A struggling nation’s pity for a victorious champion
Alireza Asahi was a world bodybuilding champion who died in Kabul on January 23.
Heroes who make great sacrifices often stir collective emotions by their lives, struggles, or deaths. Upon their death, their companions and supporters lament their inability to help them in their lifetime.
The path of heroism is fraught with hardships, yet it offers unparalleled joy and achievement. When we hear their stories, we should not feel guilty for not being by their side during their struggles. If their pain brought value to society, we should feel proud and celebrate their strength, focus, and determination. There is no need to shed tears over their struggles or spend excessively on monuments and tributes. Instead, it is better to learn from them when pursuing our own goals.
Alireza Asahi, the bodybuilding champion who passed away on January 23, sacrificed his comfort and that of his family to achieve global recognition. He could have attended more to the needs of his children if family comfort had taken precedence over his championship goals. A master of karate, judo, taekwondo, and bodybuilding, Asahi might have derived a steady income inside Afghanistan from his talents, like many athletes in the country who make a living through teaching and performing.
Every major and life-defining choice comes with a cost. Asahi understood his environment well. He was aware that his country lacked a democratic system, discrimination was rampant, the masses faced countless struggles, and that society was gripped by a profound crisis.
Honouring Asahi’s work and accomplishments is commendable. However, portraying him as a victim of an ungrateful nation is counterproductive. It may unnecessarily instill feelings of guilt in compatriots who bear no responsibility for the challenges he faced. It is not the nation’s fault that Asahi’s children did not have enough to eat. Nobody forced him to disrupt his family’s peace in pursuit of a global weightlifting medal. Those were his choices; fortunately, his wife and children supported him.
The Asahi family deserves support. If wealthy individuals and sports organizations now support Asahi’s family to recognize what they sacrificed for his heroic journey, then they are doing the right thing. But the people need not grieve over his family’s struggles or blame themselves as a neglectful nation.
The nation bears far greater burdens than that of only the Asahi family’s struggles. Today, tens of thousands of teachers battle hunger. Millions of labourers and farmers toil day and night and can’t get enough dry bread to feed their hungry families.
Millions of girls and women are imprisoned behind the walls of their homes. Their identities and personhood are “legally” denied, they are given no opportunity to express themselves, and some are forcibly married against their will. Thousands of writers, journalists, and political activists are silenced, denied any chance to voice their thoughts and opinions. What would Alireza Asahi have done if sports had been closed off during his entire life?
Asahi was fortunate to have the opportunity to participate in international competitions in 2023 and 2024, years when millions of his compatriots were denied the right to enter stadiums. During the nights and days when some compatriots reflect on the tears of a sports champion, thousands of others endure torture in Taliban prisons, with some dying due to their captors’ brutality.
Champions deserve applause rather than pity. Our energy must be focused on dismantling the barriers that stifle the talents of our people. The archaic Taliban rule and our failure to establish a national democratic government are the root causes of our individual and collective suffering. Those with education, resources, energy, and the passion for doing good must not forget that no act of charity is as beneficial as fighting for freedom, education, and democracy.
Let us unite, form organizations, and support anti-Taliban movements to overthrow this source of our misery. Only then will schools and sports facilities reopen so we can once again witness the flourishing of talent across Afghanistan.
The struggle to establish a government based on law and the respect for the fundamental rights of the people is our most important mission. Under Taliban rule, Asahi’s children will not have a bright future, even if their financial problems are resolved. While assisting the Asahi family to provide educational opportunities for his children is commendable, such individual efforts will not lift us from the quagmire of hunger and tyranny.
Today’s Afghanistan is full of potential talents and heroes who are withering under the shadow of the Taliban tyranny. Let us hope for the day when we become a heroic nation by liberating ourselves from yoke or tyranny and oppression.
Younus Negah is a researcher and writer from Afghanistan who is currently in exile in Turkey.