In early 1997, when the Taliban advanced into the relatively free Mazar-i-sharif, a city in the north of the country, Parweez’s parents made a radical decision. They feared their 16-year-old son would be forced to fight. “They didn’t want to see me armed. ‘You should have a pen in your hands - not a gun,' they said.” Parweez left. Completely alone.
“I passed through at least ten countries before I arrived at the asylum seekers’ registration point in Zevenaar as a minor in 1998. I’m so pleased I was taken care of right away. Luckily, I have not experienced situations like the one taking place now in Ter Apel. The fear the Dutch seem to harbour about asylum seekers is sad to see. It’s mostly ignorance. There is a person behind every asylum seeker. A person with dreams, searching for freedom. I was given opportunities here that I seized. The Netherlands was my new country.”
His dream: to be a doctor
Parweez knew what he wanted from day one in Zevenaar: to become a doctor. “A teacher tried to temper my expectations. I had to learn Dutch first. ‘The road to higher education is very long,’ he said. But I was playing doctor even as a young boy. I’m a bit stubborn. If there is even a 20% chance of achieving something, I’m 120% committed. It has to work then, right? Perseverance and hard work are more important than intelligence in my opinion.”
It worked. And well. In 2010, he graduated from Radboud University as a doctor, defending his PhD thesis seven years later. The role of doctor fitted him like a glove. He has been working at Bravis Hospital as a gastroenterology and liver specialist since late 2019. “I’m in my element here. Bravis is a large yet modest hospital. Brabant’s warmth but with room for development. It suits me to a tee.”
“I’m just doing my job”
Radboud University sees Parweez as an ‘example for the many refugees’ arriving in our country. There are a variety of reasons for nominating him for a special award for graduates who demonstrably inspire society and have the gall to step off the beaten track. “I was really surprised. Why have I been nominated? I’m just doing my job.”
His flight: survival instincts
When Parweez’s parents persuaded him to flee, the teen crossed countless borders. He managed to stay out of Taliban’s clutches in Afghanistan and travelled through Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, the Czech Republic and Germany.
He was arrested several times and, because of falsified travel papers, spent three weeks in prison in Kharkov, the Ukrainian city near the Russian border where the war is now raging. He hid in trains, slept outside and had to deal with people smugglers. “You put your freedom in the hands of strangers who don’t care whether you are hungry or not because you have to.” Survival instincts kept the young Afghan going. “I had to make it; I wanted to live.”
His sorrow: Afghanistan back to where it began
While Parweez has succeeded in building a new life, his motherland has been overrun by the Taliban once again. It fills him with tremendous feeling of helplessness. “It feels like déjà vu. What happened in 1997 is happening again. Everything that had been carefully built up was wiped out. Women’s rights have been crushed. While Afghan girls are so smart and eager to go to school. I have largely cut myself off from social media because I can’t cope with the images from today’s Afghanistan. It hurts too much.”
At the same time, the Bravis doctor remains committed to the Payman foundation he co-founded, a voluntary organisation that raises money for to educate homeless and orphaned children in Afghanistan.
“I went back for six months in 2010 to do my bit. People from Payman sometimes literally took children off the streets and put them in school.” Parweez is also trying to take medical education in Afghanistan to the next level. Although, in the current situation, it is proving very difficult to provide that help.
His happiness: a family of his own
Radboud University praises Parweez as the proverbial ‘glue’ between people. At Bravis Hospital, they know him as a team player. The doctor himself enjoys interacting with patients and performing surgery. This might sound somewhat strange, but analysing and repairing the human body fascinates him immensely. “It's a joy to be involved with.”
What he enjoys most is being at home with wife and two young children. He cherishes and watches over their safety and freedom. And he continues to dream. “Maybe I can do something for the United Nations or the World Health Organization in the future. I’m still a bit of a nomad.”
Radboud alumni award
Radboud University shines a spotlight on former students and graduates who have made outstanding achievements with the Radboud Alumni Award. The award was presented for the first time on 30 September 2022.
This article was written by Franka van der Rijt and was published a few days before the Radboud Alumni Award winner was announced in De Gelderlander.
Photo: front view of De Vereeniging, where the Alumni Awards ceremony took place, Stan Vermeulen. Photo of Koehestanie with the award made by Wouter Doeven for Radboud University.