Welcome to America: Getting Zeinab out of Taliban-controlled territory
When I woke up Sunday morning, my phone had alarming messages. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled his country, and the Taliban controlled the capital city, a city I have lived in multiple years from 2015 to 2021.
I immediately reached out to Zeinab.
For those of you who don’t know our backstory, I met Zeinab in 2018 in Kabul. We were running buddies as I was training to do IRONMANs around the world and she was training for an ultramarathon with the organization, Free To Run. She would later join my organization, She Can Tri, to train on a team of her country’s first triathletes. Starting in January 2019, I would travel the world training Zeinab. We have swum, cycled, and ran together from the UAE, to Spain, to Italy, to the streets of Kabul, Bamiyan, and Herat in Afghanistan, sometimes even sharing a bed so my small organization running on a shoe-string budget could save money. Before I left Afghanistan in May, I traveled with her during Eid to meet her family and host a Peace and Sports Day at a girls’ school there. I stayed in her family’s house. Food poisoning, bathrooms that are only holes in the ground, bombs, delayed flights, sleeping in airports, crying, laughing, so many great meals from the Trevi Fountain in Rome to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, to Bukhara in Kabul, we have done a lot.
Despite making only $200 a month, with the support of She Can Tri and our hundreds of supporters around the globe, she would go onto make history in February 2020 crossing the finish line at the IRONMAN 70.3 Dubai carrying the Afghan flag.
After that day, she would apply to be a Fulbright scholar in the United States. In her essays she wrote she wanted to eventually run She Can Tri in Afghanistan to train the next generation of women. In my letter of recommendation I wrote, “And while my organization supported Zeinab, Zeinab equally supported me. After all, running a small organization in Afghanistan is a challenge, but with her by my side, I had the strength to persevere. Here I was, this privileged white American woman, and this Afghan woman, who came from practically zero opportunity, who had to flee her country as a child, and who has had to fight for her life every single day, was motivating me.”
Of course she landed the scholarship.
Why in the world would her flight to the U.S. fall on the very first full day the Taliban controlled her country, I don’t know, but on Sunday, August 15, I thought my friend was going to get stuck under strict Taliban rule.
All commercial flights got cancelled on Monday, but at 1am Kabul, I wrote her this, “As time passes it will get less safe, not more, I think maybe you should go to the airport, the worst thing that will happen is the Taliban will send you home, they will not hurt you, I’ll reach out to people I know on the ground first thing in the morning.”
Zeinab agreed she would be brave. She would travel through the Taliban checkpoints and find a way to get out; however, she could not find a single taxi to take her to the airport. Not even for hundreds of dollars. Our She Can Tri driver was also too scared to go. I don’t blame him. In a plea of desperation we called the uncle of another one of our athletes, he agreed.
Here is a summary of our conversation five hours later, 6am Kabul. It has been consolidated for clarity.
Zeinab: Jackie Faye, I am going forward to the airport. Please let’s do our strongest push in this country.
JF: I am with you on your journey – I will see you soon Zeinab jan.
Zeinab: We are at the airport.
JF: Good, can you get inside?
Zeinab’s Message from the Airport
JF: I have called an Italian Special Forces Officer. Stay with me sweet girl. You will be okay.
Zeinab: Okay.
JF: I need to know exactly where you are, but the officer says to go to the East Gate, that he is not sure if he can get on the runway. Send me a full length body picture.
Simultaneously, I was speaking to the Italian officer, I sent him her passport, visa, picture, location, and phone number. Then silence for about 20 minutes. I knew the officer must be near the airport gate. There are jammers there. He probably lost service. I was telling Zeinab to go to the East Gate. It was an hour away, then he messaged me stating he was by departures.
JF: Stop! He is near departures.
Silence for 30 minutes. I’m pretty sure I was a crying mess in the safety and comfort of my Austin condo at this point.
Zeinab: I am with the officer.
Our Italian Hero: This Special Forces Officer escorted Zeinab to a chartered plane.
JF: Thank god.
The Italian officer spoke to the Americans controlling the crowd and they let her through to get into the officer’s car.
He drove her through all the security and straight to a chartered plane. A chartered plane for Turkish diplomats and Afghan government officials.
Literally, also in line to get on the flight to Istanbul was the Afghan Foreign Minister Haneef Atmar, Second Vice President Sarwar Danish, the former Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum’s daughter, and the former National Security Advisor Rangin Dadfar Spanta.
JF: Please tell them to fit you on that flight. Tell them you have an American that loves you very much waiting for you. Don’t leave until they let you on.
Every Turkish diplomat said she could not fly, except one. He watched over Zeinab and made sure she got on board.
She was told she could not take any bags, but our Turkish friend help her sneak one on. She lost the one with all her sports equipment. Her bicycle obviously did not make it either.
Once on the plane, they tried three times to take off, but could not because so many people where on the runway. U.S. Marines were firing gunshots in the air and finally started a fire to clear the people.
Zeinab: We are moving. I think we are taking off.
JF: We did it. I told you I would see you soon.
Welcome To America: After landing in Istanbul, Zeinab was able to get the rest of her flights to the United States.
Thank you to the driver who risked his own life to get Zeinab to the airport, for the Italian Special Forces Officer who escorted Zeinab to the plane, and for the mystery Turkish diplomat. We wish you all safety and happiness.
And while we had a brief moment of celebration, we immediately continued working to bring others to safety. Our thoughts are with all the Afghan families as well as She Can Tri’s staff working to get on a flight. We will be waiting for you when you arrive.
To my Afghan friends still in Afghanistan, don’t lose hope, and please wait until you are put on a list to go to the airport. They will call you when they have a seat for you, I promise.
If you know of an Afghan family that has recently relocated to the states, we know of several businesses and families that would like to help them transition, particularly in the Richmond, Virginia area. Please email info@shecantri.org if you know a family or individual that is interested.
-Jackie Faye, She Can Tri founder
Update 2022: After four years of working with Zeinab she is finally headed to the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in St. George, Utah on October 28. Her participation comes as the Taliban have announced they will not allow girls to go to school past the age of 12 and women in public must wear a burqa. She Can Tri will not stop supporting Afghan women and girls. As part of Zeinab’s journey across the finish line she is raising money for an underground girls’ school in her country. Please consider donating the her GoFundMe campaign.
She Can Tri is empowering women on and off the playing field, reaching those that are the greatest in need and hold the most potential for positive change. The finish line for our athletes is not just about proving something to themselves. They are proving to their countries that women can accomplish amazing things when they put their mind to it, and they are changing attitudes about what role women should play in society.