Blistered and hungry: Afghans walk for peace
GHAZNI: Hobbled by blisters and stalked by hunger, dozens of Afghan protesters are marching hundreds of kilometres across the war-torn country demanding an end to the nearly 17-year conflict. Nine people began the weeks-long anti-war march in May, but their numbers have since swollen to around 50, organizers say, as their demands for an end to fighting gain traction among ordinary Afghans increasingly fed up with years of bloodshed. The arduous journey began in the southern province of Helmand, a Taleban stronghold. The group hopes to reach the capital Kabul, some 700 km away, before the end of the holy month of Ramadan this week where it plans to present a list of demands for peace to Afghan leaders. Among the protesters is Zaheer Ahmad Zindani, who was blinded in a roadside explosion several years ago that also killed his sister. “We are tired of this war and bloodshed,” Zindani told AFP as the group arrived in Ghazni, the capital of the southeastern province of the same name, over the weekend. “Both sides should sit down for peace talks. We want a permanent and sustainable peace.”
The group is also calling for a ceasefire but longer than the ones announced by the Afghan government and Taleban for the Eid holiday that follows Ramadan - and a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan. After weeks of walking along asphalt roads in the heat, sleeping under trees or in mosques, and weakened by fasting for Ramadan, the group is now within
200 km of the Afghan capital.
Initially ridiculed for their plan to walk to Kabul, the protesters now enjoy growing support as more Afghans pay attention to their cause and take to social media to cheer them on. “Your every step gives us hope for peace, continue your march until we have peace,” Jamilurahman wrote on Facebook. A user called Hamidullah posted: “May Allah give you paradise for every step you take for peace. May peace prevail in every part of our country.”
The march, which is believed to be the first of its kind in Afghanistan, emerged out of a sit-in protest and hunger strike in the Helmand provincial capital Lashkar Gah. That demonstration, which began spontaneously after a car bomb attack in the city on March 23, triggered similar movements by warweary Afghans around the country. But when the Taleban and security forces failed to heed their demands to stop fighting, some of the protesters decided to take their message directly to the country’s top leaders.