A day and half in Rome

Where is justice?!

A few days ago, I heard that the Afghans in Italy will be getting together to protest against the Taliban genocides under the name of Kochi’s (nomads) in Behsood district of Maidan province.

When I was thinking, how I would help them, I received a call from an Afghan in Rome who invited me and provided the two sides train tickets but I insisted to stay there only for a short time, because I had other things to do in Milan.

The train tickets were for night and I had to time to think and imagine what I could do for them.

The night passed and I was on and off sleeping and the train arrived in Rome at seven in the morning. Oh what an accident, I met Basir Ahang in the station, he was also invited there.

Rome is really wonderful, the city of the Roman Empires, the reminders of ancient glory, the grower of Artists, the host for Vatican state attract hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world annually, and if someone wants to see the real history before his eyes, he should once go to Rome.

Actually it was my forth time going to Rome for different purposes. The first time, when I went to Rome a few months ago, I saw a little part of the CINACITTA (The Italian Hollywood), the second time I was invited by the Afghan Cultural and Social Association in Italy for the Afghan New Year Celebration in March, the third time I was there for the hearing commission on my status a few weeks ago and this was my forth time being invited by the Afghans in Rome.

The people, who have things to say but need a tone to say with, and I and Basir Ahang could be a tongue for them.
Now we were two and we let the Afghans know that were already in Rome and some people came to pick us up.
They were good, friendly and sympathetic people. They explained us the situation in Behsood as some people had already lost their family members in these attacks and some others were worried about their family members and relatives in Behsood.

I and Basir Ahang already knew about the situation, but still did not know why UNAMA, the Human Rights Organizations and the world media are all quiet about the genocide and obligatory displacements of the Hazaras in Behsood.

Whether it would be social or a political activity, but we felt responsibility to reach the voices of these people to the others when we are committed to fight against fundamentalism, extremism, and Talibanism in our country and our only weapons in this fight are our pens and now is the time to reveal these genocides and organized crimes against humanity.

On Thursday August 07 2008 they will have a peaceful demonstration in Rome to condemn the genocide of Behsood people by the Taliban under the name of the Kochies, like hundreds of thousands of people did in Kabul, Mazar and Bamyan.

Through this peaceful demonstration they will also say; “Wake Up Karzai! You are elected to bring peace and justice not genocide and obligatory displacement.”

And what we two can do is to reflect their voices to the world we communicate with through internet.

I came back to Milan leaving Afghan friends behind in Rome.

I hope they will have their demonstration and let the Italian people, the Italian authority and the world know about this genocide and crimes against humanity that is going on in Afghanistan under the name of democracy and elected government.

I will post about this demonstration in detail the soon I have their photos and reports.

Note: I do not have the every day internet connection until August 18th, so when I find internet somewhere I have to post at once as many things as comes in my mind to write.

“Sto cercando lavoro’ I say these days.

A very personal story

Since I am notified recently that I am allowed to work to live independently, I repeat the same sentence with my broken Italian when I enter the job agencies in the city;
“ Buon giorno, singora/ signore, mi chiamo Amin e sto cercando lavoro, volevo chiederela se c’e un lavoro qui?”

Seeing my Italian the first question they ask is where I am from.
Usually I surprise them when I say “ sono Afghano” and then I see more curiosity in their interaction.
Perhaps they wonder what kind of Afghan I am without beards and a turban as they have known my people only with these specifications, or they would be more careful so I wouldn’t be dangerous person or so.

Some say okay and ask me if I have a curriculum vitae and I respond yes.
They have a look at my CV and surprisingly look at me and then nod their head;
“Mmmm, vediamo cosa possiamo fare, ci sentiamo fra pochi giorni”.
Although I know, some of the job agencies do not offer jobs for foreingers which is called “Stranieri” here but most of them ask to return in September when one month of summer holidays will be finished and I say; “ Va bene, ci sentiamo dopo, grazie arreviderci.”

And these days when I receive calls from unknown numbers first I assume it must be from one of the job agencies; therefore I answer with “Pronto?” instead of “Hello?” that I used before to show them that I speak Italian. Ha ha ha ha ha

These days some naughty or better to say funny friends, tease me, when calling from unknown numbers, they pretend to play the role of a job agency staff and ask me to come to work tomorrow, but soon I understand their voices and their accents then burst laughing on each other.

Because nowadays I have to practice my Italian more and more and I write you the last sentence in Italian which may be wrong;

"quando avrò qualcosa nuova, metterò qui per I lettori di questo blog, ci sentiamo dopo, ma sperò che sara una buona novita subito!"

I wish you forgive me if there are mistakes in my Italian.

Here is Afghanistan; he is punished who tells “The Truth”!

Just imagine how difficult it is when we hear a friend or a former colleague, a person of the same field we work is being arrested, punished or sentenced for punishment just for his activities in his professional field and more important when this field is public awareness.

Lately Nasir Fayaz a former friend and colleague of mine in ATN in Kabul Afghanistan is being arrested by the NSD (National Security Department) of Afghanistan for his program Haqiqat or “The Truth”.

Nasir Fayaz, as one of the best Dari newscasters in ATN produced and presented a criticizing weekly program titled “Haqiqat” that means “The Truth”.
This weekly program mostly criticized the arenas where the government of Afghanistan had weaknesses in its performances such as; administrative corruption, lack of enough work done by the government, bribery, former Mujahedeen and justice process, Taliban’s empowerment, rule of law, function of the three branches of the government, useless projects implemented, mistakes in Afghanistan’s foreign policy, Afghan – Pak relationships, embezzlements by the ministers and etc were mostly the main issues discussed and analyzed in each episodes of this program.

Apparently the NSD (National Security Department) of Afghanistan, has illegally arrested Nasir Fayaz accusing that the council of ministers and cabinet members has complained against him for baseless accusations against the senior governmental officials including some ministers in his program Haqiqat, while in reality it is not the responsibility and jurisdiction of NSD staff the deal with the media and press issues. Even if this accusations of council of ministers is to be dealt with, it is the commission on media law violations to take the responsibility and deal with such issues not the NSD but unfortunately, who presides this commission is one of the most fundamentalist figures of Afghanistan; Karim Khoram the current minister of Information and Culture who has already been acting against the journalists of free media in passed year, in this case the NSD should not have arrested this journalist.

In 2006, Nasir Fayaz received the of the best journalist-newscaster award of the year by the Ministry of Information and Culture, while nowadays this ministry is still quiet and has not yet acted for his immediate release.

This journalist is being arrested while Parviz Kambakhsh, the other Afghan journalist is still suffering being imprisoned for some months without a clear final decision of the judicial branch of Afghanistan, which is an apparent act against freedom of media and press in an emerging democracy in this country.

It is to say that so far some journalists of Ariana Television were beaten up by members of parliament and in some cases by the police or army.

In addition to threats by the governmental departments against the Afghan media activists, on the other hand the Taliban and other fundamentalists who are some how being supported by the government as tools are also still a big part of threats against the media activists and journalists.

Hanif Elham another producer - journalist from ATN who runs brightening human rights programs for radio and television on this channel, has been repeatedly threatened to death for several passed months by the Taliban and thus he has to live in hidden and has to change his commuting routs time to time in order to be safe from the reach of the fundamentalists.

Unfortunately lately we got that filmmaker Zaki Merzaiye who made his documentary about the life of the only Jew in Afghanistan was threatened by the extremist Islamists and has escaped to an unknown place, this was emailed to us by his close friends and family members.

Confining the freedom of speech and expression in Afghanistan is a deliberately created obstacle by the government in order to achieve some of its political goals illegally while on the other hand the religious fundamentalists and extremists take more advantages for their own goals out of this policy of the Afghan government; as a result fundamentalism is promoted once again in the country with the direct and indirect help of the government.

As the preparations begin for the upcoming elections, the ruling government applies more pressures especailly on those free media that criticize the it and point out its weaknesses.

For this reason it is expected that more of free media activists would be suffucated in this period.
Therefore we want the family of media and press in Afghanistan to object against this policiy of the government of Afghanistan as well as ask the interference and efforts of the International Community member states for the immediate release of Nasir Fayaz and Parviz Kambakhsh two journalists who are illegally arrested and are imprisoned without any clear reasons and for more protection to free media activists of Afghanistan.

Another short break for some days!

Dear readers,

Thank you for reading this blog and sharing your useful comments.
For next few days you may not see any new posts due to lack of internet connection.

The technology we use makes the life very easy, on the other hand the life is very dependant on it, so without it nothing we can do.

I use public internet in a center which will be closed for summer holidays for about a month and in this period without internet I can not post here what I write.

But the soon I have internet, I will begin again to post.

Enjoy your summer vacations and

Be evergreen!

The Drum of Democracy is played once again this year!

This year when the attacks of Taliban under the name of the Kochies or nomads began again in Behsood, Sharistan and Nahoor districts of Hazarajaat and forced many families to abandon their houses, the governmental officials still play their drum of democracy and make namely commissions to solve this dispute which do not function well.

Last year in these days when the Kochies attacked Hazarajaat by the direct support of the Taliban and president’s team, Academy of Art and Cinema Education produced a documentary film on this issue titled; “The drum of democracy” and screened in this center.

This documentary compared the current policies of Karzai administration like playing a drum that is interesting from outside and far distances and when you approach it, it pierces the ears and that is the drum of democracy they play for the people of the world and talk of democracy in the country and when we see the issues nearer from inside, it is just a deceiving sound of drum for the people outside and the international community.

This documentary compares the two sides of Karzai administration’s policies which protects the Taliban as a potential supportive ethnic, under the name of democracy in one side while on the other side this administration disarm the other non-Pashtoon people under the name of democracy and arms the Taliban by the name the kochies or nomads.

This documentary contains clear images of the displaced people, the burnt houses and farms and the panic that is overshadowing the area of Behsood after the Taliban attacked under the name of Kochies to this district, some people are interviewed also.

The director of this documentary entered Behsood and filmed this documentary after the Taliban Kochies temporarily retreated from the area, where still the sounds of gun shooting is heard from far away but they did not go to the front line of the Taliban kochies.

This film questions the current definition of democracy that exists in Afghanistan and asks if democracy is only for the protection of the Taliban when the president says; “in democracy every one has the right to participate in social-political decision makings of the country, even including the Taliban who are discontented with the government” or it has to be realized in bigger aspects in which all the citizens would be able to share their opinions on the important decision makings in the country, in which equality would be the norm when the rights of all citizens are being discussed, in this case no one want the Taliban back on power.

This documentary also raises many questions like; how is democracy defined in Afghanistan? Do we really have democracy in Afghanistan? Is it the democracy that the people were looking for or is it for the favor of only a specific group of people? If it is the real democracy then why no one hears the voices of people? In which democracy is it recommended to support a specific group of people against the others?

It also asks the president, if Afghanistan will be prosperous with the Taliban back on the power and then it brings the examples of five years of Taliban regimes sovereignty and asks why the current government again supports and protects those Taliban; will the Taliban help the reconstruction process of the country while they do not have anything else except killing, terrifying and intimidation in their five years period of ruling the country? Will not support of the Taliban by the name of Kochies harm the identity of the poor Kochies? Aren’t the Kochies themselves the poor - kept and misfortunate people who are misused by the Pashtoon politicians? Then if the government does not support either of the sides, it won’t be difficult to solve this dispute; it is what in this documentary discussed.

It is to say that last year in these days, some of the television channels also made some programs and documentaries about this dispute for instance Shamshad television took the side of the Kochies and defended them in this dispute while in “drum of democracy” documentary neither of the Hazaras or the Kochies is being blamed for the dispute but this reality is depicted that the Kochies are the poor, depressed and oppressed people who are being misused as object of dispute by the Pashtoon rulers in order to reach to their political goals, that is the role of a documentary film.

Finally this documentary reaches to say, considering the last decades of oppression when some specific ethnic groups were under pressure of the different regimes, if the real democracy exists now, the government should rather work for the social justice and the unity of different ethnics of the whole nation so that there won’t be any ethnic clashes because no one wants civil wars anymore in this land.

What happened to “Opium War”?

a scene of Opium War (Photo from Barmak Film website)

A: Do you know something about Afghanistan?
B: Is it not the country where there is always war and the people plant opium and …..

Oh, how shameful I am when people know my country with these identifications!

Opium, drugs and war are the terrifying words that are written on the forehead of Afghanistan as identification marks in the recent years instead of the good things which also exist in this country from years back.

And if you ask about the cinema of Afghanistan, most of people name Osama the Afghan feature film that won some international awards, which is also a bad title for identification of Afghan cinema because if its similarity with Osama Bin Laden

These three words, “war, opium and Osama” reminds me of the title of an Afghan feature film that was in post-production last year by the director of Osama, Siddiq Barmak.

Opium War poster (from Barmak Film website)

Last year I read about production and post production of Opium War the second feature film by Siddiq Barmak the Golden Globe winning Afghan director, in one of Kabul’s weekly papers but then I didn’t hear anything about its premiere, award winning and media banging like this director’s first feature film Osama.

Osama Siddiq Barmak's Golden Globe awards winning film

Possibly it was premiered or won many awards may be I didn’t hear anything about it?!

I am curious to know about what happened to this film because it is important to know what happens to the second and third films of a Golden Globe Award winning Afghan director.

On the set of Opium War (photo from Barmak Film website)

Since I read about post production of “Opium War” at the end of 2007, I kept following the news of international cinema events, awards and festivals to hear how this film glitters in these festivals but so far nothing I heard about Opium War while almost one year passed from its production; in none of the awards and festivals such as; Golden Globe Awards2008, Berlin International Film Festival 2008 and Cannes International Film Festival 2008 Opium War is not heard but I still expect this film for the 65th Venice International Film Festival in 2008 within next two months.

Why it was not premiered yet in Kabul or why wasn’t it sent to international film festivals of the world yet?
Is this film not ready for premiere after one year from its post production?
Was it not eligible to enter these film festivals? And why didn’t it bomb in the media as Osama the first film of this director did? Is it because of Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s role?
Or there could be some reasons beyond it?

Seddiq Barmak and his multi - national crew members on the set (photo from Barmak Film website)

During the production of this film, as it was revealed in one of papers in Kabul in August 2007, the story of this film is about crash of a helicopter of the American forces in the middle of an opium field in Afghanistan and continues with friendship and relationships of these injured soldiers with the local people after they are being helped by them and ……(But I am not sure if it is the story of the film or not)

On the set of Opium War (photo from Barmak Film website)

Some people say, lately Siddiq Barmak and Mohsen Makhmalbaf the world known Iranian director have broken their friendship while in Barmak’s first feature Osama that won a Golden Globe award, Mohsen Makhmalbaf had the main advising role for Barmak and supporting role for the marketing and media coverage of the film, thus feature Osama was a success and won many awards including Golden Globe.

Siddiq Barmak

A couple of months ago, when welcoming Rakhshan Bani Etimad the Female Iranian director to Second Take International Film Festival of Kabul Barmak has indirectly blamed some Iranian filmmakers for taking advantages from Afghanistan and misusing the Afghans with untrue stories that scorn the dignity of Afghans in their films and reflect wrong information about Afghanistan to the world, which he meant Mohsen Makhmalbaf who made many feature and short films within Afghanistan or about Afghanistan.

In early 2007 Makhmalbaf and other crew members of his film were attacked with hand grenade by unknown people in Saripol city north of Afghanistan when filming his latest film in Afghanistan, “The two legged horse” then some crew members were wounded and they stopped filming in Afghanistan.

Barmak on the set of Opium War (photo from Barmak Film website)

This time the second project of Barmak is done without Makhmalbaf’s interference and support, which could have caused its postpone or may be failure but still it may be early to judge about it, so lets wait for the time that reveals the truth.

But it really teases me when I see even our cinema is so touchy and vulnerable that it can not stand and progress without hands from outside; which are sometimes the hands of friendship and sometimes the hands of malevolence and enmity .

This is the news item that I read in cinema page of Kabul Weekly in August of last year.

KABUL WEEKLY, Wednesday, August 15 2007

“Opium War is in post-production and will be soon ready for premiere”

Opium War the second feature film of famous Afghan filmmaker Seddiq Barmak is going to be ready for premiere.

As said by Barmak, the film is washed in Almata Kazakistan about a month ago and it will be edited in Tajikistan which takes a period of thirty to forty days and then the final version will be printed in Madras India.

Barmak says when the film is ready; it will be premiered first in Kabul for the Afghan people.

Then Barmak plans to introduce it to two or three international film festival including Cannes in France.

The filming began in June 24th near Karkar coal mine in the north of Afghanistan and it took fifty days.

The multi-national crew for the second feature film of world known Afghan director was composed of Russian cinematographer, Indian make up artist, Iranian sound director* and Tajik set designer in addition to Afghans.

Barmak expects to premiere his second feature by mid September this year. (Kabul Weekly)

Lost Paradise or The Last Survivor?!

A short documentary about the world's tiniest minority; the last Jew in Afghanistan


Zaki Merzaie a young Afghan filmmaker has newly made a short documentary film and screened it in Kabul.

This documentary film is about the life of “Zebulon Simanto”, the last and the only Afghan Jew living in Afghanistan.

This Afghan Jew, the only survivor of a religion in a country that makes the tiniest minority in the world who can be recorded in Guinness World Record book lives in an old synagogue in Kabul.

Zaki Merzaie the director of this film

Lost Paradise is the title of this documentary and it depicts Afghanistan a lost paradise for the religious and ethnic minorities who have been under pressure or have been eliminated and are now extinct in this country while the foreign (Pakistani Pashtoons) suicide bombers look for their paradise in Afghanistan and kill the people of this land along with themselves in suicide attacks.

The religious and ethnic minorities have always been abased and kept under pressure by the ruling governments in Afghanistan especially when the Islamic fundamentalism is mixed with tribal customs and makes it easy to misuse the religion against the non-Muslim religious minorities then they have no more their homes that is their paradise in which they have lived for centuries.
This film could be titled The Last Survivor too, as it is about the last Jew in a country.

The director in this film, along with showing Zebulon Simanto’s loneliness and his not so good situation as the last survivor of the Jews in Afghanistan, talks on the history of the Jews in Afghanistan, their living places, the number of population, the number of synagogues they had, how they have been exterminated from Afghanistan by immigrating to Israel and other western countries.

This short documentary in addition to talk on history of Jewry and Buddhism in Afghanistan of before Islam, narrates on how religious and ethnic discriminations, tribal and ethnic incursions have purged the ethnic and religious minorities in the country; religion have been misused as a tool for the genocide and population extinction and compulsory migration of minorities and for decades ethnicity was a mark for distinction and excellence for the major ethnic.

The Jews of Afghanistan, who mostly lived in Herat, have a long history in this land, but after the establishment Israel in 1948, most of them have moved there. Some of them have left Afghanistan during the Russian invasion in 1979 and the last groups of jew families left the country after overthrown of communist government and empowerment of Mujahedeen (Islamist warlords) in early 1990 the rest were forced to leave the country; as a result “Zebulon Simanto” and Yitzhak Levy were the two last remaining Jews in Afghanistan whose family have already moved to Israel years ago.

Until Yitzhak Levy died in 2005 they were the only Afghan Jews, living in Afghanistan who have remained there in all time and were many times imprisoned and tortured by the Taliban, but then now “Zebulon Simanto” is the only Afghan Jew who still lives in an old synagogue in Kabul.

Zaki Merzaie sends his documentary film to international film festivals to introduce the tiniest minority of the world.

As said by Merzaie, because of lack of a proper sales and distribution system for films in Afghanistan, the filmmakers have no choice than selling the distribution rights of their films below the budget they spend on them for the distributors of CDs and DVDs, so Zaki Merzai has done the same as others do.

It is to add that the Afghan Hindus and the Sikhs are also one of the religious minorities who live for more than two centuries in Afghanistan and have often been discriminated, especially during the Taliban they were under badly pressures and with compulsory displacements and imprisonment for their religion.

Afghan Sikhs running their businesses in Kabul

Lost Paradise is made while Hassan Nazeri, another Afghan filmmaker and professor in fine Arts faculty of Kabul University, have started filming of his documentary about the Afghan Sikhs and Hindus who are a religious and ethnic minority in Afghanistan.