One Afghan’s Story: Kabul to New York

One year ago today, Kabul fell to the Taliban. Dozens of volunteers with Hearts & Homes for Refugees were frantically working to support evacuations, while countless others were stepping up at home, preparing for the arrival of those lucky enough to make it out. Here is the story of one of those families. Thank you Idris for sharing.

My name is Muhammad Idris Rasuli. Last year I was a resident of Kabul and I worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Working for the government had become very difficult in the conditions that had arisen in Afghanistan, especially in Kabul. The security situation in most provinces was deteriorating quickly, and Kabul also witnessed targeted assassinations and bombing.

Idris at his desk at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul

After the United States decided to withdraw their military forces, everything went wrong.

From the beginning of August, Afghan provinces began to fall. First the Taliban took several outlying provinces, then slowly they reached Herat and later Balkh. But I never thought that one day Kabul would also fall, because there were too many domestic and foreign military forces.

Map of Afghanistan. Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division

After Balkh fell, it was reported in the media that Kabul would also fall within 72 hours. I still did not imagine that such a thing could happen — but at the same time, I was afraid of what would happen if it did. I continued to go to work like every other day.

I worked in the passport department, and we were overwhelmed with work. Most high-ranking government employees were asking for passports. On August 14, my colleagues and I were at the Ministry until late at night, printing hundreds of passports. On August 15, I woke up, got dressed and went back to work. It was 10 o'clock in the morning when there were rumors that the Taliban had reached the gates of Kabul. It was 11 o'clock when we heard gunshots. My colleagues and I fled.

When I left the Ministry and saw the city, fear was all over me, people were running in all directions, afraid and trembling. I ran toward home, terrified at what might happen. Finally, after one hour running and walking, I arrived home.

Idris with his son at their home in Kabul, during more peaceful times

I think it was in the afternoon when Dr. Abdullah (former Chief Executive Officer of Afghanistan) said in a statement that Kabul had fallen and the president had fled. No one knew what to do, and because of the terror of the Taliban, people wanted to run away. Many tried to go to the airport, but most roads were blocked by heavy traffic. The Kabul airport remained in the hands of the United States military forces and its partners. The Taliban were not allowed to enter the airport as long as the U.S. and its partners were evacuating the people they had worked with. When people heard about this, tens of thousands went to the airport to get out of Kabul. Private flights were all stopped, but the U.S. forces had opened several gates at the airport for evacuations.

Traffic jam in Kabul on August 15, 2021. Kyodo Photo via Credit: Newscom/Alamy Live News

We spent a few days at home, uncertain what to do. Being outside of the home was dangerous, the airport crowds were also dangerous, and leaving Afghanistan meant leaving behind friends and family. Day by day we had mental and emotional problems from the fear. Everything was messed up. Every day my son would ask me what had happened. Finally, I decided to take my family and go to the airport, because I was afraid and knew that if I stayed in Afghanistan, I would be killed.

On August 22, at 9 o'clock in the evening, we went to the airport with the taxi driver who used to take me to work every day. After a long drive, we were close to the Kabul airport, but we had to get off the taxi because there was no way for the car to move through the crowds. After walking for more than 30 minutes, we reached near the airport gate. There were so many people that it was impossible to imagine.

Outside the airfield, there was a sewage lake between the people and the American military forces and international partners. Everyone was trying to find the way to get into the airport but it wasn’t easy. I told my wife, “You stay aside so I can find someone to help us.”

I slowly approached the lake and one of the American soldiers shouted that people who have a passport, green card or visa of the United States come closer.

I called saying I have a visa and he told me to enter the sewage lake and approach. After seeing my passport and visa, he asked, “Where is your family?”

I went back and brought my family through the sewage lake. With the help of the same American soldier, we entered the airfield.

Waiting to board the plane to Qatar at the Kabul airport

After a security check, we spent the night on the ground in our dirty clothes. It was finally four or five in the morning when the buses came to take all the people to the military terminal. The weather was very hot. After a long wait and repeated security checks, we were very upset. I said to my wife, “I couldn't have imagined that I don't have a homeland anymore and I have lost my whole life.”

It was very difficult for me and my family. We had no hope left and we did not know where we were going. But what relieved my pain was that I knew that I was no longer in danger.

Idris’ son with a U.S. soldier at the U.S. military base in Doha, Qatar

We were scheduled to fly a few hours later. When we boarded the military plane, they told us that we might go to Germany. After 5 hours of flight, we landed instead at a military field in Qatar. Living in the camp among more than 10,000 people was very difficult for me and my family and I experienced things that I could never have imagined in my life.

Idris’ children on their bed at the U.S. military base in Doha, Qatar

After 11 days at the U.S. military base in Qatar, we were evacuated to the United States. As soon as we arrived in the U.S., my young daughter fell ill and was taken to the hospital. After spending a day and night in the hospital, we were transferred to Fort Dix. This camp also had its own difficulties, because there were more than 15,000 refugees evacuated from Afghanistan in the camp. In the tent where we lived, there were about 700 people.

The Rasuli family’s tent at Fort Dix – Tent #3, Room #E3

We stayed in this camp for 4 months, until our case was accepted by the IRC. After staying another 2 months in a hotel in Queens NYC, the IRC introduced us to a community sponsorship group named Hearts & Homes for Refugees. After all the hardships that happened to us, we were finally able to be resettled. 

With the help of Hearts & Homes for Refugees, we regained all our lost hopes. The first day when we met them, we had a really good feeling, we felt that we found all our family and relatives. They helped us to find housing and all the supplies. Every day we met volunteers and they helped us a lot to start a new life in the United States: to enroll my children in school, to deal with daily issues, to make appointments with doctors, to drop off and pick up my children from school, and to find a suitable job for me and my family. This summer they enrolled my children in summer camp where my children are so excited to have fun. 

Idris with his children in their new home in New York

When we left Kabul, my wife was two months pregnant and fortunately, after all the hardships months we had passed, my son was born. One of the volunteers (Kathie) helped my wife as a mother would during the birth of my child and now I have a U.S. citizen baby.

I know I have to start from zero and life is not that easy in the United States, but I hope to rebuild it step by step. And now I live in a country where there is no more danger for me and my family. We can make a brighter future, Insha’Allah. I left family members behind, and I hope that someday we will see them again. We have passed the difficult days.

Thanks a lot to all volunteers who work in Hearts & Homes for Refugees for helping me and my family to be resettled and start my new life. For the sake of humanity, I also wish that one day I can willingly work with you as a volunteer. You are our family and we love you!

Uncredited images courtesy of Mohammad Idris Rasuli

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