Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Tuesday, April 30th, 2024

The Pain of Discrimination

|

The Pain of  Discrimination

Putting a visit to virtual world and checking the social networks, what catch our eyes the most are hateful comments that are posted by responsible individuals. Meanwhile there are many who are commenting and asking these individuals to avoid notorious comments and stop posting comments with sectarian smells, but nothing happens and rivaling continues.

The pseudonym provides coverage for all such guys. Sometimes it is really hard to accept that comments belong to a member of a particular community from whose address others are insulted. The freedom of
speech provided by social networks has further complicated the situation. There is no rule and regulation to persecute those who use such pseudonym but insults a particular community from the address of another one. I hope Afghan government curb such activities as they have nothing to do with freedom of speech which should be respected.

They are much similar to a plot, conspiracy to end the current fragile nation building developed during past ten years. So, I request all youngsters who are reading such hateful comments that they should consider that particular individuals have written them and it has nothing to do with a particular ethnic group. This is a short notice for all Afghan social network users to be cautious and aware of such conspiracies.
But there is something else that I want to deal with it specifically.

That is late last month civil movement of social science faculty students. After their sacrifices for interest of national interest, demanding elimination of discrimination and improvement of quality education in Kabul University, many are trying to brand the move as conspiracy of neighboring country Iran. Protests held against the motion during past few days, found wide coverage by particular TV channels, have injected the concept that the civil move was planned by neighboring country.

I request all to reconsider and follow all news related to the movement once again. 80 students went on hunger strike for complete eight days. They were generally from the poorest families living in the remote, marginalized and politically discriminated areas of the country. They had no linkage with any well-known government officials. If they had they might have referred their cases to legal institutions and solved their problem. But they had only one choice. That was to put their lives in danger and accept certain death but fight historical evil phenomena of discrimination and low quality of education which have become integral part of public universities.

Perhaps, the history does not have anything like that scripted at its heart. How is it possible that boys and girls of a particular faculty without experiencing the killing pain in their hearts wage such peaceful civil movement that has no record in the history of Afghanistan? Brothers, those who are working for the sake of other countries, they may receive money. They do not have the gut to endanger their lives for the sake of few thousand Afghanis; because for such individuals, only money has the value and of course the value of money is not beyond their lives. What they can do is holding a protest or pressuring the government to change certain policies which may emerge against the interest of particular country.

What is the achievement of Iran from disposition of Farooq Abdullah and Faisal Amin?  Have Mr. Farooq Abdullah and Mr. Faisal Amin have done anything in their entire lives against Iran that angers Tehran
officials to motivate students against them?  I seriously doubt that the employees of Iranian embassy in Kabul have ever heard their names even. I do not think so that these personalities, during their entire
academic lives, told one thing against Iran. So, why Iran instead of pressuring policy makers go and create such a chaos for the disposition of someone who work in line with interest of neighboring
countries?  

Secondly, due to historical crackdown of Hazaras in this very country, it is the first time that they have got the chance to follow their higher education. They are the most deprived ethnic group in the country. During history, hundreds of thousands of them were killed and the world has still remained silent. This community is a minority that is discriminated by the rest of ethnic groups on basis of their facial complexion and faith.
No doubt, for decades Iran has been their main target for them to escape massacre inside Afghanistan. But what has Iran done for them as refugees? Iranians never cared whether they are Shia; they have just considered them as refugees and nothing more. Iran viewed them as grandson of Ghangiz Khan, the Mongolian emperor. Thousands of Hazara refugees lost lives on the way to reach Iran. Thousands of them lost lives under the feet and punches of Iranian civilians or security forces.

Hundreds of them were pelted from multi-stories building when they asked for their wages. Hundreds of them burned alive in the brick making oven. Hundreds of them got abnormal in Safid Sang prison. They were humiliated. They were called dirty Afghans; bastards and tens of curses that are not suitable to mention due to respect for the humanity.

Now Hazara university students are from the same generation. They experienced such suppression themselves by their skin and bone or their fathers told them story. Is it possible that intellectuals of
the same ethnicity once again support the Iran interests? It is far more painful in spite of tolerating such historical pain; still they are blamed of collusion with Iran!

Masood Korosh is the permanent writer of Daily Outlook Afghanistan. He can be reached at outlookafghanistan@gmail.com

Go Top