Remembering Afghan journalist Sardar Ahmad
The Twitter account of Sardar Ahmad, killed in the attack on the Serena hotel in Kabul, is being used to keep memories of the Afghan journalist alive and to update people on the health of his son.
Ahmad, a journalist with Agence France-Presse (AFP), was shot dead along with his wife and two of their three children in the attack on Thursday. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, and later retracted its statement as condemnation of the brutal attack grew.
Nine people were killed in the attack.
On Monday, Irina Bokova, director-general of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ONESCO) said Ahmad’s loss would be felt “keenly”.
She said: “His loss will be keenly felt by all those courageous media workers striving for this goal, too often at the risk of their lives.
“I urge the Afghan authorities to do their utmost to bring those responsible for this crime to justice.”
Abuzar, Ahmad’s two-year-old son, was hit with five bullets, and is currently in hospital.
However, updates on Abuzar’s condition are now being tweeted by Ahmad’s friends, using the Twitter account Ahmad used to tweet from – @Pressistan.
The most recent tweet, posted on Monday, reports that Abuzar is in “better health” and had “asked for his ‘mother’ when he opened his eyes”.
We -Sardar’s family- declare that his wounded son is in better health condition today. He asked for his “mother” when opened eyes. :(
— Kabul Pressistan (@Pressistan) March 24, 2014
Ahmad and his family were buried on Sunday, something that was also tweeted from the @Pressistan account.
However, what can also be seen via the @Pressistan account is Ahmad’s love for his country and the job he was doing.
Tweets, often using the hashtag #DailyLifeKabul, paint an evocative portrayal of Ahmad#s city. You can see some of Ahmad’s tweets in the clickable gallery below.