Meet Afghanistan's First Surf Star
Afri Amu is much more than another ISA competitor, he's bringing hope and joy to his war-torn homeland.
- Published:December 28, 2017
- Views:2,750
“When I am on my board in the water, there are no wandering thoughts in my mind,” explains Afri Amu. “All that I am aware of are the waves, the ocean and the present moment.” Afri is the first surfer from Afghanistan to ever put on a jersey in a major international event. Last May, he represented his homeland at the ISA World Surfing Games. While getting there seemed like a miracle, his stoke and passion proved he was right where he belonged.
“I had always been fascinated by waves, even as a small child,” he explains. “My mom told me that as a little boy I once saw a documentary about surfing in Hawaii on TV. I remained standing still, in front of the TV, startled and fascinated.”
Afri spent his formative years as a political refugee living in Germany. After finishing school, he hit the road on a hitch-hiking trip around Europe. A chance encounter in France gave him his first taste of surfing. “I still vividly remember this intense feeling, this feeling of knowing, ‘This is something I want to keep doing for the rest of my life,’” he continues. “The only thing I wanted to do was to learn surfing. So, I went back to Germany and saved money to finance my first world trip. I spent most of my time in Australia and New Zealand surfing, or rather trying to do so.”
Learning to surf is a humbling process. Afri remained undeterred. He persisted. Love is funny like that. “Keeping the low-budget spirit alive, I had to sleep on the streets of Sydney for a couple of nights,” he recounts. “Once I got a job on a construction site I bought myself my first surfboard.”
If you’re a lifelong surfer, it’s easy to take all the boards and waves and sunshine for granted, but for this refugee from Afghanistan, who somehow found himself drawn to the sea, every bar of wax or blown-out ripple was a chance to chase a dream. When asked what it means to be a surfer from Afghanistan, Afri’s almost indifferent. “Honestly, it doesn’t feel too strange,” he says. “It is just a continuation of me being a former refugee and growing up as a foreigner. Being somehow different is part of my life, I guess.”
Thankfully, the surfing tribe is a rich tapestry of artists, eccentrics, hellmen, all-stars and everything in between. Now, ten years deep in surfing, Afri’s more in love than ever. “Having the deep feeling of being exactly aware of what I am doing, dancing with the wave, the symbiosis with the wave, that’s my favorite part,” he explains.
But Afghanistan’s a far cry from a paradise like Hawaii. The challenges and adversity Afri’s had to overcome are hard to imagine for most Westerners. “Before those events most Afghans had never heard of this sport called ‘surfing,’” he says. “For many it was unbelievable how someone could stand on a piece of board in the water. Some people in Afghanistan told me this made them feel like if this is possible, anything is.”
“All sports have the power of joy,” he continues. “The joy of doing it yourself, the joy of cheering for someone or simply the joy of seeing someone do something he loves. But regarding sports in Afghanistan, there comes an extra layer to it. Everyday life is so full of negative news that people get extremely excited about any kind of positive news. The reaction to Afghanistan’s first national surfing championship in 2015 and its participation in the ISA World Surfing Games in May 2017 was overwhelming.”
It’s no secret that once the surfing bug bites it’s hard to shake, and the popularity of wave riding amongst Afghan refugees is on the rise.
“The Wave Riders Association of Afghanistan (WRAA) is the official governing body of Afghan surfing,” Afri finishes. “It is still a young organization, and despite the amazing media coverage over the past years, we are quite an underdog organization. We are still waiting for Afghan surfers that perhaps haven’t heard about us yet. Afghanistan is one of the countries with the largest exile populations with many living in the U.K., California, Australia, etc., so your chances of meeting an Afghan surfer might be higher than you think.”
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