The interview I conducted went very well as I believe I came out of the interview with a plethora of knowledge of not just someone’s personal story about a life-changing uprising, but also about a vital historical event that forever transformed the history of Herat, Afghanistan. I think the openness of my uncle in telling certain details of the story surprised me because I did not expect him to discuss that many of his memories about violent occurrences and bloodshed. I think next time, I would set up a video camera to record his facial expressions, pauses, and changing posture when telling his story because I think that would add an interesting element to the literary journalism piece overall. A follow-up question I’d like to ask is how this interview that brought up such brutal memories affected him—whether adversely or in a positive way—because I know that this event (24th Hoot uprising) is one that my uncle and anyone else in my family do not really bring up unless asked about.
I knew that my uncle had numerous different war stories from growing up in a nation inflicted with war, but after this interview, I realized that within story he chose to tell me—the story of the 24th Hoot uprising—lies many stories of their own. My interview subject told me stories about internal battles and changes when he experienced certain things throughout the uprising. He was a young boy—aged 13—at the time of the war event, but the things he saw forever changed him in that they cultivated in him a desire to help people in whichever way he can—a quality that I see very evident in him today. The events also made him realize that he needs to leave Afghanistan and ultimately pushed him and his family towards escaping a nation ridden with bloodshed—which eventually led my family to immigrate to America (but the story stops after the desire to escape is established). This story is thus, a story of identity transformation and a story of how resisting ultimately led someone to realize the state of his country had gotten so depleted and corrupted with war that he had leave for the mere purpose of making it out alive.
I think towards the end of the interview my uncle put a lot of emphasis on how this event changed how he viewed people in need and made him want to help innocent victims of war and corruption in whichever way he could after leaving and how witnessing such horrific brutality affected him. Therefore, I want to write about a story of his identity transformation but also include elements of how what began as resistance made him see his war-torn reality in a new light—one that made him realize that there was no place in Afghanistan for him and his family if they wanted to survive. My uncle has a lot of different war stories, including his immigration story, but when I asked him what he’d personally like to tell, he suggested we talk about this particular event because it not only changed him but it was also crucial to the resistance movements in Afghanistan overall. Thus, I want to highlight how in the midst of resistance and violence, as a young boy who was exposed to horrid violence, my uncle’s identity and outlook on war and resistance changed and shaped him to the person he is today—which is reflected in his personality and lifestyle.
Like in any interview, the interviewer still doesn’t have every single answer to the questions in their minds. I think after conducting this interview, I don’t know how telling the story and freshening the memories of the violence and injustice he witnessed affects him. I wonder if talking about it eases the burden of holding innumerable memories of the events to himself. Or, does talking about it bring up pain from the past and images he may have tried to erase from his mind? These are questions that I don’t know the answer to, but could probably get the answer to by following up.
In order to better show my subject’s story, I need additional research on the historical/political history behind the uprising. I think by researching the nature of the Communist-infiltrated government in Afghanistan and how it came to power and how citizens were affected by it, I could supplement my uncle’s account of the history and better show his story, rather than merely telling it. The two books I checked out from the library contain valuable information about this history and the political nature of this uprising in Herat, and therefore, I could use those books and perhaps some online resources to conduct this additional research.
Image: Herat’s War Museum showcases exhibits that depict the 24th Hoot Uprising
War: Through the Eyes of Humans 