AP

From Serbia, Afghan boxers seek refuge, careers in West

Dec 4, 2021, 9:22 AM | Updated: 11:27 pm

A member of the Afghan national boxing team trains during a session in local gym in Serbia, Wednesd...

A member of the Afghan national boxing team trains during a session in local gym in Serbia, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. They practiced in secrecy and sneaked out of Afghanistan to be able to compete at an international championship. Now, the Afghan boxing team are seeking refuge in the West to be able to continue both their careers and lives without danger or fear. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

(AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)


              Members of the Afghan national boxing team rest after a training session in local gym in Serbia, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. They practiced in secrecy and sneaked out of Afghanistan to be able to compete at an international championship. Now, the Afghan boxing team are seeking refuge in the West to be able to continue both their careers and lives without danger or fear. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
            
              A member of the Afghan national boxing team attends a training session in local gym in Serbia, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. They practiced in secrecy and sneaked out of Afghanistan to be able to compete at an international championship. Now, the Afghan boxing team are seeking refuge in the West to be able to continue both their careers and lives without danger or fear. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
            
              A member of the Afghan national boxing team attends a training session in local gym in Serbia, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. They practiced in secrecy and sneaked out of Afghanistan to be able to compete at an international championship. Now, the Afghan boxing team are seeking refuge in the West to be able to continue both their careers and lives without danger or fear. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
            
              Members of the Afghan national boxing team attend a training session in local gym in Serbia, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. They practiced in secrecy and sneaked out of Afghanistan to be able to compete at an international championship. Now, the Afghan boxing team are seeking refuge in the West to be able to continue both their careers and lives without danger or fear. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
            
              A member of the Afghan national boxing team trains during a session in local gym in Serbia, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. They practiced in secrecy and sneaked out of Afghanistan to be able to compete at an international championship. Now, the Afghan boxing team are seeking refuge in the West to be able to continue both their careers and lives without danger or fear. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
            
              A member of the Afghan national boxing team trains during a session in local gym in Serbia, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. They practiced in secrecy and sneaked out of Afghanistan to be able to compete at an international championship. Now, the Afghan boxing team are seeking refuge in the West to be able to continue both their careers and lives without danger or fear. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
            
              A member of the Afghan national boxing team attends a training session in local gym in Serbia, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. They practiced in secrecy and sneaked out of Afghanistan to be able to compete at an international championship. Now, the Afghan boxing team are seeking refuge in the West to be able to continue both their careers and lives without danger or fear. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
            
              A member of the Afghan national boxing team trains during a session in local gym in Serbia, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. They practiced in secrecy and sneaked out of Afghanistan to be able to compete at an international championship. Now, the Afghan boxing team are seeking refuge in the West to be able to continue both their careers and lives without danger or fear. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
            
              Members of the Afghan national boxing team stretch during a session in local gym in Serbia, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. They practiced in secrecy and sneaked out of Afghanistan to be able to compete at an international championship. Now, the Afghan boxing team are seeking refuge in the West to be able to continue both their careers and lives without danger or fear. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
            
              A member of the Afghan national boxing team attends a training session in local gym in Serbia, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. They practiced in secrecy and sneaked out of Afghanistan to be able to compete at an international championship. Now, the Afghan boxing team are seeking refuge in the West to be able to continue both their careers and lives without danger or fear. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
            
              Secretary General of Afghanistan's boxing federation Waheedullah Hameedi, right, gives instructions to members of the Afghan national boxing team during a training session in local gym in Serbia, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. They practiced in secrecy and sneaked out of Afghanistan to be able to compete at an international championship. Now, the Afghan boxing team are seeking refuge in the West to be able to continue both their careers and lives without danger or fear.  (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
            
              A member of the Afghan national boxing team trains during a session in local gym in Serbia, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. They practiced in secrecy and sneaked out of Afghanistan to be able to compete at an international championship. Now, the Afghan boxing team are seeking refuge in the West to be able to continue both their careers and lives without danger or fear. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
            
              A member of the Afghan national boxing team trains during a session in local gym in Serbia, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. They practiced in secrecy and sneaked out of Afghanistan to be able to compete at an international championship. Now, the Afghan boxing team are seeking refuge in the West to be able to continue both their careers and lives without danger or fear. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — They practiced in secret and struggled to get to an international tournament in Europe. Now, members of the Afghan national boxing team are seeking refuge in the West, hoping to continue both their careers and their lives without danger or fear.

The Afghan boxers, their coach and a top boxing federation official remained in Serbia after the AIBA World Boxing Championships finished in early November, saying they could face retribution from the Taliban if they returned home.

“When the Taliban regime came to Afghanistan, everything became changed,” Waheedullah Hameedi, the secretary general of Afghanistan’s boxing federation, said. “It was difficult to come for a world championship during the new regime, the new government.”

The team has contacted several foreign embassies about securing humanitarian visas and asylum protection. Some European Union nations have turned them down, but the 11-member group has not given up hope of finding a safe haven.

Tens of thousands of Afghans, including athletes, have fled the country since troops from the United States and other foreign nations pulled out in August and the Taliban took over. Hameedi said the Taliban do not approve of boxing, and team members stand little chance of pursuing their careers freely in Afghanistan.

“As you know, the situation in Afghanistan is very tough, very bad,” he said, speaking in English. “They (Taliban) didn’t allow in first days to continue the boxing and open the gym. Everyone was afraid to go anywhere for boxing or for anything else.”

Hameedi’s father, a previous secretary general of the Afghan Boxing Federation, was gunned down in 2019 by unknown assailants. After the national team participated in the Asian Boxing Championships in Dubai in May, Hameedi was determined to take his boxers to Serbia for the world championships in late October.

Boxing was banned in Afghanistan during the Taliban’s previous rule in 1996-2001. While its leaders have sought to portray themselves as more tolerant this time around, Hameedi insisted the officials and boxers have faced threats and feared for their safety.

“Boxing is ‘haram’ for them (Taliban,) something in Islam that is illegal for them,” he said.

Ahead of the trip to Serbia, the boxers trained at hidden locations and tried to stay under the radar, hiding their plan to compete in the international tournament, Hameedi said. They managed to get visas to go to Iran, and once in Tehran they applied for visas at the Serbian Embassy before rushing on to Belgrade, he said.

The 11 Afghan boxers competed in Serbia as part of a 14-member “fair chance” team sponsored by the International Boxing Association for refugees and other athletes who had to flee their countries, said Hameedi.

The group’s Serbian visas have since expired. Hameedi said friends and relatives warned them not to return to Afghanistan. While thousands of migrants and refugees arrive in Serbia, most do so planning to continue on to countries in Western Europe where it is easier to find jobs and make a living.

‘We hope we will receive visas as soon as possible so there is no problem in Serbia,” Hameedi said.” We can leave easily to some safe country and their future will be granted.”

Hameedi said he, the coach and the nine boxers who still are with them in Serbia do not want to cross borders illegally to reach Western Europe, but neither have they applied for asylum in the Balkan nation.

Attorney Marko Stambuk, who works with the Belgrade Center for Human Rights, said the Afghan boxers contacted the organization and have been informed about their options for seeking asylum in Serbia.

Stambuk acknowledged that the boxers fear the return to Afghanistan because of the Taliban policies and a generally volatile situation. They are “aware of their rights and obligations (in Serbia), and now they are thinking of what to do next,” he said.

Amid the uncertainty, the boxers have continued training in local gyms. Hasibullah Malikzadah, 20, said he is afraid to go back to Afghanistan and wants to continue boxing somewhere else.

“I want to be good champion,” and a role model for children around the world, he said after a practice session. “I really want this. I really have a good dream.”

___

Follow AP’s global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

1 day ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

1 day ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

1 day ago

islamic state attack...

Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press

What we know after the Islamic State group claims responsibility for Moscow massacre

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people.

5 days ago

Moscow shooting...

The Associated Press

Russia: 60 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility

Assailants burst into a concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing over 60 people, injuring more than 100.

7 days ago

Photo: Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge visits 282 (East Ham) Squadron, RAF Air Cadets, Cornwel...

Associated Press

Kate Middleton announces she has cancer, is undergoing chemotherapy

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, says she is undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer. She has been out of view since Christmas.

7 days ago

From Serbia, Afghan boxers seek refuge, careers in West