Library built to honor Hazara victims of Afghanistan bombing

By Bilal Guler

KABUL, Afghanistan (AA) - A modest library has been established in the Afghanistan capital to honor Hazara victims killed in a suicide bomb attack on an education center.

The attack occurred Sept. 30 at the Kaaj Education Center in the Dasht-e Barchi neighborhood -- a predominantly Hazara neighborhood.

At least 53 people were killed, including 46 Hazara girls.

Hazara is an ethnic minority group that has suffered oppression.

Halid Nura, who is also Hazara, took action to keep the memory of the victims alive.

Nura founded the Kaaj Library in the Kot-e Sangi neighborhood in western Kabul.

Nura and three girls who witnessed the attack told Anadolu Agency they will never forget friends who were killed in the blast and will not allow others to forget.

Nura said he will expand the library he built with his individual effort. He noted the violence against Hazaras will not intimidate the group and that members will maintain their faith with the same devotion.

He described the moment he received news of the explosion.

"For a moment, my eyes were blacked out. I felt as if the suicide attack had taken place right next to my ear. I fell into depression and couldn't get over it for days,” he said.

The library has a memorial corner with pictures of the victims. In addition, there are framed photographs of the victims on the shelves among the books.

The library, which contains nearly 3,000 books in Persian and English, from science to art, is expanding daily with book donations.

-‘Let's keep them alive until we can’

Sabrina Sharifi, Besire Fitret and Fereshte Timuri are among the victims of the blast. The girls, who sustained injuries, met at the library and recounted the good times they spent with friends.

The three said the attack left deep impressions and they would protect the library to keep the memory of their friends alive and would bring everyone they know to the facility.

Sabrina Sharifi, 18, lost her cousin and best friend, Shabnam Bakhtiari, who was preparing for a university exam.

The establishment of a library in memory of the victims made her happy.

"They are gone, but this is not the end. They will always be with us. They will live in our hearts. Let's keep them alive until we can." she said.

She added that she would make her cousin's dreams come true by earning a degree in psychology at a university in Kabul.

*Writing by Seda Sevencan in Istanbul