The Other Side of the Sky

When Ahmedi informed her father that she was going back to wearing Afghan clothes, he told her and her mother to go to the bazaar and pick out fabric. He would make her all new clothes of her own, so she did not need to borrow her older sister’s. New clothes have special importance in Afghanistan, so this was a significant gesture on her father’s part. Spending the morning in the bazaar with her mother also allowed Ahmedi to reconnect with Afghan culture again—she was so relieved and relaxed to feel her heart warm again that she hardly noticed the sound of traffic, gunfire, and rocket explosions. They returned from the bazaar, however, to discover that a rocket had hit their home and killed Ahmedi’s father and sisters. Grief stricken, the family had lost everything. Days after the rocket killed Ahmedi’s family, the mujahideen retreated from Kabul, leaving the capital city to the Taliban. Combined, these two events would forever change the family.

The Taliban’s presence meant that Ahmedi and her mother could not go out into the city without a male escort, which meant they became dependent upon the assistance and generosity of neighbors. Word soon came that the Taliban were conscripting all males as young as seven into their army.