Remembering My Neighbor, Ali Reza Asahi

By Mohammad Zaki Zaki

In 2018 I returned from Daikundi to Kabul and established an English center there named Target English House with three friends — Yasin Karimi, Najib Saadat and Ali Rezayee. Our center was located in Batorian alley on the first floor of a four-floor apartment building. We rented the first floor as the location of the center, but that floor didn’t have an appropriate place for displaying the announcements and advertisements. So sometimes we climbed to the fourth floor to display our information.

We had three neighbors on the second, third and the fourth floor. The family on the fourth floor always welcomed us warmly as we set up our displays. The husband and wife and two children were so nice, bringing us tea and chatting. It was a friendly place.

One day my colleagues and I were changing the banner when I noticed a tall, slim man who began to talk to us and offered to help. My friend Karimi asked the man about his family — he said he had two sons and a wife. He added he was working on body building to become a great champion in the future. He seemed smart as he introduced us to his sons Arman and Kaihan. Then he started speaking English and his skills were pretty good. This neighbor told us he spoke three languages and had taken many trips out of Afghanistan. He spoke with great energy and our conversation that day was wonderful.

I often noticed his photo on social media and learned that he was indeed becoming a champion weightlifter for Afghanistan, winning gold medals and pride for our country.

This lovely man was Hazara, but he belonged to all Afghans because he tried to bring honor for his country. He was quite poor and struggled to win success. Even though he won medals, his family remained impoverished. I would see him on television after he received his medals, and he talked about how he was able to eat good food, but his family was not. But this man despite being a winner felt incomplete because his family was in miserable condition.

Just recently I checked Facebook and Instagram and saw many photos of this man that stated he passed away. Of course people are talking and writing about him. They mourn him as they share memories. It shows that he was a potent hero for his country and for his people.

The death of this great champion of Afghanistan makes me sad, especially as I remember our wonderful conversation years ago. May his soul rest in peace.