Kent family reunited after Afghanistan rescue

KING COUNTY, Washington – A Kent family has been reunited again after the mother and her three children have spent a terrifying month trying to leave Afghanistan.

Applause greeted the Jabarkhail family when mom and three children under the age of 12 finally arrived home.

They were visiting family in Afghanistan when Kabul turned into chaos and they were trapped – despite the children being US citizens and their mother a lawful permanent resident.

We were asked not to show his face, in order to protect his remaining family in Afghanistan.

Former army translator Jabarkhail waited alone at his home in Kent, desperately trying to get them out.

“I’m celebrating this day. My family is back here, they are safe. It’s a lot for me. It’s the world for me, ”he said.

Watching the chaos on TV he feared they would never return home to Kent.

“I felt so sad. I was so upset I had no idea what was going to happen with my family.

The children are happy to be home after an experience that no one wants a child to endure.

“Even my son said, daddy, I saw the Taliban on the road, they have long hair, they look pretty dangerous, they have guns, real guns you know.”

The family was welcomed by veterans who served in Afghanistan. They created Project Dynamo and Task Force Pineapple to bring out translators and other people who worked with Americans. They did not know Jabarkhail until he contacted them almost a month ago after seeing a newspaper article about their work.

“Fortunately, we were able to get a plane out of Afghanistan, but it took a lot of work from many people involved in this effort,” said Chris Franco, who is part of the effort.

“These are the champions, these are the heroes, they saved an American family,” Jabarkhail said.

Project Dynamo and Task Force Pineapple work to remove hundreds more threatened with reprisals in Afghanistan

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