Afghan surfer rides wave of hope away from ‘locked' land
Chennai:
In a country without a coastline, the idea of surfing might seem absurd. Even more so in a nation that has endured decades of war. But for Afridun Amu, Afghanistan's first international surfer, the waves are a form of resilience: a way to reclaim joy, identity, and hope for the next generation of Afghans scattered across the world.
War forced 38-year-old Afridun to leave Afghanistan when he was five. He learnt to surf in several countries and used the sport to connect Afghans who, like him, were forced to seek refuge. Afridun, who is now a dual citizen of Afghanistan and Germany, is the only competitor representing his motherland in the ongoing Asian Surfing Championships in Mamallapuram. Two of his teammates could not get their visas for the continental event.
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'I want to keep Afghan surfing alive. If we had more athletes here, I probably would not even have participated. Since nobody received the visa, I wanted Afghanistan to be a part of it. I want to present a different image of Afghanistan. Most stories about the country have been focused on war, human rights violations and terrorism.
While these are part of Afghanistan's reality, it's not the whole story. Showing that there is more to Afghanistan than just conflict is a key motivation for me,' Afridun told TOI .
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In 2018, Afridun organised a nationallevel event and that was probably the first time a surfing competition was held in the country. 'Although Afghanistan is a landlocked country, it has many rivers. There are decent static waves. Since the situation changed dramatically in 2021, there has been little scope to explore further.'
Afridun has taken multiple steps to bring the Afghan surfers from across the world together. One such step was the formation of the Wave Riders Association of Afghanistan in 2012.
Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
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