Student avoids suicide bombings and kidnappings in Kabul

Canterbury student avoids suicide bombings and kidnappings in Kabul while during research

April 29, 2015

A University of Canterbury student who has just graduated with a commerce degree completed much of his thesis in Afghanistan, avoiding suicide bombings and kidnappings.

Najib Hedayatullah gives his own insight of what he had to face along his journey of gaining a Master of Commerce from the University of Canterbury. Gaining his masters degree is a great achievement, especially given the challenges he faced writing it up from Kabul.

Najib was a refugee and came to Christchurch from Afghanistan as a teenage refugee and had to make his own way. His supervisor Associate Professor Colleen Mills says Najib went from repeatedly failing to get a bachelors degree to achieving an honours degree then a masters.

“He is an inspirational young man. I met him as a 300-level student who was determined to succeed even though it was very tough studying in English and running his business to make ends meet.”

Najib says his life changed in the early 1990s when the warlords broke into Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. During the factional fighting that followed many atrocities were committed and about 60,000 Kabulis were killed.

“I along with my parents both of whom were civil servants had to leave Afghanistan and moved to Pakistan. After living there for a few years, my parents realised that there was no light at the end of the tunnel not only for our family but for the whole country, therefore we had to leave Pakistan as well.

“They decided to send me out to New Zealand to. I moved to NZ and became an asylum seeker and eventually was accepted as a refugee in my new home.

“I chose to live with a Kiwi family to better understand the New Zealand culture. I learnt the New Zealand way of life and how to support myself in a country thousands of kilometres away from the protective arms of my parents.

The main reason I chose New Zealand was to bring the rest of the family out of danger, so with the help of my host family and their family lawyer I succeeded to bring my parents and a brother and sister to Christchurch as well.

“Although it was not easy to find jobs in a new country, in a completely different culture and language, I managed to find two jobs and I worked hard to ensure that I provided the basic life necessities for my family upon their arrival.

“I will never forget the day I received a letter from Immigration New Zealand confirming that my family could join me in New Zealand, which was the happiest moment of my life and my biggest achievement, saving my family.

“I then decided to continue my education and because I was away from school for a long time and due to my lack of English I did not do very well during the first years at university. Eventually I adjusted myself into the new life as a student and I managed to receive my first undergraduate degree majoring in management and information systems and accounting, I then received two more postgraduate degrees including a Master of Commerce.

“As I was analysing data for my thesis Afghanistan was going through elections which was an opportunity for my home country to head down a path of stability and prosperity. I had the choice of staying in peaceful Christchurch and continue my research or to go to Kabul and participate in the historical and transformational event. With my wife and two children - eight months and two years old ­ - I became part of a movement which assisted the nation in taking on democracy.

“I now have a job as advisor to the director-general and the chief executive of the Afghanistan Railway Authority. I am also the project manager of a $20 million project for the management, operation, maintenance and training of people involved in the Afghanistan rail line.

“During my stay in Kabul and in the course of my University of Canterbury research analysis I faced many problems such as no electricity. Billions of dollars of aid poured into Afghanistan but because of widespread corruption, Afghanistan still does not have good electricity generating plants. They import electricity from the neighbouring counties. Security was another challenge, suicide bombings and kidnappings were major worries.

“Every morning when I was leaving home I was not sure if I would get back home alive. So the above factors had put me under enormous mental pressure, but when I was thinking why I was in that country it was worth it.

“Although my family and I are now back living in Christchurch I am going back to Afghanistan to assist technocrats following the election and continue my work in assisting Afghanistan building its first railway network of 6200km.

“According to the strategic plan of the new government this network will be the backbone for turning Afghanistan to a transportation hub linking China to the Middle East and Europe and linking central Asian states to southern Asian countries.

“As I enter a business career, based in Christchurch, I am grateful to the University of Canterbury and staff who have been fantastic for helping me achieve my goals.”

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