Farewell Zawia

Farewell Zawia

February 15^th/2021

Living in Afghanistan is not very easy. Especially for those who have spend a long period of time abroad, for studies, work and other reasons. However, everyone returning to Afghanistan finds a reason to make his or her life a bit more tolerable. For me one of those reasons was to work at Zawia Media.

My first experience working at Zawia media was during the summer of 2019. I was offered to work with the award winning documentary filmmaker “Jawed Taiman”, on a documentary for H.E the president of Afghanistan Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai. It was a great opportunity and I said yes to the offer right away. This project was for about a month and one of the most eye-opening and life changing experiences of my life. That is because my sister Zhala and I were working as the researchers for this documentary and we learned a lot about the president, his daily schedule, his education, family and most importantly the way he thinks about the politics of Afghanistan. For me especially his ideas and way of thinking was very inspiring. It inspired me so much that I decided to write my undergraduate degree on “public opinion about Dr. Ashraf Ghani”. After presenting my thesis during my thesis defense, I received very positive feedback from my advisor and other professors of the International and Comparative Politics Department. For all of that I am thankful to the team of people I worked with at Zawia Media.

This year after graduating from the American University of Central Asia with a major in International and Comparative Politics and a minor in Psychology, I returned to Afghanistan for a couple of months to spend sometime with my family and friends and work for sometime before I apply for my Masters Degree. This year for the second time I worked at Zawia Media Empire and it was one of the best things that happened to me while in Kabul. It made life a bit happier and a bit more tolerable. I say that because of the current situation that people deal with on day-to-day bases in Afghanistan and especially in Kabul.

There is no doubt that there are a lot of good opportunities for young people who return to Afghanistan with a degree from a good university abroad. However, the reason I decided to work at Zawia for the time I was in Kabul was because of the amazing young and creative group of people who inspired me every moment of everyday that I spent at Zawia. My office, my boss and colleagues gave me the feeling of “Having a second caring family”. While working at Zawia this year, I worked on a lot of interesting projects namely Healthcare, Security, Governance and a lot more.

Mornings are the best part. Mornings at Zawia starts with the sound of Music clips produced at Zawia, the voices of chitchats in every corner of the office and the smell of freshly brewed coffee. I remember some of the days where my team and I were at the office as early as 5:00am and it was pitch dark because it was during the winter days, but even that had it’s own joy, to wake up that early, make coffees and then off to field work/research. These are some of the things that I think I will miss the most.

There is a lot of stories that I will carry in my journal and in my memories for the rest of my life and I know that every time when I think about them, I will have a big smile on my face. To this I am thankful for the whole Zawia team but especially to Esmat Tarhan, Arif Kamal, Musadeq, Reza Amiri, Shabir Chinar, Edris Azizi, Mansour, Hamed, Mirwais and of course our CEO/Boss for creating this cool, creative and friendly environment for the youth to talk about the beauty of our country, the good things in our country and the kind hearts of our people and reflect them and show them through digital media to the people of Afghanistan and the world.

I am leaving Afghanistan with heavy hearth tomorrow to finish my Masters degree in the field of International Relations and Security and to work as a Program Coordinator for the Global Fellows program at Bard College Center for Civic Engagement. I know that it will be another life changing experience, but I also know that the memories of Zawia and the team I worked with will remain in my thoughts forever. Farewell Zawia jan, this is not a goodbye but, a see you soon.

With love

Zar

By: Zarlasht Sarmast / Former Researcher, Communications and Project Manager at Zawia Media Empire