THE AFGHAN EXODUS: ORAL HISTORIES OF AFGHAN REFUGEES DURING THE
1980’S SOVIET OCCUPATION OF AFGHANISTAN
Aideen Aisha Rahimi
B.A., Saint Mary’s College of California, Moraga, 2005
PROJECT
Submitted in partial satisfaction of
the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
in
HISTORY
at
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO
FALL
2009
THE AFGHAN EXODUS: ORAL HISTORIES OF AFGHAN REFUGEES DURING
THE 1980’S SOVIET OCCUPATION OF AFGHANISTAN
A Project
by
Aideen Aisha Rahimi
Approved by:
____________________, Committee Chair
Christopher J. Castaneda
____________________, Second Reader
Patrick Ettinger
____________________
Date
ii
Student: Aideen Aisha Rahimi
I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University format
manual, and that this project is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to be awarded for
the Project.
__________________________, Graduate Coordinator
Mona Siegel
Department of History
iii
________________
Date
Abstract
of
THE AFGHAN EXODUS: ORAL HISTORIES OF AFGHAN REFUGEES DURING THE
1980’S SOVIET OCCUPATION OF AFGHANISTAN
by
Aideen Aisha Rahimi
Statement of Problem:
Afghans for most of recorded history have been an isolated and non-migratory
people. This began to change in the late 1970’s when the government’s shift to
communism and the Soviet invasion in December 1979 caused more than half of the
population in Afghanistan to flee and eventually scatter all over the world. Many Afghans
immigrated to the United States, and as with many immigrants before them Afghans are
beginning to change the culture of America by mixing their traditions with the culture of
their new home. This project involves recording the experiences of some of these Afghan
refugees as they fled Afghanistan and as they settled in the United States.
Sources of Data:
Oral histories were obtained from interviews with four Afghan refugees who
emigrated during this historical period of Afghan exodus in the 1980’s. Two of the
interviewees are family members of the author. Secondary materials were obtained from
the California State University Libraries and from the online archives of local and
national periodicals and journal resources.
Conclusions Reached:
This project provides additional research material for scholars interested in the
events surrounding the migration of Afghans during the Soviet occupation of
Afghanistan. The project successfully recorded and preserved individual experiences to
complement written documentation regarding the flight of Afghans to Pakistan and then
to the United States.
____________________, Committee Chair
Christopher J. Castaneda
_______________________
Date
iv
DEDICATION
I would like to dedicate this to my mother, Bibi Rahimi. Without her help this project
would not have been possible and without her courage I would not be here today.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Dedication ................................................................................................................................. v
Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION……………....……………………………………………………….. 1
Significance of Project ................................................................................................ 3
Objectives of Project .................................................................................................... 3
Research Method ......................................................................................................... 4
2. ORAL HISTORY METHODOLOGY ............................................................................... 7
Developing and Completing an Oral History Project .................................................. 7
Obtaining Narrators ..................................................................................................... 7
Conducting Interviews ............................................................................................... 10
Transcribing and Editing Interviews .......................................................................... 12
3. HISTORICAL CONTEXT ............................................................................................... 14
Origins of Communist Power in Modern Afghanistan .............................................. 14
Era of Mohammed Da’ud Khan and the Soviet Influence ......................................... 16
Communist Coup, Soviet Invasion, and Resistance .................................................. 18
Brief History of Afghan Emigration .......................................................................... 21
Afghan Refugees in the United States ....................................................................... 23
4. NARRATORS’ PERSPECTIVE ...................................................................................... 26
Project Themes .......................................................................................................... 26
Narrators’ Exodus from Afghanistan ......................................................................... 26
Life in Pakistan .......................................................................................................... 28
Afghan Women .......................................................................................................... 30
Resettlement and Adjustment to Life in the United States ........................................ 31
4. CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................. 35
Limitation and Strengths ............................................................................................ 35
Unplanned Discoveries .............................................................................................. 36
Recommendations ...................................................................................................... 38
Contributions to History ............................................................................................ 38
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Appendix A. Mission Statement .............................................................................................. 40
Appendix B. Sample Biographical Sketch Form .................................................................... 42
Appendix C. Sample Oral History Release Form .................................................................... 44
Appendix D. Photographs of the Rahimi Family ..................................................................... 46
Appendix E. Bibi Rahimi’s Transcript .................................................................................... 51
Appendix F. Sayed Rahimi’s Transcript .................................................................................. 72
Appendix G. Alia Alcoza’s Transcript .................................................................................... 94
Appendix H. Mohammed Alcoza’s Transcript ...................................................................... 109
Bibliography .......................................................................................................................... 130
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