Nearly 10 years ago, the Star and its readers helped a teenage Roya escape to pursue an education and her dreams.
But as the Taliban surged in recent months to regain control of Afghanistan, she found herself trying to save the family she left behind. torstar.co/zp6f50GkKSm
In July, with the U.S. withdrawal only weeks away and the Taliban advancing with ferocious speed, Roya, now a graduate student at the University of Ottawa, wrote to two friends, asking if they could help her. thestar.com/news/canada/20…
Roya engaged some of the same people who had helped her come to Canada in the first place.
Her friends thought they could help four or five relatives — she sent a list of 27 names. thestar.com/news/canada/20…
“I know it is a lot,” she wrote in an email. “But they are my family and they are at risk just for being part of the family.”
She sent emails, pleading for help, and filed 297 pages of immigration documents, sleeping only a few hours a night for weeks. thestar.com/news/canada/20…
Unrelenting in her optimism, she knit together a network of military veterans, politicians, journalists, friends and donors.
Together, Roya and her team of supporters pushed through the layers of bureaucracy. thestar.com/news/canada/20…
Her loved ones navigated the heartbreak of near misses at the airport in Kabul, the Taliban fighters who roamed past their safe house, and treacherous checkpoints they faced en route to escaping their country. thestar.com/news/canada/20…
Finally, this week, the family arrived: Some came Wednesday, and more late Friday — ending for Roya years of living without her mother, sisters and brothers, the people who knew her best. thestar.com/news/canada/20…
Now in Toronto, the family will stay in a quarantine hotel near the airport for the next two weeks. Each of them arrived bringing only the smallest of carry-on luggage. thestar.com/news/canada/20…
“Imagine,” Roya said, marvelling at what has happened, “someone living in Canada making somebody else’s family a priority.” thestar.com/news/canada/20…
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.