The return of the puritanical Taliban to power in Afghanistan put an end to the dreams of snowboarders Musawer Khanzai and Nasima Zirak, sending them fleeing into exile.
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00:00When I was in Afghanistan, it was the snowboard that put me in danger, and on the other side
00:26it was also the snowboard that saved my life, and thanks to that now I'm here.
00:33And that's why I never think I'm going to stop, but I'm going to keep going.
00:42I just did it for fun with the local people, to just let them try snowboarding.
00:49In Afghanistan, we use snowboarding as a weapon to fight against the negativity in the country,
01:04because Afghanistan had been through 40 years of civil war, and we're just trying to make a change
01:10with something very fun that people would accept it, and through that we would go and tell them,
01:15hey, it's not war anymore, we have to enjoy, we have to live, it's not the time to survive.
01:20So that was pretty fun for us, and I feel always the same, the freedom when you get in the snow
01:26and the whiteness that you have, it feels amazing, obviously.
01:36Manuela, have you been riding today?
01:38Yeah.
01:39It wasn't a good day to ride and film, but...
01:43Normally, you're always going to ride late at this time.
01:51These young people that I met 5 days ago, who were fans of snowboarding like me,
01:55I really wanted to help them, because for me it was insane, in 2021,
02:01to be threatened for doing sport, which is a sport that brought me everything.
02:08Are we ready, Michel?
02:11Basically, it's an opportunity to be here, and not to be in Afghanistan,
02:16because I know that the situation in Afghanistan for women and girls,
02:20I can really say it's horrible.
02:26If we talk about rights, there is nothing like a right for women and girls.
02:37For more information, visit www.fema.gov