NEW DELHI — Afghanistan pop artist Aryana Sayeed described her escape from Kabul as “very difficult and very challenging” after the Taliban takeover of the war-torn country.
She talked about her escape in an interview from an undisclosed location.
“I was in Afghanistan for the past eight months, and all of a sudden, there was a change,” said Sayeed. “The Taliban came to Kabul, and they took over. I was left with no choice but to leave Afghanistan.”
“We left in a very difficult manner. It was very challenging for me. Besides being a singer, I am also a very outspoken women’s rights activist. By the time we decided to leave Afghanistan, the Taliban had put up checkpoints across the country. We were very scared.”
She said that the real challenge was traveling from home to Kabul airport amid various Taliban checkpoints in the capital city after they took over.
“Major challenge was the journey from home to airport, that’s where the problem was, fortunately, we made it to the airport. My fiancé and I, and 100 other American passport holders were the lucky ones,” she said.
Narrating the ordeal, she said that there was chaos on Aug. 15, 2021, the day she was to leave the country.
“It was absolute chaos, as you can see on video. That’s what I experienced. My flight was on Aug. 15, 2021. I was booked on a commercial flight, but unfortunately, the Taliban took over Kabul on that day. My flight was at 8 pm. However, we did make our way to the airport,” she said.
Describing the scene at the Kabul airport, Sayeed said that it was filled with thousands and thousands of people and children piled over each other.
She further stated that by the time she reached the airport, the Taliban were still not there, but unfortunately, at 5 p.m., they heard gunshots while she was inside the airport.
“We heard gunshots, and suddenly airport staff, including the security and pilots, ran away. The plane could not take off. We were getting news that the Taliban was closing in and that they could get inside the airport anytime,” said Sayeed.
“I will continue with my career. I had a career outside Afghanistan as well. I will dedicate my music and money generated from it to Afghanistan and its people; that’s my entire focus.”
Sayeed took to her Twitter handle to announce that she has left Afghanistan.
“I had said in a recent interview that I will be the ‘Last Soldier to leave the Motherland…’ interestingly enough, that is exactly what happened. I hope & pray as a result of the recent changes, at the very least, my beautiful people will be able to start living a peaceful life (sic)!” she wrote.
Sayeed further reiterated that she would try her best to become the voice of the voiceless Afghans.
“I am not inside Afghanistan, I am outside, but I will try my best to be the voice of the voiceless. I will try to spread the word out there and see what we can do to get help to focus on Afghanistan and its people,” said Sayeed
(With inputs from ANI)
Edited by Ojaswin Kathuria and Nikita Nikhil
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