Local Afghan Families Worry For Loved Ones Back Home: 'I Don't Know If He Is Alive Right Now'
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The sound of gunfire and chaotic images are part of a firsthand perspective of the devastation a Sacramento woman's fiancé has seen the last three days at Afghanistan's Kabul airport.
"I don't know if he is alive right now, I don't know if he is dead," she explained.
Her fiancé has a visa but is still stuck in the country along with the rest of her family. Countless family members who do not have a way out of the country are hiding in their homes. She didn't want to be named out of fear of their safety.
"He has no food, nowhere to shower, he has been sleeping on the ground. He is asking for help, they are firing shots everywhere, kids screaming, what they told me, two kids in front of his eyes died this morning," she said. "That's not right because womens (sic) are getting killed, children are getting killed, gunfire is everywhere and he is just in the middle. He cannot leave, he cannot enter."
Cries for help from Sacramento include around 30 people protesting the Taliban and taking their pain to the State Capitol in downtown Sacramento.
Mohammad Omar Waziri works for the U.S. government and just escaped his homeland a month ago.
"I'm safe but not mentally. My family is over there and I'm thinking about them," he explained. "They're not going outside. Because of me, they are at risk. The Taliban and people know I'm working for the U.S. Army and government."
Another man who wanted to remain unnamed got out just days before the country collapsed. He fears his ties to the U.S. military have put a target on his family's back with the Taliban coming to his home just days after he escaped.
"Just because of me, around 16 members of my family are in danger," he explained. "There were 14 or 15 members of Taliban at our land, our home. They were really scared. My brother and smaller brother had to escape from the backside of the yard."
He's just one of the 135 refugees World Relief Sacramento has helped in the last two weeks.
"Not only do they need to flee somewhere to be safe, but they need to rebuild their life and you just don't do that overnight. So, it's so vital our services to secure them housing, to help cover the first couple months of rent, expenses, get them groceries, get them navigating our medical system, get them in school," explained Vanassa Hamra, spokesperson for World Relief Sacramento.
Since 2016, World Relief Sacramento has resettled 2,327 families. Their Modesto branch has resettled 1,426 in the same time frame. The Sacramento branch was looking to bring even more people to the area when violence erupted.
"We had 17 flights scheduled to arrive two days before August 16 when the government fell. That represents 84 individuals that are in limbo that should be here," Hamra explained.
Those now safe in America are praying for peace back home like the Sacramento woman waiting to be reunited with her fiancé.
"I'm really hurt, I'm really frustrated, I don't have any other word, but help Afghanistan," she said.
