When I was only a freshman, some of my classmates told me about a program called Write Your Future. I didn’t see myself as a writer, but we’d just come out of the pandemic and I wanted to travel so I applied. To my surprise, I got in. The program had weekly online meetings with students from Latvia, Poland, and the Czech Republic, and each week we had tasks focused on music. My favorite was translating a song into your own language. I chose the opening number from Six, as I was obsessed with musicals at the time.
At the end of the semester, we traveled to Opole, Poland. A variety of activities were organized for us like workshops on creative writing, city rallies, a course on David Bowie, and more. Amongst them was an interview with a preselected interviewee. My group got assigned to interview a refugee from Afghanistan. At only fifteen years old, I found the experience intriguing, but could not fully grasp the weight of her story. Because of our fully packed schedule, we never got around to actually writing the assignment, so here I am 3 years later writing this piece to share her story.
Could you tell us a bit about yourself?
I’m 23 years old, I’m from Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan. I’m in my second semester of studying for a master’s degree in economic diplomacy at the University of Opole.
Did you always study economics?
Yes, it’s my major. I did my BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration) in my city, now I’m studying sustainable economic development. I used to work in one of the departments of the Afghan Ministry of Finance.
Why did you decide to leave your country?
I received a call from the university that we were going to be evacuated from there, because you see, the government collapsed and the Taliban took my country. My life was in danger, that’s why I decided to come here.
Could you please tell us about how you got to Opole?
One day there was a rumour that they’d take my city and I remember my dad calling me and saying “I booked a ticket, you’re going to the capital”. So I went to the capital, Kabul, and soon they took my city and then the capital too. I was losing hope. I was constantly thinking about my family, but they told me “If it’s just one person that can get away that’s more than okay”. When I received the call I remember saying to my mum and dad “I don’t want to leave you. What about you guys?” And they were like “You’re doing this not just for yourself but us as well.” I told my dad that if I don’t make it I’m so sorry, because when someone dies, it’s not just them, it’s their family and friends who carry that loss. I’m the eldest child and for me the hardest part was that I didn’t have the opportunity to say proper goodbye to my parents or my siblings.
My dad dropped me off at the airport, my mum was in my city and I didn’t have time to say goodbye. And because the Taliban were standing there I couldn’t even hug my dad. I couldn’t say proper goodbye. Even now, I think about that moment, how I wasn’t even able to hug him goodbye. While I was at the airport I was crying the whole time.
The situation I saw at the airport was beyond imagination. The first time when the Taliban came I just heard stories, saw pictures. Whenever my family or people told me stories I was like ‘I can understand you, I know how tough it must have been.’ and all that. But when you see it with your own eyes then you really understand what they’ve been through.
We received the call to find this gate at the airport of Kabul, as I was in the capital by then. So we went there at 2 AM. Do you know what an airport looks like? You’re with your baggage, everything is normal, just regular airport stuff. But that night I saw another version of the airport. It was a nightmare. There were so many people, huge lines, kids, elderly, sick people in wheelchairs. I was struggling to get to the gate where the Polish were waiting for us. I was not far from the gate but there were just so many people, and the Taliban had taken control over everything. They only let people through one by one. There was no space. Everyone was pushing, and the Taliban were shooting, kicking, and beating people, regardless of their age or condition. I remember being very thirsty and hungry. When I finally managed to get closer to the gate something happened suddenly. I don’t know what exactly but they started shooting and I remember people dying, so they were pushing everyone back. So I ended up in the same place as before. I was wondering how we were going to get to this gate. Kids were crying and saying “please don’t go there if you want to live”, they lost their parents and so many parents were looking for their children. On the ground I saw so many family pictures, shoes, clothes, passports even.
I gave up for like two hours and then found another way to reach the gate. There had been many troops from so many different countries like the Czech Republic, USA, UK, Germany, Turkey, which had been keeping peace in Afghanistan. And there were so many people who had worked with them and these troops came to rescue these people. I was looking for the Polish army and I remember so many people just sitting on the ground. Everything was abnormal. Everyone was crying and begging “please let us go”. There was not enough space even just to sit. My friend and I were with a family who were also looking for the Polish army. I’m so thankful that I was with that family, they protected us during that time. They had kids but still looked after us. I’m so grateful I wasn’t alone. We were asking other soldiers if they knew where the Polish army was and they said that in the morning they had been looking for us but there had been no one there. And we said that because of the situation it had been really hard to get here. One British officer said: “Stay here, I’ll call them”. We were waiting and finally at like 2PM my friend saw people with Polish flags and said “Oh my god! The Polish Army!” We shed tears of happiness. They came up to us and were like “Ten British army officers came up to us and were like ‘two girls are looking for you’” Then we went to a camp and waited for another group because you cannot put 10 people on an army airplane, it has to be a certain number of people. Many people couldn’t speak English very well so me and my friend volunteered and we helped them. It was really tough. At the Polish camp I saw so many people with blood on their hands, clothes.
When enough people arrived we flew to Uzbekistan, because there was a normal airplane waiting for us there. From Uzbekistan we flew to Poland. I am really thankful for the people of Poland, the government, the president, they are not my people but they risked their lives to save us. I remember most of the Polish officers were married and I’m sure many of them had kids but they still risked their lives.
They took my country. They took my people. So many were killed. Those who survived are living in hunger, some are forced to sell their kidneys, even their children, just to survive. It’s a heartbreaking reality, and it’s still happening.
When you think about the future, where do you see yourself?
It’s hard to say, but I really want to stay here in Opole. It’s like my second home. But I don’t know what the future holds for me. It’s always unexpected. I was living a normal life in Afghanistan but then those things happened, so it’s really hard to say. I want to work and stay here, especially in Opole. I love Poland. I feel like I’m at home. I’m sure this sounds weird but when I was here in 2017 for six months I already felt like this was my second home. I have so many friends, they are like my family.
Rediscovering the voice note brought back a flood of memories, of her, and of the exchange program. I’m so grateful I got to be part of this project and hear her story in person. She understood the weight of what she had shared, but still made sure we’d part ways in high spirits. Before we said goodbye, she took us to her favorite museum in Opole, and we wandered around together. In that quiet moment, surrounded by art and the history of the city, it was hard to imagine everything she had been through just to be there.
