We were shocked how quickly the Afghan government fell apart when the U.S. troop withdrawal took place. But Qadir Shah Hotek lived through it. Today, he tells WTMJ’s Libby Collins how he escaped Afghanistan not knowing where he would end up, his long journey to the United States, starting a new life from nothing, and his work helping other new immigrants adjust to life in the United States. It’s all ahead on this edition of WTMJ Conversations! Listen in the player above.
A partial transcript is provided below, courtesy of eCourt Reporters.
QADIR SHAH HOTEK: So, my brother was — they hired him to the airport. So, he was there, and then there was a Sunday, we receive a call that says the president is not anymore in the castle, like, he’s out of the country and everything is done.
Ten o’clock or eleven o’clock my brother has called me, and he say, like, hey, where’s the other brothers, like, to make sure everybody is okay and where are those.
So, we called my brother, that he was interpreter, and we just let him know that nothing is okay outside, just make sure you stay in the airport. At least you can be safe there, because we don’t know what’s going to happen to you outside.
So, we was making phone calls, like, to make sure that everybody’s okay. And the screaming and shouting was starting on the outside. Once I came out, I saw the terrorist groups and these other people that there was — had the governmental vehicles and the weapons, everything, that they was just going around the streets, and we was completely surprised. Now you just accept that you’re not safe anymore.
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