Ashraf Frough, a disabled Afghan writer looks for books at a bookstore in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, Dec.11, 2021. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)
The unexpected U.S. troop withdrawal left nothing but chaos, hunger and poverty in the impoverished nation, forcing everyone to fight for a loaf of bread to survive, said Ashraf Frough, a disabled Afghan writer. "But I want to keep the spirit of culture and literature alive in my country."
KABUL, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- The love for literature has inspired Ashraf Frough, a disabled Afghan writer, to continue writing and publishing books, when Afghanistan is mired in a dire economy.
Crippled with both legs, Frough living within an eight-member family continues to write books to promote literature and arts.
Since the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban in mid-August and the formation of the Taliban-led caretaker government on Sept. 7, the war-torn country has been suffering economic woes with tens of thousands of people forced to flee Afghanistan.
When Frough was only 10 years old, he was seriously wounded by shrapnel of a rocket in the spine, which paralyzed him.
"The 20-year war and conflicts had a very negative impact on all aspects of Afghans' lives, especially the writers and book publishers. I have published three books and my two books were published after the Taliban's takeover," Frough told Xinhua.
"The publication and writing of books is the only way to cure my pains after my disability," he said.
Ashraf Frough, a disabled Afghan writer reads a book at a bookstore in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, on Dec.11, 2021. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)
The two-decade war and bloodshed deprived authors and publishers of chances to work for the promotion of book-reading and literature in Afghanistan.
"The peace has returned after decades of conflicts but the war and poverty still have a huge negative effect on the literature and culture, as you know following the change of regime this summer, hundreds of Afghan historians, writers and cultural figures had left Afghanistan," he said.
"All these prompt me to make my mind to continue writing and publication," the wheelchair author said, adding that plenty of unfinished works in literature and language remained.
As a Kabul University student in language and literature, Frough chose to stay in Kabul after the U.S. and NATO forces abruptly withdrew from Afghanistan in late August. He stayed at home, continued writing and publishing books.
Interested in writing love stories, the disabled writer has published three of his storybooks, two of them "Letters of Malila" and "Khar-i-Isa" (Jesus's Donkey) after the Taliban's takeover.
After being critically injured when his house was hit by a rocket, Frough has been immersed in reading and writing books.
The young man calls on Afghan artists and writers to get together, keeping the country's culture and literature alive.
"I am doing my best to keep our culture and literature alive as I did during the last 20 years," he said.
The unexpected U.S. troop withdrawal left nothing but chaos, hunger and poverty in the impoverished nation, forcing everyone to fight for a loaf of bread to survive, said Frough. "But I want to keep the spirit of culture and literature alive in my country."
Photo taken on Dec. 11, 2021 shows Ashraf Frough, a disabled Afghan writer looks for book at a bookstore in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)
Nasir Maqsoudi, owner of Maqsoudi Publishing House which has published the storybook of Khar-i-Isa, said war, conflicts, the COVID-19 pandemic and droughts have worsened the economic plight of Afghans.
"The war and conflict had discouraged the business of publication in Afghanistan for so long," Maqsoudi said.
Chief Editor of the Darwaz Publishing Center Tareq told Xinhua that it will take time for the publication to return to normal in Afghanistan.
"People cannot afford daily necessities and basic commodities now, so how could they buy books?" the publisher said. ■