(Portland Press Herald): "Three who narrowly escaped Kabul rebuild their lives in Maine"
By: Portland Press Herald: "Three who narrowly escaped Kabul rebuild their lives in Maine"
By: Kelley Bouchard
Sunday, September 25th, 2022
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They are among more than 260 Afghans who have settled in the state since U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021
They left home just after breakfast and joined the crush of people pushing through the streets of Kabul, trying to avoid the sticks and rifle butts of the Taliban.
Fatima Askari and Hashem Majidi, who were newly married, and his best friend Hassan Merzaiy, were heading for the airport. Each shouldered one bag of belongings, a few necessary travel documents and the desire to reach safety and freedom in the United States. She had been a professional athlete until the Taliban returned to power and dismantled women’s sports programs. Majidi fixed cars in his family’s shop and Merzaiy ran a pharmacy.
Maine wasn’t in their initial travel plans, though they are among more than 260 Afghans who have settled in this state since U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan on Aug. 30, 2021, ending a 20-year war and ceding the country back to the militant Islamists.
They had been planning to leave for nearly a year and were aware they faced great risk. But they had no idea how close they would come to being killed before a cargo plane lifted them to a whole new life.
They knew time was running out when they stepped into the throng on Aug. 25, 2021. They feared the evacuation of Afghan civilians would stop without warning, slamming the door on their dreams. They threaded their way through Kabul, one after the other, with Askari sandwiched between the two men for added protection. When foot traffic bottlenecked, Majidi found a back route to the airport’s Abbey Gate, where U.S. officials were processing Afghans.
Soon they were knee deep in putrid sewage, slogging through a high-walled, stone-paved drainage canal that leads to the airport. Despite the stench, they jostled forward with hundreds of others who had the same idea.
“It was bad,” Askari, 24, recalled. “But we had to go there. We knew they would close the airport in a few days.”
When they neared Abbey Gate, they started boosting each other out of the canal. American troops reached down and lifted them to the processing area outside the gate. State Department officials checked their documents.
It was noon when they entered the airport. Majidi took note of the time as they walked through the gate.
“I was excited and relieved,” said Majidi, 32. “All people wanted to leave. Only the Taliban wanted to stay. It was a very bad situation. But we made it.”
The next day, with their sneakers still reeking of sewage, the three boarded a military cargo plane. When they landed in Qatar a few hours later, they learned that a suicide bomber had struck right outside Abbey Gate. Investigators ultimately determined that 13 U.S. service members and more than 170 Afghans had been killed. The bomber wore a belt packed with ball bearings that shot through the crowd. The Islamic State claimed responsibility.
Source: Three who narrowly escaped Kabul rebuild their lives in Maine