Saving Aziz by Chad Robichaux

Author:Chad Robichaux
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2022-11-10T00:00:00+00:00

Eleven

Leaving Afghanistan

AFTER A FEW DAYS IN ABU DHABI, I FINALLY WAS ABLE TO SEE Aziz and his family.

All the refugees were placed into a fourteen-day quarantine in Abu Dhabi because of the coronavirus pandemic. Let’s just say I knew a few people who made it possible for me to visit them despite the quarantine.

Following our emotional reunion in Aziz’s room, we were taken into a common area. I hadn’t seen my brother in fourteen years, but almost as soon as we took our seats next to each other on a couch, we were right into telling old stories like we had been apart for only fifteen minutes.

I was most surprised by the sorrow Aziz expressed as he talked about leaving his home and how he felt like he had lost his country. Although I knew he loved Afghanistan and had seen him fight for its freedom, I didn’t think leaving would hurt so deeply.

Aziz’s parents, two brothers, and sister were still in Afghanistan. His escape meant he likely would never see them again. As much as Aziz had the safety of his wife and kids in mind while getting out, he was equally torn about leaving his family behind. One of his brothers had also worked with us on the xxxxxxxxxxxx task force. Bashir knew Aziz’s brother, and he would be a Taliban target for sure. His parents and sisters could have been too because of Aziz’s high profile.

But Aziz’s dad insisted that Aziz take his family out of the country.

“I’ve lived my life,” Aziz’s dad told him. “Me and your mom are older. You need to go get your family safe and live your life.”

Not surprising for Aziz, he stepped up to become a leader in the humanitarian center. I jokingly gave him the title of Humanitarian City President.

The humanitarian center was an incredible facility located about a ten-minute drive from our JOC at the Armed Forces Officers Club and Hotel. The UAE government ran the center well.

The setup was like a series of apartment complexes, so families had their own places to stay, which included cable television. When our team noticed the kids were getting bored, we told the UAE government, and they built a playground on the level of what we would expect in a nice neighborhood in the United States.

The humanitarian center even had doctors and nurses on-site, which became an unexpected necessity when up to three babies a day were being born. We assumed we had thought of everything! The evacuees also were arriving sick from dehydration or with broken bones, cuts, and bruises suffered from being stampeded or getting caught up in the concertina wire at the airport.

The center also provided dental care. And the meals were great.

Aziz used the word chaos to describe the humanitarian center when he first arrived. Of course, after all his attempts to make it into the Kabul airport, chaos was relative. The initial chaos at the center was understandable. By the time of my reunion with Aziz, we had brought in more than 5,000 evacuees.

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