Fleeing Afghanistan
Fara Abbas on Starting Over Fara Abbas, a Fellow with the Harvard Negotiation Task Force is a specialist on Afghan affairs with over 10 years of in-country experience on security, peace, and development. She fled Afghanistan in August after the Taliban takeover, and a stipend by a number of Harvard entities – including the Mittal Institute – is supporting her year-long Fellowship at Harvard. Prior to her role at Harvard, Fara served in senior government positions, representing Afghanistan in international negotiations and conferences.
M
ittal Institute: I know your journey here was arduous – you fled Afghanistan for a refugee camp in Qatar, before coming to Cambridge. Can you expand a bit upon your experience? Fara Abbas: Yes, I’d be happy to. The first few days after the takeover were surreal. We were in complete shock and the situation was chaotic. It all happened so suddenly, and everyone was caught off guard. Just as it happened in Ukraine. My husband and I initially decided to move house in case the Taliban came looking for us - which they did later on. At that point, we had both been working for the government’s security sector.
The day we were supposed to move, my friend from the US embassy called and said I should come to the airport now. It was clear to us that we had no other option than to leave. Our lives would be under threat – the Taliban are infamous for their brutality. As soon as I entered the airport, I broke down. I cried for the country, for our people, for all that could have been, for our potential, for my home, my family… it makes me emotional even today. We had come so far and achieved so much. And it was all gone. At the same time, I was relieved that my husband and I were now safe. We were brought to Qatar first. By the time we left Doha two weeks later, the camp population had doubled. We
The Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, Harvard University
