Meet the Afghans making Europe their home after Taliban takeover

euronews.com:

Six months on from the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, we catch up with four Afghans who fled and have made Europe their new home.

Atefa, Reza, Zahra and Farid are among tens of thousands airlifted to Europe in the aftermath of 15 August 2021.

Many are trying to adapt to life in their corner of Europe, while at the same time worrying about those they left behind in Afghanistan.

Some of those who escaped fear reprisals against their families because of their collaboration with Western governments.

On top of that, there is a worsening humanitarian crisis developing, with Afghans suffering hunger amid an unforgiving winter.

The return of the Taliban drove billions of dollars in international aid out of the country, pushing an already poor and war-ravaged country further into trouble.

Atefa Hesary worked as an artist for the Institut Français in Kabul until the Taliban takeover.

With help from the French government, she was evacuated 10 days later on a French military plane to Abu Dhabi.

She now lives in Montreuil -- in the suburbs of the French capital Paris -- where she is part of a collective for artists in exile.

“I’m continuing my exercises in theatre,” Hesary told Euronews. “The theatres in France are helping me.”

“French people are kind and love the arts,” she said.

But as the only member of her family living in France, life, she says, is not easy.

“I miss everything from Afghanistan, my family, my friends, the memories, the streets and everything everywhere,” she said.

“My body is here but my mind and my heart are still in Afghanistan," she added. "It’s difficult to leave your country, your homeland, your family and everything and come to a new country with a new language and new culture.”

The experience of Afghan asylum seekers