Imagine someone who lived under the communists, Mujahidin and the Taliban and lost everything in his struggle against time.
I ran all my life, but I wouldn’t die. I ran from the Russian soldiers, when I was a child. I grew up under the communist regimes. I went through everything, but I wouldn’t die. I saw people being forced to fight in the front lines and getting killed. I saw people abandoning their homes and leaving Afghanistan. I saw people’s houses being bombarded, women and children getting killed, but I wouldn’t die.
The worst was to come, when Mujahidin took over Kabul. They fought each other in every street, killing thousands. I saw people’s houses being destroyed and women being raped. I saw the schools and university changing to garrisons. I saw people being burnt to death, but I wouldn’t die.
Now the Taliban. It was time to run. But I stayed behind for my family. I saw women being humiliated on the streets. I saw the museum and public buildings being destroyed. I saw my home changing to ruins, and going back a hundred years. I ran, in the end. I grew old. I lost my home and family, but I wouldn’t die.