Summia Tora began trying to evacuate her father from Afghanistan two days before the collapse of the state. Writing in The Economist, she recounts the 'deeply unfair' process—and argues that it shows how the world failed her country
AS THE LAST American soldiers departed Afghanistan on August 31st, news stories focused on the ending of the longest war in American history. For Afghans, however, these past few weeks were actually a devastating beginning. We have confronted the destruction of our entire state, our institutions and almost all economic and social progress that has been made over the past two decades.
I began the process of trying to evacuate my father from Afghanistan on August 13th—two days before the collapse of the state. He feared to remain in a country ruled by the Taliban. Frantically from Oxford, I began looking for options to help him escape and searched for any flights available out of the country. The costs soared and I realised that I would need help. I pleaded publicly for help through a fundraiser, using my status as the first Rhodes scholar from Afghanistan to attract interest.
My father was not evacuated from Afghanistan because he was qualified in any of the evacuation categories. He had not been awarded a Special Immigrant Visa by America--given to those who worked for its government or as an interpreter for its armed forces--nor was he a foreign worker. My father made it out because I, along with several well-connected people, made noise, advocated, and kept knocking on doors to get him out.
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