Federal Way man fears for his family in Afghanistan

Images of Afghans desperately trying to leave at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, are startling to anyone, but they are particularly agonizing to Ahmad Shir Abid.

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“To be very frank, all the Afghans here and back there are crying,” he said.

Abid immigrated to the United States in 2014 with his wife and children. Now, he is with Federal Way-based Afghan American Cultural Association. He worked with the U.S. for nearly 10 years, starting as an interpreter with the U.S. Army, becoming an Afghan culture advisor, and then as a political advisor with the U.S. Embassy.

Abid says he believed his extended family members were safe under the elected Afghan government. With the Taliban in charge now, he fears they will target loved ones left behind.

“Everybody knows they’re family,” he said. “They (the Taliban) are going to go after them as well.”

Abid says whenever he talks to his family in Afghanistan, they ask him what to do.

“I, to be honest, I don’t have the answer,” he said.

Abid is unclear about what’s ahead for Afghanistan, noting the complex mix of religion, ethnicities, and politics, not to mention the countries that are not friendly to the United States and its supporters positioned along its border.

He doesn’t blame the U.S. for the quick Taliban takeover, but feels like a bright chapter for Afghanistan has ended.

“What about those last 20 years? What we have seen?,” he asked. “That was like a dream. Now we’re going back to the darkness.”

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