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Ahmad Shah Massoud (September 2, 1953 – September 9, 2001) was an Afghan political and military leader who was a powerful military commander during the resistance against the Soviet occupation between 1979 and 1989 and in the following years of civil war. He was assassinated on September 9, 2001. (wikipedia)



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After the Soviet occupation of 1979, his role as an insurgent leader earned him the nickname of "Lion of Panjshir" among his followers. In 1992, after he disturbed the UN plan to install an interim government to replace that of President Mohammad Najibullah, he was appointed as the minister of defense through the Peshawar Accord... (wikipedia)

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The Nomad and the Bearer of Light

Amy Bucci
National Geographic
May 13, 2009


I hate war. That’s why I’m drawn to it. I’m waging a war against war. – Reza

Self-described nomad, photographer, and National Geographic fellow Reza Deghati was in D.C. to give a National Geographic Live! talk at headquarters. In his new book, War and Peace: A Photographer’s Journey, Reza details his decades-long odyssey since exile from Iran.



In the book, Reza refers to the late Afghan resistance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud as “the Bearer of Light.” Over coffee, I asked Reza about his deep friendship with Massoud and about his own efforts—inspired in part by the man known as the “Lion of Panjshir”—to empower and educate Afghan women and children.

“In each nation, each region, you find layers of people who make history,” Reza told me. “Some work at the level of families—a father, a mother, a family leader. Some change the history of a city, a country. Then there are the people that are beyond all these. They come once every century or two. They bring the whole story together and turn the page. When I first met Massoud in 1985, within a few days, I recognized: I’m with one of them.”

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“Years later,” said Reza, “Massoud was fighting again, but everything had changed. He was fighting al Qaeda and the Taliban. He had no backing from anyone.

“Even then, in the worst moments, surrounded by enemies, he insisted that education continue. He took me to a facility where he was training his soldiers to become peace officers, police, in a liberated Kabul.



“Massoud was offered refuge with his family, escape. He removed the hat he wore everywhere and stood on it. ‘As long as there’s this much space for me in Afghanistan,’ he said, ‘I’ll stay.’ And instead of retreating, he had his family flown by helicopter to him—he was that confident of victory.

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Reza carries on the educational work that Massoud began, planting the seeds, he hopes, of a free and peaceful Afghanistan. The non-profit Reza created, Aïna, trains Afghan journalists, produces a radio broadcast by and for Afghan women, and publishes the first magazine for Afghan children. “Journalism and education,” Reza says, “are the two vectors that will change the world.”

http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/

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The attackers claimed to be Belgians originally from Morocco. Their passports turned out to be stolen and their nationality was later determined to be Tunisian. Waiting for almost three weeks (during which they also interviewed Burhanuddin Rabbani and Abdul Rasul Sayyaf) for an interview opportunity, on September 8, 2001, an aide to Massoud recalls the would-be suicide attackers "were so worried" and threatened to leave if the interview did not happen in the next 24 hours (until September 10, 2001). They were finally granted an interview. During the interview, they set off a bomb composed of explosives hidden in the camera and in a battery-pack belt.

Commander Massoud died in a helicopter that was taking him to an Indian military field hospital at Farkor in nearby Tajikistan. The explosion also killed Mohammed Asim Suhail, a United Front official, while Mohammad Fahim Dashty and Massoud Khalili were injured. One of the suicide attackers, Bouraoui, was killed by the explosion, while Dahmane Abd al-Sattar was captured and shot while trying to escape.

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    "Massoud is adamant that in Afghanistan women have suffered oppression for generations. He says that 'the cultural environment of the country suffocates women. But the Taliban exacerbate this with oppression.' His most ambitious project is to shatter this cultural prejudice and so give more space, freedom and equality to women—they would have the same rights as men." —Pepe Escobar, in 'Massoud: From Warrior to Statesman'

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