Breakdancing in Kabul: A Coping Mechanism for Generations Growing up in War

The Pul-e-Sukhta bridge in West Kabul separates two completely different worlds. The chaotic norm of daily Afghan life overlooking a dried-up river bank is contrasted with a dark scene under the bridge of thousands of drug users huddled over heroin, meth, and opium. At a corner joining both worlds, last year breakdancer Sajad Temurian met his father for the last time.

Temurian’s father, Habibullah, was a chronic drug user in the Pul-e-Sukhta area, a well-known meeting point for dealers and users from across Afghanistan. Temurian would find his father there whenever he did not return home. Sometimes his father would disappear for months.

The last time he saw his father, Temurian barely recognized him. “His bones were out of his body,” he said. “The drugs forced it to the point where he was barely eating or drinking, and so his body gave way.”

In their last moments together, he recalled his father thanking him apologetically and wishing him a better life. As they parted ways, he knew instinctively that this would probably be the last time he would ever see his father alive.