Azaranica is a non-biased news aggregator on Hazaras. The main aim is to promote understanding and respect for cultural identities by highlighting the realities they face on daily basis...Hazaras have been the victim of active persecution and discrimination and one of the reasons among many has been the lack of information, awareness, and disinformation.

Friday, March 2, 2012

نخستین رقابت اسکی‌بازان خارجی و افغان در بامیان

به روز شده: 12:39 گرينويچ - جمعه 02 مارس 2012 - 12 اسفند 1390

بامیان برای ورزش اسکی بسیار مناسب دانسته می شود
نخستین مسابقه اسکی روی برف با شرکت ورزشکان داخلی و خارجی در منطقه کوهستانی بامیان در مرکز افغانستان برگزار شده است.

امیر فولادی، مسئول بخش برنامه ها در بنیاد توسعه ای آغاخان در بامیان گفت که در این مسابقه ۲۰ اسکی باز خارجی و ۱۰ اسکی باز داخلی شرکت داشتند.
شرکت کنندگان خارجی این مسابقه عمدتا از کشورهای بریتانیا، آمریکا، سوئیس و هند هستند.
به گفته مقام های دولتی در بامیان، هدف از برگزاری این مسابقه، که روز جمعه، ۱۲ حوت/اسفند در دامنه کوه "بابا" برگزار شد، جذب گردشگران خارجی و داخلی است تا این منطقه بتواند پای گردشگران را در چهار فصل سال به این منطقه بکشاند.
سال گذشته هم مسابقه اسکی در بامیان برگزار شده بود، اما در آن مسابقه تنها ورزشکاران داخلی شرکت داشتند.

این نخستین بار است که ورزشکاران خارجی در یک مسابقه اسکی در بامیان شرکت می کنند.
مهدی مهرآئین، روزنامه نگار محلی در بامیان می گوید که مسابقه روز جمعه با استقبال مردم مواجه شده و حضور خارجی ها هم در آن نسبتا خوب بوده است.
قرار است تا چند روز دیگر به مناسبت هشتم مارچ/ مارس، روز جهانی زن، نیز مسابقه ای با شرکت دختران و زنان اسکی باز، در بامیان برگزار شود.

پیش از این بامیان در فصل زمستان به دلیل سردی و برفگیر بودن، جاذبه چندانی برای گردشگران نداشت، اما حالا با فراهم شدن زمینه های ورزشی و سرگرمی های زمستانی، علاقمندی برای سفر به بامیان بیشتر شده است.

بامیان یکی از مشهورترین مناطق تاریخی افغانستان است که دو پیکره بزرگ بودا، در آن جا ساخته شده بود، اما در زمستان ۲۰۰۱ میلادی به وسیله طالبان منفجر شدند.

علاوه بر آن، هزاران مغاره ساخته شده در دل کوه، که در چند سده پیش از اسلام محل عبادت و آموزش راهبان بودایی بودند و همچنین شهرهای تاریخی غلغله و ضحاک در مرکز بامیان دیدنی هستند.
قلعه چهل برج در منطقه یکه اولنگ، در غرب شهر بامیان و چند محل دیگر در مرکز این ولایت هم از جاذبه های گردشگری بامیان محسوب می شوند.

BBC Farsi

A brief history of Hazara persecution

By Dr Saleem Javed


A refugee Hazara boy in the New Jalozai Camp


A bill in the US Congress that backs the Baloch "right of self-determination" days after a congressional hearing on Balochistan, and the emotionally charged reactions to these developments in Pakistan, both ignore the persecution of the Hazara community in the violence-hit province.

Analysts say the community is of no strategic or electoral importance to Pakistani leaders, and might be seen in the US as pro-Iran because it is Shia.

The Dari-speaking Hazara people live in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran, and are believed to be of Turk-Mongol descent. They are mostly Shia, with small Sunni and Ismaili minorities.



Hazaras in Afghanistan:

In a single incident in 1998, Iranian forces killed more than 630 refugees, mostly Hazaras, in the Safed Sang Camp detention center
According to Qaseem Akhgar, a prominent Afghan historian and political analyst, Hazara people have been living in Afghanistan for more than 2,000 years. Their persecution began after their land, the Hazarajat, was taken over by Amir Abdul Rehman Khan in the late 19th century. Hundreds of thousands of Hazara were killed, enslaved or forced to flee their homeland. Those who survived were persecuted by successive Afghan regimes. In 1933, a young Hazara highschool student Abdul Khaliq assassinated Nadir Shah, the king of Afghanistan, to avenge discrimination against his people.

The most recent spate of violence against the Hazara people began with the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. They killed thousands of Hazaras in Bamiyan, Yakaolang and Mazar-e-Sharif with impunity from 1998 to 2001.

Hazaras in Iran:

The persecution of Hazaras began after their land was taken over by Amir Abdul Rehman Khan in the late 19th century
In Iran, the Hazaras are known as Khawaris, or Barbaris (barbarians), because of their phenotypic similarities with the Mongols. Most of them live in Mashhad, Turbat-e-Jam, Darrah Gaz and Nishaboor. Although a majority of Iranian population is Shia, the Khawaris are a marginalized community that has sought to protect their ethnic and cultural identity from state oppression. Iran also hosts a significant population of Hazara refugees from Afghanistan.

In a single incident in 1998, Iranian forces killed more than 630 refugees, mostly Hazaras, in the Safed Sang Camp detention center. A film about the incident was not shown in Afghanistan after what insiders call the Iranian president's "personal request" to his Afghan counterpart.


Hazaras in Pakistan:

Banned militant outfits have threatened to make Pakistan "a graveyard for the Shia Hazaras" and have asked them to leave the country by 2012
The Hazaras in British India were less marginalized and even joined the British army. In 1904, Major CW Jacob of the 126th Balochistan Infantry, who later became Field-Marshal Sir Claude Jacob, raised the 106th Hazara Pioneers with drafts from the 124th Duchess of Connaught's Own Balochistan Infantry and from his own regiment. They were a class regiment comprising eight companies of Hazaras. According to Hazara community leader Sardar Sa'adat Ali Hazara, "Among those who were recruited in various arms of the Indian Defence Services during World War II in 1939 was Gen Musa Khan. He later became the commander-in-chief of Pakistan Army, and was honoured for his services in the 1965 war against India."

Unfortunately, the persecution of Hazaras began in Pakistan in 1998 with the assassination of Gen Musa Khan's son Hassan Musa in Karachi. On July 4, 2003, 53 people died and 150 were hurt in a suicide attack on a Hazara mosque in Quetta. It was the first attack of its kind. Since then, more than 700 Shias, most of them Hazaras, have been killed in gun attacks, rocket attacks, mass killings and suicide bombings in Balochistan.

Banned militant outfits have threatened to make Pakistan "a graveyard for the Shia Hazaras" and have asked them to leave the country by 2012.

"The locations of the hideouts and training camps of the groups involved in attacks on Hazaras are not secret," Sardar Sa'adat said. "The government and the law-enforcement agencies seem to have no interest in protecting us."

The Hazara people are not allowed in certain parts of Quetta, including the Sariyab Road where Balochistan University is situated.

According to Asmat Yari, the president of Hazara Students Federation (HSF), "Almost 75% of Hazara students have quit the university and those who remain cannot attend classes because of fear." School attendance has also decreased by 10 percent this year, and college attendance by 25 percent. Parents do not let their children take exams in centers outside of the areas deemed safe for the Hazaras.

Thousands of young Hazaras have fled to Europe and Australia, often illegally, to escape the oppression. On December 20, 54 Hazara boys drowned when their boat sank near Java, Indonesia. Only seven bodies have been received so far. Another 23 Hazaras drowned near Malaysia on February 1.

"That the Hazara young men chose to leave Pakistan by taking such grave risks," the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan sad in a statement, "is a measure of the persecution the Hazara community has long faced in Balochistan."

Saleem Javed is a medical doctor by profession and a freelance journalist based in Quetta. He blogs at saleemjavid.wordpress.com and tweets @mSaleemJaved

Friday Times

Thursday, March 1, 2012

رضا رضایی در 12 بهترین ستاره افغان 2011

Why We Couldn't Change Afghanistan

The West's military engagement in Afghanistan is entering its eleventh year and has another two years to go before the end of combat operations in 2014. Whatever the result of the international conferences that began last year in Istanbul and Bonn to elicit support for a successor state, one thing is clear: after Western forces draw down, Afghanistan won't bear much resemblance to the Western vision that fueled the intervention in the first place. However effective Western military organizations are in transitioning to Afghan control, the country's future will not be decided primarily by the residual structures and legacies of Western involvement, the current Taliban insurgency or even any formal process of reconciliation. Rather, it will be decided more by the country's ethnic character, the particular nature of local and national governance, and the influence of neighboring powers with enduring geopolitical and strategic imperatives in the region far stronger than those of the West.In other words, the future of Afghanistan will be determined by forces that antedate the latest Western effort to direct a turbulent area--and which probably will long survive this and future efforts to dominate the country. (An analysis closer to ground reality)...Continue Reading...

Incoming - Afghan Ski Challenge!

Second running of ski-touring race in war-torn Afghanistan supported by Canadian outdoors brand, Arc'teryx

by Jon

We doubt many of you are about to down tools and fly out to Afghanistan for the second Afghan Ski Challenge next weekend, but it's kind of uplifting to learn that the war-torn country is hosting a ski touring race in the Bamiyan region.

Bamiyan was once known worldwide for its giant statues of Buddha, but since they were destroyed and despite the war not affecting the region otherwise since 2001, the area has lost its tourist income and become desperately poor with visitor numbers shrinking from 150,000 per year to virtually nil.

It does, however, have perfect ski conditions and last year a small team formed from employees at Swiss Neue Zürcher Zeitung newspaper and local ski enthusiasts from Afghanistan decided to found the Bamiyan Ski Club and launch the first Afghan Ski Challenge – a backcountry ski touring race.

Last year ten locals learned to ski and competed in the first Afghan Ski Challenge, but this year, the event is open to international competitors for the first time with an entry fee of $500 which will be donated to local sports and educational projects in Afghanistan. You do get a limited edition event jacket though.

There's no mobile phone coverage or mountain rescue and local facilities are best decribed as basic, with 'rustic accommodation' and poor medical back-up and it's a long way to go for a 5km ski race, but it should be something you'll never forget.

The Afghan Ski Challenge takes place on 2 March, 2012 and you can find full details at www.afghanskichallenge.com.


Outdoor Magic

Afghanistan avalanches kill at least 36 in central regions

By GHANIZADA - Wed Feb 29, 10:12 am

According to local officials in central Bamiyan and Daikundi provinces of Afghanistan, at least 36 Afghans were killed following winter freeze and avallanche incidents in these regions.
Provincial governor for Daikundi province Salman Ali Uruzgani said, at least 11 people were killed and 5 others were injured following avalanche breakups in various regions of Daikundi province.

He also added, two Afghan women and eight Afghan kids were also killed following winter feeze in this province.

Daikundi provincial governor Salman Ali Uruzgani also said, the highway between Daikundi to Neeli was closed until Tuesday.

In the meantime Bamiyan provincial governor Habiba Surabi said, at least 15 people suffered from avalanche in this province.

Provincial officials in Bamiyan province earlier also announced at least 30,000 Afghan families in 240 villages were threatened by shortage of drinking water.

Bamiyan governor Habiba Surabi warned of a catastrophe in this province if the central government does not take actions.

She urged the Natural Disasters Department to step up actions for resolving the issues of this province but officials in Natural Disasters Department said the such issues will be resolved by Rural Development Ministry.

According to reports, highways between Daikundi and Bamiyan provinces have been blocked due to heavy snow fall, which has affected the food prices as well.

Khaama Press

Mullah Omar Farman Plans to Destroy the Hazara Cultural and Historical Monument of the Buddahs of Bamiyan

Mullah Omar’s Farman (Official Order) to Taliban – A copy of this document (written in Pushto) was secured from Taliban’s Dept of Interior Ministry after US bombing in late 2001. The document is an order/policy by Mullah Omar to the Taliban commanders. Read the original order copy and translation on Afghanistan Press...