Mr. Muhiburrahman Muhib is currently living with his wife and two children in Falls Church, Virginia. He holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Pashtu Linguistics and Literature from Kabul University.
Mr. Muhib was born in a remote village in Wardak province. He lost his father when he was three. He says, “life has ever since been a journey of enduring tragedies for our entire family.” He attended an Orphan School in Wardak province along with his older brothers. They excelled in the Orphanage; as the blooming season of their talent and excellence arrived, yet another painful tragedy would hit the core of their family, the loss of a young and aspiring brother. For Mr. Muhib, it is yet an unthinkable tragedy to process to date.
These tragedies and losses made Mr. Muhib write and express his thoughts in writing. He became a poet, a writer, and a translator, having tens of publications. Now and then, he writes poems and short stories for national magazines and journals. He says, “I continued to gather strength from the written expression of painful feelings.” Here is a piece translated from Pashto:
Life, I am afraid of such;
You will hang me by my voice
Make me criminal of dreaming
Stone me with tears
Beat me to the last
Then depart of me
With the increase in violence in our rural province, Mr. Muhib moved to Kabul to continue his education. He attended Habibia High School, one of the country’s oldest and most renowned educational institutions. To meet his family’s needs, Mr. Muhib had to rely on freelance work as a producer with a local radio station called NAWA Radio.
After completing high school, Mr. Muhib pursued a bachelor’s degree in Pashto Linguistics and Literature at Kabul University. In the meantime, to support his family, he started working as a Writer and Coordinator with the BBC, focusing on education programs. The program aired widely in rural areas known as ‘New Home-New Life.’ After completing his bachelor’s degree, Mr. Muhib moved on to pursue a master’s degree in the same field. His thesis was on “the Role of Aesthetics in Pashto Literature.”
Mr. Muhib says, “I always aspired to learn the English language, but it became impossible to dedicate time to English due to my busy schedule. But I managed to learn English through self-learning.”
From 2013 to 2020, Mr. Muhib managed to secure jobs as Education Project Manager at International Rescue Committee, as a Reading Materials Development Specialist with Chemonics International, Inc./USAID’s Resources, Skills, and Capacities in Early Grade Reading (RSC-EGR) project, as a Curriculum Development Specialist at Creative Associates International, Inc./USAID’s Afghan Children Read project and with few other international organizations.
Due to his work for projects associated with the US Government, Mr. Muhib was eligible to apply for the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) and seek a new life in the United States. Mr. Muhib says, “I remain a resolute supporter of expanding educational opportunities for those living on the edge, especially orphan boys and girls in rural areas throughout my life.”
Mr. Muhib wanted to protect his family from another tragedy. In 2019, he applied for the SIV program. He and his family waited for quite a long time with little progress in their application process. With the events of August 15, 2021, unfolding in Kabul, Mr. Muhib had no choice but to reach out to his colleagues for evacuation. He says, “I am thankful that we managed to get through the tragic chaos at the Kabul Airport. I believe it was worth taking the risk, considering how the country turned back on many fronts.”
Mr. Muhib arrived along with his wife and two children in Virginia. They received incredible support from families here in the Falls Church area. Their children are attending school. Mr. Muhib says, “I have sensed living in peace for the first time.”
For the next five years, Mr. Muhib plans to apply to pursue a Ph.D. in education from a high-ranking university here in the United States. He will continue to write poetry and appreciate the practice of beauty in life.
