PUNE: Afghani footballer Haroon Amiri is reachable on his old India number. And this is good news. The defender, who played for Afghanistan in the World Cup qualifier against India in June, moved to Canada only two months ago with his immediate family. Rest of his family members are all ‘safe’ in India.
Amiri is lucky to have ‘escaped’ from Afghanistan way before the Taliban took over, but for the footballer, the wounds of not being able to go back to his homeland will take time to heal.
When Amiri moved to Canada two months ago, he had not thought that things would take such a drastic turn. “I don’t know how things really changed so quickly. I am shocked to see how all this happened,” Amiri, who has represented Indian clubs like Mohun Bagan, Mumbai FC, Chennaiyin FC and Real Kashmir in the past 10 years, told TOI.
“Thank god, me and my family are safe. Half of them are in India and the rest are here in Canada with me,” he said.
During his stints with Indian clubs, Amiri, 31, lived in Pune, Chennai, Mumbai and many other cities for years. He said the Taliban's takeover has pushed Afghanistan backwards. “When the Taliban came first, they destroyed so much, and we took almost 20 years to fix it. Now, the same thing has happened again, so it’s very hard to think where and how we will fix it. We have gone 20 years back,” Amiri said.
Although every day brings some grim news from the country, the death of young national footballer Zaki Anwari shook Amiri from within.
“Honestly, I didn’t know him personally, but I saw him playing a few times. I still can’t believe it. He was such a good kid and it’s shocking for everyone (the way he died),” Amiri said about the young footballer who fell to his death from a US aircraft last week.
Technically, Amiri is still part of the Afghanistan national team. However, playing again for the country seems impossible now. “We don’t know what’s going to happen to the country, so it’s too early to talk about the national team. I don’t know what the future of Afghani football is. I hope that football doesn’t get affected,” Amiri added.
Though he has been living and playing in Canada and India, Amiri still hasn’t changed his nationality.
“My status is simple: I am still an Afghani citizen and hold an Afghani passport. I haven’t applied for citizenship in any country yet, so let’s see what happens,” Amiri said, adding: “But I am sure they (Canada) are going to extend my visa when it is due. Going back to Afghanistan now is next to impossible. Having said that, I will always try to help my people whenever they need me,” he said.
