American forces have thrown a US tear-gas canister to clear the crowd in Hamid Karzai International Airport, Afghanistan, hit the 8-year-old Asma in the face, it burned her face mask to her skin.
The little girl and her mom Nabila, contend with the airport chaos in hopes of escaping to the United States, the New York Times reported. Her father was murdered by the Taliban for serving in the U.S. military.
On August 19, at 6:30 in the morning, Nabila and her two children departed her sister’s house to the airport. The taxi dropped off the family at Abbey Gate, where thousands of people had gathered. About 12 hours past dusk, the mass at the gate erupted, forcing the family closer to the wire fencing. That is when the US forces simultaneously throw a tear-gas canister; one caught Asma in the face while the hem of Nabila’s dress caught fire quickly as they collapsed to the ground, the report detailed.
In August, Crowds Gathered Outside Kabul’s International Airport (Photo: Jim Huylebroek/The New York Times)
Israr, Asma’s brother, immediately poured water on her face. Asma’s mask was attached to her face in a hideous mingling of scorched material and skin. Her brother called a relative, who picked them up and took them to a drugstore to get burn cream before returning them to Nabila’s sister’s house. The ointment, however, was ineffective against the child’s second-degree burn.
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Lee Drake
Nabila’s brother Yousuf in America received photos of Asma’s face which he reportedly forwarded to one of the Slack channels set up by veterans, activists, and other civilians to aid vulnerable Afghans flee the country. AA former Air Force gunner turned anthropology professor became a policymaker, and an ex-Marine who served as a Defense Department lawyer got his hands on Asma’s photos, Lee Drake. He circulated the photos together with a single-page letter that summarized the bare facts of Asma’s story in four bleak phrases.
Jason Greene
Jason Greene, a former Marine who served in Iraq and now works for the Pentagon, responded to the letter. Mr. Greene, as a Marine, recognized that Asma required more than burn cream; she needed antibiotics to battle sepsis, and she most likely needed surgery. His drive to help Asma was due to the guilt of not being able to save innocent civilians like her for a long time.
Mr. Greene made touch with his contacts at the Joint Special Operations Command. Then, on August 26, Israr received a text message. ‘Come to the Gas Group square in Kabul for a chance to be taken to the airport’, it stated.
A white armored pickup truck with the driver as the sole occupant arrived at 8 a.m. He escorted Nabila’s family out of Kabul to the 10-foot walls that ringed Eagle Base, a strongly defended secret C.I.A. complex just outside Kabul.
Hanna Tripp
The medics rushed Asma to the base clinic. Commandos loaded the family onto a chopper and took them to the airport that evening. Hanna Tripp, a policy adviser with a veterans group and a former Air Force gunner, hurried to get Asma’s family on an aircraft, even asking Canadians for assistance. She was able to arrange for Asma and her family to fly to Qatar on a C-17 plane.
Now, Asma’s wounds are mending, and she and her family are currently stationed at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. There are individuals who are eager to hear her story once the procedural hurdles have been eliminated.
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