Exchange to Change May 2017 20170524 EtC mei 2017-web | Page 14

14
IN THE PICTURE
Afghanistan:
eager to call
it home

This is the first fact that many who
don’t know the reality of war tend
to neglect: you don’t leave until you
really have to. Until leaving becomes
a matter of survival. For two years,
Maaz Mamond somehow managed
to escape the Taliban. In war-torn
Afghanistan, it meant overthinking
every step – the safest hours to
arrive and leave his house, where to
go and how to get there. But every
day it was harder to believe that
his efforts were enough to protect
himself and his family.
Maaz Mamond is a student
at IOB, following a Masters
programme in Development
Evaluation Management. He
arrived in Belgium in 29 June 2015
to apply for political asylum, and
now lives in Antwerp with his
wife and three sons. Mamond
believes that this programme
will provide him with relevant
knowledge to create change in
his own country – and he can’t
wait to go home!
E xchange to change M ay 2017
The Taliban would target anyone
who supported the government. If
they could not reach this person,
they would harm their relatives
instead. Kidnapping and torture,
followed by a solemn invitation for
the person of interest to appear
before their court, was the most
common procedure.
The decision to leave Afghanistan
came after the bombing of his
children’s school and the killing of
three brothers, who were his friends
and nextdoor neighbours, just in
front of his eyes. Unfortunately,
bureaucracy doesn’t follow the
rush of necessity. Mamond couldn’t
wait for an answer to his U.S. visa
application, and on 6 June 2015
fled the country to seek asylum
in Belgium. What should be a
15-hour flight becomes a 23-day
odyssey inside the world of human
smuggling. “I am one of the lucky
ones, who could afford documents,
visas and ‘unexpected’ charges”, he
says.
Still, being forced to leave
behind the life he had was not so
straightforward. In Afghanistan,
Mamond had a good job with USAID,
and was also dedicated to mobilizing
young men in social and political
engagement. He believed that access
to education and understanding of
societal issues could prepare a new
generation of leaders. Better leaders.
Above all, he had his family there.
Like most Afghans, they all lived
together, some 30 people, in the
same house. They were part of each
others’ daily lives, and supported one
another in difficult times.