Artist Profile: Muzafar Ali

I was born in Uruzgan on 01 May, 1981, in an ethnic Hazara family. Our entire family migrated to Pakistan when I was a child. The main aim of my father was to establish a new life, away from instability/insecurity and to feed and educate us.

Playing, watching and reading football was my main hobby. I inherited hiking as a hobby from my father, who was also a shepherd in his childhood in Uruzgan. I completed high school in 1997 and started assisting my father at his shop. In 2000, I started working as a plumber where I earned 2,000 Rupees (approximately $250) in a year. My oldest brother encouraged me to take computer and English language classes. While working as plumber, I also learned English Language and kept playing football. During free time, pencil sketching was another hobby of mine.

I returned to Afghanistan in 2004 when my brothers and uncle encouraged me to come to Kabul. I was eager to work and to assist my parents for running our home. I started working for UNDP's regional office in Bamyan in 2005. My life’s turning point came on April 2007 when I joined United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). I could buy my first ever camera (Sony CyberShot) on the same year, and intensely photographed Central Highlands during my trips to the remote and isolated areas. My photos were liked by my colleagues and organization.

The demand of my work in UN needed sacrifice of my passion for football. Photography was new hobby for me and I kept working on.

In 2008, UNAMA organized a joint photo exhibition of my friend and former colleague, Ali Asghar. The exhibition was about “Life in Hazaristan” and travelled across Afghanistan.

In 2009, the South Korean international organization “Serving the Nations” in Seoul and other Korean cities arranged another joint exhibition in which my pictures were well liked.

Picture Gallery - these pictures of Hazarajat or Hazaristan - Behsood, Bamyan, Yakawlang, etc. are captured some time between 2009 and 2011
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