Looking Back and Moving Forward | Community Call Notes 10.5.22

Our October Community Call was a sacred space of reflection and insight. We were all moved by the stories and wisdom offered by our guests Ahmad Karimi, Ahmad Samizada, Ehsan Attiq, Hanifa, Zahra Reza, members of the Afghanistan Youth Empowerment and Peace-Building Organization currently living as refugees in Germany.

For those of you unable to attend, we're happy to share the call recording. The following are excerpts from our conversation.

sylvia - Welcome everyone! It’s wonderful to be with you all today. To start today, I want to recognize and honor that today is Yom Kippur - in the Jewish faith, it’s the day of atonement. It is the closing of the Days of Awe - a 10-day period of deep reflection between the New Year, Rosh Hashanah, and today, Yom Kippur. I recognize our Jewish friends who are not able to make it today, and we will send out the recording as usual. For me, in my own practices of Judaism, today’s call feels just right for ending my 10-day period of reflection and forgiveness - both profound practices in peace. The past 10-days have been deep reflection looking back, and today, Yom Kippur, signifies the sealing of how we move forward.

On this holiday, we offer may you have an easy and meaningful Yom Kippur. May you have a year filled with love, peace, and wisdom. May today’s prayers lead to justice and to freeing the oppressed. It is a day to remind ourselves we can always grow and live differently from how we have been. I cannot think of a better place to be than here today - this call encompasses all of those sacred messages.

Clockwise: Fran Faraz, Ehsan Attiq, Ahmad Samizada, Zahra Reza, Ahmad Karimi, Hanifa Reza

Today’s call, as titled, is all about looking back and moving forward - through the lens of a group of five Afghan youth who evacuated Afghanistan over a year ago and who have resettled in Germany. The incredible 5 individuals we have with us today - Ahmad, Hanifa, Zahra, Ehsan, and Ahmad - we met through Afghanistan Youth Empowerment and Peacebuilding Organization (AYEPO) - who was named Euphrates 2021 Visionary of the Year. AYEPO’s Founder, Ahmad Karimi, participated in our inaugural Peace Practice Alliance program, and Ahmad Samizada and Ehsan Attiq are alumni of our 2022 cohort.  

Before evacuating from Afghanistan, the AYEPO team and organization dedicated themselves towards advancing peace education and practice for youth across Afghanistan. They were honored as our 2021 Visionary of the Year not only because of their wholehearted work and vision towards social change and sustainable peace in Afghanistan while in the country, but also for their continued dedication towards that vision and work even after evacuation. This group has continued peace leadership programming virtually, and has continued coordinating in-person programs, for youth in Kabul. They have also carried their energy and spirit for social change with them to Germany, courageously advocating for the end of Hazara genocide. All of which I am sure you will hear more about through today’s conversation.

Ahmad, Hanifa, Zahra, Ehsan, and Ahmad evacuated Afghanistan as part of a group of 12 in August 2021, with friends and family continuing to be evacuated. After weeks of tireless global efforts to coordinate their evacuation, Fran and I were awake and in contact with them for the 24+ hours of their evacuation, day and night, from August 25-26th, 2021.

They have now been in Germany for just over a year. The Euphrates team - Hollister, Katy, and myself - had the honor of visiting them shortly after their arrival in the country in October 2021. Fran and I then had the privilege of visiting them again in June of this year. I feel safe in speaking for all of us when I say that getting to know them deeper through the evacuation period and since has genuinely transformed our lives beyond measure.

The full AYEPO group has become my chosen family. I talk to and text regularly with them. Even just this morning before this call I had another call with AYEPO member Omary, who has evacuated to Germany just weeks ago and has been in contact with me throughout the process. They have opened my heart to new depths of love, care, understanding, and awe than I knew possible. Being with you all is easy and meaningful. You truly light up my life with your humor, beauty, curiosity, vulnerability, courage, and care.

Today’s call is significant because you are significant.

Today’s call is significant because you are significant. And in our practice of peace we find it imperative to not let stories and ongoing conflict become just a headline that passes by. Suffering and conflict continues across Afghanistan, and your journeys of resettlement carry on in their challenges and celebrations, too. In our practice of peace we don’t simply practice breadth of what we know and who we reach, we practice depth. Continuing to offer the space for our community to deepen understanding of your experiences, deepen understanding of what’s happening in Afghanistan as to not be forgotten and to take informed action, deepen listening of your powerful voices, and deepen the reflective practice of looking back to move forward is what we are here to do.

With that, I welcome Fran - Euphrates Board member, Golden West College professor, and my dear soul friend, to lead today’s conversation.

Fran [00:06:50] - I don't know how to even come close to what you just told all of us, and moved us to this space of love, care, and curiosity about how as human beings we can just keep loving each other and protecting each other, and that's what Euphrates is all about.

My journey with Euphrates started in 2019 when I joined the Board. I very quickly fell in love with my sisters, sylvia, Katie, and Hollister and what they do, and what they stand for and the Peace Practice Alliance - what it offers to people around the world to step into who they are as peacebuilders. It’s just an amazing program.

During that I was able to meet Ahmad Shah Karimi, who was one of the participants and he became my window to Afghanistan. I always knew that Afghanistan had beautiful, amazing, loving human beings and all I was seeing on TV was a different picture and I wondered, “Where is that window so I can really see the actual human beings?” And Ahmad helped open that up. So I asked him to speak at the [Golden West] peace conference we offer annually. He opened that window to all of my students for them to see that vibrant amazing culture and great heritage.

Then through a turn of events I got to meet some of the rest of the AYEPO [Afghanistan Youth Empowerment and Peace-building Organization]. They have become my family. Being a part of their evacuation, they have become my sons and daughters. They don't know this but it has profoundly transformed my life.

It’s a great time for us to share your life looking back over the last year and looking forward to what awaits you.

Ahmad Shah Karimi - founder and leader of AYEPO

Hanifa Rezaie - student athlete, member Afghan snowboarding team

Zahra Rezaie - AYEPO coordinator and student of law 

Ahmad Samizada - computer science student, coordinator of AYEPO

Ehsanullah Atiq - a poet who studies communications and journalism

Fran - What prompted you to make the really tough decision of leaving Afghanistan.

Zahra [00:12:00] - I would like to thank you, Hollister, Fran, sylvia, and Katy and all the group for giving us this opportunity to share our thoughts, our experiences and what we have been through this past year. I think maybe this is the first time that I have the platform to speak about myself, my experiences, my moments, and my people as well.

This is a really hard question to answer because on that day we all were in a panic and we all were in shock about what happened for our people and to our country.

Before the taking over of Afghanistan by the Taliban I was studying English as an international language because I was trying to get a scholarship to study my master degree abroad. I was working. I had my friends. I had beautiful moments with my friends, with my colleagues, and my family members, At that time it was so hard for me to think that I'm going to leave my country in that way. Whenever someone asked me before that situation, I was like I can't leave my country, even though I had made the decision to go abroad for my masters degree. I cannot leave my country or Kabul.

In that small backpack I couldn't have my mother, my brothers, my memories, my friends, my books.

I talked to one of my friends now in Pakistan. He shared a poem with me in  Persian.

تاب مهجوری ندارم لحظه‌ای تا زنده‌ام 

هر چه آید بر سرم در شهر کابل می‌کشم 

حیدری وجودی

I can't be far away up to I am alive…whatever happens to me, I would stay in Kabul 

After the Taliban came to Afghanistan, everything changed. I had never seen the Taliban face to face in person [even though] they were already in some parts of Afghanistan. I had this idea that if I go out outside, they are going to shoot me. And you know, I thought I deserved to be killed by the Taliban. I don't know [where] this idea came from, but this idea just was in my mind. The Taliban has this right to kill me because I am a woman. I'm Hazara and also I stand for whatever I believe. This all came together to my mind, that for all these reasons you deserve you to be killed by the Taliban.

We have millions of refugees all over the world, but there is a big difference between people like us and them. They planned it and had a clear picture of what migration was like, but we never had this picture. In just one week we should pack everything that we wanted. On that night I left my family and said goodbye to them. It was really so hard…packing my stuff. I had just a small backpack and in that small backpack I couldn't have my mother, my brothers, my memories, my friends, my books. I couldn't have all of them and it was so hard to choose what  you should have with yourself.

it is so hard for you to stay in this situation. I lost some of my friends. They left before me. I found Kabul and Afghanistan so empty. I'm the only one that remained in Afghanistan. There is [another] important reason - because I lost my job. So I thought maybe going to another country and not being in this situation will make an opportunity for me to support my family.

All of this convinced me to leave my country and my family also. It wasn't easy for me and I'm sure it wasn't easy for my group members, and for all those who left their family and country.

Fran - Thank you so much for letting us into your world. Nothing in our lives would prepare us for that decision. Would anybody else like to share?

Ehsan [00:19:08] - Hello everybody! I hope you are doing well. First of all, I want to say thank you today to the Euphrates team for providing this opportunity for us to talk about our life or experiences, and also our immigration to Germany. 

As Zahra said, that it was a very hard question to answer, because it reminds us of all those dark days that we passed in Kabul and also coming to Germany. It was not our decision to come, to leave our family, our friends, and everything that we had during the 20 or 22 years that we were in Kabul, Afghanistan. It was not our decision. What convinced us to come into Germany, to a country that we have never thought one day we will be there? 

When Kabul was taken by the Taliban it was all of a sudden during one night and everyone was shocked. For me personally, when I was thinking about Kabul I never [thought that] maybe someday Taliban comes to Kabul. Although they were taking the districts and other provinces, I was not thinking that someday they would come to Kabul.

After they did, I was in shock for one or more than one week that I was there. I was just in my own room; I couldn't go out because Kabul was not Kabul - everything was changed, and it was so empty. We couldn't see that joy and energy in the streets of Kabul. It was like a city of zombies.

I was thinking about my dreams that I had in Afghanistan. Everything changed and I lost everything. When I was thinking about my dreams that I had in Afghanistan, I was shocked because everything I had was lost and I would have to start again. And I didn’t know how I could start or how I could go along with this situation. 

The hardest thing I was sad about was my university. It was the last semester and I was planning to graduate at the end. In just two weeks we were finishing our final exams and our bachelor degree. I have invested six years in Kabul University, studying communication and journalism. To work as a journalist in Afghanistan was my dream. But all of a sudden I saw that everything was ruined. It's like you're making a building, and you are going to end that building and during one earthquake everything just collapsed and you lost everything. 

It was very hard for me as I was preparing my backpack in my room. I was looking everywhere - the books, the notebooks, the clothes. I remember that I wouldn't want to give it even to my brother or someone else, but on that day it was very hard to choose what is important to take with you.

 I left most of my achievements that I had, most of my certificates. I don't want to talk about all of them but this was the story of why we left Afghanistan? Because living there and living for your hopes was almost impossible. So we left Afghanistan. 

Fran [00:24:42] - Thank you so much. That was rich. Those moments are tough. What do you take? What are the hopes? We are walking into the unknown. There is a smidge of chance that you thought there was hope on the other side that it would be better than the almost certain future of Afghanistan. And this is why Euphrates was working day and night. 

Can you share about life once you arrived in Berlin, facing a country you never prepared to be in? How has it changed your life to face a different future? What are the things that you went through this past year? What is life like in Berlin? 

Ehsan [00:27:13] - Well, for the first few days, or even for a month, I was thinking that I am not in Germany because I was just physically here in Germany, but mentally I was in Kabul.  I was thinking about my family, about my friends, and about the situation in Afghanistan.

When I was in Kabul, my mind was in Kabul. But when I arrived in Germany, in Berlin it gave me a whole perspective to look different to the world, to talk with different people, to know others experiences.

When we arrived in Germany we didn't know what to do because we needed to find our way to integrate ourselves into a new country with a new culture, with a new language. It was the first time that I heard German. The language is totally different and we couldn't understand the words. I was thinking how I can learn this hard language.

And those days we were always thinking about our families. I was talking with my friends, with the others who are in Germany or friends. And I was thinking that everything in our life happens or is happening for a reason. I'm in Germany for a reason. Maybe at first it was a challenge for us, but we can count it as an opportunity. We have space and time here. We have support and sources to develop ourselves. When I arrived in Berlin, my perspective in my lens that I was looking at the world got wider. When I was in Kabul, my mind was in Kabul. But when I arrived in Germany, in Berlin it gave me a whole perspective to look different to the world, to talk with different people, to know others experiences.

I was thinking that if I just think about Afghanistan, my thinking cannot make something good in Afghanistan. But I do something better from here; I can try to be active, or to do some things which are useful for our people or for our friends in Afghanistan.

Hanifa [00:30:44] - I'm just saying hello to everybody who is listening to us from every corner of the world. I'm gonna start from the first question.

It was very difficult, you know it is still difficult to talk about. When Kabul was taken by the Taliban, it was like a nightmare. Everything was shattered - the dreams that we had, the future that we were hoping to create.

I'm sorry I'm just getting emotional because it is really difficult to talk about. When I left Kabul on the 25th of August, it was like taking all your life and all the achievements, everything you have in a small bag. When you travel, you just choose the necessary things that you need. The only thing that we took was our love from our family, from our friends, and the trust that we had to each member of the group. Nothing else. We didn't take anything else, we didn't take our achievement, we didn't take our past life. 

It was difficult to leave all those experiences, all those achievements, and of course, the love - your family, your mother and then to decide to go to another country. I didn't say goodbye to my father because I didn't see my father. The only person that I hugged the last time was my mother. Then I called my brother on the way [to tell him] that I'm going to the airport. My mother was very emotional, but again she said, “This is the way, you have to go. If you don't want to repeat our life in this life that we have, you have to go this way.” 

The only thing that I was hoping for was having a good life, a better life. I had to create a future for myself.

I was accepted by an American university with a 100% scholarship and all. In the next year I was supposed to travel to other countries for snowboarding because I was a member of the National [Afghanistan] Snowboarding team, and then everything shattered. 

When I came to Germany, when I came to Berlin, it was like opening a new door, opening a new window to the world. You have no idea what the language is, what people are talking about? What is the culture?  You are here though your mind and your soul is back in Afghanistan. But physically, as Ehsan said, you are in a country where you know nobody. The only people that you know are your colleagues and your friends that you came with from Afghanistan. You have your small bag that you packed from Afghanistan, and then you have no idea what to do, where to start, who to ask for help.

You are able to speak English, because the only thing that you know from modern life is the international language of speaking English. The only thing that you can share is I came from Afghanistan. This is my name, my name is Hanifa. Nothing else. You cannot share the whole story. 

The worst part is that you don't have any identity because you are an immigrant to the new country, and you don't know anybody. For me it was really difficult to leave my family, my friends, and everything there, and start from zero. When I am saying zero, it means you have nothing in your hand. You have nothing behind yourself. The only thing that you have is the people that love you from different countries and they always appreciate  you. They always inspire you, and they take your hand, and say that we are with you, just believe in us. Just trust in us. 

Fran [00:37:09] - I want to appreciate what Hanifa said about trust. From the moment that the group got together and they started the journey at the center of that trust was Ahmad Karimi. The parents trusted him to allow their sons and daughters to travel with him. We trusted him that he could pull this evacuation off. Not only did he bring his own group out, but there are other people that because of him were able to be evacuated.

I wanna move to this question of identity. During one of our calls you guys asked me about the question of identity since my background is Iranian and and I've been living here for 40 years. You all mentioned having the identity of being from Afghanistan. All the achievements, although you couldn't bring them with you but this is part of you - your family, language, culture, heritage, values. All of that is the part of you [which cannot be] taken away.

I shared with you that in the beginning of my stay in the United States I thought I was this person who lives here in America, but I was born in Iran. Then later on I became an American citizen and I thought to myself  I'm an American citizen who happened to be born in Iran. Then more life happens, and I really realize that I am a world citizen, or an Earth citizen who can breathe the air from anywhere and can contribute to that place.

So with different values, Western values, I would like to ask you how you see the difference in values - western culture versus your culture? And can you reflect on the question of identity and how that is being shaped by these new values in Germany? 

Ahmad Karimi [00:40:38] -  Thank you very much Fran, and sylvia and Hollister and Katy, Offuh, Sally, everyone here. I speak at a time when just about everything has been said, but not everybody said it. So I would like to touch on other things before coming to [this question].

There are situations, and with each situation there comes a price, and there is no right or wrong. And there would be a price one has to pay, and the decision to leave one's family, friends, and the country that I knew was born and raised, and had memories, dreams and vision, and so on. So with that comes a price to leave, and that was to leave behind everything like the family - my mother and my wife and my kid and now kids as I have a new daughter. So one has to be ready to accept the consequences and that is whether one would be able to move on in life and think about other things like whether someone deserves to be where they are. What if someone would’ve stayed, what could’ve happened? 

There is a tension of moving on and at the same time looking back. And then feeling the guilt survivor to see that one is kind of fine and excited in a place filled with opportunities and freedom. And then go back to a different time and reality, and to the family and friends and everyone who experiences and breathes a different type of life to which they are totally unknown at least, to the younger generation who are important and raised during the past two decades in the presence of the US and international community.

 Coming to the question of identity. I think I do not want to touch on that. And I just want to move on to just speak a little bit on the values, and so on. And I feel like wherever someone goes one has to fit into the value system that is present there because any society culture has a certain set of values; and one has to kind of find a way to see what to keep from the old and how to fit into the new. The moment we resist that there comes the problem of conflict. 

The other thing about being in a new country and culture is that in countries like Afghanistan, life has a different type of excitement that focuses on collectiveness. Since one is born and one is raised in other stages of life, one is always surrounded by family, friends, community members, and there are always different things going on. There are so many festivities that bring people together and give them a sense of community. To be with others, and have life in relationship that is totally present there and surrounded by others. Finding oneself in a new culture environment, especially in the ways there is this focus on individuals, for those who have been raised in a different culture this kind of hard to grasp that and to come to terms with that, or to fit into that because they have always been with people. And to find them all alone is difficult and sometimes it leads to so many challenges of depression, and so on. 

I have seen many people here who have been for a long time and they did not have anyone here to be with or to share a conversation with to cope with that loneliness and sometimes they would try different things in order to cope with that. But back in the country it was always easy, because there is always something happening in the street. Wherever you go there is this relationship with everyone there, the neighbors, friends. There's always someone who would be there to share a conversation, food and therefore that something is missing, and therefore that is difficult especially for those in their twenties or in their fifties. 

It would be easy for children because they would adapt to a new situation pretty easily. It will be extraordinarily difficult especially for elders, or middle aged people who have always been surrounded by others and that type of life - a sense of home, a sense of community, a sense of life, and so on. That is something that is missing, and therefore it is hard. Refugees or newcomers would go to great lengths in order to fit in - you know how to dress, and so on, in order to fit in. So there is always this tension.

How can we not lose that sense of community, but still be fulfilled in our new environment?

 Fran [00:47:38] - That was really great. You mentioned the concept of community. The part of the world where we come from we live in community and it’s very difficult when we arrive in the west, to adjust. It's a huge process. Thank you for putting a light on that. How can we not lose that sense of community, but still be fulfilled in our new environment?

Ahmad Samizada [00:48:44] - Hello everyone and thank you for having me. I am happy to have this conversation. A special thank you to Euphrates for always being there for us. 

It was my decision to leave Afghanistan. On the 14th of August, I was in the office. I work in a company that supports electricity for Afghanistan. On that day I went earlier so I left earlier. When I went to sleep for just a few hours I woke up and everything had changed because the Taliban had taken Kabul. For two or three days I didn't go outside. I was at home. 

People were upset. There wasn’t a picture of happiness like before. Most of the shops and supermarkets were closed. Then I heard that the Taliban was coming and checking house by house for those working in NGOs, checking for documents. And I thought if they find all these things I need to do [something]. It's time to leave Afghanistan if we should survive. We had big plans for what we were going to do in Afghanistan, but we needed to go. 

I’m missing my family that lives beyond Kabul. I never have contact with them because there is not a proper connection. 

At first it was difficult with lots of stress. I was in a stressful place, not a beautiful place - living with lots of anxiety. I was always asleep. I tried art and other activities like football with other friends. Fortunately we met Katy, sylvia, and Hollister. I joined PPA and it really helped me, especially the personal peace practice model. I felt a change in just a few days.

Fran [00:54:56] - Can you share in one sentence what gives you hope? Something that takes us, you, from where you are. Departure is one thing. Living in a new place is hard.

Zahra - For me being in Germany wasn’t easy in the first months. I had a bad depression and anxiety. I was new here - everything was new for me, the people, the environment, the language. I came to Berlin three months after coming to Germany. The night I arrived, the flight was to Frankfurt. We moved to the camp in the night and I couldn’t see anything. When I woke up and saw the environment around the camp, the city was so small, looking like a village. “Really this is Germany? I don’t think so!” It was hard for three months, but then coming to Berlin to be with everyone helped.

What gives me hope? Reading books because I can imagine and visualize what is happening in the books. It makes me feel like I’m not wasting my time. I’m communicating with someone in the book. I highlight quotes and sentences that describe myself. I find myself in the books. I don’t like to share my books with others. If I give this book to others, they are going to know me and find what is in my mind. 

Ehsan [01:01:06] - There are several things that give us hope, especially for me. First of all, a bright future in Afghanistan. My friends, who are still in Afghanistan and with the least facilities, almost nothing. They are fighting with their life. They give me hope. They are hoping for a better future. When you want to go to receive an education, they will kill you. When you want to do something better for your people in Afghanistan they will harm you. But still they are fighting with all of those challenges. When I see them, they give me hope. 

When I look at my friends here in Germany, they are trying to work for their friends. It has been one year that I have been living here in Germany. I’m living with my friend Edris. He is also a part of our group. He is running an organization in Afghanistan with youth in Afghanistan. He works with people in Afghanistan. He really gives me hope. 

When I was participating in the PPA, every participant was giving me hope. Before I was thinking the people of Afghanistan have all these problems. But when I got familiar with the others from different countries in the world, when they shared their stories, I realized that we are not the only ones. There are the other people also fighting for a better life for their people, not for their own selves, but for their family, friends, and also for the world. And it really gives me hope.

Ahmad K [01:03:10] - It is hard to answer that question in a sense that it becomes something result oriented. Hope sometimes becomes like that because it is something that is fulfilled in another. Maybe at this moment it would be the thought of family and friends…that they get here. You know it feels like one would live in hope and die in hope. It is something to visualize to give the inspiration that one keeps going. For me it might be a number of things, and I cannot pinpoint.

We know the situation of the world and how it is and how it has been.  Maybe's person in their own capacity is trying somehow to make it a different place, a place where everyone can relate, and they would live a different type of life than we do. Then one would transition from one's identity and identify oneself as something bigger in a sense that one is not limited to where one is born and raised, cherishing and taking delight and pride and also also have the capacity to open up and go beyond that and be a part of everything and everyone there is and the world around us.

Ahmad S [01:05:33] - For me it is also friends and family. Right now I’m working with a group of girls in Kabul. When I see them, they give me hope because they are always fighting for their rights. 

Fran - For me, I can say you guys give me hope. The young generation in Afghanistan with no facility, no security in the face of all of that they stand up. In Iran in the face of atrocity, they take a stand. People around the world who take a stand give me hope. Thank you for being that hope to the world. 

Q & A

Diane [01:07:42] - If we live in a community who is receiving Afghan families and individuals, what suggestions can you give us for easing their integration and forming meaningful relationships with them? 

It can start from listening to stories. It breaks those walls. 

Ahmad K - I think that listening to their story is a good start because that kind of sets the foundation from what can come next. Those who are born and raised in Afghanistan, especially in the past 40 years, all there has been is war in conflict, and so many of us, especially the young people who are born and raised in conflict. We bring a lot of challenges with us. There has been living with that and hoping that someday there would be peace. And now finding ourselves in a different place is sometimes challenging. People coming from a conservative and traditional society like Afghanistan, especially for elders who would find themselves in a different environment, different culture and lifestyle integrating would be difficult. Maybe listening to their stories would help, as I said, to set the foundation for other things like how they would like to be supported. Programs and other things say this is the best for a group of people without asking or integrating their ways and suggestions and thoughts. If programs are initiated such that it would incorporate the thoughts and the feelings and the demands and suggestions and ideas of the beneficiaries, it would give them a sense of ownership. It can start from listening to stories. It breaks those walls. 

It would be difficult, it would take time for them to accept their new realities in which they live. Everything is different from that tribal life. Sometimes this transition is easy or simple. Some would automatically fit into that and for some it would be difficult and then it would require the community, so that they have this compassion to deal with them until they find themselves. 

Hollister - Thank you Ahmad. I think you just explained one of the core principles in our peace leadership model that we embrace here at Euphrates, and that is being able to show up and listen and understand that your listening is as much a gift to you and it is a gift to the person receiving your story.

Gal [01:13:00] -  Are you able to freely communicate with your friends and family in Afghanistan?

Ehsan - Yes, we have family which are in Afghanistan. We have contact with them - lots of calls, or maybe messenger platforms. Sometimes it is hard to reach them because, maybe the connection is not good in Afghanistan and also sometimes they don't have electricity. I can call them once a week when I have time and when they have time. There is a time change between Germany and Afghanistan.

Ahmad S - It's easy to keep in touch with my family in Kabul through WhatsApp, but for my brother and father it’s too hard because of where they live.

Katy [01:16:32] - How can this community support you at this time, what are your needs either personally or for the group? 

Zahra - I see another question in the chat about the government. I think they are so connected to each other. At the moment that we are talking in this room people in Afghanistan, especially girls, cannot go to school;  women have been restricted and Hazara people are [experiencing] genocide. So it's really hard to talk about these issues in this room. What can governments and your governments do for us? 

It's really important that you as a people raise your voice for the Afghanistan people, the Afghan woman, and especially Hazara. And the next step is that your governments and the European governments should not recognize the Taliban as a power. I’m not going to blame anyone, but any country in power should not sacrifice human rights for politics.

This is the message that I can give to you and your governments - we do not deserve this, our people and our women and kids. It helps a lot when you raise your voice for human beings, not for Afghan, not just for Ukrainian, not just for Iranian, for human beings. All of us deserve to have a normal life. Since the Taliban came to Afghanistan we don't have it. 

Our people, my people, our guests, our women don't have a normal life in Afghanistan. What we hear from the media is not the all things that happen in Afghanistan. This is just a part of the [story]. We don’t know how many cases we have in Afghanistan of the Taliban kidnapping, torturing, or even killing. We only know whatever they show in the media. 

So you would support us by raising your voice, by mentioning these issues to your governments. The Taliban should not be recognized as a power. 

As for the group and for our work, we are trying to do our best, not only for ourselves, but also for our people. We are trying to preserve our Hazara people's voice and mention the genocide and show the world what's happening in Afghanistan especially for Hazara.

Please be with us. Support us with your voices, support us with mentioning and discussing this issue with everyone that you know, and using your platforms -  that helps us a lot.

Wazieh [01:22:50] - My heart is with you. I'm curious about something. How were you able to leave your country? Were you the only group that was able to leave? Were there any other youth that were able to leave with you or you just had the opportunity and privilege? How about others, like your families?

Ahmad K - Thousands of people had the opportunity to leave the country. Around 36 to 40 million people live in the country. So it was kind of hard that everyone would leave the country. And 100-120,000 people were able to leave - these were the privileged ones. A lot of people were left behind because they couldn't leave and there was no means, no chance and opportunity. A lot of people, especially young people or women and activists, journalists, and those who have advocated, spear-headed, and championed against what the know the country is known for at least in the past 20 years - right-winged media, the birth of suicide organization. There were a lot of young people equipped and armed with a belief and commitment and dedication for a better future, and many of them had the chance to leave the country. But for those left behind, it was kind of hard that everyone would leave. What remains at least at the moment is how the international community would be able to kind of support those in the country. 

What is happening in Afghanistan is kind of crystal clear, but on the news the focus kind of shifted from Afghanistan to Ukraine. Journalists in Afghanistan do not report everything happening there because if they report everything then they will not have the chance to go back to their country. Sometimes I see people that say, oh, everything's good, and we cannot call them Taliban or militants but armed men and when they do that which is an indirect way of advocating for that. 

And there are, of course, other people who sometimes lobby and advocate for the Taliban. It's just a movement there. They did not come to power through modern means, which is election. The group who by force and by violence and by bloodshed took the power, they will sustain it. And in their system there is nothing but totalization that it should be them and everyone who is thinking about them and come from that background whether that is social, political, religious or ethnical background. If everyone is there, then they have a space in that kind of government. I think that it shouldn't be a question of whether they should be recognized or not, because the people do not want them, and people did not elected them. They did not want them to come, and by force and by other factors the Taliban came back to power. 

In the western world every voice counts and therefore each person could reach out to politicians, to community leaders and to other people at the position of power and influence. They can put pressure on the de facto authorities for what they are doing in the country and what is happening there. Everyone suffers, especially women and girls and ethnic minorities, especially Hazaras who have been prosecuted and sent to exile, and their land has been confiscated for centuries now and that is what is happening. There is a systematic, organized, and deliberate campaign of violence against them and they deny it, and they do not acknowledge it.

In the western world every voice counts and therefore each person could reach out to politicians, to community leaders and to other people at the position of power and influence.

And touching on the question of whether there is a gap or not between the older generation and younger generation, of course there has been. The prolonged conflict in Afghanistan has not only destroyed the physical structure of the society, but social and cultural structures, as well bringing discrimination into the society and that is visible everywhere. It is a patriarchal country. There has not been any particular cooperation between elders or different generations who would come together, because elders always [make decisions] without incorporating the voices, the demands of the young people. They would do what they feel is the best, even if they're disregarding others values and cultures and races, and so on. I feel there has always been a gap between generations. There has not been a time in history when [that has not been true]. At least I say that from experience, maybe ignorance. There might be time that has been there.

Hollister [01:29:33]- While Ehsan is preparing a poem to share as we close, I'll ask Oluchi's question about advice to those who are still living in conflict areas, and didn't have a means to leave. What is your advice to those still in those areas of conflict, whether in your homeland or elsewhere, in the world, where people are still living as oppressed, without rights or feeling a sense of danger?

Zahra - I think I'm not in the position to say anything for those who remained in Afghanistan. It's just so hard to say anything for those people. I really appreciate them. You know, being, and in that situation and living with those people it's out of mind. I was there for just 10 days, and I saw how they looked, their faces. And if I say anything else it's just so selfish because I'm here. I pray for them, and I'm trying to do anything for them here, advocate for them, raise their voice and share everything, every single incident that happens in Afghanistan. So this is what I can do for them. Just pray that Taliban won’t always be in Afghanistan, that we can pass this period and have a better Afghanistan in the future.

Ehsan [01:32:45] - First I want to say thank you for giving me this opportunity to share my poetry. I wrote it in Persian, but converted it to English. This is the text I wrote on the first day of our new year which was the first year I was away from my family. It was hurting me and when I have this feeling, I write things down to let that feeling go. I want to read it now:

Today was the first day of the year, but unlike the previous years, there was no enthusiasm in me to reach this day.

 This is the twenty-second spring of my life, but it is not as beautiful as the previous years! Those years when we were waiting for such a day to arrive weeks ago and were preparing to celebrate it. We would prepare new clothes and count down the time to wear them on Nowruz day.

 This year I started the New Year with deprivation, this year I didn't have the warm embrace of my parents and I couldn't start the year by kissing their hands, I didn't have the smiling faces and jokes of my brothers and sisters, I couldn't spend the New Year with my friends and I couldn't enjoy the seven fruits that My mother was preparing it to me. 

This past year completely changed my life with its events. A year for which I had many plans and to reach the end of the year. The year I was supposed to celebrate graduating from university, the moments I was impatiently waiting to reach, but as if I still have to be patient, once again I have to look forward to reaching that moment.

 Last year was a year full of unexpected events for me, a year that I will never forget, a year that I tasted the bitter taste of separation from my family, friends and my beloved homeland, a year that prevented my dreams from coming true, a year that sent us on an unexpected journey and caused The new chapter of my life happened in the other corner of the world.

 Undoubtedly, despite all these changes and challenges, I will become a different person. Maybe stronger, braver and more mature than I was. I must be ready to face new challenges. I hope this season of my life will be more colorful than the last. My biggest wish for the coming years is the health, happiness and peace of my family and friends. I ask Almighty God for peace and tranquility in the whole world, especially our beloved country, and I always look forward to returning to my beloved country and Kabul.

Here is Ehsan’s poem in Persian

امروز روز اول سال بود و اما برخلاف سال‌های پیش، هیچ شور و اشتیاقی در من برای رسیدن به این روز وجود نداشت.
این بیست‌ودوهمین بهار زندگی‌ام است اما به هیچ‌عنوان به زیبایی سال‌های پیشین نیست! آن سال‌هایی که از هفته‌ها پیش منتظر رسیدن چنین روز می‌بودیم و برای تجلیل از آن آمادگی می‌گرفتیم. لباس‌های نو آماده می‌کردیم و برای پوشدن و چکر زدن با آن در روز نوروز، لحظه شماری می‌کردیم.
ام‌سال سال نو را با محرومیت‌ها شروع کردم، ام‌سال آغوش گرم پدر و مادرم را نداشتم و نتوانستم سال را با بوسیدن دست‌های‌شان شروع کنم، چهره‌ی خندان و شوخی‌های خواهران و برادرم را نداشتم، نتوانستم سال نو را با دوستانم سپری کنم و نتوانستم از هفت‌میوه‌ی که مادر جانم تهیه می‌کرد لذت ببرم.

این یک‌سالی که گذشت با اتفاق‌هایش زندگی‌ام را به‌طور کامل زیرورو کرد. سالی‌که برایش برنامه‌هایی زیادی داشتم و برای رسیدن به ختم سال، با خود خیال‌پردازی می‌کردم. سالی که قرار بود فراغت از دانش‌گاه را جشن بگیرم، لحظه‌هایی که برای رسیدن به آن بی‌صبرانه منتظر بودم، اما انگار هنوز هم باید صبور بود، یک‌بار دیگر باید چشم امید برای رسیدن به آن لحظه را داشت.

سال گذشته برایم سالی پر از اتفاق‌های غیرمنتظره بود، سالی که هیچ‌گاه فراموشم نخواهد شد، سالی که طعم تلخ جدایی از خانواده، دوستان و وطن عزیزم را چشیدم، سالی که مانع تحقق رویاهایم شد، سالی که ما را روانه‌ی سفر غیر منتظره‌ای کرد و باعث شد فصل تازه‌ی زندگی‌ام در دیگر گوشه‌ی از دنیا رقم بخورد.

بدون شک با وجود این همه تغییرها و چالش‌ها انسان متفاوت‌تری خواهم شد. شاید قوی‌تر، شجاع‌تر و پخته‌تر از آن کسی که بودم. باید برای مقابله با چالش‌های تازه آماده باشم. امید دارم این فصل زندگی‌ام رنگین‌تر از گذشته باشد. بزرگ‌ترین آرزویم برای سال‌های پیش رو صحت‌مندی، خوش‌حالی و آرامش خانواده و دوستانم است. از خداوند متعال خواهان صلح و آرامش در تمام دنیا و به‌ویژه کشور عزیزمان هستم و همیشه چشم به راه بازگشت به کشور و کابل عزیزم هستم.

Closing Remarks  [01:36:36]

Hollister - I hope that you all recognize (as our dear friend Annette who lives in Berlin expressed so beautifully) that all of Berlin is feeling the impact of your light. And I think everybody on today's call can feel the impact of your hope and the voices and faces that you've given to the work that you do. The light and joy and everything that you bring is so impactful to everyone that you encounter. So i'm really grateful to have you here today, and I'm grateful to be, as sylvia said, in chosen family with you.

Offuh - Thank you so much to the AYEPO team - you are all amazing. sylvia began this call by saying how significant and meaningful you are. Your narratives are heartfelt. Your pain, anguish, fear, anxiety, hope, joy, today reveals one thing - how interconnected we all are. Ahmad said life is in relationship, and Fran brought about the sense of community. And this is who Euphrates is. I remember the vision of Janessa Gans Wilder, the founder. She said Euphrates -  a river that flows, a life that flows, giving us the space of having a sense of community, healing together and designing a better future. 

I am glad that we all are sharing the same spirit with all of you. Your narratives, is what I call ahimsa shared from the sacredness of heart, upholding the harmony of oneness and that is so powerful. I love you, and thank you for sharing from your heart. Everyone in this call felt with you all.

Thank you so much! And a reminder to join our next call November 2nd! Click here to register.