Gol Ahmad, “the Grandad”

 by Julia Terner, SolidarityNow intern – trainee

Referred to as ‘The Grandad’, Gol Ahmad is the only elderly person living in Elefsina camp. He is staying there with his son and three grandchildren. Often sitting on a bench on the terrace outside the camp building, he is always smiling and ready to say ‘kalimera’ (good morning) to those who pass him by. I ask him why he likes sitting outside: “because of the fresh weather out here… for me, it’s better to sit in an open space and to smell the fresh air.”

Gol Ahmad was born and grew up in Kabul. His clearest memories centre on school: he and his siblings would wake up, wash their hands and go to school. In the evenings they would come home, eat, work for a few hours and sleep. I ask him what he did when he wasn’t in school. He responds, “I was always going to school. My parents did not allow me not to go to school!”. Gol Ahmad stayed in the capital as an adult. He had a very small room in his home, the walls of which were made of mud. “It was a lovely room. I put up the certificates of my school graduations and pictures of my wife and there were lots of books which I read.” Over his lifetime, Gol Ahmad has seen the city change considerably: “It’s really changed since I was a child. Now you can see the high buildings. In Kabul, there are lots of new cars and everything has changed. And of course, there is a war, with bomb blasts that destroy everything.”

Gol Ahmad worked for forty years in two government ministries in Kabul, the Ministry for Social Workers and the Ministry for Work. Starting from humble beginnings, he rose the ranks to become a General Manager. “There were steps to become manager. I started from the bottom step and I made it. There weren’t any more steps to go on.” I tell him he must have what it takes! “Same to you”, he quips. Despite struggling with prostate cancer and memory problems, Gol Ahmad still has his wits about him, evident in his bright eyes and ability to keep himself going in difficult surroundings. This energetic quality must have been spotted by his employers in Afghanistan: “my job was for forty years and after that they said ‘Ok, you can retire’ but then the minister said ‘No, we need him! He has to work!’ So, I made another contract for two years, and at the end of that they extended my contract for another two years.”

Gol Ahmad’s eyes light up when talk turns to his grandchildren, Ramin, Rubineh and Anliah. “They are well-mannered, they are hard workers, that’s why I really love them.” Due to his health conditions, and the fact that he is a widower, Gol Ahmad depends heavily on his son and grandchildren in the camp: “they bring me everything like food, my medicine and they bring me tea whenever I need.” He laughs when I tell him he’s a lucky man to have a tea delivery service. Gol Ahmad is similarly encouraging of his children when it comes to their careers. I ask him what he thinks they will do when they grow up and he tells me “it depends on their own wishes, their own choices. But they are talented. One grandson is studying Engineering in Austria.” Gol Ahmad is confident that whatever they choose to do, they will do well in. He has clearly passed on his strong work ethic to his grandchildren.

Talking to the granddad of the camp causes one to reflect on the power and value of family, and their importance in such challenging settings. “Now, I’m alone in here because I lost my wife. If they weren’t here then I wouldn’t be able to survive, they are the ones who look after me.”