Afghan Americans in the Valley heartbroken by upheaval in Afghanistan

Dale Yurong Image
Tuesday, August 17, 2021
Afghan Americans in Central CA heartbroken by upheaval in Afghanistan
Afghans living in the Valley were keeping a close eye on the developments in their home country.

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Chaos erupted at the Kabul airport in Afghanistan.



Thousands of people rushed the tarmac and even jumped onto jets in a frantic effort to leave the capital city.



The scenes saddened Afghan Americans in the Valley.



Farhat Hanifi of Fresno said, "It's hard not to shed tears about it. I was fortunate. My parents immigrated here in the '80s. I'm so blessed to be born and raised here. But those people have no other option, so they're willing to put their lives on the line."



Satellite images showed the mass of cars and people who gathered at the airport.



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Dr. Sohaila Mojadaddi of Madera has a sister and many other relatives still in Afghanistan.



Dr.Mojadaddi said, "I'm not concerned only for family. I'm concerned about the entire people of Afghanistan who are facing a great danger."



Nearly 20 years after the U.S. first entered Afghanistan, Dr. Mojadaddi said the Taliban has now brought back the nightmare no one wanted to see again.


She worried about the women of Afghanistan.



Dr. Mojadaddi continued, "The women just lost all their human rights. They cannot go to school, to work, and they have to stay home."



Hanifi called the Taliban's return to power a return to the 7th century.



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She explained, "The advances women have had over the last 20 years with America and NATO's presence in Afghanistan kind of literally got eliminated overnight."



Afghans living in the Valley were keeping a close eye on the developments in their home country.



But they were extremely worried about what the future holds.

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