Basir Ahang ( prs, بصیر آهنگ) is a Hazara

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and

human rights activist A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...

from Afghanistan. He obtained political refugee status in Italy and lives in the United Kingdom.

Biography

An ethnic Hazara, Ahang received his diploma from Mir Adina High School in

Malistan Malistan or Malestan ( prs, مالستان) is a town and the district center of Malistan District, Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. It is situated in its southwestern part at at 2,969 m altitude. Once the town was a bazaar. See also * Malistan ...

Ghazni Ghazni ( prs, غزنی, ps, غزني), historically known as Ghaznain () or Ghazna (), also transliterated as Ghuznee, and anciently known as Alexandria in Opiana ( gr, Αλεξάνδρεια Ωπιανή), is a city in southeastern Afghanistan ...

, and received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

Literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

from

Kabul University Kabul University (KU; prs, دانشگاه کابل, translit= Dāneshgāh-e-Kābul; ps, د کابل پوهنتون, translit=Da Kābul Pohantūn) is one of the major and oldest institutions of higher education in Afghanistan. It is in the 3rd ...

in 2007. While studying at Kabul University, Ahang has been collaborating with different national and international media.

Fleeing Afghanistan

After receiving security alerts for his activities in Afghanistan, Basir Ahang moved to Italy In 2008 where he continued his studies in

International Relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

Padua University The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from B ...

. In 2009, after being informed about the condition of the Afghanistan

asylum seekers An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and mi ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, he went to

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city with a team of MSF (doctors without borders) and Italian

advocates An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

and journalists. His first reports in Persian published in Kabul Press, and in Italian on Italian news websites, shocked everyone, as no one had such first-person detailed reports from refugees and asylum seekers in Greece that far. Basir Ahang is a member of the

International Federation of Journalists The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is the largest global union federation of journalists' trade unions in the world. It represents more than 600,000 media workers from 187 organisations in 146 countries. The IFJ is an associate ...

since January 2009. On March 31, 2009, the

Italian parliament The Italian Parliament ( it, Parlamento italiano) is the national parliament of the Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1943), the transitiona ...

showed a reaction to one of his reports on the misbehavior of Italian police with a minor named Ali Dad who was thirteen. The parliament asked the authorities to pursue the case. Basir Ahang made a documentary about the

refugees A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

and asylum seekers in Greece and after a part of this documentary was broadcast on Rai,"1" Italy's public television, it caught the attention of journalists and human rights organizations and they were pushed to go to Greece to be able to see the condition of refugees and the violation of their rights and report on it. After these events in May 2009, some lawyers and human rights activists filed a complaint in the

European Human Rights Court The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a c ...

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, against the Italian and the Greek governments for their misbehavior and violation of refugees' rights in these two countries. In the summer of 2021, his family successfully fled Afghanistan and joined Ahang in Italy.

Writing and journalistic activities

Ahang has written hundreds of reports on refugees and their legal rights,

women rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

and

human rights violation Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

in Afghanistan. Ahan publishes in Persian, Italian and English. In 2013 the

Aljazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...

website has named him the Expert on refugees' issues. Basir Ahang has participated in several conferences on refugees, women's rights, and Afghanistan crisis. Throughout the 2021 withdrawal of NATO troops from Afrangistan, Ahang was interviewed by global media organizations to provide context on the situation.

References

External links

Basir Ahang's personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahang, Basir 1984 births Afghan journalists Living people Hazara poets Hazara journalists Experts on refugees