MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan — A boy about 8 years old, sitting cross-legged on the cab of a truck, shouted at the top of his lungs: “Go John Cena, go boy, give it to him, I want to take all your pain on myself!”
John Cena in this case was not the American professional wrestler but a mangy, tawny shepherd dog who at that moment had his head stuck in the jaws of a rival in a blood-spattered fight, one of 13 held in a stadium on a single day late last month as part of Nowruz, or Persian New Year festivities.
John Cena shook his head free and in a frenzy ripped into his foe, a dog named German, until the judge declared a winner and their handlers pulled them apart.
Unlike dogfighting in most other countries, these matches were being held openly, with little fear of prosecution. In fact, a policeman named Ahmad Fawad was on duty, wielding a big stick in a not-always successful effort to keep the two-legged animals under control.
The venue was a public outdoor arena in the middle of Mazar-i-Sharif, a city in Afghanistan’s north; tickets were 50 afghanis each, less than a dollar. Thousands attended.
Afghan blood sports of many kinds take place unchecked, despite the opposition of mullahs who denounce them as sinful, and growing criticism from an educated younger generation that finds them the distasteful domain of warlords and their armed followers.
