Ghani and Sadiqa are in the airport

Ghani arrived safely in Kabul after a harrowing journey. He met up with family there, we rushed through getting everyone’s details submitted to the various agencies and offices and then after waiting a bit because of a security threat, they went to the Airport.

This is a super quick update….

Photo from Kabul Airport by Sima – I believe Isa is in the back walking and talking with the soldier.

The other 7 or more members of Ghani’s family were not allowed through the gate, so they are in Kabul and we are working on helping them, but there isn’t all that much we can do.

Our friend Mujda is still trying to reach one of the gates at the airport and having a horrible time. There are at least 2 articles about her saga in our local paper, The Morning Call.

Arif’s siblings are stuck – the Australians pulled out right before the first explosion so we don’t know what to do to help them.

Hedayat’s family still haven’t received any documentation for them to go to the airport, and hope of them getting out is dwindling.

The SIV family from California did get out – just the mom dad and kids – they all had green cards or us passports – the rest of their family could not get out. But at least the Habib family are safe in Qatar. And we will give them some guidance on how to help the rest of the family, assuming they can get out of Afghanistan.

We are hearing from more folks who should qualify for SIV or who have applied and are waiting for something they can present at the airport so that they can get out. Or who have something but haven’t been able to get into the airport.

The military have volunteers from all over helping to follow up on requests, but they are way behind. We got a call (I don’t remember when it was exactly, but recently) about Roshan. I said Roshan is out and safe in Germany, but we have all these other people who are not, so that person is working on helping too. We just keep sending requests for assistance to all the emails we get.

Arif’s friends – the young couple with the baby who are SIV (the new mom was an interpreter, dad is a journalist) have been taken by Embassy bus to the airport every day for the past 4 days but have been unable to even get off the bus because of the Taliban. So after sitting in the bus all day, they are returned home, I guess. Then they try again the next day. We are running out of time to keep doing things that don’t work!

We have heard from Shegufa in Germany – she and Roshan’s sisters are in a hanger filled with cots. Roshan and his young brother are in a tent somewhere we assume nearby. Roshan doesn’t have wifi so is having trouble communicating. But at least they are safe and soon (we have no idea when) they will be in the US. A photo of Shegufa’s digs are below.

We are starting to get all the info together for the folks who are left behind to get registered with Human Rights Watch and various US govt offices so that if they can make it to a place that has a US Embassy, we can start the paperwork to get them here. Evidently, there are systems in place to facilitate that now. The hard part is just getting to a US Embassy.

So I have repeated my message already too many times to the never ending stream of anguished requests – without a us passport or green card or approved visa, we can’t get you out via Kabul. You have to stay safe and when possible, get yourself and family to Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, etc. Once there, we can process the paperwork to have you come to the USA.

Yes, we know that it is very dangerous there and we know that right now there is no safe way to get out of Afghanistan. It doesn’t matter how many letters you have from USA companies or government officials… they just won’t let you in the airport and it is unsafe there too.

The banks are not open nor is Western Union, so people are out of money for food and other necessities.

We hope things will start to improve soon. And we will keep you informed!

Thank all of your for your continued prayers and support!

Roshan and most of his family are Safe!

After days of ordeal, Roshan and Shegufa finally made it into the airport and on a plane out of Afghanistan. They were able to bring Roshan’s siblings and an uncle. His parents, Aunt, and young cousins remain in Kabul. He was in Qatar briefly, but has left and just just arrived in Germany.

Isa is still in Qatar, and still super happy to be there. He is doing an interview with our friend Pamela Varkony, so we will send a link to the interview in our next update.

Other good news – a young family who are friends of Arif and qualified for the Special Immigrant Visa because of the wife’s work as an interpreter are finally safe. The couple and their one month old baby should be on the way to Germany or the US soon.

Arif’s siblings have received their Visas from Australia but are struggling to gain access to the airport. The got close a few times today but then there was a terrorist threat alert and they were told to leave the area by the Australian government. We hope they can get some rest and that they will be successful tomorrow.

We haven’t heard from Ghani since he left for Kabul from Pakistan. The trip should take 12-16 hours, but we aren’t sure exactly when they left or if they had to take any detours.

When Ghani manages to make it there safely, we will do our best to get him, Sadiqa, and Ghani’s other family members out, but the situation is so dire. And while the US is committed to getting citizens and green card holders and Visa holders out, they are actively discouraging people from trying to bring any family other than spouses and non-adult children.

There is less and less hope for people stranded there – friends and families of so many of our extended Afghan family here… the system for getting visas through the refugee system has proven impossible to penetrate. We go around and around the outside, but like all those people trying to get into the airport in Kabul, we are not finding a way in.

We are trying to remain hopeful that they can survive to get out some other way and we will do everything we can to help them from wherever they manage to escape to. We are happy for those few who are getting out and quite worried for those who remain there.

As someone said to me recently, what we thought was going to be a sprint has turned into a marathon. Please continue to contact your members of congress to urge them to help Afghans at risk – families of US citizens and others with ties to the West who are in danger. Please continue to pray for all of them.

We are starting to consider that there will soon be plenty to do here to support the families that have escaped and will provide more information on opportunities for helping as we learn about them.

Thank you.