Afghanistan has gone through the same things that Iran has, in the past 50 years, only harsher. Or perhaps with the new conflict in the region I should say that what has happened to Iran is more intense. Doesn't matter. Both the countries were transitioning from traditional religious societies to modern ones. That was the issue. The societies were not ready. It was soon. There was lots of resistance. Without going into what happened in Iran, I'll try to say what I know about Afghanistan. While Iran was trying to follow Western values, Afghans were redirected towards the former Soviet Union. The resistance resulted in the Afghan Government seeking assistance from the Soviets. They poured into the country from the north to fight what, at the time, was called Mujahedeen, who were in fact guerrilla fighters backed by Pakistan (SIS), the US (CIA), UAE and some other countries. Many Afghans fought against the so-called holey warriors or the Mujahedeen or I would like to call them the fundamentalist Islamist fighters. Many had the opportunity to live in the Soviet Union after the war ended or even while it was going on.
The Soviet Army eventually left the country in little more than 9 years in 1989.
If the Afghans thought it was the beginning of a new era of peace and prosperity, they were dead wrong! The country fell into chaos and entered a long civil war which ended when the Taliban, the successors of the Mujahedeen, only more frantic(!), took power for the second time after the Americans withdrew in 2021.
The question which I had never had the chance to ask is: Why did the Afghans have to leave Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and what were the circumstances under which they did so?
These are the Afghan-Soviets that I used to know more than 20 years ago when I first came to Canada:
1) Gholam (meaning servant!): The name Gholam is popular within some Muslim communities. It shows their dedication to the Prophet's family. Gholam usually comes with a second name, not a middle name as it is not common in those countries, such as Gholam Hossein, meaning the servant of Hossein who was the Prophet's grandson. Gholam was, and I believe still is(!), from the northeastern part of the country and from Tajik ethnicity. He was a shepherd until he was called to the army and became a Radioman. He got wounded during a firefight and was sent to the Soviet Union for treatment due to the severity of his injuries. He stayed there until he came to Canada under the circumstances that I'm not aware of but mostly likely through UNCHR. He went to his village after the Taliban was ousted by the Americans a few years ago but I don't think he would dare going there again!
Aziz (As is!): Aziz was sort of an intelligent fella amongst the others. They used to get together and drink and Aziz was the one who always complained about his own drinking(!) but he was also the one who used to say that Afghans should do this or that! He was once asked why he, as a Muslim, drank and if it was not forbidden in the religion to drink alcoholic beverages, his response was: The backward Islam says so! I was smart enough to not to start a fight with him! One funny thing about Aziz (or a someone is a dear, if you translate it!) was his little stockroom. He had purchased a number of appliances and had shoved them in a little warehouse for the time his wife comes to Canada! The poor guy never understood that most of appliances and tools go through newer designs and models every couple of years or so! Something I never bothered to explain to him!
Limping Larry (Courtesy of Seinfeld!): This guy used to be an officer in the Afghan National Army, resisting against the Islamist fundamentalist who blew the country to way before it used to be! He looked like he was in his early to mid-forties as far as I remember. He had lost a limb in the war and for that he was limping, wearing a prostatic leg. I, again, never asked him his story. This is what the other Afghans told me. I think he received a sort of disability from the Government of Canada because all I know he was doing was delivering newspaper (at that time newspapers were still in circulation, no even the blogs are not!) He eventually left one day. I was told he had gone to Montreal. If you can't speak the language and can't work, does it matter what part of Canada you live?! I think Quebec has somehow different laws but it should not have been a problem!
The Qari (Arabic for someone who reads the Quran very well): Qari was a fat and lazy guy. I didn't know much about him. I saw him once in the yard laying down on a mattress! Quiet normal for an Afghan guy to do things like that!
Mohammad of the God (I think i have written about him!): This guy was honestly the scariest. However, in order to know these guys with all these Islamic names and apparently culture, it's interesting to know that once I saw him at French Maid in Downtown Calgary, playing pool with one of the strippers! This was a good hangout for Afghans(!) and I was introduced to it by them! They were all hanging out there, drinking, playing pool and chasing the strippers or the local hookers! It's been many years that the club is closed and I haven't even been there to see what has been established instead. Here's the funny things about many of these people who call themselves Muslim! True hypocrites!
The Principal: This was an older guy compare to all the other. He had a family of 6, including him and his wife, I guess he used to be a principal and had a business of his own at the side. So in comparison to all the other Afghans, he was in a higher class. You could sense that when he was talking to the other Afghans. he had Uzbek ethnicity and he always had a smirk on his face when talking to the other fella countrymen but when we were talking history and politics he condemn the Afghan Civil War between different ideas and ethnic groups. He even travelled to New York City with his wife and visited a friend. I still haven't been to New York City after all these years of living in Canada!. I shared part of his basement with his eldest son for a few months, one of a few major stupid mistakes I made in the first years of my life in Canada but if you hang on to the past, you die a little every day. He sustained a serious injury at work and loss the use of one of his hands. I saw him brooming the front of a business many years ago, a practice common in those countries(!) I didn't stop to say hi but I might go to see him. I think he was running an Afghan restaurant somewhere close to Franklin Station.
Married to a Soviet: There was this short, fat and bald Afghan who had a Soviet wife and a little pretty girl. They called him Khan, if I remember correctly. I remember is that the woman was in the process of leaving him, yet would ask him to do this or that or take him here and there! She would sit in the backseat as a sign of separation and contempt, probably(!) and the poor guy would go here or there probably with the hope to have her back! I also remember he used to sell Hot Dogs in Downtown Calgary, near the bars and clubs and this was his second job, maybe. Many Afghans had a delivery of some sort of second job.
(Picture: A Soviet soldier taking Mujahedeen POWs out of a Mil helicopter. I don't know why his Avtomat Kalashnikov does not have a magazine!)