Afghan Woman Heading to Korea "Had to Save Family's Lives from the Taliban"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] "Coming to Korea was an easy decision. It was necessary to save my family's lives from the Taliban."

Ms. A, an Afghan woman who successfully escaped from Afghanistan, explained the background of her arrival in Korea this way.

Ms. A, who escaped from Kabul with the support of the Korean government, arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan, her transit point, and agreed to an interview. The interview was arranged at Islamabad airport the previous day at the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs press corps.

She worked at the Korean Embassy in Kabul from September 2013 for two years and four months. She was included among the 427 'Afghan collaborators' eligible to choose to go to Korea.

Ms. A was one of the 26 people who first escaped Kabul on a Korean military transport plane, and she will arrive in Korea on the 26th with her husband and two sons.

She mentioned that she lived in a relatively distant area from Kabul and introduced the process of getting to the airport.

Ms. A said, "We left home early in the morning and headed to the airport, but unlike others, we did not encounter Taliban checkpoints," adding, "It is widely known that the route to the airport was different, and we did not use the well-known roads or highways."

She said that the decision to go to Korea was made one week prior, explaining, "For a week, I communicated daily via email with the embassy to check the situation," and "The embassy told me when and where I had to arrive. I came here about 3 to 4 days after receiving the travel certificate."

When asked if she had anything to say to the Korean government, she replied, "I have nothing more to say other than 'thank you.'"

Mr. B, a man who worked with Koreans in Afghanistan for three years, had reasons similar to Ms. A for leaving his hometown. Mr. B, who also worked at the Korean Embassy, said, "The Taliban are trying to find people who worked for foreign organizations," and "The Taliban are a danger to me and my family."

He expressed gratitude to the Korean government, saying, "The situation at Kabul airport was very bad due to crowds trying to enter regardless of passport possession," and "The Korean team worked day and night to get us inside the airport."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.