(ANSA) - ROME, AUGUST 28 - When the plane touched the runway, they had tears in their eyes. Among the 58 Afghans who arrived in Fiumicino this morning with the last flight of the Italian airlift there were also two sisters, Arezu and Ghazal, young journalists from Herat who managed to arrive in Italy with their children and some family members.
"We can't believe we have reached Rome after so many problems and difficulties. We didn't think we could make it. We cried," they told ANSA. A difficult journey, they say, the one from Herat to Rome.
"It took us two days to reach Kabul, where we stayed four days before we were able to leave. At the airport we were afraid of being trampled. Every day we went back to the gate to try to get in.We tried several times before we succeeded. "
After several attempts and always in contact with the Italian soldiers of the Female Engagement Team, they managed to be recognized at the airport, even by drawing initials on their hands, just a few hours before the attack on the Kabul airport.
Among the most difficult moments, the two sisters remember when in Herat "a few days before the fall of the city due to our work as journalists we were forced to hide, to move house". And when the city was in the hands of the Taliban, they say, "we had to change residence every two or three days". Now for Arezu and Ghazal it is the beginning of a new life. After the quarantine period they look to the future, a better future for them and their children. "We hope to live in peace with our families and to be able to continue working as journalists," they explain. The best thing for them was being able to "bring some family members to Italy".
However, concern remains for those who remained in Afghanistan. "Unfortunately, our father and brother are still there." Their thanks today goes to those who helped them to leave Afghanistan and give their children a future: to the Defense and to the team of female soldiers they met a few years ago in Herat and with whom they were always in contact to get to Rome. "We thank them for what they have done for us and for our family," they say. (HANDLE).
