DENVER (KDVR) — Update (Aug. 18): This woman and her daughters have arrived and are safe in Qatar. They will eventually make their way back to the United States. The woman is still concerned about her family’s safety in Afghanistan.
Original (Aug. 17): With the Taliban presence growing in Afghanistan, a Colorado woman and her two girls risked their lives to get to the airport in Kabul to return home.
The Englewood woman was visiting her parents in Kabul when her flight home was abruptly canceled.
“It has been such a terrifying experience,” said the woman’s husband, who wishes to remain anonymous for security reasons. “I hope no one goes through a situation like this.”
The woman was unsure she and her two daughters would be able to return to the U.S. after the Taliban took control of the capital city.
Fearful, the woman drove to the international airport in Kabul. After showing their U.S. passports, Taliban guards allowed them into a space protected by U.S. forces.
Back in Englewood, her husband got the news Tuesday morning.
“When I saw the message from my wife, I felt alive again,” he said. “I can’t even express the feeling right now, and I’m still so happy.”
Efforts to help Afghans out of their home country continue
The Englewood couple worked with U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan and were granted visas to live in the U.S.
The woman worked as a principal for an all-girls school, which retired U.S. Army Special Forces Col. Patrick Allen helped open.
“She was crying on Saturday night, just fearful of, ‘What’s going to happen to me and my girls?’ So she was quite frightened,” Allen said.
He is trying to make sure she gets home safely.
Allen is also trying to help her family members get visas to come to the U.S. They, too, are fearful of the Taliban.
