Trapped In Afghanistan: 2 Dozen American Students, Interpreter Sheltering 37 Women And Children

Among the Americans who remain stranded in Afghanistan are at least 24 California school students and an interpreter whose home has become a refuge for 37 women and children in the Taliban-controlled country.

School officials at the San Juan Unified School District told the Sacramento Bee that at least 24 students in Afghanistan have not yet returned to campuses since the beginning of the new school year. The initial estimate of stranded students was 150. It is unclear when stranded students from the Sacramento, California, area will be allowed to fly back. The last U.S. flight left the Kabul airport Tuesday marking the end of a war that lasted two decades.

A statement from the communications director of Rep. Ami Bera, D-Calif., Travis Horne, read that the congressman’s office has been working with the San Juan Unified School District to get the students home safely. Horne said the stranded students’ information has also been forwarded to the U.S. Department of Defense and the State Department.

Meanwhile, Afghan allies who cooperated with U.S. troops over the past two decades live in fear and uncertainty following the departure of all American forces. Advocates believe there are about 100,000 Afghans who assisted U.S. military in the past who may want to evacuate the country, The Hill reported. Many of the vulnerable Afghans still in Afghanistan have resorted to hiding for fear of Taliban retribution.

Among them is an American interpreter. Speaking via phone with Chris Cuomo on the “Cuomo Prime Time” show this week, the interpreter, identified only as “Sara,” said “no one heard us, that we are in danger and we need to be saved.” Sara’s home has become a shelter for 37 other women and children trying to survive through the chaos.

Sara explained that even the people who supported her in Afghanistan “did not tell me that the flight is — this was the last flight. So I had hope that we would leave.”

Sara revealed that she worked with the U.S. military for 14 years in various provinces across the country. “If America could not help me when they were on the ground, how will they help me now when no one is here?” Sara asked.

Policy counsel with the International Refugee Assistance Project, Adam Bates, said while the program has helped about 130 at-risk Afghans get onto flights out of Kabul, “the joy has been overshadowed by the pain and frustration we feel for those hundreds of thousands who remain trapped.”

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Gen. Mark Milley said Wednesday that the U.S. will continue to work on evacuating Americans and Afghan allies, the Los Angeles Times reported.