Victim’s Name: Shah Hussain Haidari
Date of Incident: July 23, 2016
Place of Incident: Dehmazang Square, Kabul
We are from Malistan District of Ghazni Province. Shah Hussain was born in 1985 and started to work as a shepherd when he was only 10. Later, a landmine blew off his hand and partially disabled him which depressed him for a long time. He started school from the third grade but with his intense passion and determination, he finished his school in Abdul Ghafor Sultani High School in the district of Jaghori. He was later awarded an Indian Council of Cultural Relation (ICCR) Scholarship to study Computer Science in India. He had just returned to Kabul and was searching for a job. Despite his fingers not working properly, he had a great passion and was talented in drawing. He used to sell his works in India to support my mother and four sisters. Only a few days after his return, when he was only 31 years old, Shah Hussain was killed by the suicide attack in Dehmazang Square on July 23, 2016.
In his own words:
When I was eight, I lost my father, my only supporter and protector in the village of Kondalan of Urozgan Khas District. My father loved me so much. I will never ever forget his love. I remember the spring morning when he brushed my hair and wrapped his arms around me. That morning we ate mutton for breakfast which was the last ever meal with him as he never returned when he left home that day.
In his absence, everything changed. To make a living, I started working for others in 1995. At that time, I was only 10 years old. In 1996, my mother asked me to work for Sayed Sadiq’s family (a respected man in the village), and in 1997 and 1998, I worked for Sadiq Karimi and Abdulhamid’s families to support my family. In early May of 1999, while working as a Shepherd, an unfortunate incident turned my life into absolute darkness. I felt like I have lost everything, my hope, my dreams and my future, all gone. The incident put me in great danger and had incapacitated me for two years.
But God was there to open another horizon of hope. I started my school in 2001 and was admitted to the third grade in Shirdagh High School. I am determined to earn my master’s degree from India and my PhD from Germany. I will then return to Afghanistan and serve my country and its people. I am always indebted to my family, my mother, my teachers, my country, and my conscious feelings that have led me to success.
With Respect,
Shah Hussain Haidari (Hamdarad)
