Coca Cola Newsletter

Posted May 31, 2006

Arian Nawabi Shares Sights and Sounds from Afghanistan
Arian Nawabi, Field Service Manager, Supply Chain, just returned from Kabul, Afghanistan, where he was a volunteer for the Afghan Youth Sports Exchange, a non-profit group that is using sports as a tool to promote leadership among children in Afghanistan. He shares insights from his first trip to his native country in 24 years, where he also had a chance to visit with family.

"I brought back 2,000 photos from the recent trip to my native country, Afghanistan, but what I remember most are not images, but sounds—sounds of teenage girls laughing and yelling as they competed at soccer.

Hearing girls yelling and shouting isn’t unusual to us in the U.S., but only four years ago, these girls in Afghanistan couldn’t walk outside, couldn’t get medical help if they needed it and couldn’t go to school. Now they have the freedom not only to play soccer, but to vocally express their passion for the game. The highlight of our session was the day that I first heard them begin to shout and show their team spirit, after so much apprehension. It is hard to express how amazing it was to them.

I worked as a coach at a soccer camp organized by the Afghan Youth Sports Exchange, which was held in Kabul, the capital city. Our group worked with about 200 girls, aged 13 to 20. Physical education teachers and coaches also attended the camp, which was a combination of field time to learn soccer skills, and lesson time, focusing on their ability to overcome adversity. The finale was a huge tournament at the National Soccer Stadium.

These girls have just recently been allowed to go to school again, and they are learning soccer with their physical education teachers at school. But for most, this was their first time playing on a grass field. They usually play in the gymnasiums at school, or on dirt fields.

We really focused on the message that “you can succeed through education, and through sports—but you have to have the education.”
Schools for girls were closed under the Taliban regime, and now that they are allowed to go, the grade levels are not necessarily in line with the ages you would expect. There were 20-year-old girls in our group, because now that they are allowed back in school, age is not a factor to them—they want the education.

The schools also asked me and my fellow coaches for assistance. In addition to the camp, we visited four schools to work with the physical education teachers on soccer skills. The Afghan Youth Sports Exchange brought donated school supplies with them from the United States to give to the girls, and each girl also received her own soccer ball.

There is an enormous amount of change and building going on in Afghanistan—and people are optimistic and positive. The girls have passion about the sport of soccer, and about being in school. They are making tremendous strides, but still girls are not given as many opportunities as boys, and this camp, I think, opened some eyes to what girls can do.

Reuniting with Family

I left Afghanistan in 1982, and because of nearly continuous war, I had not been able to return until now. I used this time to volunteer and to reunite with family members who are still there. I visited two sisters, a brother, cousins, aunts and uncles—most of whom I had not seen in 24 years. My father disappeared years ago after being held as a political prisoner. While in Afghanistan, I had the opportunity to visit the prison where he was last held, and since then, I have really felt at peace.

The visit also gave me such an appreciation of what we have in the United States, and I am humbled and so thankful. My family in Afghanistan does not have refrigeration or hot water and only has electricity for three hours a day.

It was an amazing and very emotional time, landing at the airport and going first back to the home where I was born. It exceeded all of my expectations and I fell in love again with the people of Afghanistan."

* The camp was filmed by an ESPN crew that is making a documentary on The Afghan Youth Sports Exchange to be aired July 16 during the ESPY Awards.