Since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the girls, aged 14-16, and their families, had been trying to leave, fearing for their lives under the Taliban.
The girls on Afghanistan바카라s national soccer team were anxious. For weeks, they had been moving around the country, waiting for word that they could leave. One wants to be a doctor, another a movie producer, others engineers. All dream of growing up to be professional soccer players. (More Football News)
The message finally came early Sunday: A charter flight would carry the girls and their families from Afghanistan 바카라 to where they didn바카라t know. The buses that would take them to the airport were already on their way.
바카라They left their homes and left everything behind,바카라 Farkhunda Muhtaj, the captain of the Afghanistan women바카라s national team who from her home in Canada had spent the last few weeks communicating with the girls and working to help arrange their rescue, told The Associated Press. 바카라They can바카라t fathom that they바카라re out of Afghanistan.바카라
Since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the girls, ages 14-16, and their families, had been trying to leave, fearing what their lives might become like under the Taliban 바카라 not just because women and girls are forbidden to play sports, but because they were advocates for girls and active members of their communities.
Late Sunday, they landed in Lisbon, Portugal. In interviews with the AP this week, Muhtaj, members of the soccer team, some of their family members, and soccer federation staff, spoke about their final days in Afghanistan, the international effort to rescue them and the promise of their newfound freedom.
The rescue mission, called Operation Soccer Balls, was coordinated with the Taliban through an international coalition of former US military and intelligence officials, US Sen. Chris Coons, US allies, and humanitarian groups, said Nic McKinley, a CIA and Air Force veteran who founded Dallas-based DeliverFund, a nonprofit that바카라s secured housing for 50 Afghan families.
바카라This all had to happen very, very quickly. Our contact on the ground told us that we had a window of about three hours,바카라 said McKinley. 바카라Time was very much of the essence.바카라
Operation Soccer Balls had suffered a number of setbacks, including several failed rescue attempts, and a suicide bombing carried out by Islamic State militants, the Taliban바카라s rivals, at the Kabul airport that killed 169 Afghans and 13 US service members.
That bombing came during a harrowing airlift in which the U.S. military has acknowledged it was coordinating to some extent with the Taliban. Complicating the rescue effort was the size of the group 바카라 80 people, including the 26 youth team members as well as adults and other children, including infants.
Robert McCreary, a former congressional chief of staff and White House official under President George W. Bush who has worked with Special Forces in Afghanistan and helped lead the effort to rescue the national girls바카라 soccer team, said Portugal granted the girls and their families asylum.
바카라The world came together to help these girls and their families,바카라 said McCreary. 바카라These girls are truly a symbol of light for the world and humanity.바카라
The Taliban have tried to present a new image, promising amnesty to former opponents and saying they would form an inclusive government. Many Afghans don바카라t trust those promises, fearing the Taliban will quickly resort to the brutal tactics of their 1996-2001 rule, including barring girls and women from schools and jobs.
This week, the Taliban set up a ministry for the 바카라propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice바카라 in the building that once housed the Women바카라s Affairs Ministry, the latest sign that it is restricting women바카라s rights.
As the girls moved from safehouse to safehouse, Muhtaj, who is also a teacher, said she helped them stay calm through virtual exercise and yoga sessions and by giving them homework assignments, including writing autobiographies.
She said she couldn바카라t share details about the rescue mission with the girls or their families and asked them to believe in her and others 바카라blindly바카라. 바카라Their mental state was deteriorating. Many of them were homesick. Many of them missed their friends in Kabul,바카라 said Muhtaj. 바카라They had unconditional faith. We바카라ve revived their spirit.바카라
Some of the girls spoke to the AP through an interpreter. They said they want to continue playing soccer 바카라 something they were urged to not do while they were in hiding 바카라 and hope to meet soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United바카라s forward and a Portugal native.
Wida Zemarai, a goalkeeper and coach for the Afghanistan women바카라s national soccer team who moved to Sweden after the Taliban ascended to power in 1996, said the girls were emotional after their rescue. 바카라They can dream now,바카라 Zemarai said. 바카라They can continue to play.바카라