As the city of Kabul fell to the Taliban, a brave teenager left Kabul in 2021 and got separated from his family while in the airport.
The journey out of Kabul was a perilous trip to America. Yet, he made it— without his family. The teen’s thoughts were racing in his mind as he stepped off the plane.
It was noon in Alexandria, Virginia, when an interview between Tom Bowman and the teenager who escaped took place.
Bowman reported, “We’ll call him B.H. We’re just using his initials because most of his family is still in Kabul, often forced to change addresses because they fear the new Taliban regime. His uncle worked for the Afghan and U.S. militaries, making the whole family suspect. B.H. remembers the last time he saw them, 10 of them, as they pressed through a desperate crowd at the Kabul airport…”
“He’s a lean young man all dressed in black,” comments Bowman, a reporter for NPR.
The Journey
BH and his family were desperately trying to board the plane as the Taliban swept into the city.
“BH remembers the last time he saw them, 10 of them – parents, a grandmother, brothers, nephews and his uncle – clutching their documents and pressing through a desperate crowd at Kabul International Airport, trying to board planes as the Taliban swept into the city,” remarks Bowman.
It was total chaos. People pushed each other as they squeezed through the city. BH remarked that it was horrifying. Several people were trampled to death. Everyone was panicking.
“Everyone was pushing each other and they didn’t, you know, care about old people and children,” he explains. “Everyone was afraid.” BH said he was terrified too.
After pushing through the crowds, the 17-year-old teen found himself at the gate. When he presented his documents to an American soldier, he boarded the plane—without anything except his clothes. His eyes searched frantically for his family, but they were out of sight.
“I called them several times and no one was answering because there was a crowd and no one heard the phone ring,” BH explains.
He was alone and isolated from that day on.
“He soon found himself on the floor of a massive C-130 aircraft, packed with refugee families. He had only the clothes he wore and his papers. He was too tired to talk with anyone. The plane arrived in Doha, Qatar, the first leg of a flight to the U.S. There, he finally reached his mother on the phone back in Kabul,” Bowman reported.
“She was crying. That’s the only thing she did,” he reflects. “It was a dark day for me because I lost my whole family.”
The rest passed as a blur. After a long journey, he arrived in America!
“Everybody in the camp had a relative in the U.S. and they said ‘Hey, come to California. It’s a good place.’ And I said ‘I don’t have any relatives here,’ ” BH recounted. “Then I found out about Virginia, it has a good education system. And that was my goal to achieve.”
Starting a New Life
The State Department offered help for jobs and education. The refugees got three months of financial assistance. With this aid, B.H. rented an apartment and enrolled at Alexandria City High School.
“He studied hard and worked, doing odd jobs, not able to socialize much,” said NPR.
Church staffer Whitney Mallory from the Christ Church in Alexandria has said that “They [Afghan refugees] find themselves at Target for $16 an hour. And the rent is $2,300 a month. And it’s impossible to make those ends meet.”
According to the EWC Journal, BH frequently talks to his family and sends them money when he can. He has a safe and decent life in Virginia, going to school and working a decent job at Goodwin House’s front desk, welcoming a community like how everyone welcomed him.
“Today is Eid,” BH remarks. Eid is a day when Muslims celebrate the accomplishment of their sacred duties during Ramadan. However, to BH, it only made him feel more lonely. Even though Kabul is dangerous, BH misses his family, friends, traditions, foods, and everything else he had to leave behind.
“We had a great country,” he stated, mourning what his life used to be before the Taliban returned. “All the time I’m worrying about my family because they’re in danger. They have no rights, no freedom of speech. Our Afghan girls can’t go to school.”
Sources: https://www.npr.org/2023/07/04/1185955995/afghan-teen-evacuate-kabul-taliban-afghanistan#:~:text=As%20Kabul%20fell%20to%20the%20Taliban%20in%202021%2C,been%20in%20the%20U.S.%20ever%20since%20%E2%80%94%20alone.
https://www.npr.org/2023/07/23/1188726182/afghanistan-withdrawal-teen-alone-u-s
https://www.ewcjournal.com/post/teen-escapes-kabul-but-his-family-is-left-behind
https://eb18600f7bb2916037f5ee8e636ce199.cdn.bubble.io/f1690137839810x418677197240414200/An%20Afghan%20teen%20makes%20it%20to%20th
The journey out of Kabul was a perilous trip to America. Yet, he made it— without his family. The teen’s thoughts were racing in his mind as he stepped off the plane.
It was noon in Alexandria, Virginia, when an interview between Tom Bowman and the teenager who escaped took place.
Bowman reported, “We’ll call him B.H. We’re just using his initials because most of his family is still in Kabul, often forced to change addresses because they fear the new Taliban regime. His uncle worked for the Afghan and U.S. militaries, making the whole family suspect. B.H. remembers the last time he saw them, 10 of them, as they pressed through a desperate crowd at the Kabul airport…”
“He’s a lean young man all dressed in black,” comments Bowman, a reporter for NPR.
The Journey
BH and his family were desperately trying to board the plane as the Taliban swept into the city.
“BH remembers the last time he saw them, 10 of them – parents, a grandmother, brothers, nephews and his uncle – clutching their documents and pressing through a desperate crowd at Kabul International Airport, trying to board planes as the Taliban swept into the city,” remarks Bowman.
It was total chaos. People pushed each other as they squeezed through the city. BH remarked that it was horrifying. Several people were trampled to death. Everyone was panicking.
“Everyone was pushing each other and they didn’t, you know, care about old people and children,” he explains. “Everyone was afraid.” BH said he was terrified too.
After pushing through the crowds, the 17-year-old teen found himself at the gate. When he presented his documents to an American soldier, he boarded the plane—without anything except his clothes. His eyes searched frantically for his family, but they were out of sight.
“I called them several times and no one was answering because there was a crowd and no one heard the phone ring,” BH explains.
He was alone and isolated from that day on.
“He soon found himself on the floor of a massive C-130 aircraft, packed with refugee families. He had only the clothes he wore and his papers. He was too tired to talk with anyone. The plane arrived in Doha, Qatar, the first leg of a flight to the U.S. There, he finally reached his mother on the phone back in Kabul,” Bowman reported.
“She was crying. That’s the only thing she did,” he reflects. “It was a dark day for me because I lost my whole family.”
The rest passed as a blur. After a long journey, he arrived in America!
“Everybody in the camp had a relative in the U.S. and they said ‘Hey, come to California. It’s a good place.’ And I said ‘I don’t have any relatives here,’ ” BH recounted. “Then I found out about Virginia, it has a good education system. And that was my goal to achieve.”
Starting a New Life
The State Department offered help for jobs and education. The refugees got three months of financial assistance. With this aid, B.H. rented an apartment and enrolled at Alexandria City High School.
“He studied hard and worked, doing odd jobs, not able to socialize much,” said NPR.
Church staffer Whitney Mallory from the Christ Church in Alexandria has said that “They [Afghan refugees] find themselves at Target for $16 an hour. And the rent is $2,300 a month. And it’s impossible to make those ends meet.”
According to the EWC Journal, BH frequently talks to his family and sends them money when he can. He has a safe and decent life in Virginia, going to school and working a decent job at Goodwin House’s front desk, welcoming a community like how everyone welcomed him.
“Today is Eid,” BH remarks. Eid is a day when Muslims celebrate the accomplishment of their sacred duties during Ramadan. However, to BH, it only made him feel more lonely. Even though Kabul is dangerous, BH misses his family, friends, traditions, foods, and everything else he had to leave behind.
“We had a great country,” he stated, mourning what his life used to be before the Taliban returned. “All the time I’m worrying about my family because they’re in danger. They have no rights, no freedom of speech. Our Afghan girls can’t go to school.”
Sources: https://www.npr.org/2023/07/04/1185955995/afghan-teen-evacuate-kabul-taliban-afghanistan#:~:text=As%20Kabul%20fell%20to%20the%20Taliban%20in%202021%2C,been%20in%20the%20U.S.%20ever%20since%20%E2%80%94%20alone.
https://www.npr.org/2023/07/23/1188726182/afghanistan-withdrawal-teen-alone-u-s
https://www.ewcjournal.com/post/teen-escapes-kabul-but-his-family-is-left-behind
https://eb18600f7bb2916037f5ee8e636ce199.cdn.bubble.io/f1690137839810x418677197240414200/An%20Afghan%20teen%20makes%20it%20to%20th