3-year-old California boy stranded in Afghanistan following Biden’s botched withdrawal
Thomas McDonald
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One of the estimated 200 American citizens stranded in Afghanistan following President Biden’s botched withdrawal of U.S. forces is a 3-year-old boy from the Sacramento, California area.
The boy, whose identity is kept secret for his safety, is stuck in Afghanistan with his father and other family members. They are all permanent U.S. residents and have all documents to prove so.
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“I received a call Sunday morning at about 6 a.m. from a friend of mine who’s an active duty Marine Corps officer stationed overseas, and he basically felt like his hands were tied, and he needed some help getting this family out,” said veterans advocate James Brown to ABC 7 Chicago.
Brown says he contacted Representative Jackie Speier (D-CA) and her staff, who immediately responded.
Speier wrote and signed a letter for the family to obtain and show at the airport to get access. “I believe it is of particular and urgent concern that these individuals be allowed to pass through the gate and be given safe refuge at Hamid Karzai International Airport … so that they might be available for departure,” the letter stated.
Speier’s office also “made numerous phone calls to the White House, to the Secretary of Defense’s Office, and to the Secretary of State’s office escalating this family’s case all the way to the top for us,” Brown said.
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The boy, his father, and several other family members took to the airport with the letter. however, the Taliban attacked. “And they were stopped by a Taliban checkpoint, and they received physical beatings at the gate, and they were pushed back where they had to flee and return to a safe house,” Brown said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the U.S. Embassy in Kabul would remain closed, and the diplomats will be moved to Doha, Qatar, adding, “We will continue our relentless efforts to help Americans, foreign nationals, and Afghans leave Afghanistan if they choose.”
The boy and family are reportedly on the move after linking up with other American citizens who are stranded and desperate to flee Afghanistan, according to the report.
The report comes as an Afghan interpreter who helped save then-Senator Biden’s life is also stranded behind enemy lines.
The interpreter, named Mohammed, was 36-years-old and working as an interpreter for the U.S. Army in February of 2008 when two U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters carrying then-Senator Joe Biden, former Senator John Kerry (D), and former Senator Chuck Hagel (R) were forced to make emergency landings during a snowstorm in a remote Afghan valley.
Mohammed was stationed at Bagram Air Field and received the crew’s call for help. He jumped in a Humvee with a Quick Reaction Force from the 82nd Airborne Division and drove hours into the mountains to rescue them. Since the withdrawal ended, Mohammed says he and his four children are now stranded.
“Hello Mr. President: Save me and my family,” Mohammed said Monday. “Don’t forget me here. I can’t leave my house. I’m very scared,” he added.