With a marriage certificate and a mobile phone

Wife of a US veteran flees Afghanistan

• Afghan women who served in the Afghan army are now in danger.

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• Some American veterans married Afghan women and had children with whom they were unable to get them out of Afghanistan due to visa problems.

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Sharifa Afzali, amid other desperate Afghans scrambling to get out of Afghanistan, was feeling fearful of the "Taliban" when she reached out her mobile phone to the American soldier blocking the gate of Kabul Airport.

On the other end of the spectrum, her husband was an American veteran of Oklahoma.

'I told her to find out if he would agree to speak to me on the phone,' said husband Hans Wright.

I didn't think he would, but he talked to me."

Wright begged the soldier to bypass the rules for the woman he loved, who did not hold a visa.

Wright told Reuters what happened, saying: "It is from God's generosity that he allowed my wife and my translator to pass."

Afzali managed to get out of Afghanistan, considering herself one of the lucky ones.

Informed sources in the agencies that are racing against time to help evacuate Afghans at risk said that unknown numbers of families whose party is an American and who are afraid of retaliatory steps by the "Taliban" were separated, in the chaos that occurred in an effort to escape from the country before the end of the American evacuation process. Today.

The sources added that in light of the administration of US President Joe Biden giving priority to US passport holders and green residency card holders, many of those flocking to the airport through the Taliban security barriers with Afghan families faced a painful choice, between leaving without relatives, or risking their lives and staying. in Afghanistan.

"We dealt with several cases of families who either separated or were told that only those who hold a (US) passport or green card will be allowed to pass through the gates," said former USAID official, Stasia George.

She added that some had to leave children with the right to US citizenship with their relatives.

Others were able to take children to the airport with family members who had US citizenship or green cards.

Joe McReynolds, an advocate for the evacuation, said he has documented 12 cases of US military personnel who were born in Afghanistan, or US veterans, trying from the United States to bring relatives in, or in the process of obtaining, special immigrant visas.

"If the American soldier was in Afghanistan, we would probably be able to get them out," he said, adding that he was aware of only one of these cases being successful.

He declined to provide details for security reasons.

concerted factors

Afzali's escape was successful in a combination of factors, on top of which were the strength of her determination, luck, her husband, the marriage certificate, and the request for a special immigrant visa.

A crucial contribution came from Ashley Suge, a former US Army special operations officer, who believes an email she sent to White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki played a pivotal role in putting Afzali's name on the airport's passenger list.

Reuters asked Psaki for comment and said that those responsible for saving tens of thousands of lives were the military, women, national security teams and the State Department on the ground in Kabul.

Remote guiding and flattering

Wright, from Grob, Oklahoma, retired in 2009 as a first sergeant, after 24 years in the service, and said he started working as a contractor advising Afghan special forces.

He met Afzali, who was working for the company he contracted with in 2017. When he changed his job in 2019, she moved to work as a translator in another location.

"The relationship between us grew through text messages, e-mails and (Facebook)," he added.

In April, the two flew to Dubai, where they were married, and a Utah judge had to marry them online.

Wright said the marriage certificate was signed by the deputy governor of Utah.

But he said her marriage did not clear a bureaucratic hurdle, as Afdali could not apply for a visa as the wife of an American, because she had already applied for a special immigrant visa outstanding since 2018.

Wright traveled from Afghanistan in May hoping to get Afzali's visa approved, but that was followed by the Taliban's quick takeover of Afghanistan and the chaos of tens of thousands seeking to board a plane from the country.

Recounting his first efforts to get his wife out of Afghanistan, Wright said, "During these last two weeks, I couldn't sleep.

I spent many nights addressing the (US) Army and the Afghan Military Liaison Unit.”

On Monday, a member of the military advised Wright about Soji after seeing her posts about helping get people out of Afghanistan.

Soji made calls, emailed photos of Afzali's documents, and what to wear to those she deals with at the airport, and followed up on the situation abroad through her network of contacts in almost real time.

She urged Wright to contact members of Congress, and on Tuesday asked him to tell his wife to head to the airport.

He kept in touch with Sooji via phone and text messages.

Afzali and the translator set off around eight o'clock in the evening.

It took them about 16 hours in the sweltering heat to reach a gate, and Afzali was beaten with sticks by Taliban fighters.

The American soldiers asked the two to go to a different gate.

"(Afdal) got injured from some of the blows," Wright said.

She was pushed and slapped by the crowd.

I asked her not to despair.”

She reached a second gate, but the US forces refused to let her in because her visa had not yet been approved.

In a text message, Suji urged Afzali to persevere, and gave Wright advice on how to address the best soldiers.

She told Wright to ask his wife to be "polite and persistent."

Then Wright asked his wife to hand the phone over to the American soldier.

As the two entered the airport, Soji arranged for Afzali and the interpreter to board one of the planes.

Wright said her destination at the time was not known.

On Friday, he added: “She called me this morning.

I am in Germany.”

• Factors combined in the success of Afzali's escape, chief among them the strength of her determination, luck, her husband, the marriage certificate, and the request to obtain a special immigrant visa.

• In light of the administration of US President Joe Biden giving priority to holders of US passports and holders of green residency cards, many of those influxing at the airport, through the Taliban security checkpoints, with Afghan families, faced a painful choice, between leaving without relatives, or risking their lives and stay in Afghanistan.

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