My Account
A journalist who escaped Afghanistan on the last NZ Defence Force flight out is now one of the Hibiscus Coast’s premier cricketers.
Wasim Bahawalzai, aged 26, was one of two Afghans who took up an offer of support from the Hibiscus Coast Cricket club.
Wasim fled his country in August last year as the Taliban regime took over because he worked for the state-run radio television station, RTA. He says the media were an early target of the new regime.
He was able to obtain a Visa because he was engaged to an Afghan NZ citizen, Razia, who is now his wife.
Joining Razia in Auckland meant waiting for a space on the Defence Force’s emergency evacuation flights from the capital, Kabul.
After finding one flight full, he got up early on the morning of August 23 and left home in the dark, with just the clothes he wore and a small bag of personal items.
“My parents and sisters were sleeping, and I didn’t get to say goodbye to them,” Wasim says. “I didn’t know whether I’d get on the flight and didn’t want to wake them or see the tears in their eyes. My 12-year-old brother was up and I told him goodbye.”
The NZ soldiers helped him on to the last flight out, which stopped in Dubai and Australia on the way.
A depressing 14-day Covid-19 quarantine in an Auckland hotel followed.
“It was very hard leaving behind my country, my family and colleagues and my dream of continuing my journalism career. I was very sad and for about a month I didn’t know what was going on. I got very depressed in the hotel by myself.”
After quarantine he was able to join Razia.
Hibiscus Coast Cricket manager Gair McSkimming said he reached out to the Afghan community and offered free fees and cricket gear to anyone who escaped Kabul on that final flight, because he felt for their plight and wanted to help.
Wasim took up the offer, because he had played cricket at university and also covered sport as part of his role with RTA television.
“I only told the club/board about this offer after I had made it,” Gair admits. “I would have paid the fees myself but the club agreed we should do it.”
He says although Wasim had never been coached, or even practised in a net before, he proved to have natural talent and was promoted in record time to the premier men’s team, making his debut with them on Saturday, October 22.
He earned selection as a bowling all-rounder through both taking wickets and making runs in pre-season games.
Wasim is now a trainee mechanic in Auckland, learning a new skill while he works on his English in hope of going back into journalism.
He is in touch with his family in Kabul regularly, and fears for them, especially his father whose company has worked on projects for the United Nations and the US.
“When he walks out of the house each day, they never know whether he’ll come back,” Wasim says.
His four sisters now can’t attend school, and spend their days at home.
“I encourage them to be patient and say one day they will have a chance at freedom and to study again,” Wasim says. “But of course no one knows what will happen.”
He hopes immigration will let his family join him here one day.
“New Zealand is my second home and Hibiscus Cricket is a big part of making me feel so welcome and supported,” he says. “They tell me I have talent and are always positive. I will continue to work and train hard to thank them for having faith in me and giving me this chance.”
