The Girl I Am, The Change I Carry

They always ask me where I’m from.I say, “Do you want the short story, the long one, or the one I tell when I’m tired?” I am Afghan by blood, refugee by chance. I am from Afghanistan. But I am also from exile. From long lines and temporary...

I, the Dust

I am dust. Very small and barely noticeable, but I exist. Once, I was a mountain. Not the whole mountain, of course—just a speck of it. But a mountain is made of countless specks, as numerous as the stars in the sky. And still, can’t we call a speck of the...

A Voice Died Inside Me

No one truly understands that death doesn’t always arrive with a scream. Sometimes, it slips quietly into an unfinished sentence, into the trace of a smile that never quite leaves the lips, or into the silent passing beside a wall that no longer holds any color....

The Day No Afghan Will Ever Forget

Today, on the occasion of August 15, a dark day for the people, girls, and women of Afghanistan, I want to narrate the pain, suffering, and restrictions we face. This day revives the memory of the fall of our homeland—August 15, 2021—a day that no Afghan...

Kabul, too, was not happy

Kabul, too, was not happy… The weather had become bitterly cold. It was mid-November, and as the saying goes, we were nearing the forty-day winter period. The cold wind blew, and yellow, red, orange, brown, and even colors whose names might not exist—or...

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