Sayed Anwar Ibrahimi
22 years old
BA in Software Engineering
American University of Afghanistan
Ghazni Province
Life was quite normal. I used to go to my office at Shahr-e-Naw. After I finished my work, my friends and I would go to a lovely, cozy restaurant for dinner and to catch up on the events of the day. When we arrived home at the end of the day, there were delights and smiles in the families. However, everything changed on August 15th, a bright Sunday, when my office supervisor advised me to leave the workplace immediately and go home as quickly as possible. When I got out of the office, people were rushing, frantically walking, and sobbing on the streets. That is when I asked a concerned lady what had occurred, she said, “Taliban entered Kabul”. My head was filled with negative ideas, such as whether I would be able to return home alive, what would happen to my family at home if I was not there, and whether they would resume killing people like they had done in the past. When I returned home, I found my family unharmed and felt good. Later that night. Taliban were strolling around in groups, shooting weapons for no apparent purpose, and proclaiming that they had won. At the time, I assumed there was no longer an AUAF and that I would not be able to continue my education. The prospect of not being able to go to work was also very depressing.
They were everywhere the next day, forcing their way into every government agency. On August 16th, we received an email from the AUAF president regarding the evacuation of Afghan students to other countries. I told my family about the evacuation plan but they were quite upset and told me right away that I was not permitted to go anywhere on my own. They eventually granted me permission to say yes to the evacuation after witnessing the situation in Kabul and seeing the inhumane treatment of the Taliban. It was very difficult for me to say goodbye to my family.
At first, the journey looked terrifying and tough, but it was actually fairly easy and there were no complications. The majority of the students were relieved to be safe. Some, on the other hand, were already missing their family and friends. After a week, we were evacuated from Islamabad to Bishkek. I felt very distant from home the day I arrived in Bishkek. Everything was so different than it was in Afghanistan. The environment and language were completely foreign to me. We had a number of issues, including difficulty purchasing food, shopping, and placing various internet orders. However, now that we are familiar with the system, things have become quite simple for us.
