Six months ago, the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, leading to a mass exodus and the return of Sharia, imposed in particular on women. Abdulwakil Mahmoodi, 34, a refugee in France since 2016, has just brought his wife and three daughters out of their country. Reunited again after years of separation, the Mahmoodi family lives in Amiens.
The father had been forced to leave Afghanistan in 2016. Working for the army, he became a target for fundamentalists who were regaining ground. “They killed two of my colleagues and then I had to flee,” recalls Abdulwakil. But it was impossible for him to take his wife, Fawzia, several months pregnant, and their two daughters, Behista and Shabnan.
Impossible situation with the Taliban
After six months of crossing Asia and then Europe, Abdulwakil arrives in France. First in Calais, in the jungle. A “stressful” memory for the young man. He obtains refugee status and seeks at all costs to assert family reunification, but the process is slow and tedious.
With the return of the Taliban, the situation has greatly worsened. Abdulwakil recounts how his eldest daughter was forcibly expelled from school several times. How his wife was forced to give up her job. Faced with the threat, they decided to leave, first towards Iran. Before obtaining a visa for France at the end of January. The family now feels safe in Amiens. This Monday, the girls will go back to school. They are also waiting to move into a larger apartment than the current 15m2 studio where they all five live.