?” As soon as I heard her saying that, I broke down, slapping my face and pulling my hair, and that’s when I noticed Qurban Ali’s dead body. I was unable to stand. They took him to the mosque and bathed him. Blood was flowing from the stream in front of the mosque.

My other son sat next to me and said, “Mom, please don't cry, calm down.” Eighteen bullet wounds could be seen on Qurban Ali's body. The bone on one side of his head was missing. His hair was stuck to one side of his head, and his leg was broken. It was 10 p.m., and the blood continued flowing from Qurban Ali's body. With all the shops closed, there was no cloth to make a burial shroud. There wasn't even plastic to stop the bleeding. Since the bleeding did not stop, they brought lime from outside and put it on the wounds, but no matter how much lime they put on the wound, the bleeding would not stop. As an ultimate solution to stop bleeding, they mixed cotton with lime and placed it on the wounds, and the wounds were then wrapped in a plastic sheet.

There was no cloth to make a shroud. May God bless my cousin; he brought a shroud. It was 11 pm, and the relatives who had gathered in our house said that it was not possible to bury the body at this time; they would take the body home for that night and bury him the next day. When we wanted to take my son's body home, the landlord would not allow us to take the martyr’s body into the house. So we had to bury him at 11 p.m. that same night.

We returned home at 2 am. I had nothing at home to feed people with. My son was a decent and virtuous man. May God never make any mother grieve for her young child and, for the sake of Imam Hossein, never let any family be dishonored.

Now that he is dead, his children are left without a guardian and his wife has left for her father's house. She was my niece, and her parents took her back to their hometown. The young daughter of my son is now living with me. I am sixty years old, and I take care of his daughter.

I am facing many problems, and I cannot bear the burden alone. I pray for Afghanistan to become peaceful so that I can earn a legitimate income and raise my granddaughter. I raised my son in poverty, but unfortunately he left me alone in my old age and rested in peace himself. One of my sons was killed at 18 during the war under Baba Mazari’s command. I have suffered a lot.

People’s young sons and daughters were martyred. Dehmazang had become a battle-zone in Karbala. It must have been God's will for my other child to be martyred. Once again, God put me to a tough test. I pray to live long enough to witness little Fatima grow up. She is one and a half years old now. I am apprehensive and believe that if I die, Fatima will be helpless. She will have no one to take care of her. The unknown fate of Fatima is as sad as all the sorrows of my life put together, and so is the grief of losing my son. I am just forever grateful to be alive so I can care for this innocent child. Wherever I go, she comes with me and starts crying when she is away from me.

I pray to God to have mercy on us for the sake of this innocent child. Amen.

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.

It Is Our People’s Right to Have Electricity

Narrator: Nasrin (wife)

Victim: Amir Mohammad Rahimi

Date of the incident: 23 July 2016

Location of the incident: Dehmazang, Kabul City

In the name of God,

I am Nasrin, the wife of the martyr Amir Mohammad. I have 5 children, two girls and three boys. We come from Bamiyan Province, in the district of Shibar, from Shanbal Village. We currently live in Kabul. Amir Mohammad was 45-years-old when he was martyred. However, I found out his age was recorded as older than that on his Tazkira (National ID Card).

Hamed, The Martyr’s Son:

My father was born in Kabul in 1970. He attended the Asif Mayil High School in Qala Nazer up to the 12th grade. My father had very good manners and morals and always encouraged us to do good deeds.

The Martyr's wife:

He studied up to the 12th grade. After that, he did not continue with his studies because of his difficult financial situation, and he started working. Sixteen years had passed since our marriage. He behaved very well with everyone and was a sociable and friendly person. He was very benevolent and calm. At home, he treated me and my children well. He always told us that we should defend our rights. Before the 23rd July demonstration, he would go to Mosala to participate in social events, especially those related to the Movement. He used to participate in the early meetings of the Movement and when he came home, he would talk about the right of our people. He used to say: “Electricity is a right of our people and we will stand up against the government if it violates our rights.”

He was self-employed. In the winter season, he worked with his cousin who had a store, selling Turkish stoves in Qala-e Nazer. My husband was literate and his cousin was illiterate, that's why he managed the finances of his cousin’s store. His cousin was the store owner and Amir Mohammad managed the store’s financial affairs. His dream was for his children to get an education. He was always kind at home and believed that there should not be a tense environment at home when life was already so difficult. When the issue of the 23rd July demonstration came up, I did not consent to him going to Dehmazang. I told him I did not want him taking part in the demonstration because an attack might happen. He answered, “We belong to this land and it is the right of our people to have access to electricity. We must defend the rights of our people and stand up against injustice.”

Hamed, The Martyr’s Son:

At first, it was decided that he would not go and take part in the demonstration. We tried to prevent my father from going, but his enthusiasm and his love for the people made him go to Dehmazang. We were watching the Dehmzang demonstration live on TV when the suicide attack happened. We immediately called my father to know where he was. He said he was in Dehmzang and had been injured. He was taken to Imam Ali Hospital. We got to the hospital. Since it was very crowded at this hospital and it was not possible for the staff to take care of all the patients, we transferred him to the Imam Zaman Hospital in Barchi.

The Martyr's wife:

His back was wounded, but he was not hurt severely. When we took him to the Imam Zaman Hospital, the doctor could not operate on him properly. At first, we didn't notice anything. But after a few days, his condition worsened. He suddenly had a seizure. We took him to the Rahel Hospital. They explained that all the fluid in his head was leaking into his body, and this was causing a problem with the lack of fluid in his brain. He was operated on again, but did not recover. The bullet had hit his back, but his spinal cord was not hurt.

Hamed, The Martyr’s Son:

First, we took him to Naser Khosrow Hospital. They told us there was a good specialist at the Imam Zaman Hospital in Barchi who could operate on the wounded, that's why we took him there and the doctor at this hospital operated on him.

The Martyr's wife:

When we visited him, Amir Mohammad said, "A police pick-up truck came in Dehmazang and I got on the back of the truck.” There were other wounded with him and that is how he got to the hospital.

Hamed, The Martyr’s Son:

At that time, his condition was not so serious. His legs were hurt, one leg was fractured, but it was not severe. In the Square, he wanted to find my cousin who was there at the demonstration, but he could not find him, and so he managed to get into the pick-up truck and get to hospital.

The Martyr's wife:

We took him to another hospital. Following the surgical operation, his legs stopped moving. Before the first operation, his leg was simply fractured due to the blast that had thrown him onto the ground. The doctor was dishonest; he didn't tell us before the operation that he didn't have the ability to perform the surgery. It would have been better if we could have transferred him to a better hospital or take him to Pakistan or India for the operation. After the operation, Amir Mohammad remained in a coma for four days. He never again opened his eyes. He repeatedly had seizures, and his brain fluid leaked through his back. He was hospitalized for four days in Rahel Hospital.

Hamed, The Martyr’s Son:

Preparations were made for taking him to India; we wanted to take him abroad for treatment, but he died before that could happen.

The Martyr's wife:

After my husband’s martyrdom/death, I went to the doctor to file a complaint. I asked him why he had performed such a critical operation when he lacked the know-how. He had nothing to say. When he met me, he held his head down; he was clearly embarrassed. I said to the doctor that he should have told us to take him to India or Pakistan for treatment. “Why did you do something that was beyond your ability?” Every time he examined my husband, he said, “It is okay, let this fluid come out of his body, because this is pus.” White fluid like milk came out of his back. Sometimes he could not straighten himself up easily; his back could sometimes not move. My husband died because of the negligence of this doctor. His leg was slightly fractured in the incident, and if the operation had not been done in that hospital, he could still be alive today.

I will never forgive this doctor because he ruined our life. After my husband’s martyrdom, my brother-in-law has been helping us because my son has to go to school; he can’t work. Now we have no other choice. God took my husband from us and we cannot do anything other than remain patient.

I ask the government to pay attention to the families of the Martyrs. The independent human rights commission should investigate this crime. My children are all young; my youngest son is just three years old. Now they are helpless. Their uncle can only help us for one year. The economic situation in the entire country is already bad without one family having to support another family for a long time. Since my children are young, I can't work and leave them alone. So, if there is any sewing or embroidery opportunity that I can do from home, I will definitely start working. My children must get an education and have a bright future.

On August 3, 2017, anti-government groups including the Taliban and local self-proclaimed Daesh/Islamic State affiliated fighters launched an attack against Mirza Olang Village in Sayyad District, Sari Pul Province. Fighting lasted until August 5th. The village, known as ‘the gate to Sayyad,’ lies deep in a long valley. Its southern entrance is near the border of neighbouring Faryab Province and is located 20 km south of the Sayyad District administrative centre. Much of the area surrounding the administrative centre has been under the control of anti-government groups for more than one year.

On August 3, 2017, anti-government groups including the Taliban and local self-proclaimed Daesh/Islamic State affiliated fighters launched an attack against Mirza Olang Village in Sayyad District, Sari Pul Province. Fighting lasted until August 5th. The village, known as ‘the gate to Sayyad,’ lies deep in a long valley. Its southern entrance is near the border of neighbouring Faryab Province and is located 20 km south of the Sayyad District administrative centre. Much of the area surrounding the administrative centre has been under the control of anti-government groups for more than one year.

On August 3, 2017, anti-government groups including the Taliban and local self-proclaimed Daesh/Islamic State affiliated fighters launched an attack against Mirza Olang Village in Sayyad District, Sari Pul Province. Fighting lasted until August 5th. The village, known as ‘the gate to Sayyad,’ lies deep in a long valley. Its southern entrance is near the border of neighbouring Faryab Province and is located 20 km south of the Sayyad District administrative centre. Much of the area surrounding the administrative centre has been under the control of anti-government groups for more than one year.

On August 3, 2017, anti-government groups including the Taliban and local self-proclaimed Daesh/Islamic State affiliated fighters launched an attack against Mirza Olang Village in Sayyad District, Sari Pul Province. Fighting lasted until August 5th. The village, known as ‘the gate to Sayyad,’ lies deep in a long valley. Its southern entrance is near the border of neighbouring Faryab Province and is located 20 km south of the Sayyad District administrative centre. Much of the area surrounding the administrative centre has been under the control of anti-government groups for more than one year.

On August 3, 2017, anti-government groups including the Taliban and local self-proclaimed Daesh/Islamic State affiliated fighters launched an attack against Mirza Olang Village in Sayyad District, Sari Pul Province. Fighting lasted until August 5th. The village, known as ‘the gate to Sayyad,’ lies deep in a long valley. Its southern entrance is near the border of neighbouring Faryab Province and is located 20 km south of the Sayyad District administrative centre. Much of the area surrounding the administrative centre has been under the control of anti-government groups for more than one year.

On August 3, 2017, anti-government groups including the Taliban and local self-proclaimed Daesh/Islamic State affiliated fighters launched an attack against Mirza Olang Village in Sayyad District, Sari Pul Province. Fighting lasted until August 5th. The village, known as ‘the gate to Sayyad,’ lies deep in a long valley. Its southern entrance is near the border of neighbouring Faryab Province and is located 20 km south of the Sayyad District administrative centre. Much of the area surrounding the administrative centre has been under the control of anti-government groups for more than one year.

On August 3, 2017, anti-government groups including the Taliban and local self-proclaimed Daesh/Islamic State affiliated fighters launched an attack against Mirza Olang Village in Sayyad District, Sari Pul Province. Fighting lasted until August 5th. The village, known as ‘the gate to Sayyad,’ lies deep in a long valley. Its southern entrance is near the border of neighbouring Faryab Province and is located 20 km south of the Sayyad District administrative centre. Much of the area surrounding the administrative centre has been under the control of anti-government groups for more than one year.

On August 7, 1998, following a renewed conflict with the Northern Front, Taliban forces entered Mazar-e-Sharif in Balkh Province. In the initial days, they detained and executed thousands of civilians, primarily Hazaras. Within the first 3 days, the Taliban forces declared a general massacre targeting the city's Shia population. According to witnesses, the scale of the violence left bodies strewn across the streets. It took days to remove all the bodies. Sayyed Musa was among the civilian casualties of the Taliban's massacre.

No statement

On August 7, 1998, following a renewed conflict with the Northern Front, Taliban forces entered Mazar-e-Sharif in Balkh Province. In the initial days, they detained and executed thousands of civilians, primarily Hazaras. Within the first 3 days, the Taliban forces declared a general massacre targeting the city's Shia population. According to witnesses, the scale of the violence left bodies strewn across the streets. It took days to remove all the bodies. Sharifullah was among the civilian casualties of the Taliban's massacre.

No statement

Three attackers wearing Afghan national security forces uniforms and armed with AK-47s and hand grenades, attacked. After shooting and killing a security guard at the hospital entrance, they entered the hospital and headed directly to the maternity ward, moving systematically from room to room. There were 28 women in the ward at the time. The attackers fired on patients and threw hand grenades. As a result of the attack, 24 people were killed, including 19 women and three children,35 and 23 more were injured, including 12 women, two children and one newborn. A female healthcare worker was amongst those killed in the attack.

On 15 June, the organization, Médecins Sans Frontiers (MSF), who operated the maternity ward, announced its decision to end activities and withdraw from Dasht-eBarchi hospital.

No statement

On September 30, 2022, a suicide attack targeted the Kaaj Educational Center in Dasht-e-Barchi, West Kabul, Afghanistan. The explosion occurred at approximately 7:30 AM and tragically resulted in the deaths of over 58 students. More than 126 others were injured. The Kaaj Center, located in a predominantly Hazara neighbourhood, served as a learning space for students preparing for university entrance exams. On the day of the attack, nearly 300 students were present, many of whom were high school girls taking a practice exam. While no group has officially claimed responsibility, the Hazara ethnic group has faced widespread violence from groups like ISIL-K and the Taliban in the past.

No statement

On September 30, 2022, a suicide attack targeted the Kaaj Educational Center in Dasht-e-Barchi, West Kabul, Afghanistan. The explosion occurred at approximately 7:30 AM and tragically resulted in the deaths of over 58 students. More than 126 others were injured. The Kaaj Center, located in a predominantly Hazara neighbourhood, served as a learning space for students preparing for university entrance exams. On the day of the attack, nearly 300 students were present, many of whom were high school girls taking a practice exam. While no group has officially claimed responsibility, the Hazara ethnic group has faced widespread violence from groups like ISIL-K and the Taliban in the past.

No statement

On September 30, 2022, a suicide attack targeted the Kaaj Educational Center in Dasht-e-Barchi, West Kabul, Afghanistan. The explosion occurred at approximately 7:30 AM and tragically resulted in the deaths of over 58 students. More than 126 others were injured. The Kaaj Center, located in a predominantly Hazara neighbourhood, served as a learning space for students preparing for university entrance exams. On the day of the attack, nearly 300 students were present, many of whom were high school girls taking a practice exam. While no group has officially claimed responsibility, the Hazara ethnic group has faced widespread violence from groups like ISIL-K and the Taliban in the past.

No statement