DALLAS, TX – Baktash Haidari’s cell phone rings all day every day these days.
The Dallas-based Afghan immigrant moved to the United States in 2016 – almost six years after starting his search for a life in America. In Afghanistan, Haidari worked his way up as an interpreter until he became a fully armed “badass” with a cadre of American soldiers whom he now calls valued friends.
But for now, his thoughts are with his compatriots – loved ones who are either stuck in his now Taliban-controlled homeland or, like his four friends in Dubai – stranded without knowing when, how or where they will eventually be welcomed .
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“In the chaos and the crowds, all they knew was that they had to leave the country,” explains Haidari, “because their cooperation with the Americans made them a target of the Taliban. And three of my friends now in Dubai have wives and children who they had to leave behind while they ran for their lives. “
After years of working in Afghanistan during the two decades of US occupation, Haidari said he was shocked when the government was overthrown earlier this month.
“I think the whole reason was political,” he says ruefully. “I believe that President Ghani lied to a lot of people, and a lot of things happened there that were not right. Of course I hear rumors from here, but it has also been reported that generals have ordered their troops not to stop fighting and surrender to the Taliban.
“We always believed that the Taliban weren’t strong enough to hold a province,” he says, shaking his head. “We had weapons, we had a good army that was well trained by the Americans and other coalition forces. So I think it was entirely political for the government to collapse without a fight.”
On August 16, Reuters reported that the Russian embassy in Kabul had announced that the Afghan president had left the country “with four cars and a helicopter full of cash”, some of which had to be left behind because “not everything was right”.
Even so, Haidari looks forward to helping his Afghan neighbors relocate when they arrive in North Texas.
“It was pretty easy for me,” he muses, “because by the time I got to Dallas I was pretty Americanized because I spent so much time with them in Afghanistan. I was with the American forces most of the time.”
But he assumes that the culture shock will be something real for many. “I started learning computers, Microsoft programs, Photoshop, design and the like in my village. After high school you take an exam and say what you want to be – doctor, teacher, … work in architecture and there is a very healthy competition that leads to where to go from there. “
Around 25,000 refugees are expected at four different military facilities. You will be vaccinated against COVID-19 and then relocated.
Fort Bliss in El Paso will be one of the places they arrive and receive psychological support, travel assistance and medical exams. But while the Department of Defense is helping bring the refugees to America, private organizations like Refugee Services of Texas are taking over from there.
Haidari believes the greatest challenge facing his Afghan compatriots is the American rat race.
“A lot of people there think that every American is rich and that money is in the trees,” he says. “That’s not true. But there are opportunities here – for everyone, without discrimination. But you have to work really hard. I would tell you that.”
Because of this, he wants to stay and believes that many of his Afghan compatriots want to do the same. “I’m still struggling to achieve the American dream,” he says. “But it’s worth it.”
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