Afghan refugee and journalist in Halifax fears for those who could not escape | The Canadian News

An Afghan refugee and journalist who recently arrived in Halifax is happy to have a safe place to live, but cannot stop thinking about his friends and colleagues who are suffering in his home country.

Mahboob Elahi Mahzooz, 32, along with his wife and two children, arrived in Halifax earlier this month, along with 100 other refugees fleeing the violence and unrest in Afghanistan.

Mahzooz, who worked since 2018 as a foreign news journalist at a television station covering NATO conferences in Kabul, said his work made him a target.

“Sometimes I was conducting exclusive interviews with foreign diplomats, ambassadors, based in Kabul,” he said in a recent interview with Global News.

“It was interesting, but full of risks.”

Even before the Taliban took office in August, journalism in Afghanistan was a risky job.

While on an assignment in 2019, Mahzooz went to an air base with an American general to work on a story. It was his first time in a helicopter, he took pictures and posted them on social media.

“After that, I received a lot of threats: threats to be an aide to the US forces, to the NATO forces,” he said.

“I was frustrated but did not give up on such claims because all the claims about me were baseless and unfounded.”

As his reports continued to put him in danger, he said that one of his sources he met at work helped him evacuate Afghanistan on August 13 this year, two days before the fall of Kabul.

From there, he spent time in Qatar, Germany and Kosovo before finally landing in Halifax earlier this month.

“It was a long journey, full of ups and downs,” he said.

‘They are suffering a lot’

Now staying safely at a Halifax hotel with his family, Mahzooz is concerned for the lives of journalists in Afghanistan and everyone else who was not lucky enough to escape.

“I am safe, in one of the safest countries in the world, but things at home make me sad. Even sometimes, tears fall, ”he said.

“My colleagues who worked in the same department as me, my fellow journalists, are suffering a lot. Some of them were arrested and tortured and were detained for some time ”.

As Global News previously reported, the Taliban, seeking international aid and recognition, have been trying to show a friendly face to foreign reporters. Mahzooz said that has not been the case for Afghan journalists working on the ground.

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He said many of his colleagues have lost their jobs and are struggling to survive during the country’s economic crisis.

“They are suffering the hardest situation of their lives and now they are in very difficult conditions,” he said.

According to the organization for the defense of freedom of the press Reporters Without Borders, 40 percent of Afghan media outlets have shut down and more than 80 percent of female journalists have lost their jobs since the Taliban took power. About 50 percent of male journalists also lost their jobs.

Even those who managed to keep their jobs face ongoing security problems. Mahzooz said some of his colleagues were detained and their equipment broke while they were working.

Furthermore, they are afraid to write or post online about their struggles due to fear of retaliation.

“Freedom of expression and freedom of the media are violated.” he said. “The media have no freedom.”

Now that the threat from the Taliban is no longer looming over him, Mahzooz is speaking out to raise awareness of the conditions Afghan journalists face in their home countries.

Before speaking to Global, Mahzooz said that he reached out to some of his friends to let them know that he had an interview.

“Trust me, they cried,” he said. “They cried and said to me, ‘Mahboob, please raise your voice for us to evacuate.’

He said he will continue to speak on their behalf to try to get more Afghan journalists to safety.

Meanwhile, Mahzooz and his family are settling into their new life in Canada. They are working to finish their paperwork and find a permanent home and job.

“At the moment, Halifax is a good fit for me as well as my family,” he said. “They like the place here, the sightseeing, the markets and the shops. Totally, the whole environment. “

‘Heartbreaking stories’

Jennifer Watts, executive director of the Nova Scotia Immigrant Services Association, the organization that helps settle new refugees, said she recently had the opportunity to meet with Mahzooz and was touched by his story.

“It’s a very compelling story,” he said.

“Like many refugees from around the world, and certainly the particular situation that refugees leaving Afghanistan have, these are very difficult and heartbreaking stories about the need to leave in very difficult conditions and leave family and friends behind.”

Watts said it is common for the refugees the organization works with to feel sadness about what continues to happen in their home countries.

“Often there is nothing you can do and yet you know the situation your family and friends live in, and you hear it on the news all the time, and that creates an extra layer of stress when you are trying to settle down. in a new country, ”he said.

“You are very grateful to be here, although knowing that you have this opportunity where others do not have it, to live safely.”

This can have “quite a significant impact” on their mental health, he said, noting that ISANS has a number of supports available to refugees, including wellness and stress reduction programs, employees trained in trauma-informed approaches, and initiatives to connect refugees with their new communities.

Watts said it is important for people living in a safe country like Canada to listen to the stories of refugees, if they feel comfortable enough to share them, to better understand their experiences.

“The stories that refugees bring us are very, very important, and it is important that we are prepared to take the time to listen to them,” he said.

“It helps us understand the responsibilities we have in the world to support people living in difficult situations, but also to earn our own appreciation for many of the things we have here.”