Sports | April 28, 2009 | Comment on this video (13)

Paragliding Above the Afghan War

samthefrench
In a country torn by war, where helicopters and gunships dominate the skies, one brave Afghan has found a new way to fly. VC2 producer Sam French joins Ahmad Jawed Nijrabi, Afghanistan's first paraglider, as he takes wing and soars above the strife below.
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    Sports,   On Current TV,   VC2 on TV,   Best of TV US,   2 more
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    Sports,  War,  On Current TV,  VC2 on TV,  5 more
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13 comments // Paragliding Above the Afghan War // Video

  • Hskysafaris
  • samthefrench
  • cairo926
    • 0
      cairo926  

    • I can't even imagine the peace he finds suspended above all the chaos on the ground... his story is great! wonderful video, Sam!

    • 2 years ago
  • becktionary83
  • Mobius2012
    • 0
      Mobius2012  

    • America needs to get the Hell out of there and leave these people alone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE HAVE GANGS HERE IN AMERICA THAT TERRORIZE NEIGHBORHOODS, BUT NO ONE IS HERE POLICING AND OCCUPYING OUR COUNTRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WTF?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    • 2 years ago
  • admd
  • samthefrench
    • 0
      samthefrench  
    • admd:

      No, unfortunately I didn't get to fly -- I was going to, but chickened out at the last minute. I didn't really feel like throwing myself off the top of a mountain without at least a little instruction. I think I'm going to try and do it this summer...

    • 2 years ago
  • samthefrench
    • 0
      samthefrench  

    • Thank you, everyone. Jawed is such a great guy, and he is now struggling to get paragliding registered here as an official sport, so he can get funding from the government. As I'm sure you'll imagine, this is a tough process, especially here in Afghanistan, where paragliding is not much of a priority. The sad thing is, even though he has graduated from school with a major in economics, he can't find work. Unfortunately, this is an endemic problem for an entire generation of Afghans. But watching him soar, it certainly does give me hope for the future of the country, and I'm glad to share his story.

    • 2 years ago
  • ashgallagher
  • jvd
    • 0
      jvd  

    • This is absolutely amazing! We need more stories of the real people of Afghanistan - their daily lives and inspirations. Well done!

    • 2 years ago
  • tomofnorthcal
  • Snuff99
  • RepressThis
    • 0
      RepressThis  

    • This perspective is absolutely stunning. brilliant. I'm gonna add a gold stars sticker right next to your name. Did anyone catch Ahmad ramming a sheep on his landing approach?--aaaamazing.

    • 2 years ago
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