每日大赛

By Lauren McDonald lmcdonald@thebrubswicknews.com

In a phone call with her mother this week, Fahima Rastagar made an urgent request. She asked her mother to, please, not go to the airport.

Watching the news unfold from her home on St. Simons, Rastagar witnessed from afar the Taliban鈥檚 tightening control on the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, where her parents live. Despite Rastagar鈥檚 pleas, though, her mother insisted on making the dangerous trip to the city鈥檚 international airport. Her mother and father are desperately trying to leave the country, along with thousands of others hoping to flea amid the chaos of the Afghan government鈥檚 collapse, the Taliban鈥檚 takeover and the United States military鈥檚 evacuation.

鈥淚 called my mom, and she decided that she wanted to go to the airport even though I had gotten emails that said 鈥榮helter in place,鈥欌�� Rastagar said Wednesday, sitting in a conference room on the 每日大赛鈥檚 Brunswick campus, where she studies nursing. 鈥溾�� I said, 鈥楳om, please, please don鈥檛 go to the airport right now, because it鈥檚 very …鈥�

Rastagar broke off, tearing up. The past few weeks have been one of severe worry for her, as she works to find a way to help her parents leave Afghanistan, the country in which she was born and raised before moving to the United States alone in 2017.

鈥淢y mother was at the airport the last time I heard from her, and she said that the Taliban were firing, just shooting,鈥� she said Wednesday. 鈥淣ot shooting people, but I guess they鈥檙e just firing in the air. And she said that they鈥檙e whipping people, just to not let them inside.鈥�

President Joe Biden鈥檚 Sept. 11 deadline for a full removal of U.S. military personnel from Afghanistan has in recent weeks contributed to a hasty and chaotic takeover by Taliban forces.

The Taliban captured the country鈥檚 capital city of Kabul on Aug. 16. Soon after, images of Afghans flooding the Hamid Karzai International Airport and sometimes running alongside and jumping onto aircraft went viral and demonstrated the panic many are feeling.

Those scenes of desperation worsened this week, as the Taliban tries to prevent Afghans from leaving. Two suicide bombers also struck a packed crowd outside the airport Thursday, killing many.

Rastagar鈥檚 parents were amid the chaos, and they stayed for more than 30 consecutive hours at the airport this week without food or water before being told they had to leave.

鈥淭he Taliban have control over the airport, and they鈥檙e very bad people, and I told her that they鈥檙e terrible,鈥� Rastagar said. 鈥淚 said, 鈥橮lease, don鈥檛 go,鈥� and she said, 鈥楩ahima, that鈥檚 exactly why I need to go to the airport.鈥欌��

Rastagar, who is a full-time nursing student at CCGA and an employee at the Starbucks on St. Simons, previously served an interpreter for the U.S. military in Kabul. She worries that will put her family at greater risk.

She stays in touch with them by phone, but before the chaos of recent weeks she could talk to her parents through video call.

鈥淚f you鈥檝e read the news, you know about the people that got killed at the airport,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 feel like that sort of shows the desperation in my mother鈥檚 decision to go to the airport. I think all of these show the desperation. They almost want out of Afghanistan or death.鈥�

Rastagar said she sort of understands that feeling.

鈥淚f she stayed in Afghanistan, she will be found,鈥� she said 鈥淎nd I don鈥檛 want to even think about what else could happen to her.鈥�

Seeking help

Rastagar has reached out to a variety of contacts she has in the United States who may be able to organize aid for her parents that will help them leave Afghanistan.

She鈥檚 also had help from staff at 每日大赛. Michelle Johnston, the college鈥檚 president, said she has reached out to the office of Sen. Raphael Warnock and to former Sen. David Perdue. U.S. Congressman Buddy Carter has also been contacted on Rastagar鈥檚 behalf.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been in contact about making sure the information is shared at the (U.S.) State Department,鈥� Johnston said.

A lot of the communication, though, has been one-way. Information about Rastagar鈥檚 family and their situation is sent, but little feedback is given.

鈥淲e have to kind of have faith and confidence that our public servants are listening and they鈥檙e working on Fahima鈥檚 behalf and on her family鈥檚 behalf,鈥� Johnston said.

Johnston encouraged others in the community to reach out to legislative contacts and echo this need.

鈥淚 haven鈥檛 really heard anything back from anyone that says, 鈥榊es, we will take care of your parents. We will bring them here,鈥欌�� Rastagar said. 鈥淓verybody just says, 鈥楾here鈥檚 no guarantee. We鈥檒l do our best.鈥欌��

Rastagar will be able to apply for American citizenship in two months. She will be fully eligible to take the oath of allegiance in January 2022. As a U.S. citizen, she will be eligible to sponsor her parents in as immediate relatives by filling an I-30, Petition for Alien Relative.

But relief for her family is needed now.

Her parents should be able to qualify for refugee status. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, first, asylum/refugee applicants must establish that they fear persecution in their home country. Applicants must also prove that they would be persecuted on account of at least one of five protected grounds: race, religion, nationality, political opinion or particular social group. Fahima鈥檚 parents 鈥� Marzia Rastagar and Riza Khan Rastagar 鈥� are part of minority groups in the country. They are Hazara and Shiite, and they hold political beliefs that now make them targets for persecution.

Anyone able to provide assistance to Rastagar and her family is asked to call the college at 912-279-5713.

New opportunities

Rastagar carries a vivid memory of her first day of school. She was about 8 years old, and her education became possible after the Taliban lost control of the country.

Under Taliban rule, women and children are not allowed to attend school or college.

Rastagar, who will soon turn 25, started school soon after the Taliban鈥檚 rule ended.

鈥淚 was one of the first generations who were able to go to school,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd I remember that day when I was getting ready 鈥� I kept saying, 鈥楳om I鈥檓 not sure about school, maybe I shouldn鈥檛 go.鈥欌��

Her mother, though, encouraged her.

鈥淪he said, 鈥楴o it鈥檚 a good idea, you go, and you will get used to it,鈥欌�� Rastagar recalled. 鈥溾�� The only reason I was able to go to school was because the Taliban were not in power anymore.鈥�

Rastagar and her mother were recruited in 2010 to be vendors in the first Afghan Women Vendor鈥檚 Bazaar. Her mother hand-embroidered scarves and other items to sell at the bazaars near U.S. military. The experience helped Rastagar, who was 14 at the time, practice speaking the English she learned in school.

鈥淚 would always speak with the soldiers and try to be a salesperson,鈥� she said.

Soon, she was asked to work as a translator. That opportunity came again later, when she visited an Egyptian hospital at Bagram Airfield with her grandmother.

鈥淚 started helping someone who didn鈥檛 speak English, and they offered that I should come and work with them,鈥� she said.

Rastagar worked as a translator at the hospital for about a year, then worked in other jobs until she moved to California in 2017.

Opportunities, education and security fears at home contributed to her decision to move.

鈥楪耻迟-飞谤别苍肠丑颈苍驳鈥�

Watching the latest news unfolding in Afghanistan, while so far from her home and loved ones, has been 鈥渆xcruciating鈥� for Rastagar.

鈥淚 heard somebody else say this word 鈥� 鈥榞ut-wrenching,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淚 just don鈥檛 know any better term for it.鈥�

She has some memory of life under Taliban rule, and she鈥檚 heard more from others who lived in the country at that time, including her parents.

Brutality from those in charge was a constant part of life, and the rights of women and girls were severely limited.

鈥淲omen could not go out,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey always had to have a burqa, and the way the burqa is made 鈥� I鈥檓 sure you鈥檝e seen 鈥� but sometimes you can put the front side up to see things better. When they did that, the women would get whipped with long whips.鈥�

A husband, brother or other male figure had to travel with women and girls, who also could not attend school. Public punishments were the norm for those who broke the rules.

鈥淚 remember they were talking about how these women, I don鈥檛 know what they had done wrong, but they would put gas on them and put them on fire. And the people, they were forced to watch it,鈥� Rastagar said .鈥漌hen it was too hard to watch, and they were running away, then the Taliban would whip them and ask them to stay and watch.鈥�

Fear infiltrated every part of daily life at that time.

鈥淚 remember there was no guarantee, like every day a Taliban member could knock on your door and take your husband or father or whoever and maybe beat them to death,鈥� Rastagar said.

She traveled back to Afghanistan in May of this year for a monthlong visit with her family. This was the first time she鈥檇 been home since her move at the beginning of 2017.

After former President Donald Trump announced his plans for the U.S. to fully evacuate the country, ending a 20-year war, Rastagar began to worry that she wouldn鈥檛 have many chances to see family any time soon.

鈥淚 just wanted to see everyone, and I kind of had this feeling,鈥� she said. 鈥溾�� I thought, if I want to see my parents and family for one more time in my life, I just have to go back.鈥�

Worry for her family has eaten at her constantly since the Taliban began regaining control this year. But even before that, Rastagar woke up daily thinking of her mom and dad. This concern has led her to question what鈥檚 best for her own future.

鈥淪ometimes it felt like,鈥� she began, and paused. 鈥淲hy would I want to do this? Especially when I have to work or go to school or anything, because my parents matter a lot to me and every day I would think about them.鈥�

Considering the miles that separate them, she would question why she鈥檚 pursuing her plans in America when she isn鈥檛 able to see or live with her family.

鈥淚t was very depressing,鈥� she said.

As their time apart grew to encompass several years, Rastagar also began to realize that her mom and dad may be much older when she saw them again. And comforts from her former life in Afghanistan, like her mom鈥檚 cooking, may not again exist.

鈥淏ut when I went back (in May), some of those things were true, but some I had imagined them a lot worse than they were,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was good to see everyone. I didn鈥檛 see any friends because almost everyone has left Afghanistan.鈥�

Details in the latest news accounts 鈥� about members of the Taliban firing bullets at the airport and whipping people to keep them out, of severed body parts caught in the wheels of aircraft 鈥� have left Rastagar feeling anxious and afraid for her family and others trying to flee the country.

鈥淚 feel like these are people whose voices need to be heard,鈥� she said.

When she speaks with her parents, though, and shares some of the news updates she鈥檚 seen or read, she can tell that her parents are focused only on what鈥檚 in front of them. Their full attention is on escape.

鈥淲henever I speak to my mother, I say 鈥榊es I have spoken with this person, I have spoken with this person,鈥欌�� Rastagar said. 鈥淎nd she just says, 鈥楩ahima, I am at the airport. Why isn鈥檛 somebody going to come out to get me?鈥欌��

Republished with the permission of The Brunswick News. Originally published in .