Under the title "Famous for Meeting Messi: The Blue Bag Kid Trapped in Afghanistan," Al Arabiya reported a story that began with the question, "Do you remember that little Afghan boy who captured media attention in 2016 with his striped blue shirt made from a plastic bag, out of love for football star Lionel Messi?" The site continued, "At that time, the image of the dark-skinned boy, Hussain Mortaza, spread like wildfire, and all media outlets circulated the story of that blue and white shirt of the Argentine national team, bearing Messi's name and the famous number 10."
**Trapped in Kabul**
However, the child's life seems to have turned into hell and terror. The ten-year-old is now trapped with his family in Kabul, which has fallen under Taliban rule. He, like thousands of others, is trying to escape out of fear of the group's violations, which is expected to announce its government this Friday, according to one of its officials yesterday.
Spanish news agency "EFE" reported that Mortaza is seeking to leave the country, where he lives in constant fear. Mortaza said, "I am trapped at home and cannot go out because I am very scared of the Taliban." His 22-year-old sister confirmed that with every knock on the door, he believes the Taliban is coming to take him, causing him to run to her or their mother to hide.
It is worth mentioning that the Afghan boy later met the Barcelona star at a match held in Doha in 2016, months after his rise to fame. However, this meeting did not change much in the boy's life, except for receiving a signed shirt from the football star. In fact, his father previously confirmed, according to Western media, that their lives had turned into hell, and they were pursued by the Taliban, which pushed the family to move to Kabul.
With Kabul now under the control of the militant group since mid-August 2021, it seems that the "Afghan Messi" is in a predicament! Mortaza and his family belong to the Shia Hazara minority, which has been previously persecuted by the Taliban during their rule in the 1990s.
