A journey from Kabul to Bishkek

FROMA JOURNEY KABUL TO BISHKEK Stories of Evacuated Students from Afghanistan to Bishkek After the U.S. Military Withdrawal



INTRODUCTION In the summer of 2021, with the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan looming, the administration of the American University of Central Asia (AUCA) developed a strategy with the support of the Open Society University Network (OSUN) to provide scholarships to Afghan graduates. AUCA has had a large contingent of undergraduate Afghan students for the past decade, thanks to scholarships provided by the US Embassy in Kabul/US State Department and Open Society Foundations (OSF). The new scholarships were envisioned as a means to provide opportunity to graduates, as Afghanistan faced an uncertain future. As the summer progressed and the Taliban began to take control of an ever-larger area, it became evident that a concerted effort on the part of AUCA and its partners would be needed to help AUCA students still in Afghanistan, including the MA students, so that they could arrive in Bishkek to begin the fall term. With a Taliban takeover seemingly inevitable, AUCA also began working with the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF). AUAF, whose campus in Kabul had previously been attacked and was ultimately shut down, agreed to try and bring many of their students to Bishkek as well. In the final weeks of August, AUCA, AUAF, the US State Department, OSUN, OSF, Bard College and Bard College Berlin (BCB) worked together to find safe passage from Afghanistan for students from AUCA, AUAF, the American University of Beirut, and the OSCE Academy in Bishkek. In the days immediately prior to the US troop withdrawal, AUAF and AUCA transported students safely to Hamid Karzai International Airport; AUAF, OSF and Bard College secured evacuation planes; and BCB worked with the German Foreign Ministry and German aid organizations to get students onto planes. Unfortunately, despite incredible effort, at this time no AUCA or AUAF students were able to enter the airport and make it to safety abroad. With US forces withdrawn and Karzai Airport closed, the evacuation team decided to attempt a novel approach–evacuate students overland from Kabul to Islamabad, Pakistan via the Torkham border crossing and the Khyber Pass. With the support of OSF, the Kyrgyz and Pakistani governments, and working with a Finish security firm, a dedicated team scattered across the globe (from Bishkek, Islamabad and Kabul to Amman, Helsinki, and New York) worked tirelessly for two weeks to transport 114 students across the Pakistan border. Students were given less than 24 hours’ notice to gather at clandestine meeting points without luggage, then left in the middle of the night for the arduous journey through Taliban checkpoints to the border. Once at the border they were on their own, facing large crowds and chaos and often long, nerve-wracking waits, threats of violence, and on at least one occasion, violence. The passage through the border was also harrowing, with guards seemingly stopping groups for hours without reason, students with positive Covid-19 rapid tests being separated from their classmates without either group knowing what would happen to them, and a fear that those waiting to meet them once they passed into Pakistan were not who they purported to be. Of the ten groups of students that attempted the overland journey, nine of them successfully crossed (all students from the failed attempt crossed with later groups). Nine students had the unfortunate experience of being quarantined in Landi Kotal near the border, but in the end all 114 students made it safely to Islamabad. By late September, Kabul’s airport reopened and Pakistan International Airlines began to offer irregular flights to Islamabad. Though less dramatic than the overland crossing, securing flights, visas and safe entry into the airport proved just as challenging. With perseverance, patience, and considerable luck, an additional 63 students were able to travel from Kabul to Islamabad on three different flights. Amazingly, all students who agreed to the overland evacuation and all students who attempted securing a seat on a flight to Islamabad made it to Pakistan without serious incident. No one was seriously injured, fell seriously ill, or was a victim of a crime. Students waited in Islamabad from two to 30 days for onward travel to Bishkek, but all were eventually able to leave Pakistan and resume their studies. These are some of the stories of the brave students who made the journey and the international team that helped make it possible. Although edited for brevity, each story is in the teller’s own words. 3

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Shamsuddin Amin 25 years old MA in Central Asian Studies American University of Central Asia Nangarhar Province August 14 began as a usual workday. We participated in a meeting at the governor’s office. That day, I was working closely with rural communities of Eastern Laghman to facilitate a crucial aspect of the project I was working on. It was to negotiate with the communities to allow women to participate in the project activities. However, fear was slowly sinking into the office, as the provinces were collapsing faster than expected and the news on the fall of Laghman was circulating. We were warned by our security team to leave the offices and seek refuge in Nangarhar. Around 12 p.m. I was done with the first meetings of the day with the community, as I received updates that the Taliban had entered the city and were hiding in houses. In total disbelief, our security team rushed us to cars to take public transportation, to spread out and leave the city. We were forced to leave everything behind. In the afternoon, Kunar province collapsed with no resistance, and in the evening Laghman and Nangarhar collapsed without any resistance from the Afghan National Army. We were forced to hide in relatives’ houses, as we were affiliated with a prominent NGO and were activists. The first thought that rushed through my mind was the safety of my family. The idea that I had to suspend my projects was haunting me. For weeks, I was in shock and could not imagine what had happened. In fear as the Talibs were searching for former government and NGO employees, I had to erase all the data I had on my pc, phone and had to get rid of my documents. In a matter of hours, the way of life I knew, and how I imagined my future, was gone. No job, no home, nothing. It was like I was having a nightmare that never ended. I had already made my peace with leaving the country just a week before the fall of the country by accepting a scholarship to study at AUCA, but I never thought it would be under such circumstances. Saying goodbyes to family and friends was difficult and leaving everything behind was hard, but my family was supportive of my decision. My dad helped me get to Kabul, as I was too afraid to travel alone. My mom, she is the greatest human I have ever known, hugged me as she was weeping and told me, “My sweet child you have suffered a lot, may God protect you from all the evil, I may not be alive when you return back but never forget your homeland.” It was a bittersweet moment. I had to make a hard journey but the feeling of being safe, to follow my dreams of studying and to just be alive, helped me through such moments. It was an emotional journey, full of memories. The night we were leaving, we gathered at a friend’s place, hiding from threats unknown to us, afraid of everyone and everything. When we entered Pa- kistan, we all were relieved having escaped the brutality. Afghanistan is my passion; I am in love with this country. However, considering the current political climate and without seeing a significant change, it would be difficult to return. But I am an optimist. I hope for a brighter future, when youth like me can come back to the country and rebuild it. I ask the international community to not forget Afghanistan. People are suffering, lives are at stake. Millions of Afghans are starving for food, education and opportunities. Please help the people in these difficult times. Please do not let my beloved country, my people, my young siblings suffer more. 5

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Hanifa Yari 25yearsold MA in Talent Management American University of Central Asia Ghazni Province Afew months earlier I had proudly returned home with a bachelor’s degree and secured a job. I grew increasingly concerned in the run-up to the collapse, thinking about myself, my family, my loved ones. I used to repeatedly ask friends who followed the developments closely for analysis, and for what one could expect in the coming weeks and months. Everyone seemed to be optimistic and believed that it was impossible for the Taliban to take over Kabul. However, they did believe that they might be in control of the borders and could put pressure on the market. At around 10:30am on Saturday, 14 August 2021, I was sitting in the Cupcake Café which was newly opened in Qala-e Fatahullah, Kabul. On that day, I had several applications to review for one last time before submission. It took me about two hours to finalize and submit my application. While walking to get a taxi to go home, I noticed that the situation was weirdly different. There were signs of chaos, and people were rushing to ATM machines to withdraw cash. With a close friend of mine, I went to a few of the ATM machines for cash, but none had any cash left. Disappointed, I took a taxi home. It was around 10:30 or 11:00 am the next day I had many messages stating that all the provinces had fallen to the Taliban. I was shocked and totally numb. In another group on WhatsApp a friend said that she had started hiding all her English documents, laptops, etc. I went out of my room and while my voice was trembling, I shared the news with my family. In an hour, I had decided to collect all my documents and hide some very important ones but burn the rest, but then decided to shred them. I had some certificates from school, and other programs. Before destroying my documents, I took photos of the most important of them and sent them to my sister in Bishkek, and asked her to save them for me. When I started destroying the certificates I couldn’t stop weeping. I started thinking about applying for the MA scholarship program at AUCA. I applied, got accepted and applied for Kyrgyz visa. On 16 of August 2020, I read about the huge crowd at the gates of Kabul Airport and the evacuation. I do not remember when I first heard about the process of evacuation by AUCA, but those days the only thing that helped me not to lose my spirit was knowing that I would be out of the country soon. After about a month, and with two unsuccessful attempts to get to the airport, we were evacuated overland through the Torkham border crossing to Pakistan, and from there to Kyrgyzstan. I left for the airport, my heart heavy and my mind busy thinking about what would happen. The most painful thought was leaving my country and my family forever, not knowing whether and when I could return. I also kept thinking about where my country was headed, and what the future had in store for women and girls under the rule of a misogynist group. It was extremely agonizing, painfully shattering, and unspeakably disappointing. I couldn’t imagine how helpless we all had become – a generation who had ambitious plans and big dreams for changing the country into a better place for everyone. I do not remember how long I wept in silence, for my family back in Kabul and for the country and its people. I wished I had the power to change everything in this land. Around 7:30 in the morning we arrived at the Torkham border crossing, standing in a queue waiting for the border to open. I made sure to check my hijab continuously to make sure my hair was not visible as that might give the guards any excuse to misbehave with me. One of the fighters approached us and asked for our passports. I started sweating and trembling as my passport photo was without a hijab. They checked the passports several times and left some of them on a chair and came closer to the crowd. It was about 11:00 a.m. that we had our passports stamped with entry permits and we began moving towards the bus waiting to take us to Islamabad. The few days in Islamabad were a relief as we felt safe and did some shopping. It was almost unbelievable for me and other fellows that we finally made it to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. When we collected our belongings from the airport, we desperately needed a place to lie down and sleep for hours. I missed home badly, wishing Afghanistan were a peaceful country and families were not forced to be separated. I was wounded deep inside. For days, I felt lost. Nothing was pleasant for me as before. I didn’t feel the weather, the streets, the food, or the environment. My thoughts roamed in the streets of Kabul, in the cafes that I had loved, in the shopping malls that I went to, in the gatherings that I went to, and at my home where I had left a family behind. I sometimes checked on my friends who were still in Kabul, always thinking what would happen to them under the rule of the Taliban. 7

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Ahmad Ahmad Zai 21 years old BA in Computer Science American University of Afghanistan Kabul Province Iwas working as a translator with one of the international consulting and translation companies in Kabul and had started my undergraduate program at the AUAf in 2020. Life was good. Then the Taliban took over and I had to leave the country. I remember the day when the president ran away; he released a statement on his Facebook page saying the national army of Afghanistan was fighting back and “we will win this war” and so on. Later that day–I think it was August 15th—we heard that our president fled and our army fully surrendered. I started thinking about all kinds of stuff. Being killed; watching my family face difficult times; my sisters not being able to go to school anymore… A few days after the takeover, one of the police officers came to our street and started searching our home. It was evening when he entered our house with his militants and took our car, saying that it now belonged to the government. When the Taliban took our car, I knew that we did not have many days left. That is when I reached out to my university and asked if we could be evacuated. They assured me that they would evacuate me but not my family. It was a hard time deciding to leave my family and friends in a difficult situation. They all did not know whether they would ever see me again or if I would see them alive again. I still had some hope in my heart because AUAF and AUCA were planning on evacuating us, but I was also getting so impatient. I had a small bag prepared and hoped I would get a call for evacuation. My luggage did not contain books, laptops, or other study materials but was filled with clothing. It seemed that we were stuck in a war zone or among zombies. In simple words, the situation was similar to a horror or an apocalyptic movie. I was worried about my luggage. Every evening I used to open my bag and check everything to make sure there was nothing that could get me into trouble. I finally got a call for evacuation. My journey from Kabul to Bishkek was one of the most unforgettable moments of my life. Many other groups were evacuated before us and by land. I can’t even imagine how they and the evacuation team managed to do that. We submitted our passports to a travel agency and were going to be evacuated by air. After submitting our documents and getting the tickets and visas we were ready for the trip. No one slept. Not the students nor the evacuation team. Very early in the morning we were gathered in several locations and the cars came to pick us up and drop us to the airport. We were getting instructions from the evacuation teams in Bishkek and in New York and in Pakistan. We got to the airport and went through many checkpoints. I think we all aged that day. When we arrived in Bishkek, we didn’t know the language and we were worried about housing, food and other things. Everything happened so fast that we didn’t know all the details. After the quarantine was over and we had our orientation, things started to take a turn. 9

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Amina Aimaq 22 years old MA in Talent Management American University of Central Asia Kunduz Province Unforeseen, one day prior to the fall of Kabul I was at home packing my luggage. I had a flight on Tuesday that week—the third week of August. On the day of the collapse, I was home alone. I received a phone call from my brother, who said that the Pole-Charkhi prison had released all prisoners and to stay at home. Suddenly all networks stopped working. The only thing which was on my mind at that time was my family. They were outside. I started thinking, this is it. I will stay there forever stuck with the Taliban, obeying their rule and law. I never thought I would ever leave Afghanistan again. One of the worst things I ever did in my life was leave my family in that condition. I had to. They wanted me to continue studying. I don’t know what would have happened to me if I was still there. Sometimes I think that I was thinking only about myself, even though my family was super supportive about my evacuation. I will never forget that night when I said goodbye to my family and I was thinking, when will I meet them again in my life. Choosing Kyrgyzstan was not mine but my family’s choice because they wanted me to be safe and in a peaceful country and live a normal life. The journey to Islamabad was the saddest for me. I was not in a good condition; the whole way I was thinking about my mother. I only remember I was with a nice and kind family on the road trip. The mother of the family said one thing which my mother also told me before leaving the country which was “it’s not the first time that we Afghans are leaving our country and immigrating to another place. Be patient and know that we will all return here and I will see you here again.” When I arrived in Bishkek I realized everything had changed. I will never go back to Afghanistan in summers the way I used to. But, all that aside, I am so grateful to the people who helped to evacuate us; they saved many lives and many talents. I am not sure yet if I want to live in Afghanistan because I have trauma and bad memories. I avoid thinking about Afghanistan because it only gives me pain and aches my heart. I will never forget I brought my 22 years of life in one backpack. If I ever know one of my wishes will come true, I will wish my country to find peace and my people to not die from poverty and hunger. 11

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Ahmad Bais Oryakhel 22 years old BA in Information Technology American University of Afghanistan Kabul Province Iheard lots of scary stories about the Taliban from my elders. I was shocked at what the Taliban did and was like. For a while I thought that everything had just collapsed and we lost all our dreams and our future. I was lost for a while. The Taliban has ruined all my goals and my hopes, because the doors of education were closed that day, as well as all businesses. Everything just stopped. Moving to a new country and starting over is one of the scariest things for anyone, especially when you have to leave your country and it is not your choice. The journey was not very exciting because we all were sad for our families and our country. I was very scared to move to Bishkek. However, with the support of the evacuation team and faculty and staff of AUCA we adjusted very quickly. I really appreciate the team that has helped us in evacuation in this difficult and dangerous time. Going back to Afghanistan and serving my country and people is not my wish but it is my goal. When I heard of the evacuation, I promised myself that one day I will come back to my beloved country with full hands to serve her. I wish that one day I and other students can help bring peace and unity to our beautiful country. 13

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Bibi Mahdia Yari 22 years old American University of Afghanistan Kabul Province BA in International and Comparative Politics It was an ugly day because Kabul fell to the Taliban. I thought I had lost everything that I worked for for years and could not continue my education. It was during the final days of American troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan that I heard about the evacuation. Nothing else came to my mind besides my education. Leaving at midnight I couldn’t say goodbye to my friends or extended family members. I could only say goodbye to my parents and siblings, possibly for the last time. I departed in haste, leaving them in tears and sorrow. The trip from Kabul to Torkham was good, but we had a fearful feeling because the Taliban were in every part of the borders and streets. The people who were with me had the feeling of returning and not crossing the border. It was a dangerous trip because we were on the border for more than 12 hours and traveling for more than 24 hours until we arrived in Islamabad. We didn’t eat, we didn’t sleep, nothing. When I had my flight to Bishkek, I could not believe that I was leaving Islamabad and going to Kyrgyzstan. I had a good feeling and was happy that I was traveling there. When I arrived in Bishkek, I was too excited to see everything, including the city and people. I am privileged to be here in Bishkek and follow my dreams. It was a bitter but good experience and the hardest decision of my life. I will follow my goals at any cost. 15

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Faezeh Fathi 22 years old BA in Business American University of Afghanistan Herat Province There were two options for me: staying in a country with no education and consecutive dangers or pursuing my education and protecting my values. On Saturday at 7 a.m. we went to the airport and then flew to Islamabad. In Islamabad, we saw some famous city sites. It was nice and we were calm. Our families were happy. On October 8, we flew to Bishkek. It was all new for me—the people, customs, food, weather, everything. My only dream is to return to Afghanistan when things are normal again, so I can come back to my country and my birthplace and serve my country like other people do in countries around the world. I admire and appreciate the efforts and hard work of those who did us a favor during evacuation. 17

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Farhadullah Shayan 28 years old MA in Economics American University of Central Asia Nangarhar Province It was horrific. Never had I imagined in my wildest dreams that the country, and Kabul in particular, would fall into the hands of the Taliban. A day before the fall of Kabul, around 3:30 in the afternoon, I received an email from AUCA asking me to move to Kabul at the earliest possible time. I decided to leave for Kabul early in the morning the next day. Since that day, nothing was routine anymore. The entire government system collapsed. An entire generation that grew up under the republic in the last 20 years felt helpless, broken and dismayed at what the future would hold for them now. For many youths, their dreams shattered overnight. My first two attempted evacuations were a failure. I returned home hopelessly and awaited the next call for evacuation. On the night of September 16, my journey with a group of other Afghan fellows began by land through the Torkham borderline. My only child, my wife, my parents and siblings were all in tears. I too couldn’t resist crying. It was extremely painful to leave my family behind knowing that things were not the same anymore. I still wonder how I pulled this whole thing off. Although I had made my decision to leave, I was not sure whether this was a sensible decision, which kept bothering me for weeks to come. Everyone in our group was concerned about their security and wellbeing until we crossed the border and made it to Pakistan. Although broken and dejected, I felt at peace. Life is short, be grateful. Don’t take your family and friends for granted. Cherish every moment you are in the company of your family. They have made unconditional sacrifices for your sake, never let them down. 19

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Anonymous 28 years old Ghor Province MA in Talent Management December 16, 2021 The office where I recently started working as an interpreter decided to evacuate its staff and their family members who were at risk. I asked my family to come from Herat to Kabul. It took them more than 24 hours to get to Kabul. On August 31, my family and I left Kabul for the Torkham border but when we arrived there, we were not allowed to cross the border because we still didn’t have any approval or necessary documents. We waited there for two days in a hotel close to the border. The Taliban entered the hotel and arrested our boss who was a British man. They also captured me and my brother from the hotel. It was a nightmare. The last thing I saw was my mother unconscious on the floor, my dad and sister crying out loud, my younger brother screaming. I was the main target because I was the interpreter for my company, but they kidnapped my brother as well. Unfortunately, all my educational, employment and other important documents/ my computer were with me as they brought me to the Taliban compound. The jail was very scary, dirty, and there was not enough food. We were in the Taliban jail for about a month. Finally my relatives, with the help of some elders of the tribe, managed to get me out. A week after I was released I was evacuated with other students to Islamabad and then Bishkek with the support of AUCA. It was very difficult to say goodbye to my family after all they went through. I will never forget that goodbye. I tried my best to keep myself as strong as possible. It is going well now in Bishkek, I am pursuing my master degree which is one of my main goals. I am safe and healthier now. I will always love my country. But what I went through will never be easy to forget. I hope one day to forget all these bad memories and experiences. I hope the world will not forget about Afghanistan. I hope my country will stand on its own feet one day. I want all Afghan women to stay strong and fight for their rights. 21

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Meena Nickyar 21 years old BA in Business Administration American University of Afghanistan Kabul Province In the morning when I opened the window, I saw Taliban cars with white flags covering the streets and they were shooting and shouting “AL-fatah Mubarak,” which means “happy conquest.” I can not describe how it feels to leave your homeland and your family behind. I started to think that I was being very selfish when I left all my loved ones when I knew they were in danger but I had to leave them because I know if I stayed I couldn’t do anything for them or myself. I had to leave to stay alive. We all left everything and took all our dreams and goals in a small backpack to Kyrgyzstan to start a new life here. We are going to study and will start a new life full of adventure. It’s true that we have everything in Kyrgyzstan but it will never be the same as our own country. I wish to go back to Afghanistan once I know I can live there like I was before 15th August of 2021. 23

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Mustafa Sabri 21 years old Kabul Province BA in Business Administration American University of Afghanistan Iwas having discussions about the situation in Afghanistan with my father. I felt a very strange tone of voice as my father was speaking. I always had heard him being optimistic about the country and about the end of the war which would mean a stop to the death of thousands of Afghans. But in that last week, I could see that he was sensing another huge period of trouble and hardship for all the people in our country. During that whole time, the question I was constantly asking was if AUAf was going to continue after the Taliban took power. Although I somehow knew the answer, I still needed others to tell me otherwise just to be able to console myself that our university would continue functioning and all our dreams wouldn’t be killed in a matter of a few weeks. I had a goal to pursue a graduate degree in business outside Afghanistan. After the fall of Kabul, I not only needed to forget about that forever, but I also was trying to convince myself that even though the Taliban had taken our university’s campus, I could graduate online. As soon as I read the email about the plans of our university for student evacuations, a strange feeling came over me. It was between seeing myself as lucky to be able to pursue my education and my dreams, but also leaving my family and country behind. As planned by my university, 8 classmates and I left together from my place at 6 a.m on that Saturday morning. As cars arrived to take us to the airport, I couldn’t help but go back to my mother just to hug her one last time. It was a quiet and breezy morning and only a few people could be seen far away from us which made my last hour in my town truly an unforgettable experience. 25

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Nadia Arifi 28 years old Kabul Province MA in Talent Management American University of Central Asia The day Kabul fell, the first thought that came to my mind was “life is over”. All the education, all the efforts over the years were gone, especially for women. Previously, I never thought I would have to wear a burqa ever again. Kyrgyzstan is a second home to me and moving to Kyrgyzstan was a joyful feeling. However, leaving everything behind made me realize that no matter what you have in life, the only main source you can carry is yourself. You have to take care of yourself first to be able to take care of others around you. A lot of people were standing and waiting for hours and days to get through the border but we were one of the luckiest people who got through the border within a few hours. Some of the students had concerns regarding their families, some others were concerned with current economic situations since they were the only breadwinners of their families. I overheard one of the students in the group say, “I was the only one who worked and provided for the family, now that I am out, who will be there for them, who will take care of them?” The first arrival to Bishkek was like being at home. When I saw the AUCA crew at the airport, waiting for us with the list in their hands and with the provided transportation and food, I was overwhelmed. I wish no one ever in their life will have to face the situation we did. We had our AUCA family but what if others have no one for their support? 27

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Nilofar Painda 25 years old BA in Human Rights American University of Central Asia Kabul Province Iwent back to Afghanistan a few weeks before the fall of Kabul. I went for summer holidays and to see my family. It was Sunday morning and I arrived at my friend’s house at 10:00 a.m. I didn’t see anything on my way there because everything appeared to be normal. Around 11.30 a.m., we heard some firing sounds and saw many posts on social media reporting sightings of Taliban in various parts of Kabul. We canceled our plans to go outside and waited inside. We were getting a lot of calls from our university about upgrading our tickets so we could leave the country as soon as possible. By the time it was clear that the Taliban had taken control of the capital, Fly Dubai had notified us that flights would be canceled until October. I saw a lot of hopelessness in the eyes of my Afghan brothers and sisters. I’m at a loss for words when it comes to describing the emotions I had upon returning to Kyrgyzstan after the overland evacuation. When we were in the car, we were discussing what we should say to the Taliban if they stopped us. One of my friends suggested we should pretend to be cousins, and we would ask the driver to impersonate our father or uncle, so the Taliban don’t think we’re students on our way to Islamabad. We were three girls in a vehicle, and we hid our laptops inside our clothes so they wouldn’t see them. Even though we were sorry to leave our family behind, coming to Bishkek was an extremely pleasant feeling. In fact, we were happy that we came back to our university and now we can continue our education. “The misery in war-torn Afghanistan is reminiscent of images from the Thirty Years’ War.” - Jurgen Habermas 29

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Hassibullah Ranjbar 18 years old New Generation Academy American University of Central Asia Baghlan Province Everything changed when AUCA sent me an email that they were evacuating their students by land from Afghanistan to Pakistan and then Bishkek. On one hand, I was thrilled because of the opportunity to study at AUCA but on the other, I was supposed to leave everything behind in Afghanistan. That feeling was the worst feeling I have ever had because I was thinking that whether I will see my family, my friends, or my loved ones again or not. My family was always an encouraging family and as they heard about this opportunity they told me that I should not miss it. When I arrived in Bishkek I felt like I was safe and now I can live my life even better than before. I am studying in one of the best universities in the region. My only concern is my family living in Afghanistan under the government of the Taliban. I hope that one day I will have a country in which I can live without any fear and a country to which I can return and serve my people. 31

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Maryam Ranjbar 25 years old Master of Law American University of Central Asia Baghlan Province That morning everyone was frightened, and everyone was inside their homes. There was no longer hope for living in Afghanistan. At that point I was thinking, this will get worse and I will either be forced to get married to a Taliban or killed for the work I have done for international organizations and for holding a degree from AUCA. I was not sure if applying to the AUCA MA program would help me get out of Afghanistan but I still applied. I didn’t know I would be evacuated and brought to Bishkek. I still can’t believe it happened. When I think about everything, it just seems like a dream. I still can’t believe I am out of Afghanistan, alive and safe. 33

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Sahiba Mehry 21 years old BA in Software Engineering American University of Afghanistan Kabul Province Iwas in my own world, positive and hopeful. Suddenly, I heard the sounds of shops closing, chaos in our street and people moving faster and faster to get to their houses by foot, car or whatever. It was not that scary until I saw a car crossing the street with a man carrying the white flag of Taliban and yelling “AL-fatah Mubarak.” That was the first time I saw Talib from a short distance. I was looking from the window and I worried that if they saw me looking at them from the window they might shoot me. I was frozen. I saw a scared young woman who was trying to hide her whole body and hair with a small scarf. That was the time I realized women won’t be happy anymore, everything is finished. I can’t believe it’s now all in the past and I am safe and studying. 35

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Abdul Salam Faiq 22 years old BA in IT and computer science American University of Afghanistan Herat Province Iwas in Kabul going to the office to work on developing new software that aimed to help students prepare for the university entrance exam. The day when Kabul fell, I was thinking of all the plans that I had. I was trying to stay positive and come up with a solution, but people were sharing disturbing news on social media. The evacuation news made us hopeful. When I talked to my family, they were happy that I could leave and finish my studies. My father and mother are in Herat, and I was in Kabul, so I got used to saying goodbye to them. But this one was tough because I knew that I would not see them in a very long time. It was indeed challenging when I first arrived in Bishkek. This was not something that we were ready for. But I was trying to look at the bright side of it. Thinking of it as a new experience made me look forward to it. The journey was pretty good. I had a good time with my friends and classmates. We were all planning on what to do in Bishkek and making the most out of it. I am looking forward to opportunities coming around, and I am trying to get back on track on the things that got delayed due to events back in the country. 37

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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. 39

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Ahmad Seyar Daqiq 20 years old BA in Software Engineering American University of Afghanistan Mazar-e-sharif Province Ihad been conducting programs that aimed to reach youth, and females especially, because they are the most vulnerable people in Afghanistan. I was a member of AIESEC (Association Internationale des Étudiants en Sciences Économiques et Commerciales) and G+ (Generation positive) and the main organizer for the TEDxMazar team. Through these programs I was able to help my community to the best of my abilities. After graduating from high school, I was admitted to AUAF. I was staying in my uncle’s house in Kabul because Mazar-e-Sharif had already fallen. When Kabul fell, my dreams were shattered. I had no future and no education. I was threatened with death because of my beliefs about a free nation. When I got a Pakistani visa for evacuation, I had mixed feelings. Being free of extremism and continuing my education sparked hope in me but the feeling of leaving every dream I had for my country broke my heart. Together we made memories like no other. So many conversations were exchanged between us as a way of ignoring the fact that we might not be able to return to our motherland again. I will be more than happy to return to my country and serve my people. However, if Islamic misinterpreted extremism remains present in my country, it will be hard to return due to the hardships we all faced. 41

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Habibullah Sahak 21 years old BA in Political Science (Peace & Transitional Justice) American University of Afghanistan Kabul Province Hours were not passing. Saturday the 14th of August was like a year. Sunday started and Kabul fell once again. I was downtown; people were shocked that everyone was running as if zombies were arriving in the city. I rushed home. I was in total shock. I was not ready to leave my family, friends, people, and country to save my life and pursue my education and career. My family wanted me to go safely, but they hardly controlled their emotions. Those moments were the most challenging moments of my life. Those vibes are unforgettable. Just God knows what’s going on inside my heart while writing this… my friends were in despair; they lost everything, including their families, their businesses and everything else. It is going well in Bishkek. I want to say thank you to Kyrgyzstan, AUCA, Jonathan Becker and the evacuation team. They were the big game players; I am impressed by their tenacity and commitment. My friends and colleagues are still surviving in Afghanistan. If there is any possibility, I hope AUCA will do their best to help other AUAF students as well. Thank you for everything. 43

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Mohammad Navid Zafari 21 years old BA in Business Administration American University of Afghanistan Ghazni Province Igot a call which told me not to leave home because Taliban forces had entered Kabul city. My very first thought was that I was stuck a day after booking tickets to leave Afghanistan because of the situation and threats. I felt like everything came to an end; my future, education, dreams and goals. I heard about the evacuation plan soon after the fall and my family encouraged me to leave and save my life. It was one of the hardest decisions of my life to leave my family in that situation. My journey was quite good. I knew some of the evacuees from AUAF, and I was happy to meet lots of great people during the journey. I never felt like I had no one. We went to visit places in Islamabad and Bishkek together. I remember the words from one of my friends saying, “We should be happy that we have our friends around and that is a blessing. Enjoy the moments with the people around you”. I want to thank the evacuation team who worked so hard day and night to make the evacuation possible and create a way out for the students. And a special thanks to AUAF for not leaving their students and standing on the words of making tomorrow’s future leaders. I pray for my country and my people to have the life they deserve. 45

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The Evacuation Team 47

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Jonathan Becker Interim President of AUCA Vice Chancellor of OSUN Vice President for Academic Affairs, Bard College Ihave worked with Afghan students for many years at AUCA, where I am a board member and Interim president, a position I also held in 2018-19. Afghan students are also active participants in civic engagement activities within Bard’s undergraduate liberal arts network, and many AUCA and AUAF students have enrolled in OSUN online courses that I co-taught last spring and summer. My involvement with planning for new support for Afghan students began in June 2021, even before it was clear that an evacuation might be needed. The US had reaffirmed its plans to leave Afghanistan in April. While there was a general belief that there would be a difficult post-US transition, the view expressed by many “experts” was that the government could hold out at least a half year, and likely longer. At that time, I approached Alex Soros and other leaders in OSUN about setting up a scholarship program to welcome back Afghan graduates of AUCA BA programs into its MA programs. Alex responded positively and almost immediately. We set up an Afghan response team at AUCA consisting of such major offices as International Affairs, Alumni Affairs, and Academic Affairs, to be responsible for outreach and planning, and brought in staff at Bard College to help with logistics. We were moving ahead with advertising graduate programs for alumni of AUCA in early July, when events in Afghanistan accelerated. I taught an OSUN summer course on civic engagement which had a number of Afghan students enrolled, and they reported on Taliban advances, including attacks on their homes and those of friends and loved ones. A journalist friend with great experience in the region, George Packer, warned me that time was shorter than estimated (although even he was ultimately surprised by the speed of the Taliban takeover). He advised me to read Thurston Clarke’s book, Honorable Exit, about the end of the Vietnam war, which focused on efforts by Americans to evacuate Vietnamese friends and colleagues in the weeks and months leading up to the US exit from the country. Clarke’s book vividly demonstrates the most important lesson that shaped our approach to assisting Afghan students throughout: determined people have the capacity to influence outcomes. In a class on civic engagement taken by many Afghans, we teach that individuals have agency; they are not simply beholden to forces beyond their control. More specifically, Clarke demonstrated that in chaotic moments such as military retreat, you cannot rely on governments, particularly senior officials, who have their own priorities. Instead, you must take control of your own fate and that of others about whom you care. This might mean working with mid-level government officials willing to ignore their superiors, as Clarke wrote, or civil society networks, as we discussed in my Civic Engagement class. Clarke made clear that in order to succeed in such chaotic times, you need to be prepared to improvise, take risks, and refuse to be deterred by authoritative voices telling you something is impossible, because passivity leads to failure. You need to try multiple approaches and be willing to take steps without knowing for certain what comes next. Moreover, you cannot not be deterred by failure. Clarke offers a sober reminder of what was at stake by tracking the lives of those who were evacuated and those who were not. Sadly, we had a glimpse of this a year earlier, in the summer of 2020, when AUCA graduate Fatime (Natasaha) Khalil was murdered in Kabul while she was working for the Afghan Human Rights Commission. 49

In early August, as the Taliban swept across the country, we were acutely aware that if they took power it would have tremendous negative consequences for the well-being of our graduates and the educational futures of all Afghans, especially women, who constituted a majority of our students. The first several weeks of our work, from mid-August to early September, were largely unsuccessful. Not only had we been unable to get our graduates out of the country, but some of our undergraduates who had yet to leave Kabul had flights canceled and were now stuck in- country. Twice in the waning days of the American presence we and our partner, the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF), had students on buses ready to go to the airport, but both times we could not get permission from senior US authorities to gain entry, so both trips were abandoned. When the Pentagon announced that the last US troops had departed Afghanistan, we had not evacuated a single student. It was extremely disheartening. We had spent two and a half weeks with little sleep, contacting government officials who were unable or unwilling to offer assistance, trying to procure access to buses and airplanes at usurious rates from merchants, and exploring details of various border crossings. Following the departure of the US, we adjusted our approach. Instead of seeking flights of large numbers of students from Kabul, we shifted to a piecemeal overland strategy to get students across the Torkham border into Pakistan, where the Pakistani government allowed students with legitimate educational plans to cross. To do this successfully, we needed several things: a letter from the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs providing students the right of passage, ground transportation to the border and then to Islamabad, accurate communication with students to organize groups and meet-up points, and visas to get students from Pakistan to Kyrgyzstan. Nothing was easy, but we solved each issue as it arose. OSF’s inimitable Omar Waraich, the chief architect of the strategy, opened up communications with the Pakistani foreign ministry, where a kind mid-level official issued approved lists to allow students to enter the country. A Finnish security firm, which was recommended by OSF, arranged ground transport that could navigate around and through Taliban checkpoints. Bryan Billings from Bard College became the master of maintaining accurate lists of students and coordinated between the security firm, Omar, AUCA, and me. AUCA’s International Office, led by the tireless Aselia Umetalieva, kept in close contact with students to arrange the difficult and ever-changing tasks of coordinating departures and meet-up points, aided extensively by Zarlasht Sarmast, an OSUN Civic Engagement Global Fellows Program Coordinator, who is Afghan and who knows Kabul. Chingiz Shamshiev from AUCA worked with the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry, which had taken the bold step of opening up 500 student visas for Afghan students, to secure visas for students. To get students to safety in Kyrgyzstan, each one of these steps needed to succeed, and for each of these major steps there were hundreds of other things that had to occur. But the plan worked. In groups of 9 to 18, divided into cars of 4 and 5 people, we were able to get students from Kabul across the border and into Pakistan. In all, we ran ten cross-border runs over a twelve-day period, of which nine were successful. OSUN was created with the belief that a network of institutions cooperating with each other can generate resilience, and that is what we witnessed. Every day and night we had a team consisting of people from AUCA in Bishkek, Bard College in New York, OSF in Amman, and the security firm in Helsinki, who were spread between Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Finland, working together and coordinating with student leaders on the ground. We were at times joined by representatives of AUAF, who were spread across the globe at Bard College Berlin and OSUN’s Refugee Higher Education Access Program. And for each person I named above from these institutions, there were many others who helped along the way, particularly from AUCA and OSF. It was not easy. Many of us had little sleep for weeks on end. Sometimes we could not secure them visas and students, faced with the difficult choice of leaving friends and family behind, backed out at the last minute. Some students failed Covid tests and were forced into quarantine in Pakistan. On the third trip, a large group of 17 was turned back at the border and some students were beaten by the Taliban. The entire group had to return to Kabul and we debated giving up the land route, but decided to try again a few days later with a small group and succeeded. After the land border became too difficult, we were able, through Omar again, to work out 50