AHMAD

August 19, 2021. After a turbulent period, clashes and 20 years of the ‘War on Terror’ with massive US (and Western) military presence, the Taliban enter Kabul unchallenged and regain power. The world (for a few months Afghans are now brutally pushed back at the EU’s eastern border) shouts “I am an Afghani,” paraphrasing “Je suis Charlie” or that “Ich bin ein Berliner” reminiscent of  Kennedy, to express solidarity with millions of desperate people.

Among them is Ahmad.

“At that point, the dream of a better future in Europe had to be postponed, my life was in danger, I had to save myself.” He leaves his family, his degree programme, his friends, and escapes to Tehran. It is a friend of his who saves him. He had worked for the Italians and arrived in our country on the last available plane in August 2021.  “He was already here, and he called on an Italian NGO that set up scholarships for young Afghans.” With a regular visa Ahmad arrives in Rome.

Now he is a refugee. He can’t go back to Afghanistan, he won’t see his family for who knows how long: “reunification is impossible, how can I support six people here?” But now that he has a contract with a chain of hairdressing stores and a steady salary, he cultivates a new dream, both personal and political: “My sister, like all the girls in Afghanistan, doesn’t go to school, I want her to graduate here.”