Reykjavík Grapevine - Sep 2021, Page 23

23The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 09— 2021
From Af#hanistan
to Iceland
An activist seeks to help his homeland
On the morning of August 19th, Sayed
Khanoghli, an Afghan refugee and
Chairman of the Youth at Amnesty
International, watched a video from
Afghanistan. It showed a young girl
of only thirteen in abject terror as she
is being pried out of the arms of her
mother by a Taliban fighter. The child
is screaming to be left alone as she is
violently pulled away and forced out of
frame. This is the Taliban they claim
has changed.
The Taliban has been establishing
its rule over enormous swaths of Af-
ghanistan for months. Starting in the
countryside, district after district fell
to the terrorist group until the capi-
tal of Kabul was finally captured on
August 15th, signifying the toppling
of the civilian government. At first,
people spoke of a strange calmness in
Kabul, no doubt due to the presence of
countless members of the international
media on the ground. It was ultimately
the scenes of chaos at the Hamid Karzai
Airport—where people were so desper-
ate to flee that they clung to the sides of
departing planes—that finally caught
the attention of the world.
A family in peril
After journeying through numerous
countries and spending months in an
Icelandic refugee shelter, Sayed is now
settled in Reykjavík and pursuing film
studies. His family, however, remain in
Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, where
they face imminent danger of retalia-
tion and death, as do untold numbers
of other Afghan families.
"Since 2001, my entire family has
been involved in the government. I
grew up in a very politically minded
family that always stood up for what
was right—and that really cost us,"
he says. Detailing his personal losses,
Sayed continues, "I have a brother who’s
almost four years older than me. There
was an attack on our house and he was
paralysed permanently, just for the
reason that my family was involved in
the government. Another attack on my
family happened in 2016 when my uncle
was shot in front of my eyes."
Sayed’s family is just one example
of the countless vulnerable people who
will fall through the cracks of Iceland’s
new plan for accepting Afghan refu-
gees. The government has agreed to
receive up to 120 individuals, focusing
primarily on government workers and
students involved in Icelandic projects,
as well as a fortunate few whose resi-
dence requests have been approved but
are unable to secure their own passage.
Sayed’s family, however, don’t qualify
under those conditions, leaving them
helpless in their attempts to flee the
danger closing in around them.
"They just need to figure out who my
family is and in a matter of seconds,
my whole family can be massacred."
Sayed reflects. "It really has cost us,
like everyone in Afghanistan who was
standing for the people's rights and
wanting to educate people about the
things that are going on."
Despite claims that the Taliban has
shifted their stance on women’s rights,
Afghan women and girls are already
facing abhorrent abuses under their
new rule. Sayed explains, "They have
made an announcement in my city
stating that we have to put a sign on
our house that we have a young girl
who is eligible for marriage. I have
three nieces who meet their require-
ments. So if they get in there they can
do anything to them. And who's going
to answer for it? No one. There are no
police you can complain to and there is
no government you can go to. There is
nothing you can do," he declares. "Since
last week, I just feel terrible. I just don’t
know what to do."
Taking action for
Afghanistan
With the stakes so high, Sayed, who
has become a voice of activism in Ice-
land, continues to urge the government
to halt deportations of individuals at
risk of being sent back to life-or-death
situations. He’s also calling for the gov-
ernment to accept at least 100 refugee
families—not only the 120 individuals
they’ve pledged. Along with talking to
news outlets and spreading the word
on social media, Sayed also created
a petition on change.org through his
organisation, Samsta!an, to push the
government to expand its acceptance
criteria for Afghan refugees. In addi-
tion, Sayed hopes to see Iceland help
fund their resettlement and provide
them with adequate support upon ar-
rival.
"I know the Icelandic government
can provide better conditions for refu-
gees in the camps. If you go to these
camps, you’ll feel disgusted. That's not
a place that human beings can live. If
they're not providing a good place for
refugees to live, at least they can pro-
vide a temporary work permit so they
can work during the asylum process
and they can live a better life during
that time," he says.
Responsibility lies not only with the
government, Sayed emphasises, but
with citizens and residents of Iceland.
"We’ve put out a petition for people to
sign and we're going to start a fundrais-
er for those who have been displaced. I
really want people to donate to them,"
Sayed urges, "I want them to at least
educate themselves and their families
on the subject — that way people can
try to understand the situation. I want
them to know this is still the Taliban
from the 1990s; it’s no modern version,
like they say. They’re still killing inno-
cent people. They're destroying homes.
They’re burning houses. They’re still
doing all the same things."
But time is of the essence—every
day the Taliban tightens their strong-
hold on Afghanistan with the entire
country now under their control. Hu-
man lives are being lost as Iceland re-
sists instituting a more comprehensive
plan on Afghan refugee acceptance and
resettlement.
When speaking of his new home
Sayed concludes, "We need their help
today, I don't want them to leave us
alone."
Fighting for his homeland
“I want them to
know this is still
the Taliban from
the 1990’s, it’s
no modern ver-
sion like they say.
They’re still killing
innocent people.
They're destroy-
ing homes.
They’re burning
houses. They’re
still doing all the
same things.”
Words:
Desirai Thompson

Photos:
Art Bicnick
Culture