An Afghan Girl’s Exile Journey

My life started with being born in refugee camps, having no childhood playground, and studying amid bombs and explosions. I grew up amid and between the ashes of the first Taliban reign and the second. I completed school under tents and learned English to study at the best university in Afghanistan. When it was exactly time to graduate (my last semester) in August 2021, everything turned upside down in the blink of an eye. The honor of studying at the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) changed to a life-threatening horror. I remember that night’s shock and fear, the urge to burn and destroy everything that associated me with AUAF, from proudly telling everyone I was studying at AUAF to tearing down and burning my award certificates and textbooks. We heard that they were searching every house, and if they found anything that relates you to the US or government, you will be dead. I could not sleep for days, fearing the Taliban coming and ringing our doorbell.

One night, at 3 am our door was knocked on hard. My parents and I woke up as scared as one can imagine, thinking the fear we had was at our door. Luckily it was our neighbor, an old woman in a rush who wanted to say goodbye. On the 29th of August the university emailed me to be in a designated place so we could get on the buses and head to the airport. I was alone at home with my dad, and my mom was at the hospital with my sister, who was about to give birth. I wanted to say goodbye to my mom and sister, but the e-mail was urgent, and I had to arrive in 30 minutes. I called my mother on my way and said I am going; I could not say anything more; we were both weeping. She told me to be strong and may God be with me. We reached that designated place and waited for two hours. Then I received e-mails that ISIS threatened our buses and that we would be targeted. We were instructed to leave and get out as soon as possible. I headed straight to the hospital, and then I got the news that my sister had lost her baby.