In January, a nice thing happened in a part of the world where nice things happening is still an unexpected luxury. A picture was posted online of a 5-year-old Afghan boy, Murtaza Ahmadi, wearing a heartbreaking homemade Argentina jersey of soccer star Lionel Messi made out of a blue and white striped plastic bag. The image ricocheted around the internet and made its way all the way to Messi himself, who responded by sending Ahmadi a real signed jersey. It was a nice moment and everyone felt a bit better. On Tuesday, however, the Associated Press reported that the family had attracted the attention of the Taliban and threats by the group had forced Ahmadi and his family to flee their home in Afghanistan and resettle in neighboring Pakistan. The reason for the threats? The Messi jersey.
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Here’s more from the AP after speaking to the boy’s father, Mohammad Arif Ahmadi:
Life became a misery for us,” said Ahmadi, speaking to The Associated Press over the telephone from Quetta. He added that the family didn’t want to leave Afghanistan, but the threats were just getting more and more serious. Ahmadi said he feared that his son Murtaza would be kidnapped after becoming an Internet sensation — both at home in Afghanistan and beyond — after pictures of him wearing a Messi shirt made out of a striped plastic bag went viral.
Ahmadi said that at first he was not sure who was behind all the phone calls, and that he thought it might criminal gangs seeking to extort money and falsely thinking the family might have made lots of cash amid the boy’s international popularity. But he said he realized it was the Taliban after he received a call from a local driver in the area who told him he was bringing him a letter. “It was a letter sent by the Taliban,” Ahmadi said… “In the letter, the Taliban asked why my son was not learning the Quran (Islam’s holy book) in an Islamic school and why I was instead allowing him and encouraging him to play soccer,” he added… “I sold all my belongings and brought my family out of Afghanistan to save my son’s life as well as the lives of the rest of the family,” the father said.
The Almadi family now lives in Quetta, Pakistan; the Taliban has not yet taken responsibility for the threats.
