Taliban Hunts for Young Afghan Messi And His Family

A then five-year-old Murtaza Ahmadi experienced the happiest day of his life in December 2016 when he entered the Doha soccer stadium hand in hand with his hero, Lionel Messi. Lionel Messi came to know Murtaza through a photo of Murtaza kicking a ball in a shirt made of nothing but a plastic bag made of Argentina's blue and white colors, with "Messi" and "10" penned on the shirt. The photo went viral and grabbed world headlines. France Presse subsequently chose the image as Photo of the Year. Messi saw the picture and sent Murtaza signed Barcelona and Argentina national jerseys.

Murtaza, now seven, was invited by the organizers of the Qatar 2022 World Cup to meet Messi in person at a friendly match between Barcelona and Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia. Murtaza fulfilled his dream but the fame came at a steep price. His family, being members of the Hazara ethnic minority from Jaghori district in the central province of Ghazni, was persecuted by the Taliban. His family have lived in the fear that the Taliban would try to abduct Murtaza for two years now.

The Ahmadi family was recently forced to flee Jaghori for a refugee camp in Kabul, leaving without their possessions. They were forced to leave behind the ball and jerseys Messi offered Murtaza and only received them after they had fled. During their flight to Kabul, Murtaza's mum covered Murtaza's face with a veil so he'd be unrecognizable.

Murtaza's mum, Shafiqa told Sputnik, "It was very hard for us to live in Jaghori (Ghazni Province). When Murtaza became world famous, there wasn't a single place where we could safely appear. Neither Murtaza, nor my other children could go to school safely. At night, some people were hanging around our home, so we couldn't go outside. When the Taliban attacked Jaghori, it became even more dangerous for us to stay there."

Murtaza's mum hopes Messi will someday help their family once more. Young Messi, Murtaza, told Sputnik, "I love Messi very much. He told me to play football like him."

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