It is a sad reality that there is only so much headline space in the global news. As the war in Ukraine continues to cause food and energy prices around the world to rise, other humanitarian crises have been overlooked.

The ongoing situation in Afghanistan is one of them.   

To highlight the urgency of a crisis that does not always make the front page, Ciné-ONU screened the BAFTA-nominated film, My Childhood, My Country – 20 Years in Afghanistan, with One World and the British Embassy in Belgium on 26 April.

Co-filmed and co-directed by British filmmaker Phil Grabsky and Afghan filmmaker Shoaib Sharifi, the intimate documentary follows the protagonist Mir’s journey over twenty years in one of the most embattled corners of the globe.  

The screening was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Arni Snaevarr, Desk Officer for the Nordic Countries at the UN’s Regional Information Centre in Brussels.   

“In my very first take, this little kid, Mir, looked straight down the lens,” said Phil Grabsky about the moment that sparked a twenty-year partnership with Mir Hussain.

“I realized, this film should be about this little boy because he projects you, the audience, to think about the future. It was the best decision I ever made as a filmmaker, to follow his life.”  

Another panelist, Tomáš Kocián, of People in Need, said, “Life in Afghanistan has changed dramatically for people in a good way. These 20 years were not wasted.” 

Marianne Clark-Hattingh, Deputy Director of UNICEF Brussels, highlighted the urgent need to protect human rights.

“We do not want to reverse the gains in women’s and girl’s rights achieved over the last 20 years,” she said. “We want women and girls to be able to progress, to get jobs, and to be active members in society.” 

British Deputy Ambassador to Belgium Chloe Louter said, “During the period under the forces in Afghanistan, there were so many gains in education, literacy rates, maternal health, child mortality. Whilst you could say we are now losing all that, the fact is that people have now experienced this and they had a right to these things, and they still have a right to these things.”

“I think this will give them hope for the future.”