Afghanistan Memory Home

Afghanistan Memory Home's

Afghanistan Oral History

A vital digital archive dedicated to preserving the lived experiences of those affected by decades of conflict and displacement. These in-depth interviews, conducted with survivors, witnesses, and families, form a comprehensive record of stories that must not be forgotten.

6 Interviews
3 Embroidery works

Interviews

Explore oral histories in the collection

Dr. Amin Ahmadi
Dr. Amin AhmadiJune 14, 2023

The Day the Sky Fell Silent

A Mother's Account of the Dasht-e-Barchi Attack

Fatima Rezaie recounts the devastating suicide bombing at the Mawoud Academy educational center in Dasht-e-Barchi, Kabul, on August 15, 2018. She describes the morning her daughter left for her university entrance exam preparation class and never returned. Fatima details the chaotic hours that followed — the frantic phone calls, the overwhelmed hospitals, and the moment she identified her daughter's belongings among the wreckage. She reflects on the Hazara community's resilience in the face of repeated targeted attacks, the failure of security forces to protect civilians, and the lasting psychological impact on families who lost children that day.

Interviewed by Hamid Fidel
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Dr. Abdul Wahab Mohammadi
Dr. Abdul Wahab MohammadiSeptember 22, 2023

Surviving the Kunduz Hospital Airstrike

A Surgeon's Testimony

Dr. Abdul Wahab Mohammadi provides a harrowing first-person account of the U.S. airstrike on the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) trauma center in Kunduz on October 3, 2015. As a surgeon on duty that night, he describes the moment the first bomb hit, the desperate attempts to move patients to safety, and the decision to continue operating by flashlight as the building burned around them. He discusses the aftermath — the international outcry, the investigation, and what he calls the 'hollow apology' — and reflects on the destruction of the only trauma center serving northeastern Afghanistan.

Interviewed by Kazim Ehsan
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Mariam Hussaini
Mariam HussainiJanuary 8, 2024

Forty Years of Displacement

From Bamiyan to Quetta and Back Again

Mariam Hussaini traces four decades of displacement that began when Soviet forces destroyed her family's village in Bamiyan province in 1983. She describes the journey to Pakistan as a child, growing up in Quetta's Hazara enclave, surviving the targeted killings of Hazaras in Balochistan, and her eventual return to Afghanistan in 2005 — only to be displaced again after the Taliban's return in 2021. Her testimony captures the cyclical nature of conflict and displacement that has defined the Afghan experience across generations.

Interviewed by Hamid Fidel
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Khan Mohammad Wardak
Khan Mohammad WardakNovember 3, 2023

The Night Raid

When American Forces Came to Our Village

Khan Mohammad Wardak recounts the devastating night raid by U.S. Special Forces on his family compound in Wardak province in February 2013. He describes being woken by explosions, the killing of his brother and nephew who were mistaken for combatants, and the aftermath of filing complaints through Afghan government channels with no resolution. His account illuminates the human cost of counterinsurgency operations and the erosion of trust between rural communities and international forces.

Interviewed by Hamid Fidel
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Zahra Ahmadi
Zahra AhmadiMarch 15, 2024

The Last Class

A Student's Memory of the Sayed ul-Shuhada School Attack

Zahra Ahmadi was a tenth-grade student at the Sayed ul-Shuhada school in Dasht-e-Barchi, Kabul, when a series of car bombs exploded outside the school gates on May 8, 2021, killing at least 90 people, mostly schoolgirls. She describes the blast that threw her across the classroom, waking up surrounded by her injured classmates, and the long recovery from shrapnel wounds. Her testimony addresses the targeting of Hazara educational institutions, the resilience of female students who returned to school despite threats, and the ultimate closure of girls' schools after the Taliban takeover just three months later.

Interviewed by Hamid Fidel
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Noor Ahmad Noori
Noor Ahmad NooriMay 20, 2024

The Journalist's Burden

Documenting War While Living It

Noor Ahmad Noori spent twenty years as a journalist covering the Afghan conflict for local and international media. He discusses the impossible ethical choices of conflict journalism — deciding which atrocities to cover, negotiating access with armed groups, and carrying the weight of stories he witnessed but couldn't change. He recounts specific incidents including the 2016 attack on the American University of Afghanistan, the collapse of Ghazni city in 2018, and the final days before the Taliban takeover. His testimony is a reflection on the role of media in conflict zones and the personal cost of bearing witness.

Interviewed by Kazim Ehsan
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Embroidery

Selected embroidered works with hoverable elements and interpretive annotations

Threads of Memory

Threads of Memory

A mother's world stitched in thread

Open artwork
Locked Out

Locked Out

When the school gates closed

Open artwork
Garden After Ash

Garden After Ash

Rebuilding life through ornament

Open artwork