Journalism in Afghanistan: interview with a refugee journalist

“I think being born and raised at the time of war is part of my identity”, he says. Photo: courtesy

He is a young Afghan journalist, born in the southwestern city of Ghazni, who left Afghanistan for political reasons. Currently a refugee, he does not feel safe to say where or how he lives. For the sake of the safety of some of his family and friends still living in the country, he also asked us not to say his name as we found him, where or how this interview was conducted.

A law graduate from Kabul University, he has contributed reporting and articles to Afghan and international media. His most recent work was with Agence France-Presse (AFP), after the fall of Kabul and before he left Afghanistan in 2021, with Qatar as his first destination.

As a journalist, lawyer, and critic of the war and the Taliban, he has denounced the situation of conflicts and violations of human rights and freedom of the press that have undermined democracy in Afghanistan for more than 20 years. Some of these texts were written together with other journalists, whose names he also cannot mention for security reasons. Read more in the interview below.

Enio Moraes Júnior — Some time ago you were forced to leave your country. And this is related to your profession, your journalistic commitment. What really happened and at what moment did you decide: now I have to leave Afghanistan?