a rude message from a woman in Kabul to her sister in Chile

“I really appreciate your concern and support, but I prefer not to speak. I’m very scared. ”On the other side of the message is Zahra, a young Afghan woman who has come Chile and today he is studying medicine at the country’s leading public university.

Since Sunday, his friends have qualified his state of “shock” and his concern for only one, after the Taliban assault on Kabul: his sister Zainab.

Zainab’s story mirrors that of many Afghan women who, after the American occupation, lived a real liberation.

For 20 years, the young woman got married, divorced – What in Islamic fundamentalism is drastically condemned – and she begins a vigorous university career which leads her to become a university professor. This whole path has come back to zero.

Request to the government of Chile

A group of university classmates and friends of Zahra on Sunday activated a communication effort to push the government of Sebastián Piñera to do something to help the family of this young woman, who is a permanent resident of Chile and, according to her friends , “Has acquired a very special affection for the country, she is very comfortable and happy here”.

The first to respond were the directors of his house of studies and the former Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs, Juan Gabriel Valdés.

The rector of the University of Chile, Ennio Vivaldi, and the former diplomat immediately picked up the phone to call the chancellor, Andrés Allamand, and tell him the story.

At that point, the university’s communications team was reaching out to the media to tell the story.

Zahra asked not to give her name, the first message to arrive mentioned only a “young Afghan student”. Over the hours, this became more flexible, reinforced by the support his cause garnered.

International initiative

In the Trans-Andean government, two ministers closely followed the situation and made contact with the future doctor and her circle of friends. The Chancellor and the government spokesperson, Jaime Bellolio. Chile was already preparing a plan.

It was through a tweet that Allamand announced that Chile would join international effort to evacuate the leaders of human rights defenders and women.

With the hours, more information has been added: Chile has informed the NGO “Front Line Defenders” that it is available to shelter ten Afghan families whose members are threatened by the Taliban regime.

Social media immediately started asking: Will Zainab be coming on this flight?

“I’m sure the Taliban will get rid of me soon.” This is how drastic and dramatic the audio message Zaiban sent to Channel 13 of Chile from Kabul was. “They are going to make my life impossible,” he added.

Complex rescue operation

From the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they point out Bugle that there is all the will to help Zahra’s family and other Afghan women face the human tragedy in this country.

However, they explain that the logistics operation is not from the Chilean Air Force. “It’s Front Line Defenders who articulate the planes and see how to get them out of Kabul. We said, we can receive up to 10 families and we want them to be women leaders ”, they specify from the offices of the ministry.

The problem is that, if the airport collapsed on Monday, on Tuesday NATO forces no longer dominated the entire property.

“They tell us from Afghanistan that there is an area of ​​the airport that is already Taliban, which makes the rescue operation more and more difficult every minute,” they add from the team. Minister of Foreign Affairs.

For this reason, Allamand stressed that they are “crossing their fingers” that Zainab can come in one of these planes. But there are no certainties. The visa, the asylum and the resources for their integration in Chile are assured, yes.

Bugle was able to confirm that the NGO Front Line Defenders is already in contact with Zainab. However, a possible departure flight does not yet have a precise date. Only one attempt: Wednesday, conditions permitting.

The Chilean community looks forward to a happy ending for these two sisters. For now, the resolution has ellipses.

Santiago de Chile, special for Clarin

CB