On April 21, my friend Gurung and I were returning in our jeep to Herat, Afghanistan. At 7.15 pm on the highway at Adraskan near the Iran border another vehicle overtook and blocked our jeep. Four masked men carrying AK-47 rifles got out of the vehicle and surrounded us. They asked Gurung and me to step down.
One of them hit me on the head with the butt of his rifle. Both of us were blindfolded and dumped in the boot of their vehicle. After a long drive, we were dumped in a forest area. We were not given proper food and for a couple of days I survived drinking black tea. I even ate grass.
For two days our abductors did not say a word. I felt they may not be members of the Taliban. After a couple of days, they asked us, "Why do you people come here and work? You should not come to Afghanistan, do you understand that?"
Two days later, we were told we would be shifted to another place. For five days we walked. It was during this time, we had a narrow escape. People opened fire on us. We ran for cover. Our abductors did not retaliate, but hid along with us. After some time, the firing stopped. Our abductors sent word they were part of the same fraternity and that is when peace returned.
After five days of walking we reached another location and were kept in a shack. Here for the first time, we were given an Afghan nan. Although it was rock hard, we had no choice but to eat it. In captivity, I lost 16 kilos as we were given just one nan a day.
Water was scarce and we were given just one bottle of water. I used the bottle cap as a cup to drink the water as there was no question of wasting water, leave alone asking our abductors for more. All through our ordeal, we were not blindfolded, but our hands and legs were tied all the time. We hardly slept. No bed was provided and we rested on the ground.
Image: Naeem Sarang with his wife and children. Photograph: KPN Photos
Also read: 'May God not put any country in the fire that we were in'
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