In his dozen years in the military, Chris Shirley never actually deployed to Afghanistan. Now that he has visited the country, he’s set up a foundation to do more for young Afghan athletes. He spoke to Mark Rowe.
I assumed beforehand that Chris had set up The Hiatus Foundation as a result of serving in the country; not so, and that was only the first assumption proved wrong. Within the first month of life as a consultant, after leaving the military in 2016, he had an invitation to Afghanistan to work, and he found the country ‘hugely interesting’.
Those months ‘scratched the curiosity itch’ as he put it; and stories he heard made him want to do more. He makes the valid point that if we hear news about Afghanistan, it’s bad news – some Taliban attack. Chris points to, and pictures on The Hiatus Foundation’s website show, an equally valid picture of Afghanistan; young men looking to express themselves through the fringe, new and cool pastimes of mountain biking, free-running and parkour. If you have not heard of some or any of them, have a look on Youtube, for that is the sort of place where Afghan millennial men are learning.
The aim of Chris’ foundation; to recycle your sports kit, by sending it to an Afghan. The idea arose when Chris appealed through social media for people’s no longer wanted Go-Pro cameras. rather than them sitting unused about the house, they can be put to good use in Afghanistan. And thanks to social media, you can see the person in Afghanistan who uses it. Some mainstream sports that Afghans are playing you may well know – cricket (the national team having won many friends from playing in the ICC World Cup in England this summer), football and rugby; also pastimes you might not associated with Afghanistan, such as roller-blading.
This adds up, as Chris says, to a richer picture of life in Afghanistan; mountain biking, marathon running (which Chris has done in Afghanistan), skiing and mountain climbing. On a more general note, parts of Afghanistan are quite safe to walk in; so rather than the country relying on hand-outs from the international community, it can go beyond, standing on its own two feet, with tourism, and investment, Chris suggests.
In case you are thinking that promoting sport in Afghanistan is wishy-washy, consider why youth takes up the likes of parkour and mountain biking, in any place, rather than even longer-running team sports, let alone other cultural pastimes. It’s not only for the sport itself as an outlet for physical energy, but for other things; the competition within rules, the chance to gain the respect of your peers.
Photo of Kabul athlete; courtesy of The Hiatus Foundation.
