Nasir is just back from Kabul, where his family still lives: ”My whole body is overcome with fear”
Nasir Ahmed Kazimi grew up in Afghanistan. He came to Sweden in 2015, and then landed Kristianstad.Just a few days ago he came back to the town after a journey to Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, where he visited his family during the summer - his parents,his brothers and sisters and his wife, who are still there.
On Sunday the news came through that the taliban had occupied Kabul surprisingly quickly.
– I've been speaking to my family all day, he says when Kristianstadsbladet contacted him by phone on Sunday afternoon.
”If 100 people applied for a visa before, now it's 100,000”Nasir Ahmad Kazimi
His family can see the taliban in the town.
– But so far they haven't done anything, as far as we know.
The whole country is in a state of panic. People are leaving their homes and trying desperately to reach somewhere safe. Nasir Ahmed Kazimi's brother has been threatened by the taliban and has applied for a visa.
Getting a visa now seems to be impossible.
– If 100 people applied for a visa before, now it's 100,000. Getting out of the country at all is hard – with our passports there are a lot of countries that won't accept us. Only people who have contacts in the government or who are very rich have a chance now.
It also seems to be impossible to bring his wife here.
– Migrationsverket makes too high demands. I 've completed my upper secondary education and have a steady job, but that isn't enough. Their demands are too high.
”They are going from door to door to find people who have worked for the government. They hang them or cut off one of their hands”Nasir Ahmed Kazimi
He tells us that the taliban have announced that all women under 40 are to belong to the taliban. As soon as they take over a new town, they say that it is forbidden for girls to go to school.
– And a house must be marked in red if a woman lives there for more than 40 days, he says.
– Earlier Kabul had begun to expand and develop, girls could go to school and there were opportunities for them.
Now things are going in the opposite direction.
”It might almost have been better not to see the misery. Everything I've seen keeps going round in my head now, and if I hadn't seen what it was like I would have felt calmer. At the same time I wanted to see them”Nasir Ahmed Kazimi
– In Ghazni I know they are going from door to door to find people who have worked for the government. They hang them or cut off one of their hands. Others are killed in their homes by a rocket. It's just impossible to describe the situation.
His feeling of helplessness grew when he saw how Kabul had changed.
– I wish I'd been able to do something, but I can't, I'm worried and afraid all the time. Fear has invaded my whole body. How can people be so evil? I've been following the news all day, and I'm extremely worried. I know what kind of people they are, says Nasir Ahmed Kazimi.
– My parents are very glad in any case that I am in a safe place where there is no war.
Are you pleased that you had time to meet your family?
– It might almost have been better not to see the misery. Everything I've seen keeps going round in my head now, and if I hadn't seen what it was like I would have felt calmer. At the same time I wanted to see them. You just can't help it.
Footnote: Nasir Ahmed Kazimi is well-known to readers of Kristianstadsbladet from the blog Salaam Sverige, which was later published as a book.
